The symposium was hosted by LGMA in Gold Coast in May 2008. Case Studies presented at the 2008 Symposium are summarised below.
Case Study 1 South Korea: Korea E-Government, Contributing to Enhanced Community Wellbeing
Presenter: M. Jae Moon, Professor of Public Administration, Yonsei University
The presentation highlights the efforts made by the Korean government, at both national and local government levels, to provide better services to the public through e-government. It provides an overview of some of the best practice cases of Korea’s e-government which contribute to enhancing the wellbeing of local communities in terms of increased access to services, opportunities to benefit from IT, enhanced e-participation, and local economic development.
At the national government level, Korea has implemented the “Information Network Village (INVIL)” project since 2002, under which more than 300 local villages that have been designated as ‘INVILs’ are supported with Internet access, PCs, village IT centers, IT training, and basically, help for creating village communities that can benefit from the advantages of IT.
The Seoul Metropolitan City, which has been ranked first among 100 cities around the world by Rutgers University, provides integrated services through a single channel for enhanced public convenience and facilitates online public participation and provides features for online reservation and payment as well.
You can download the case study here.
Case Study 2 United Kingdom: Kaizen, A Model for Continuous Improvement
Presenter: Alan Campbell, Chief Executive, Aberdeenshire Council
Aberdeenshire Council have adopted Kaizen as a model for continuous improvement and has built an in-house capacity to sustain an ongoing programme of events. In three years the Council moved from a position of being unsure about how to use
such a technique to seeing staff fully believing “this is how breakthrough improvements get done around here”. This has not been an easy path, but one which has produced fantastic results for the management, employees and most importantly the customers of the council.
The Chief Executive is often heard to describe this as a programme he should have started much earlier in his tenure, stating it’s the best thing in terms of managing and motivating people that he’s ever been involved with.
You can download the case study here.
Case Study 3 Australia: Environmental Leadership
Presenter: Geoff Lawler, A/Chief Executive Officer, City of Melbourne, Victoria
The City of Melbourne has long taken a leadership position in environmental sustainability. It was an early adopter of reduction targets for emissions and water use and has well-established links with global organisations that are making
real strides in addressing climate change. However, it really cemented its environmental credentials with the creation of CH2 (Council House 2). The visionary CH2 – given the Green Building Council of Australia highest rating, six stars – has the potential to change forever the way developers approach ecologically sustainable design. And already the example set by CH2 is having flow-on effects beyond the building itself, to policy and regulatory innovation.
You can download the case study here.
Case Study 4 CANADA : Intelligent Waterloo
Presenter: Simon Farbrother, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Waterloo, ON.
Last May, the City of Waterloo was named the 2007 Intelligent Community of the Year by an independent global think tank based out of New York. The case study shares insights into participating in the Intelligent Community process, with a focus on the short and long-term benefits that Waterloo has seen as a result. The case explains Intelligent Waterloo, and explores the role that municipal government can play in building community partnerships that will allow cities to compete and to thrive in a global broadband based economy.
You can download the case study here.
Case Study 5 UNITED STATES : Preparing the Next Generation
Presenters: Dr. Frank Benest, City Manager, City of Palo Alto, CA and Kevin O’Rourke, Principal, KOLGS, O’Rourke Local Government Solutions, Fairfield, CA
A whole generation of baby boomers are retiring from local government service, and there are fewer numbers of Gen X and Gen Y professionals ready and willing to replace them.
Cal-ICMA has developed the integrated Coaching program designed to:
Cal-ICMA (the California affiliate of the International City/County Management Association) provides an integrated Coaching Program that targets emerging leaders in local governments throughout California. The various Coaching Program events (webinars and call-ins) have attracted as many as 200 participants. The more intensive workshops attract between 15 and 25 participants.
A number of the Coaching Program participants have been appointed City Managers and Department Heads. Results like these start to define the role and success of programs like this.
You can download the case study here.
Download infroamtion on the City of Fairfield Coaching and mentoring programme here.
Case Study 6 NEW ZEALAND: SmartGrowth, A Management Strategy for the Sustainable Future of the Western Bay and Tauranga Sub-Region
Presenter:s Phillip Martelli, Manager Resource Management and Annika Lane, Group Manager Policy & Planning, Western Bay of Plenty District Council.
New Zealand Local Government Reform in 1989, closely followed by the introduction of the Resource Management Act (RMA) in 1991, dramatically changed the planning regulatory framework. Whilst the RMA gave developers considerably more flexibility to get their proposals approved, it also meant that councils could be far more involved in determining, regulating and enforcing the impacts of development on their respective districts.
During the 1990s, in the Western Bay and Tauranga sub-region, population increase, coastal ribbon development, sprawling ad hoc rural subdivision and rocketing urban expansion had crept up on a region ill-prepared for the pressures that uncontrolled growth brings. The growth explosion forced an unprecedented level of collaboration between the three local authorities, Tauranga City Council, Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Environment Bay of Plenty Regional Council.
The collaborative effort, which began in 2001 as an informal working party between the three councils, was launched as SmartGrowth in 2004 and is now New Zealand’s most successful sub-regional growth management plan. SmartGrowth’s success depends on partnership and collaboration involving the three Councils, Tangata Whenua, and community groups. It is a voluntary, cooperative approach to sustainable development built on understanding, agreement and commitment, in preference to a mandatory model built on compliance and coercion.
You can download the case study here.