At this year’s National General Assembly (NGA24), hosted by the Australian Local Government Association, we asked councillors what they considered most important regarding council meetings.
The feedback revealed a few clear and commonly experienced frustrations, areas where technology should be picking up the slack.
One significant challenge identified was the difficulty councillors face navigating large business papers. For councillors using digital business papers, they felt it was easy to get lost in endless scrolling and found it difficult to navigate between taking notes and referencing other documents. For councillors using paper, many expressed that while they had concerns about sustainability and the environmental impact of using so much paper, digital options were more difficult to manage than just using paper copies.
Many councillors expressed how much time it took to navigate the amount of documentation they had to read for meetings; this was especially prevalent in states where councillor duties are on top of full-time jobs and family responsibilities.
Given that many councillors work part-time while managing other obligations, the need for more innovative and user-friendly meeting management solutions is clear.
Here’s a snapshot of the feedback we received.
What Councillors Want…
1. Searchable easy to consume meeting content, policies and procedures, bookmarked videos and councillor meeting notes
Councillors overwhelmingly expressed frustration with how long it took to find what they were looking for. With elections approaching in New South Wales and Victoria, many mentioned the difficulty locating information about historical items and resolutions.
Some spent 30 - 60 minutes per request finding basic information for constituents. The burden fell on them if governance teams and executive assistants weren't doing the work themselves.
Some spent 30 - 60 minutes per request finding basic information for constituents.
From hard-to-find policies to tracking the progress of resolutions, councillors desire a solution that offers complete searchability, saving them time and allowing them to focus on other tasks. This issue also affected public requests for information, with councillors describing scouring minutes as ‘horrible’ and ‘clunky.’
2. The ability to create notes and annotations on individual items to prepare for meetings
Many councillors wanted to make simple notes and keep documents organised for meeting preparation. The lack of simplicity in current systems led many to rely on hardcopy papers, which they found easier for managing documents and annotations.
Despite recognising that extensive paper use wasn’t environmentally friendly, they felt they had no suitable digital options. Sustainability was clearly important, but their current meeting management technology didn’t support it.
Despite recognising that extensive paper use wasn’t environmentally friendly, they felt they had no suitable digital options.
3. The option to have Business Papers and Livestreams automatically bookmarked, synced, and uploaded to all relevant parties for increased digestibility of information
Information digestibility was also a key concern among councillors. While business papers and documents were available, they often needed to be exported into large PDFs and emailed to others, leading to inefficiencies and system delays due to the large file sizes.
This extensive process not only consumed valuable time but also created bottlenecks in the flow of information. Councillors found themselves waiting for documents to upload, download, and transfer, which disrupted their workflow and delayed decision-making.
Information digestibility was also a key concern among councillors.
Overall, Councillors expressed a strong desire for a more streamlined process that would enhance the accessibility and usability of information. They envisioned a system where documents and business papers were automatically bookmarked, synced, and uploaded to all relevant parties and an easier way for data to be managed, stored, and searched.
If your council is looking to overcome these challenges, Resolve can help. Feel free to share these insights with your Governance team and have them reach out.
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