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With a multicultural background and an insatiable thirst for adventure, Gwen shines brightly within the Redman Team. Her vibrant spirit, coupled with a heartfelt desire to help, nurture, and spread joy, sees her wearing many hats. Here’s your chance to get to know Gwen, and odds are, her infectious positivity will leave you smiling as well. Your background is quite diverse, tell us a little about where you're from: Originally from Portugal, I had a multicultural upbringing, spending significant time in South Africa and Brazil. My roots are a blend of Australian and Brazilian heritage. At the age of 18, I travelled solo around the world, eventually settling in Brisbane. Describe your role at Redman Solutions: My role here at Redman Solutions is exciting and engaging. I handle a variety of tasks ranging from administration and office coordination to marketing and wellness initiatives. I like to think of myself as the nurturer of the team, always ensuring everyone feels valued and cared for. I especially enjoy brightening people's days with thoughtful treats and gestures. How long have you been part of the Redman family? I joined Redman Solutions in mid-January, and it's been an exciting journey since then. Besides your natural zest for life, what motivates you each morning? Passion fuels me, and I absolutely love life. I'm blessed with a wonderfully chaotic family, including three crazy/lively children and a supportive husband —so they tend to get me up in the morning, as do a menagerie of animals. Yep, we have an enormous black-headed python, a bearded dragon, a rat, two dogs and a cat, and someone has to feed them! What do you enjoy outside of work? My family and I love adventure, and we thrive in the great outdoors. Whether it's camping, exploring nature trails, riding motocross bikes, practising aerial silks, catching waves while surfing, or embarking on cycling adventures, we're always seeking new thrills and experiences. What's something surprising that people may not know about you: Sports have always played a huge role in my life. As a professional horse rider, I've had the opportunity to work in various European countries such as Belgium, Italy, France, and England. After travelling through Turkey and Egypt, I eventually made my way to Australia, where I decided to settle down in Brisbane. Anything else you'd like to share? I'm also deeply passionate about health and wellness. I teach aerial yoga and proudly operate my own nutritional company called Go Bomb. It's so fulfilling to empower others to lead healthier and happier lives through these ventures.

In our latest Insights Report, Councillor Perspectives on the Council Meeting Process, we asked 40 councillors how they felt about council meetings and what improvements would support them most in their role. When it came to concerns around transparency, the findings were revealing, with 7 out of 10 respondents expressing reservations about the transparency of council proceedings. This sentiment highlights a pressing need for improvements in transparency across local government organisations. Here is a breakdown of the insights gathered around transparency, as well as some feedback provided directly from respondents. You can download a full copy of the report here. 1. Political Posturing Prevents Meaningful Debate One of the most concerning issues highlighted in our research is the pervasive nature of political posturing within council chambers. Councillors expressed deep-seated concerns about peers bending rules and leveraging emotions to sway decisions, thereby significantly impeding open and transparent communication. This phenomenon underscores the gravity of the situation and the necessity for genuine and respectful debate free from political motivations. “Councillors will use whatever is at their disposal, governance rules, rudimentary NLP, emotions, etc, to try and get their way in the chamber. They're not there to favour one person; they're there in the best interests of the municipal district; the minute they don’t do it, they're not doing their jobs.” Councillor, Victoria 2. Evasive, Fearful Responses from Operations Impedes Quality Decision-Making Participants underscored the crucial importance of honest and straightforward responses from governance officers and senior management. Fear of retribution or overly technical answers can severely hinder the decision-making process, depriving councillors of the necessary information to make informed choices. There is a strong collective call for unbiased and transparent communication channels within council operations, emphasising the necessity for fair and open dialogue. “Nobody likes an equivocal or wishy-washy answer. I like clear, concise answers even if they upset the questioner because certain councillors get grumpy. I’m a nice councillor, I don’t get upset. The noisy councillors get special treatment. That annoys me.” – Councillor, Victoria 3. Governance is Not Sufficiently Empowered by The System to Challenge It Another prevalent sentiment among respondents is the perceived lack of empowerment within governance structures. Staff desire a more supportive system that enables them to challenge the status quo without fear of repercussions. This would foster an environment conducive to democracy and inclusive decision-making processes. “Those that have power who are in that corporate governance role, feel powerless themselves to challenge or to ask those questions, to challenge the system as it is. That's really concerning.” – Councillor, New South Wales 4. Meetings