The City of Canning, Western Australia, is embedding a culture of innovation to support the organisation to embrace technology and digital enablement.
The position of Chief Innovation Officer was created in 2017 to raise the profile and importance of innovation in local government and aims to improve the liveability, workability and sustainability of the Canning community consisting of over 90,000 residents and ratepayers and 8,000 businesses.
Chief Innovation Officer, Jemma Greene, has been working on projects at all levels in the City and in November was invited to present the City’s innovation ideas on the world stage at the Service Excellence and Customer Happiness convention in Dubai.
Ms Greene presented on innovation culture and the application of Design Thinking as a method for unlocking innovation within the City.
The visit included an innovation knowledge exchange with various senior members and Heads of Innovation for United Arab Emirates government agencies, including a tour of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation.
There was also a presentation on Canning’s Innovation Culture and Initiatives to 15 government agencies at the Prime Minister’s Office – The Executive Council of Dubai.
Mayor, Paul Ng, said the presentation displayed Canning’s forward thinking approach to building a high performance innovation culture.
“The presentation showcased key initiatives including the City’s Smart Cities Wharf Street Basin – Next Generation Community Park project that was successful in securing $1 million in Federal Government funding under the Smart Cities and Suburbs Round 2 Grant Program, and Canning’s Learning City Strategy which has driven the recent innovative refurbishment of our Riverton Community Library.”