An Australasian first that demonstrates the power of councils partnering with other organisations has now won an innovation award.
Lismore City Council has won the Excellence in Innovation gong at the Northern Rivers Business Awards for a project that could potentially be worth millions of dollars to local businesses.
The Buy Local Project is a partnership between Council, the Northern NSW Local Health District and the University Centre for Rural Health.
The Buy Local Project functions as an online noticeboard that enables government departments to easily source products and services locally. Businesses that have signed up are automatically notified of tenders via email, and local suppliers are often able to eclipse out-of-town suppliers due to factors such as freight costs.
Council’s Economic Development Manager Mark Batten is proud of the success the project has achieved.
“We have broken new ground with this project because our local leaders decided to think outside the square and work together.
“The award is an amazing affirmation of the extraordinary lengths this Council has gone to in order to change the way it approaches business in every sense.
“It also challenges us to keep being innovative and take risks to redefine what we are as a local government authority.
“The future of our business is not business as usual.
“Our future is building partnerships in our community with other agencies and business so our city can continue to grow and prosper in its own unique way.
“This award shows we have worked hard to stretch ourselves and demonstrate we can be as good as the best of the private sector.”
The Industry Capability Network (ICN), a not-for-profit service that connects business online, powers the online portal.
The Buy Local Project is the first time in ICN’s 30-year history that big purchasers have teamed up to create a regional procurement portal.
It is an Australasian first and it’s free for local businesses to sign up.
In the last month, 50 work packages with an expected contract value of $30 to $50 million have been released for tender as part of a major Lismore Base Hospital upgrade.
The awards are run by the NSW Business Chamber to celebrate and recognise business excellence Lismore City Council is now in the running for the state award, which will be announced in November