Do not Encourage Inclusive Public Engagement Accessibility to council proceedings emerged as a significant concern, with respondents expressing frustration over barriers to inclusive civic engagement. Current systems often favour insiders and English-speaking individuals, excluding diverse voices from the decision-making process. There is a growing demand for accessible technology and transparent meeting formats to facilitate broader public participation. “In the last census, 30% of the community born in China don’t know how the council accesses those people. People from CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) backgrounds are underrepresented in any visible consumption of council material.” – Councillor, New South Wales 5. Discussion and Debate Behind Closed Doors Antithesis to Transparency Councillors echoed a desire for more public discussions and debates and expressed concerns about the increasing trend of private briefings. Transparency hinges on open dialogue and the sharing of decisions with the public whenever possible. Keeping council chambers accessible to the public is vital for fostering trust and accountability within local government bodies. “We need to keep an open window into what local government is doing; if a decision can be made in public, it should be. If it must be made confidential, it must be made public at the earliest convenience.” - Councillor, Victoria So, what does this all mean? Transparent decision-making within local government heavily relies on unrestricted access to information. However, many councils encounter obstacles when trying to obtain essential documents such as agendas, meeting minutes, briefings, committee reports, strategic plans, operational records, financial statements, and various other types of data. This challenge becomes particularly apparent during democratic debates, where access to information is vital for thorough discussions and timely decision-making. In the absence of prompt access to this information, many councils heavily rely on governance teams to provide concise, layman-friendly responses to inquiries. Councillors perceive the quality of information provided to be contingent upon the level of empowerment, training, background, and interpersonal skills of these governance teams. Technology emerges as a crucial solution to this issue. By delivering rapid and easily accessible information, technology enables councillors to retrieve details independently, thereby facilitating well-informed decision-making. This fosters independence and ensures equal access to information, safeguarding decisions from the influence of personal or political dynamics. The public also stands to benefit significantly from this approach. Going beyond council meetings, genuine transparency entails providing councillors with a comprehensive, centralised, and visually intuitive information hub. This "one-stop-shop" experience should integrate data from various council departments, presenting councillors with accurate insights at their fingertips. Access the full Insights Report here

Archiving social media for legal compliance is essential for today’s businesses, government agencies, and educational organisations, but smart communicators don’t stop there. The data captured from your social media is rich with valuable insights if you have the tools to extract it. The Social Media Archiving solution’s Risk Management and Analytics (RMA) suite is designed with your ease of use in mind. It effortlessly turns your archived data into a set of powerful tools, enhancing the control and visibility of your social media. The RMA module is not just a tool; it's a game-changer. It pairs customisable monitoring and alerting functionality with robust reporting, empowering you to enforce your policy, make swift decisions, rapidly solve problems, and leverage visible, actionable data for continuous improvement and to gain internal support. In this guide, we provide an overview of the Risk Management and Analytics Suite – from how to measure sentiment to gaining insights into what is working and improving response time. Download the Risk Management and Analytics Suite Overview here This guide is the perfect way to get to know the RMA Suite. Get ready to unleash the power of the data in your archive with monitoring, alerts, and reports. This overview covers: An Introduction to The Risk Management and Analytics Suite Enforcing Your Policy Increasing Your Focus Improving Your Response Time Reducing Your Risk Providing Your Effectiveness Download the Risk Management and Analytics Suite Overview here

With a rich background in local government, a passion for client satisfaction, and a penchant for enjoying a glass of Pinot, Glyn Williams is definitely the right person to expand Redman’s presence within New Zealand. We caught up with our NZ Country Manager to get to know him a little better. Tell us a little about your background - where are you from, and what led you here? I was born and raised in Taranaki and studied in Wellington. I’ve been very fortunate to have a successful career in sales and marketing that has taken me from Australia to the UK and back here in NZ. You’ve got quite the history in local government. Can you tell us more about your previous roles? In 2005, I joined OnStream Systems as CEO, and that was a turning point in my career. We were instrumental in revolutionising the building consent process in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, which really positioned us as a leading provider of local government solutions. Over the years, I have built many relationships with