Celebrating councils as they embrace technology

The local government community came together to celebrate and acknowledge councils who are utilising the latest technology to better serve their communities as part of MAV Technology’s Annual National Conference and Awards for Excellence Xperience the Evolution.

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 staff better service their rate payers by simplifying staff’s understanding of what stage Service Requests.
• Collaboration and Partnership: Moorabool Shire’s collation of historical documents project Project X–(Naming Conventions)-Moorabool –A Metadata Journey, which has helped capture and modernise the shire’s rich history.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 & 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 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 the possibilities 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 this year.