The Department of Planning commissioned the Western Research Institute (WRI) to complete the survey annually between 2006 and 2010 with the aim to monitor the economic impact of listing Braidwood and surrounding areas on the NSW State Heritage Register. The Department of Planning will not involved in the conduct of the survey.

CEO of the WRI Mr Tom Murphy said "Braidwood is the first township to be heritage listed, so we are carefully monitoring the economic effects of the listing. We've developed key economic performance indicators in consultation with the steering committee and community, and are benchmarking these against the economic performance of the Eastern statistical division and inland NSW."

"The WRI will track the impact of the heritage listing on businesses in Braidwood for 5 years. The 2007 survey is currently being undertaken, and many businesses have already completed the survey."

Mr. Murphy advised that if any business in the Braidwood region has not completed the survey in 2007 but would like to, they can contact the WRI on 6338 6176 before the 7th of December.

The project is being undertaken in consultation with the Braidwood Steering committee. The members of the steering committee are Forbes Gordon, Denver Shoemark, Jill McLeod, Gill Burke, Mary Mathias and Cheryl Raper. The committee members have had the opportunity to contribute to the format of the survey, the project timeframes, direction and results.

The results of the 2007 survey and an updated economic profile of the Braidwood region, based on the 2006 Census results, will be forwarded to the Braidwood Community Steering Committee and the Department of Planning for consideration prior to release. It is expected that the results will be available to the public in early 2008.

The results of the 2007 survey will be posted on the WRI website in early 2008, and a summary provided to the Braidwood Times. Results of the 2006 Braidwood Economic performance survey are currently available on the WRI's website, www.wri.org.au