local government professionals that are still standing today. I also had the opportunity to form close relationships with the team at Redman Solutions and have witnessed the company go from strength to strength. So, why the move? Why come and join Redman? I retired in 2018, but that only lasted three weeks—I got bored, and my wife got annoyed. I became involved with many SaaS start-ups and began consulting, but I really missed working within a team environment and collaborating with the sector. The reason behind my move to Redman was simple: we have shared values and a common goal of empowering local government through digital solutions. I have a renewed sense of purpose and love being part of the team. Now that you’re looking after New Zealand, what would you like to achieve? For me, it’s always been about alleviating the workload on local government employees and enhancing public access through innovative digital solutions. I also love that I’ve been able to reconnect with clients whom I consider more than partners; there’s a real friendship there. I look forward to expanding our presence in the region and driving positive change and innovation. You can connect with Glyn here

In an era where technology is revolutionising our interaction with information and communities, incorporating audio and video streaming into local government meetings in Australia is not just a trend but a necessity that appears likely to become mandated in several states. This shift is driven by its benefits, such as enhanced transparency, accountability, and community engagement. State-based transparency mandates are driving live-streaming activity in council. Why? Because Australian and New Zealand communities demand increasing levels of trust from the governments they elect – and integrating video streaming into council meetings is the ideal way to show what’s really happening in chambers where decision making happens. However, while the need for enhanced transparency is evident, it’s crucial to implement robust systems that support the requirements of council meetings. It’s all good to live-stream meetings for public access, but how easy is the process for internal teams and communities? Is the technology easy to use, and is accessibility and information retrieval seamless for staff, councillors and the public? Without sound systems, the challenges of hybrid meetings and video integration increase pressure on governance and IT. And it’s not just video streaming that creates additional pressure. As local governments in Australia and New Zealand maintain hybrid meeting structures post-COVID, additional challenges remain. Meeting administrators face complexities in managing various aspects, from coordinating motions and requests to speak to navigating voting procedures and integrating video conferencing. These challenges, particularly for new councillors, highlight the urgent need for comprehensive systems that streamline processes and ensure a seamless hybrid meeting experience. For hybrid council meetings to be effective and beneficial to key stakeholders, they must be easy to execute and, ideally, seamlessly integrate with other functions of the meeting process. This integration is crucial for ensuring a smooth and efficient meeting experience for those attending physically and virtually. The integration process is crucial for ensuring a smooth and efficient meeting experience for those attending physically and virtually. Bookmarked on-demand video content ensures all stakeholders can find the correct information. While live streaming and video conferencing enhance transparency, they also introduce complexity to the in-meeting experience. To authentically increase transparency, meeting information must be easily consumable by the community. This demands robust technological systems that facilitate efficient bookmarking and simple navigation, allowing the public to quickly locate and access relevant agenda items, reports, and minutes. Bookmarked video recordings automatically timestamp agenda items corresponding to the discussion held in your meeting. This means your community can quickly access topics of interest to them, making it more inviting for them to engage with your meetings. Information is instant, and finding content about issues that matter to them can be achieved without sifting through mountains of irrelevant information. Creating video content that does not integrate into the meeting management solution also creates work for meeting administrators. They often must record what time items were finished and then run through the video at a later point bookmarking it. This is not an efficient use of time and delays the video being available to the public. Councillors need support to manage increased transparency in decision-making. Councillors play a central role in the transparency equation. Ensuring transparency involves not only the accessibility of information but also the effective communication of decisions. As councillors navigate their decision-making roles, preparing them for the video medium becomes imperative. Many find this aspect intimidating, and efforts should be directed toward easing this transition. This underscores the crucial need for sophisticated solutions that facilitate transparency in the overarching council proceedings and consider the individual comfort and preparedness of councillors for the video format. Discover more about Councillor perspectives on Council Meetings in our latest insights report - access here. Systems must keep up with evolving transparency practices in council meetings. Both community members and