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When managing publicly funded projects, success is typically determined by whether they are completed on time and within budget, as well as how well community expectations are managed along the way. This is no small feat. And let’s face it: if you’re not hitting your deadline, you’re likely over budget because every day you miss completing your project costs money. Investing in the right tools to manage this is one key to success. Envisio Projects, released in November 2023, has been designed specifically for public sector organisations to help them address what matters most: visibility, collaboration, and transparent communication. And with these newly released features, you can further improve your ability to internally manage your projects and communicate project progress. Let’s face it: if you’re not hitting your deadline, you’re likely over budget because every day you miss completing your project costs money. Investing in the right tools to manage this is one key to success. Let’s break down the new features and enhancements… Envisio Projects now includes: Interactive Gantt Chart enhancements for improved visibility and productivity. OpenAPI to integrate data from other systems such as your budgeting software to maintain project budget and actuals. One-page project summary reports for easier, more transparent communication. Gantt charts are critical to getting visibility into project activity and ensuring things get done on time. We know Gantt charts are critical to getting visibility into project activity and ensuring things get done on time. It’s important to have the ability to visualise project timelines and see a snapshot of status to understand the big picture across the organisation–this is especially true when juggling multiple projects across multi-year timelines. Without visibility of timelines, dependencies, and your most important resource—people—you’re operating in the dark. Let us help you turn on the lights… Advanced Gantt filtering When looking across all projects, you can now filter information to show customised views. For example, as a Director or Portfolio Manager, you may want to configure the Gantt chart to only show projects marked with the ‘some disruption’ risk status within the ‘plan and design’ phase, and within a particular department. This view can then be downloaded as a CSV, image, or PDF to be used in meetings, presentations, or as a snapshot overview to support discussions in identifying issues or conflicts early. Multi-project visibility In addition, you can now easily view multiple projects and tasks at a bird’s eye view with the ‘zoom in’ or ‘zoom out’ feature, or toggle between day, month, quarter or year to give you the short to long-range project plan and better manage overlapping timelines. Drag-and-drop task management With this enhanced functionality, you can now update timelines with a simple drag-and-drop interface and create or delete dependencies. All updates are auto-reflected in the task and auto-sorted by start date to save you time and keep you organised. The interactive Gantt chart is about visually understanding task interdependence and timeframes, enabling you to easily make the necessary changes while looking at the big picture. Default Project Phases for General Projects General projects can take many forms, and we understand project managers need the flexibility to define the unique project phases for each type of project, however PMO teams also want to ensure consistency across their project templates.  Now you can have the best of both worlds, with default project phases introduced for General project templates. Improvements to Project Tasks (Filtering) Easily monitor the health of your sub-tasks with new filters in the project task list, allowing you to filter by complete/incomplete tasks, by employee or by due dates (including overdue tasks). Favourite Projects and Project Dashboards Expanding on our popular feature in Envisio Plans, now you can star/mark projects and project dashboards as favourites to easily and quickly access the ones that are most important to you. This includes a new filter option to simplify your projects list just to display your favourites! Your budget data auto-updated to project snapshots with OpenAPI Some of the biggest challenges of managing large-scale projects come down to working within different systems; keeping information siloed, creating manual work, or having incorrect or outdated information. Let’s use budgeting software as an example. Using our OpenAPI, Envisio Projects can now pull data from budgeting systems to show up-to-date ‘budget’ and ‘budget spent’ and then auto-calculate the ‘percentage of the budget spent’ for your project. This can provide a powerful summary when reviewed alongside the project progress percentage to provide a holistic view of project health. This summary data, which can be updated within Envisio on a frequency of your choosing, can be used in internal project snapshots, reports, and external project dashboards to showcase budget transparency and identify risks and solutions. Managing expectations with project summary reports Now that we’ve got a handle on managing time and budget, we can move to managing expectations.  We are big believers in the power of transparency; and our reporting capabilities run deep to meet the needs of different users and audiences. Envisio Projects integrates seamlessly with Envisio Plans to leverage the full power of Envisio’s reporting capabilities, but we also recognise that sometimes less is more. In addition to Project Dashboards, with the new Project Summary Report you can generate a one-page PDF overview of any project with just one click. These progress reports can be used among project teams to mitigate delays and cost overruns or shared with elected officials to foster transparent communication and gain a shared understanding of priorities. Ultimately, Envisio's goal is a positive perception of local government and the work being done. Trust comes from doing what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it. Large-scale projects (think bridges and roads) impact residents daily. Getting them done on time, within budget, and with regular communication along the way helps to build trust and community pride. For more information on this exciting enhancements, get in touch to speak to your Client Success Manager.

