As it is the first town on the east coast of Australia to be recognised in this way, the NSW Government Heritage Office has recognised the importance of measuring the impact of the listing on Braidwood.

A project is currently under way to monitor the economic performance of Braidwood over the next five years. The project is being conducted by the Western Research Institute (WRI) based at Charles Sturt University.

CEO of the WRI, Mr Tom Murphy, has said that the project "has a unique design in that it gives all ownership to the Braidwood community." A community meeting held in Braidwood in October this year was used to determine the benchmarks which would be tracked throughout the project.

"We have commenced a survey of businesses in Braidwood, and many have already been contacted" said Mr Murphy, "however, given the importance of the survey we felt it was necessary to provide businesses with another opportunity to complete the survey."

The survey will be provided in the paper next Wednesday for any businesses that did not have the time to complete an interview over the phone. If you have not already participated in the survey and would like to have your say, please return the completed survey to the WRI via fax on 6338 4699 or alternatively contact the WRI on 6338 4435 to complete an interview over the phone or via email. For more information please contact: Western Research Institute Tel 6338 4435