councils in Australia and New Zealand share a common emphasis on open and honest information sharing. Beyond mere visibility, transparency is understood as the clear communication of decision-making processes, prudent spending of taxpayer money, and declarations of conflicts of interest. It must also be timely; the community are often keen to view relevant information as soon as possible. Open, digitally accessible council debate is a significant way for councils to demonstrate their commitment to transparency. It necessitates ongoing efforts to refine transparency practices and embed them as an integral aspect of governance through well-designed and efficient systems. In conclusion, integrating video streaming into council meeting systems is not merely a technological upgrade but a catalyst for cultural change. As Australian and New Zealand local governments navigate the complexities of a digital and hybrid environment, prioritising transparency and accessibility will shape a future where community members can actively participate in the democratic process, informed and empowered by easily accessible information.

In today's digital age, social media has become an indispensable tool for councils to engage with their communities. However, with this increased connectivity comes the responsibility to adhere to public records laws and manage online risks effectively. Social Media Archiving for government organisations is governed by record keeping laws. Social media is a public forum, and needs to be archived as such. Enter social media archiving—a vital solution designed to help public entities navigate these challenges seamlessly while harnessing the power of social networks. But what is Social Media Archiving? And more importantly, is it something that you should be investing in. We break down the benefits and features… What is Social Media Archiving? Social Media Archiving is a process that involves capturing, preserving, and managing social media content generated by public entities. This includes posts, comments, messages, and interactions across various platforms. The goal is to ensure compliance with public records laws, maintain data integrity, and mitigate risks associated with online communications. What are the benefits for Local Government? Save Time: Social Media Archiving reduces administrative burdens and minimises human error by automating the process and employing smart filters. This saves valuable time and resources that can be redirected towards other essential tasks. Gain Complete Control: With Social Media Archiving, councils have greater control over their online data. Custom disposition rules allow for flexibility in defining retention periods, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements while adapting to evolving needs. Save Money: Streamlining the process of responding to record requests can result in significant cost savings. By quickly locating and producing the necessary data, councils can efficiently manage requests of any size and complexity. Stay Compliant: Compliance with social media retention requirements and public records laws is crucial for public entities. Social media archiving ensures adherence to these regulations, facilitating seamless responses to FOI, eDiscovery, and litigation requests. Get Total Visibility: A centralised location for managing online presence provides councils with comprehensive visibility into their social media accounts. This enables efficient collaboration and ensures that all stakeholders have access to relevant information. Peace of Mind: Active monitoring features alert councils to any changes or connections made to their accounts, providing peace of mind and eliminating surprises. This proactive approach helps maintain data integrity and enhances overall security. Improve Social Media Effectiveness: Powerful analytics gives insight into activity metrics, audience insights, and sentiment analysis. These include social network usage, general sentiment trend, top commenters, social media activity comparison, alert history, and top conversations by sentiment. Features that allow you to capture and preserve with ease and simplicity Comprehensive Archiving: Capture and preserve all social media content in one secure location, including posts, comments, and interactions across multiple platforms. On-Demand Data Access: Easily access archived data to support requests and generate reports as needed, with the ability to retrieve data in real time. Near Real-Time Capture: Capture content in full resolution and near real-time, even if it has been edited, deleted, or hidden, ensuring accurate documentation. Blocked List Management: Maintain a single list of blocked users and pages for all managed accounts, with clear timelines and supporting evidence to defend actions. Advanced Search: Quickly find and export records using filters, keywords, and custom tags, facilitating efficient data retrieval and management. Accurate Context Preservation: Preserve the authenticity of records with digital signatures, timestamps, and unmodified metadata, ensuring accurate representation of content. Social Media Archiving is an invaluable tool for councils looking to harness the benefits of social media engagement while remaining compliant with regulatory requirements. By implementing a comprehensive archiving solution, councils can streamline their processes, minimise risks, and enhance their online presence with confidence. Looking for more information on how Social Media Archiving can assist your organisation? Read more about the solution here or arrange an online demo today!