As state governments put pressure on councils to integrate risk management into overarching strategic planning and reporting frameworks, the question of HOW to integrate risk is top of mind. To answer that question, we unpack risk management and show how one innovative council is tackling the challenge. In any business, uncertainty is constant. From economic fluctuations to technological advancements and don’t we all know it—global pandemics, organisations of all kinds face an array of risks and opportunities that can significantly impact their operations, finances, and reputation. In turn, this can have dramatic effects on the achievement of strategic and operational goals. In navigating this uncertain and extraordinarily complex landscape, one indispensable tool stands out in an organisation’s arsenal: the risk register. This tool serves as a comprehensive inventory of potential risks, their likelihood, impact, and mitigation strategies. However, merely creating a risk register is not enough. Just like an organisation’s annual or long-term business plan, the real value lies in actively managing it and ensuring visibility and informed decision-making through regular tracking and reporting. Herein lies the headache for many councils. Exactly HOW do you do that, and how can you gain visibility over the impacts of your risks on your strategic and operational goals? Let’s take a closer look… Identify and assess your risks, then factor them into your plans Beyond mere identification, a risk register fosters a proactive approach to mitigation and action planning by providing organisations with a structured framework to systematically evaluate and assess each risk. In doing so, organisations can outline specific action plans, assign responsibilities, and then focus their efforts and resources effectively to pre-emptively address these potential threats. Akin to this process, constructing a well-designed and robust business plan also deploys the same proactive approach and utilises a similarly structured framework for prioritising focus and organisational resources towards future-planned goals and activities. Sounds all nice and logical at this point, doesn’t it? Fast-forward into the proverbial future and many organisations face scrutiny at the realisation that crucial risk mitigation actions that should have been implemented were overlooked or forgotten about, deprioritised, and that once perceived threat has now elevated, or worse, manifested. At best, the organisation is red-carded by its Audit, Risk, and Improvement Committee (ARIC) and advised to “do better.” At worst, by the time this happens, organisational progress is likely already being hampered by the effects. Sound familiar? If you are in this boat, you’re not alone. This is a common struggle that many organisations are facing currently, and it is a pitfall many fall victim to when developing risk plans in isolation from key business plans. Decentralised, all best intentions and efforts are undermined, as mitigation actions are not clearly visible or aligned with other planned/budgeted activities—this can lead to neglect, unnecessary duplication, reporting fatigue, or contradicting efforts against other budgeted priorities. This doesn’t have to be the way.  To demonstrate, I want to introduce a small but rather mighty council that is leading the way. Eagerly led by General Manager (Andrew Roach), Norfolk Island Regional Council (NIRC) is utilising the collective power of their Integrated Planning and Reporting Software Suite (Envisio) to gain increased visibility of their risks and align mitigation actions into their Strategic and Operational Plans. “At the end of the day, visibility and meaningful data is the key to effective decision-making. By documenting our risks and their corresponding control measures and then aligning these into our Delivery and Operational planning efforts, we are not only demonstrating our commitment to transparency and accountability, but we are far more likely to be successful in our efforts to accomplish them as we can factor these into our resource and budgetary commitments.” Andrew Roach, NIRC Strengthening Compliance and Governance: The Impending Changes for NSW and Norfolk Island’s Response In today's regulatory landscape, compliance is non-negotiable. Risk registers play a pivotal role in ensuring adherence to industry regulations and governance standards. In NSW, the Office of Local Government has introduced a renewed focus on integrating risk management into the integrated planning landscape, coming into effect on 1 July 2024. As part of this, there will be additional expectations for councils to demonstrate how they are aligning their risk management efforts into their operational activities (cue the collective gulp). By taking advantage of the centralisation and multi-linkage capabilities of Envisio to streamline progress reporting, Norfolk Island will be setting the standard for demonstrating their commitment to these new guidelines. Through regular tracking and reporting against this information, their management team will have timely insights into emerging issues and a better understanding of areas needing attention and the potential flow-on impacts to the achievement of key strategic goals or initiatives. “Armed with such information, our managers can then make informed choices regarding their priorities and resource allocation, which is a game changer for us." - Paul Martin, Corporate and Finance Manager, NIRC Enhancing Stakeholder Confidence and Trust It is no secret that we all have deeply entrenched in our intuitive psyche that trust must be earned, and in a government context, it is hugely evident that “government moves at the speed of trust." "Government moves at the speed of trust." Mike Bell, CEO, Envisio Therefore, in an