The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) has celebrated smart technological initiatives in local government through the MAV Technology Annual National Conference and Awards for Excellence.
Several smart projects designed to benefit the community received awards, including an app to manage waste collection, modern customer management systems, digitising historical documents and revolutionary open data exchange.
The major awards were won by:
- Customer Experience:
- Kingston City Council’s The Scan it, action it, close it app, helping Council more quickly identify overflowing rubbish bins in public spaces, proving the worth of embracing technology for all ratepayers
- Employee Experience:
- Hume City Council’s new customer management system Single Customer View, helping Council to better service rate payers by simplifying staff’s understanding of service request
- Collaboration and Partnership:
- Moorabool Shire’s collation of historical documents called Project X–(Naming Conventions)-Moorabool –A Metadata Journey, which has helped capture and modernise the Shire’s rich history
- Emerging Technologies:
- Glenelg Shire Council’s modernisation of ratepayer service requests Cultural Collection Protection using Smart City Technology, allowing its staff to better respond to requests from ratepayers
- Data and Insights:
- Casey City Council’s Open Data Exchange, providing a wealth of information at ratepayer’s fingertips and highlighting how technology can greatly enhance community interaction with council
- People’s choice:
- Banyule City Council’s IoT Smart Cities Asset Management system, helping to bring asset management into the future
- Exhibitor of the Year
- SpacetoCo, who facilitate online booking of unique and hidden spaces
MAV Technology’s Chair, Justine Resta, said the awards were a wonderful opportunity to highlight the many councils across Victoria utilising technology for the benefit of their communities.
“The range of programs and platforms being created by local councils is now starting to shift towards our customer needs over our internal requirements” Ms Resta said.
“Our communities face modern problems, and they require modern solutions. I hope examples like Kingston, Hume City, Moorabool, Glenelg, and Casey City serve to motivate the entire local government sector on what’s possible when we embrace technological solutions.”
MAV President, Cr David Clark, said it was important to shine a spotlight on the councils leading the way in the use of technology.
“Technology moves forward so quickly, so it’s important to stop and celebrate those leaps forward at a local government level. These awards are a terrific way to celebrate the many examples of great work being done with technology across the sector,” Cr Clark said.
“Our technology people often work behind the scenes, however the work they deliver is at the forefront of our positive interactions with our communities.
As an additional honour, Kingston City Council has been nominated for the LOLA Achievement of the Year award, with the 2022 LOLA conference in New Zealand later in 2022.