In 2023, we asked governance leaders to explore strategic risks and identify best practices within the council meeting process. The results were published in “The Unrealised Potential of Council Meetings” and prompted a fundamental question: How do Councillors feel about Council Meetings? To gain insights, we conducted interviews and surveyed 40 councillors to understand the improvements that would most effectively support them in their roles. The resulting Insights Report serves as a guide for councils to unlock the untapped potential of council meetings, fostering transparent decision-making while acknowledging the time and resource constraints faced by councillors. 71% of respondents said navigating large documents was the main frustration with technology during council meetings. In general, councillors expressed profound gratitude for the contributions of governance teams and endorsed their continual efforts to assist them in their roles. Additionally, our findings revealed: 7 out of 10 respondents felt that decision-making in council meetings was either 'somewhat transparent' or 'not as transparent' as desired. The readability of extensive documents emerged as the primary concern for councillors The implementation of easily searchable minutes and videos was identified as a key improvement to decision-making processes and information retrieval. Discover all the latest insights by accessing the report here.

Redman Solutions is partnering with CivicPlus to provide ArchiveSocial to the Australian and New Zealand market. ArchiveSocial provides social media archiving, website archiving, and social media monitoring products as part of this solution. This solution has been adopted by 14 councils and government bodies in Australia and New Zealand, and it is also used by thousands of organisations globally. The partnership will enable Australian and New Zealand councils and government organisations to acquire access and local support for the most widely used social media archiving and monitoring solution designed specifically to meet legislative recordkeeping requirements. Redman Solutions has a strong history of providing governance and information management solutions within the Oceanic Region. The partnership will enable Australian and New Zealand councils and government organisations to acquire access and local support for the most widely used social media archiving and monitoring solution COO of Redman Solutions, Mark Matijevic, explains how the partnership will help Australian and New Zealand Organisations to ensure they can track all social media and website transactions. "We live in a world that relies on social media to inform and engage, and government bodies have significant reliance on these channels. Many of these transactions with the community are a matter of public record despite many of these engagements being outside the control of the council or government body. Social media entities possess the authority to remove comments on our behalf, and the same capability lies with the original poster and other commenters. These situations could be the basis for litigation. The ArchiveSocial solution incorporates risk management and analytics, providing you with real-time data for informed decision-making, even when you can't monitor your accounts around the clock." ArchiveSocial is now available to councils and government bodies based in Australia and New Zealand through Redman Solutions. For more information on Social Media Archiving and Monitoring, visit www.redmansolutions.com.au/social-media-archiving.

