The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) recently announced the winners of its 2010 ICT Awards, recognising outstanding performance in information and communications technology.
MAV President Councillor Bill McArthur said that constant improvements in councils’ ICT capabilities was critical to ensure more streamlined council operations and delivery of services that better meet community expectations.
“Advances in technology are moving at a rapid pace and councils need to adapt their operations and practices to be responsive to the needs of an increasingly electronic society,” he said. “Councils are also working collectively to share the costs of investing in ICT innovations and collaborating to identify solutions for a diverse range of challenges confronting the sector.”
The 2010 MAV ICT Award winners are:
City of Greater Geelong – eServices team: ICT Department Award Winner
The eServices team has developed a custom eServices Framework and content management system. This allows Council to deliver an integrated internet and intranet service, with a single source of data that is tailored for internal or external usage. This initiative has resulted in improvements to the way Council engages with its communities.
City of Boroondara – Smart Reg project: ICT Project Team Award Winner
Smart Reg has enhanced Boroondara’s electronic document management system through improved default procedures, archiving and user friendliness. It has resulted in decreased workloads for staff, which has allowed the team to expand into new areas and better integrate electronic document management practices and change management across the whole organisation.
Adele Evans, City of Greater Dandenong and Jason Musil, Indigo Shire Council: ICT Individual Joint Winners
Adele managed the Council wide implementation of an electronic document and records management system, which has better integrated the whole organisation, and improved business processes and efficiency.
As a new member of Indigo Shire’s team, Jason has provided a valuable contribution in delivering a large number of strategic IT projects, while also providing hands on IT support to staff.
City of Melbourne: Outstanding Achievement in Emergency Management Winner (large council)
Coordinating multiple emergency services agencies in an emergency has become simpler, faster and more reliable due to WebEOC – a mobile web based emergency tracking system. This allows emergency services to work with Council staff to monitor reports from field officers in real time and deploy resources to reduce risks and minimise harm to the community in an emergency situation.
Alpine Shire Council: Outstanding Achievement in Emergency Management Winner (small council)
MECC Central has been developed over many years by Council’s IT and GIS department as a web based tool for operating the Municipal Emergency Coordination Centre during an emergency. This model has enabled Council to train multiple staff in its use, has improved visibility of the emergency response, and maintains central logs and records for easy reporting and auditing. It also has the ability to decentralise the response operation during an emergency.
