The City of Boroondara has taken out the Victorian LGPRO award’s prestigious Innovative Leadership Award for its Innovation Academy.
Held in Melbourne earlier this month, the award recognised the hard work, creativity, and commitment to excellence from Boroondara Council officers.
The Council also received a high commendation for its Bookable Spaces Initiative in the Digital and Technology category.
According to Boroondara City CEO Phi Storer both projects reflect the council’s unwavering commitment to improving services for the community through innovation and excellence.
Hosted by LGPro, the peak body representing professionals in the Victorian local government sector, the Awards for Excellence celebrate outstanding achievement and innovation across councils in the state. The LGPro Awards for Excellence are Victoria’s premier local government awards.
Storer congratulated staff on the well-deserved recognition following the award.
“Every day I see innovative and inspiring work being done by Council officers to improve the lives of residents, and these winning programs are just two examples of this brilliant work.”
“This recognition at these prestigious awards demonstrates our commitment to delivering excellent services to residents, powered by new technology and a customer-centric approach. We are not perfect, but we are focused on delivering better outcomes for our community,” Mr Storer said.
Now in its sixth iteration, the Boroondara Innovation Academy is a 12-week training program that empowers staff to develop innovative, real-world solutions to Council challenges. With a focus on experimentation, autonomy, and executive support, the academy is driving a culture of innovation within Council operations and service delivery.
Participants learn a structured innovation process while working across departments, producing outcomes that lead to measurable improvements and new ways of working across Council.
The Bookable Space Initiative has transformed the way residents interact with Council’s bookable spaces. By consolidating 89 bookable facilities into one streamlined digital platform, the initiative significantly improved user experience and access to information.
Since launching:
• The new ‘Book a space’ web page has been accessed over 45,000 times by more than 31,000 users
• More than 5,800 bookings have been made through the new booking system
• Calls to customer service for basic booking information have dropped by 65%
• Staff time spent on booking administration has reduced by over 60%
This initiative has not only improved convenience for the community but has also delivered operational efficiencies and received positive feedback from both users and staff.
The recipients were awarded live as part of LGPro’s Annual Conference on Thursday 5 June.
The Awards promote and celebrate the outstanding work being undertaken and delivered by individuals and teams across the sector. This year’s awards included 15 categories to cater for the broad range of services and professions representing local government.
The 15 award categories, and their winners, include:
First Nations Community Partnership – Central Goldfields Shire Council.
Community Assets and Infrastructure Initiative (projects under $5m): Mount Alexander Shire Council.
Community Assets and Infrastructure Initiative (projects $5m-$20m with a population of under 50,000): Hepburn Shire Council.
Community Assets and Infrastructure Initiative (projects $5m-$20m with a population of over 50,000): Mitchel Shire Council.
Community Assets and Infrastructure Initiative (over $20m): Glen Eira Shire Council.
Community Partnerships: Ballarat City Council.
Digital and Technology: Gannawarra Shire Council.
Disaster Readiness and Recovery: East Gippsland Shire Council.
Diversity and Inclusion: Mildura Rural City Council.
Environmental Sustainability: Yarra Ranges Council.
Innovative Leadership (previously Innovative Management): Boroonda City Council.
Service Delivery: Banyule City Council.
Special Projects: Greater Shepparton City Council.
Outstanding Small Rural Council Initiative: Hepburn Shire Council.
Young Achiever: Samantha Johns.