All businesses exist for a reason. Some exist for altruistic reasons, some for profit, some because that is what the people operating enjoy, and in the case of councils, they exist to provide the infrastructure and services that the people who live, work, and play in those areas need. They are democracies, so they are there to operate in the interests of the community they represent and are often held to account in elections if they don’t. Many businesses have documented plans, and this helps guide them into their future, but Local Governments must also provide long-term plans that represent the strategies of the regions. These plans must meet legislated guidelines, which are different based on the region they operate in, and it is sometimes difficult to present a plan that suits your organisation and articulates the issues and actions whilst also meeting these regulations. These strategies then define the deliverables, including the inter-related asset plans, projects, capital expenditure, service levels, and operational activities required to execute them. They also articulate the revenue sources for council, including rate rises, and try to create long and short-term budgets to meet these objectives. An important part of this planning process is consultation, both internally and externally, and this should always happen well before the plans are created which are based on the financial and resourced capabilities of the council. Addressing Diverse Stakeholders and Bridging the Gap Between Plans and Budgets Councils in Australia and New Zealand have many demands as well as complex infrastructure requirements, many with significant backlogs. They are much more diverse than almost any other organisation. This makes it especially important to create plans to which all stakeholders contribute. The processes and tools must make it easy for all stakeholders to utilise, and although coordinated centrally, they need to provide tools that are usable. It is also important that the projects, actions, plans, and strategies are tracked transparently in a way that doesn’t create significant overhead. There are many organisations that base their upcoming budgets based on the previous year's numbers, and the plan is often a guide for the budget, but they often operate at cross purposes. The plan can detail the aspirations, but the budget can detail the reality. An example is that many capital projects are not completed based on the plans. This is because many don’t factor council resource constraints. That often leads to delays in actions and projects that plans commit to the public. For more information and tips on planning – download our guide: From Plan to Action: A Practical Guide to Implementing Your Strategic Plan. The Crucial Role of Planning and Transparent Monitoring It’s for reasons stated above that makes the planning process such an important process. Firstly, it defines the strategies and goals of the council. It then defines actions, service levels, and projects that allow those objectives to be met, and then balances these based on the capability of the council from both a resourcing and financial perspective. Collaboration and transparency in this process is crucial to ensure any overlaps or cross-departmental contribution has been thoughtfully considered.  It needs the stakeholders to commit to these plans based on their ability to execute and goes through a number of cycles to ensure it is achievable. Once agreed, it needs to be monitored. The Importance of Fit-for-Purpose Tools The tools used to develop, and subsequently monitor, plans and budgets must be fit for purpose and easy to use. If not, then all stakeholders may not take ownership and the outcomes will be hard to monitor. Further, the public will not be aware of progress if information is not made available to them. This information is a significant part of the government experience, and key to building trust with the community. Planning and Reporting is such an important process (it gives roadmaps to success) that it needs dedicated tools that are fit for purpose, easy to use, and provide input into budgeting processes. Monitoring the information at appropriate intervals will only happen if the people have tools that enable this type of interaction for appropriate processes and automatic uploads of any data that is collected in other council systems. The planning solution therefore needs to be a core solution in Council’s enterprise toolset and a reference point for decisions made at all levels. The Future is Automated There are many advancements happening in this area, especially automating these processes and improving input from the public and internal stakeholders, as well as providing interactive tools to view relevant information. Our partners at Envisio have all the relevant functionality, is easy to use, and they are well on the path to embedding AI to automate many tasks and gather the relevant information and data to help Council’s make informed decisions and share their performance outcomes. For more information and tips on planning – download our guide: From Plan to Action: A Practical Guide to Implementing Your Strategic Plan.

From Johannesburg to Sydney, then finally settling in Brisbane, Jadon Moir lives a life that is a dynamic blend of professional commitment and personal pursuits. Our rockstar Client Support Agent is motivated by those around him and has a true passion for helping others. And as you’ll discover, he doesn’t mind a little side project to fuel his creativity. We get to know Jadon... Where are you originally from, and where are you based? I'm originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, and was raised in Sydney. In 2022 I made the move to Brisbane to be closer to my partner and family, who relocated to Queensland shortly after. I now live on the Northside of Brisbane. Explain a little about your role at Redman Solutions: I've been with the team for the past 6 months as a Client Success agent. My role is to provide support across the various solutions we offer to local government and I get to help people daily. I really enjoy the work environment here - everyone has a 'can do' attitude and we all genuinely want to help people make the most out of our solutions. What gets you up and going in the morning? I am motivated by the people around me and the things I look forward to. It's refreshing to be surrounded by people who give me the drive I need to perform. Outside of work, what do you enjoy doing? Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with those close to me and dedicating myself to my project—a restoration of a 90’s Honda Civic Manual. I've been building it to be able to drive it on the track, and it's provided me with a sense of accomplishment as I witness the transformation over time. What’s one thing people might not know about you? I played at lot of Baseball growing up and still really enjoy the sport Anything else you might like to add: I'm actually really content in all areas of my life right now and am grateful that I get to help others daily. You never know, I might even one day assist you!