interconnected world with information readily available at our fingertips, the ability to proactively manage and share information both internally and externally through transparent tracking and reporting platforms like Envisio can significantly increase confidence and foster trust amongst stakeholders, which is critical for strategic progress. Norfolk Island’s Audit and Risk Improvement Committee (ARIC) are provided access to a suite of interactive reports and dashboards produced from Envisio highlighting Council’s progress toward its strategic and operational risks. A comment made by a current standing ARIC Committee Member for Norfolk Island, Gary Mottau, expressed, “The control environment adopted by management needs to provide of existence throughout the reporting period. Mere attestation is not enough. ARIC members seek evidence that risk management information is assessed accurately and completely. The risk register should therefore be consistent with all other IP&R documents as the "single source of truth. The strength of Envisio to both provide this single-source-of-truth, but also enable Council to integrate its risk management activities into its existing Delivery Plan efforts is setting a new standard in delivering this evidence.  The confidence we now have as ARIC members has substantially increased as a result.  Anecdotally, there is no other Council I am aware of producing information in such a transparent and interactive way to their ARIC committees.” As many organisations head into the deep waters of their Operational Planning for the upcoming financial year and QLD councils welcome freshly elected members and Mayors, let this be a poignant reminder to consider how you might be incorporating your mitigation strategies into your business activities. A well-maintained risk register integrated into your Strategic and Operational Plans will serve as a cornerstone of effective organisational planning and strategic achievement.  However, to derive maximum value from this process, it is also crucial to ensure visibility through regular tracking and reporting. By doing so, your organisation will not only enhance its resilience but also foster trust, promote compliance, and empower informed decision-making to make more efficient strides toward community goals. In today's fast-paced environment, the ability to manage these two worlds effectively is not just a prudent practice – it is a strategic imperative.

Local government has an underlying principle - the most important decision-makers are elected to the council by the community, and they represent the community and make decisions that impact them. The strategies they set will impact the community for many years based on the plans they set in place and the rules relating to the development, asset management, infrastructure, rating, levies, water management, economic development, and community engagement. They approve budgets, long-term plans, and policies that impact many areas. The election cycle is an important element of democracy, and council staff must ensure continuity of service despite changes at the highest level. But can continuity exist with high rates of change and churn? And over the past four elections held in Queensland, what change have we encountered when it comes to elected officials?  We conducted research into this and were surprised to see that the number of changes in councillors after elections is far greater than we thought it would be. About the Research Queensland had an election in March, so we thought we would analyse elections after the significant number of amalgamations in 2008, as that election changed the complexion of councils forever. We analysed the change in the makeup of councils in the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 council elections. In 2024 the 77 Queensland Councils are represented by 77 Mayors and 501 councillors, but the makeup has changed over the four elections based on de amalgamations and the change in representation for individual councils over the past four elections. The number of council positions over those four terms is 1,956 councillors and 300 Mayors. We analysed mayors and councillors as separate cohorts. Our Findings The graph below illustrates the elected positions available over the four elections, with the numbers replaced by either retirement or election defeat. The graph below depicts the percentage of elected officials that have been replaced. These numbers reveal a stark reality-57.7% of mayors, 51.4% of councillors, and an overall 52.3% of elected officials have been replaced over the course of these four elections. If we look at how the makeup of councils changed in broad numbers, this shows that there are significant councillors who don’t run for re-election, but there are significant councillors who are voted out, although retirements are the key reason for the churn of Councillors. Mayors have more churn, but they are more likely to be voted out than retiring, although there are significant numbers of both. If we look at these two cohorts graphically, we see how significant the churn is. The changeover of Mayors is significant. There are 13 of 77 councils that have had Mayoral changes at all of the four elections and a further 19 that have had the mayor replaced at three of the four elections. There are only three Mayors who have been leading their Councils in Queensland since our analysis began in 2008. They are John Ferguson of Bulloo Shire Council, John Wharton of Richmond Shire Council, and Eric (Rick) Britton of Boulia Shire Council. There are 13 councils that have only had one change of Mayor over those four terms. Beneath the Numbers - Churn by Region, Size and Representation Overall, there are 24 councils with a churn of elected officials in excess of 60%, with a few at 90%.  