Identifying, rewarding and promoting innovation
For over a decade, the National Awards for
Innovation in Local Government have been identifying leading practice
in local government. With a record number of entries in 1999, the
Awards proudly showcase the diverse work of local government in
building sustainable communities. Winners are announced each
year at the Australian Local Government's Annual General Assembly in
Canberra. Award winners enjoy national, year-long promotion of their
projects. All entries are listed in an annual guide to good practice
in local government, published by the National Office of Local
Government at the Federal Department of Transport and Regional
Services. Award-winning projects have gone on to attract
opportunities to further grow or commercially develop their ideas and
projects. The Awards are open to all local government bodies right
across Australia, and actively encourage entries from councils in
regional and rural areas.
National Award
Ipswich City Council QLD
GIS Development Application Tracking System
Developed in response to the requirements of the new Queensland
Integrated Planning Act 1997, this innovative development application
tracking system provides Ipswich City Council with an
organisation-wide solution to complying with State planning laws,
tracking development applications and viewing spatial planning
information at the desktop and at service counters.
Prior to the system being introduced, the Council - like many
other councils - relied on textural data combined with laborious data
entry and site inspections to assess development applications or to
develop planning strategies for the city.
Using the Council's existing GIS software, the Council's staff
built a database that would enable staff to view development
applications spatially using different data sets, and still have the
ability to capture textural information associated with tracking the
application process. The system also enables staff to generate a wide
range of reports, measure the effectiveness of the Council's
development approval process over time and scan applications for
future reference.
A major requirement of the Queensland Integrated Planning Act 1997
is the public disclosure of development assessment information. The
system has been designed for ease of use by staff at the Council's
service counters, particularly where staff are required to explain
development applications or decisions with customers.
The system has attracted great interest from other councils,
largely due to its compatability with other GIS systems and its
potential to be applied in other contexts.
Like to know more? Contact Mark Denman Research Officer Ph (07)
3810 6257
National Rural Award
Cabonne Council with Cabonne Country Development Group NSW
Cabonne country small towns development project
Cabonne Council consists of eight small villages with populations
between 200 and 1600 people. In 1997, Cabonne Council received State
funding to establish a small towns development project for these
villages.
The Council wanted to establish whether or not the villages in
their region were growing and whether the villagers were considering
moving to larger regional centres.
As part of a series of consultations, the Council conducted a
photographic survey of the villages, asking villagers from all walks
of life to photograph their towns - through their eyes - choosing six
things they liked about their village and six things they disliked.
These photographs were publicly displayed in the villages and
comments about them recorded and analysed by the village project
teams. This process identified key development issues across the
region and formed the basis of the 'Vision 2007' Strategy.
Council adopted the Strategy in 1998. The project has fostered a
'sense of belonging' across the region with residents actively
participating in the development of their region through regular
meetings.
The project has been included as a case study in the NSW
Department of State and Regional Development's recently published
manual on community and economic development.
Like to know more? Contact Joy Engelman Small Towns Development
Officer Ph (02) 6362 3799
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