Environmental sustainability sits at the forefront of Australian communities' priorities, as evident in national council strategic plans. Extending on the theme of sustainability, the continued widespread use of paper in council meetings poses a dual challenge – environmental impact and unsustainable operational inefficiency. Our recent Insights Report, The Unrealised Potential of Council Meetings highlighted council concerns about paper wastage, sustainability and struggles with the inefficient management of large agendas and attachments. In this blog, we delve into the potential of paperless governance and showcase some real-life examples of councils who have made the transition. Paper Wastage a Key Concern Across Councils Council business papers often exceed 2000 pages monthly, equivalent to 40 reams of paper for a council with 10 councillors. This not only raises environmental concerns but also hampers operational efficiency. The sheer magnitude of paperwork can be overwhelming, requiring significant time and resources to manage, distribute and store. On top of this, it involves substantial printing costs, further straining council budgets and wasting administrator time with hours spent at the photocopier. Council business papers often exceed 2000 pages monthly, equivalent to 40 reams of paper for a council with 10 councillors. This not only raises environmental concerns but also hampers operational efficiency. While many councils have invested heavily in making the move to digital, the revelation that almost 75% of councils still maintain some level of reliance on hard-copy business papers, as stated in the Insights Report, underscores the slow progress in adopting more sustainable practices. Frustration With Staff and Councillors Navigating Long PDFs In the same survey, almost half of councils said helping staff and councillors navigate large PDFs was their biggest frustration during council meetings. The complexity of standard electronic pdf formats makes it challenging to keep up with proceedings, leading many to prefer traditional hard copies. One of the primary issues with navigating large electronic PDFs is the potential for information overload. With business papers often containing a plethora of documents, reports and attachments, it can be overwhelming for users to locate specific information quickly. These challenges can be addressed when councils invest in user-friendly digital solutions that simplify the usage and offer "single-click" navigation for large documents containing multiple attachments. Meeting Management solutions that provide robust search functionality and user-friendly interfaces can encourage self-reliance and assist councils to move away from hard-copy business papers.  This frees up administrator time to focus on other valuable activities, like supporting councillors with complex procedures related to the code of meeting practice. Real-world Challenges: Tweed Shire Council's Experience In a recent interview, Stephanie Papadopoulos, Corporate Governance Manager at Tweed Shire Council, highlighted the struggles her and her team faced with large agendas. “Our papers can include thousands of pages, and within those, there’s large attachments and files made up of plans and diagrams,” she said. “We found our previous system would regularly not cope with the large and diverse attachments.” Discover how Tweed Shire Council took a holistic approach to meeting management resulting in a more straightforward, more efficient meeting process - Read more here A holistic approach to paperless governance became essential for a seamless transition beyond simple PDF bookmarking. The Resolve Meeting Management Platform offers a comprehensive solution, simplifying widespread adoption. “I’m glad we took the leap to a more holistic solution rather than something that might have been a minor improvement,” she admitted. “It’s definitely made our meeting process easier and more efficient, and I’m so pleased the organisation and councillors have adopted it.” A holistic approach to paperless governance became essential for a seamless transition beyond simple PDF bookmarking. The Resolve Meeting Management Platform offers a comprehensive solution, simplifying widespread adoption. Improving Access to Information for Better Decision Making Paperless governance extends beyond sustainability; it enhances transparency and government effectiveness. Kurtis Redman, Solution Lead for Resolve Meeting Management, emphasises the platform's role in providing real-time access to information, reducing the reliance on meeting administrators as a single source of truth. “It’s difficult to manage council without real-time access to information related to the history of agenda items or visibility on actions and resolutions. Councils typically lean heavily on meeting administrators for this information. This can tie up hours of time that could be spent on other tasks and frustrates stakeholders who feel they should be able to easily self-serve accurate information. It’s difficult to manage council without real-time access to information