End to End Improvements within Local Government

It was clear that there was need to improve the lives of the residents of the area, and to bring them up to modern times, but until 2017 that was not a priority of the council. Things changed in 2017 because of the arrival of Diane Hood as CEO, but also because “there were a lot of issues that were immediately obvious for all to see.” One of those issues, which reverberated throughout the whole community, was that there were KPIs and plans, but “just no measurements, very slow progress and often no outcomes.” Within the office of the council, …

Reimagining the Future of Human Resources in the Public Sector

During the height of the pandemic, people worked remotely because they had to. In the future, “we need to reimagine how our organizations will work,” and how the people within those organizations can remain at the core. Anyone who works in HR or people management now has a “huge opportunity to drive significant change in how organizations will operate going forward.” For instance, whilst remote work was mandated for most people, “it was lived very differently for those functions that were about to lend themselves better to working remotely.” It certainly didn’t and couldn’t apply to frontline workers or those …

Designing the Future Workforce through Reskilling and Upskilling

There is a commonly held belief, especially in business circles, that if you are not moving forwards then it is as if you are moving backwards. In other words, innovation, creativity and continuous improvements are necessary in order to succeed. As much as this might apply to business, it certainly applies to learning and development (L&D) too. In fact, L&D are sometimes the most necessary traits when it comes to moving forwards because both learning and development are underpinned by the latest trends and the most up-to-date information. If the goal of a business is to constantly move and improve, …

Council Highlight: Town of Claremont

The Town of Claremont is the local government authority for the riverside suburbs of Claremont and Swanbourne, located just 9kms from the Perth city centre. Like many boutique local governments, the Town provides a wide range of community facilities and assets such as an Aquatic Centre, Hub & Library, regional Museum, lake, foreshore, as well as infrastructure to support a thriving town centre and several schools. The Town of Claremont is facing similar challenges to most local governments; budget and funding challenges, pressure on housing and density; changing community expectations and attracting and retaining the talent needed to deliver the …

Government Innovator Spotlight Q&A: Ed Kelly, CDO, State of Texas

As CDO for the State of Texas my role is multi-faceted. I have the great opportunity to work with almost every state agency and institution of higher education helping them to develop their data management programs. The office of the Chief Data Office (OCDO) serves as the chief evangelist for data best practices, as well as data broker, facilitator, trainer, and collaborator. I have worked in Texas state government for 14 years as a CIO, CAO and now a CDO for 6 years. When the opportunity came up to develop and manage a statewide program, I was very interested. Guess …

Practices to Bolster Your Fraud Intelligence Program to Prevent Corruption and Online Threats

Fraud, cybercrime, and other related issues are major hurdles that most organizations have to deal with. They take up precious business time and cost lots of money. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) was setup to identify and deal with various types of fraud, and Jeff Thomson, the Senior Criminal Intelligence Analyst with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) at the CAFC, says that it was set up in partnership with the RCMP, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Competition Bureau of Canada. It is an exciting and unique place to work because we’re reducing fraud every day. They don’t do …

The Future of Digital Strategy in Queensland Government

Digital technology is evolving at a pace that is hard to keep up with; Innovation is accelerating as technologies such as robotics, cloud, big data, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to transform our everyday lives, as well as the Australian economy. Government digital strategies can often focus on the potential of digital services, thinking primarily about customer service channels, technology, standard operating environments, software as service and cloud computing. While this is important, it isn’t enough to create a true digital revolution. That is why the Queensland government is readying new long-term innovation and digital …

Cyber Culture & Awareness with CSCRC

While we need to adapt and respond quickly to cyber threats, when it comes to strengthening our own defences, we also need to think carefully about the ethical implications of modern technologies. It is a tricky and delicate balancing act. We do need to consider what should be done with technology, rather than just being swept up in what could be done, and the endless potential of the digital world we live in. Importantly, we also need to remember that trends and crystal ball gazing is vital but just getting the basics right is something that the government also needs …