Seventy New South Wales councils are about to begin using a self-assessment research tool to review their performance.
The survey was developed by the Local Government Professionals Australia New South Wales, then known as Local Government Managers Australia NSW (LGMA NSW) and PwC, and covers the areas of corporate leadership, finance management, operations management, risk management and workforce management.
LGMA NSW Chief Executive Officer Annalisa Haskell said that the program was a testament to the NSW local government sector as a whole
“The LGMA NSW Local Government Operational and Management Effectiveness Survey has been developed by local government professionals and sector experts who donated their time to work with LGMA NSW and PwC to design this research tool.
“We are so pleased to be able to deliver tangible benefits and real savings across all councils who will participate. With such a large group participating in this survey, it illustrates the visionary and inherently collaborative nature of NSW councils.”
Councils large and small from coastal, regional and metropolitan areas who service a total of four million residents will participate.
Through the survey, these councils will all have the opportunity to access high quality industry benchmarking information, tailored reporting and sophisticated PwC research analytical techniques at an affordable cost.
Feedback has been initially positive, with larger councils pleased to add a new sophisticated management tool to their existing resources and smaller councils happy to have access to industry leading resources that they may not necessarily be able to afford on their own.
“PwC took up the challenge to operate beyond the traditional parameters by voluntarily rolling up their sleeves and working collaboratively, as true leaders, directly with LGMA NSW investing their time in creating this unique opportunity for the sector,” said Ms Haskell.
The Local Government Operational and Management Effectiveness Survey is a three-year programme and will commence over the next few months.