related to the history of agenda items or visibility on actions and resolutions. Councils typically lean heavily on meeting administrators for this information. Impact Beyond Sustainability The Unrealised Potential of Council Meetings report also uncovered that traditional systems don’t leverage technology to automate resolution management, this leads to limited reporting capability which makes managing council very difficult. Transposing information into Excel and leaving it to administrators to chase departments for updates is a duplication of work and adds another failure point to the process. Digital systems with robust reporting functionalities empower managers and administrators, ensuring transparent and efficient communication of necessary details between council and operations. Embracing paperless governance not only contributes to sustainability goals and cost savings but also enhances transparency and decision-making. Imagine the positive impact on your council's decisions and budget if you transform the accessibility of meeting information and reduced the administrative workload, printing and paper usage by 50% or more? A paperless future is not just eco-friendly; it's a strategic move towards more sustainable governance practices. For more information, you can download The Unrealised Potential of Council Meetings report here, and read discover how Tweed Shire Council took a holistic approach to meeting management resulting in a more straightforward, more efficient meeting process here.

Elections are a significant time for anyone who works in, or around Government. This post is written specifically for Local Government but is similar for all levels of Government. This year is a significant one for councils as Queensland (16 March 2024), New South Wales (14 September 2024), and Victoria (October 2024) have council elections. The year also includes the Queensland state election on 26 October 2024. This means many things for many councils. Some may be unable to make significant decisions in the immediate leadup to elections as they are in caretaker mode, and others may defer decisions until new councillors have been inducted into the council and have had a chance to understand council operations. Councillors need to be aware of the long-term impacts of decisions and will already have priorities in mind when deciding to run for council, so this is often prudent. Of course, the number of councillors expected to be re-elected also needs to be considered when making these decisions. This means many things for many councils. Some may be unable to make significant decisions in the immediate leadup to elections as they are in caretaker mode... Councils often have mixed feelings and debates about what projects should be approved prior to elections as they want to ensure any long-term direction of council is endorsed by the people who are elected. This is a good discussion point as this process ensures that the councillors have the ability to ensure that contracts and expenditures are focussed on council objectives - based on the revised objectives of the new council. This is often based on whether the expenditure is material, although it should not get in the way of a council providing services to the community or improving its operations. The area that is often debatable is improvements to the experience of councillors themselves. Certainly, the significance of the expenditure should be considered, but giving a good impression to councillors and making their job easier should be taken into account. So how can the Councillor experience be made easier? Meeting Management software is technology that councillors use as part of their council duties. They need to be trained when inducted into council, and it is advantageous if they only get trained once on a system that is easy to use and gives them the information they need. Meeting Management Software ensures Councillors are prepared for meetings. These tools (when implemented properly) ensure they are fully prepared for meetings. If they are trained on a solution that council staff don’t believe will give them a good experience, then a decision to move to a new solution should be investigated and should be considered in time to implement before a change of councillors. Audio visual solutions should also be considered. These are the solutions that will make the role of councillors easier. With elections happening this year, I think this is something that councils considering changes should prioritise. Of course, I am biased as I believe these solutions improve the Councillor experience, improve transparency for council officers and the public, and make the job easier for the council staff who run these meetings. With elections happening this year, I think this is something that councils considering changes should prioritise. The next council elections for each geographic location is QLD:16 March 2024 NSW: 14 September 2024 WA: 19 October 2025 VIC: October 2024 Northern Territory: August 2025 New Zealand: 12 October 2025 WA: 19 October 2025 Tasmania: October 2025 SA: November 2026