230 P. Livingstone and N. Hancox
Waters, 2011; Livingstone et al., 2015b). Failure
to address these issues in policy development
and through clear, honest and ongoing commu-
nication may result in failure of a programme,
as identified for the eradication of pleuropneu-
monia from Tanzania after it re-emerged in
1990 (Kusiluka and Sudi, 2003).
Proposed policies need to be communicated
to farmers, funders and stakeholders during the
strategic planning process so that they have an
opportunity to raise concerns before policies are
agreed and implemented.
15.2.11 Communication and consultationUnless there is clear and open communication
with the wider interest groups on the important
aspects of a proposed strategic plan, it may incur
unnecessary delays and costs once the pro-
gramme is implemented. Therefore, once stake-
holders have reached agreement on the strategic
plan, then its objectives, essential components of
the plan, major policies and how it will be funded
need to be clearly and simply communicated to
wider interest groups. These include farmers,
members of the stakeholder organizations,
industry leaders, government agencies and poli-
ticians, as well as the wider interested public who
may be affected or impacted (New Zealand
Government, 2016). Consultation with the main
groups who may be affected by the strategy, its
policies or funding should then follow. Individu-
als or groups should be provided with the oppor-
tunity to respond either orally or in writing,
indicating their support for the proposed strategy
design and funding or to note their concerns
and suggest alternatives. Following consultation,
written or oral submissions need to be reviewed
by planners and stakeholders to determine
whether the strategic plan needs to be revised to
accommodate concerns raised. If it is decided to
make changes to the strategy design, this may
involve another iteration round, possibly leading
to modified objectives, plans, costs and timelines.
15.2.12 Programme implementationImplementing a TB programme should be
the role of a management agency that is
accountable to stakeholders. There are various
models for such an agency. It may exist within
government as in the UK (Enticott, 2014), or it
may be an independent stakeholder-owned busi-
ness structure as in New Zealand (Livingstone
et al., 2015b). Stakeholder ownership may have
advantages in ensuring acceptance and support
from farmers and industry, but a stakeholder-
owned agency will require access to legal powers
and will need to be subject to regulated technical
and managerial standards.
Whatever model is chosen or available, the
management agency must be responsible for
implementing the plan within budget, meeting
all legislative requirements (including for health,
safety and environmental management) and
reporting to stakeholders against annual mile-
stones and progress towards strategy objectives.
The management agency must be equipped
with or capable of providing: (i) a senior man-
agement group under a CEO responsible for
a management structure that oversees the
delivery of the plan within budget, maintains
links with stakeholders and minimizes surprises;
(ii) a TB surveillance capacity that would include
recording, collation and analysis of a range
of integrated activities and data such as
herd and animal TB tests and results, post-
mortem TB findings from slaughtered cattle,
case management reports on infected or suspect
herds, and tracing of cattle movements to and
from suspect or infected herds; (iii) communica-
tion with stakeholders, farmers and farming
organizations, industry leaders and government
officials to support routine programme delivery,
manage operational issues and report on perfor-
mance and progress; (iv) appropriate financial
management to provide annual income and
expenditure plans, pay farmers and contractors
as required, and keep senior management group
updated on budget matters; and (v) effective
delivery and monitoring of field services and
operations.
There are two broad options for delivery of
operational services such as TB testing of cattle,
managing reactor slaughter, monitoring live-
stock movement controls and laboratory diag-
nostics. An agency may have capacity to deliver
such services itself, or it may contract for deliv-
ery by other providers. External contracting
may bring advantages through encouraging
commercial competition between contractors,