There are local variations, and although we don’t intend to publish individual council data at this point if we look at regions, it shows the regional movements. The largest turnover is in our Far North Queensland cohort at 62.8%, and the lowest turnover is in the South East Queensland councils at 35.8%, with all other councils sitting between these two extremes. Churn % by Size - Council Population If we look at trends based on the size of councils and their populations, we see that the size of a council has a significant bearing on the longevity of elected members. Small is defined as councils under 20,000 population, small-medium between 20,000 and 65,000 people, medium 65,000 people to 140,000 people, medium – large as 140,000 to 250, 000 people and large as any councils above this number. These statistics could lead to a number of conclusions, including remuneration, support provided, and the fact that most of the larger councils have divisional representation. Brisbane City Council has the smallest churn of any council in Queensland, at 23%. Churn Rate - Divisional vs Undivided Queensland councils are either divisional or undivided. Divisional councils have councillors representing a region, whilst undivided councils elect councillors who represent the whole region. Divisional representation may be a factor in the longevity of elected officials as divisional elected officials change by an average of 44.9% each term, while undivided councils change by an average of 57.7% over the four elections we have analysed. These statistics could lead to several conclusions, including less cost to campaign, local representation, community of interest representation, and councillors' more likely recognition in their local area. Queensland has 23 divisional councils and 54 undivided councils. Mayor Insights There are likely many reasons for the turnover of elected officials, but this paper will focus briefly on the impacts on the council itself. The role of a councillor is defined by the Local Government Act 2009 and... Is an active and contributing member of the local government. Makes considered and well-informed decisions. Advocates on behalf of constituents. Represents the overall public interest of the whole local government area, together with their geographical division. Meets formally with other councillors, with an equal voice to make decisions by voting on matters. Is responsible for strategic vision and planning for the future of the local government area to deliver outcomes for their community. Is not responsible for the day-to-day administration of Council, operational matters, or overseeing the work done by local government employees. Cannot direct any Council employees. The mayor has the same duties as councillors, but as part of the leadership role, the mayor is involved in advancing community cohesion and promoting civic awareness. The mayor is also the principal member and spokesperson for the Council, including representing the council's views on its local priorities. Promoting partnerships with other stakeholders is another important role of the mayor. The mayor presides over the council meetings and manages the conduct of participants. They also preside over regular General Council Meetings, where councillors debate and vote on motions, and manage the conduct of participants at these council meetings. Mayors need to understand the council's governance processes and require support from Council staff, especially governance staff. The following graph shows the breakdown of Mayors after each election. The 2012 election was slightly abnormal as it was the one straight after the amalgamations. Significant numbers of mayors were not councillors in the previous terms. 35% of mayors elected in 2024 were not councillors or Mayors in the previous term. 22% of mayors were councillors in the previous term, and 43% were re-elected. This creates significant work for council staff as they need to train not only a significant number of new councillors in the governance process but also the new chairperson of the council meetings. The elected officials will need to be trained in how council meetings are run, how they get information for council meetings, how to vote, where resolutions stand, etc. In addition to council meetings, they will need to understand council plans, budgets, and policies and have access to that information. Of course, with a new council, many of these areas will change. Councillors will also need to be aware of their responsibilities, which include being spokespeople for their council and will need to be trained in their responsibilities, with social media being a significant area. This is significant work for council staff. The importance of this research Why did Redman Solutions conduct this research? Because we wanted to understand one of the biggest events for local government staff. Our council meeting software, strategic planning software, and social media archiving solutions support governance staff, and this research allows us to understand the impact of elections based on data rather than the significant workload we were seeing. This data gave us an understanding of that workload and why the ability to create good meeting management solutions will make that changeover easier, why good strategic planning software that is easy to use can help in the transparency and transfer of stewardship of plans, and why good social media monitoring, archiving, and searching can ensure communications are managed well. , We believe there should be more research done on why councillors and mayors retire or are voted out, and there could be many reasons including: They achieved what they had set out to do when they decided to be councillors. They realised it was more work than they originally anticipated. They changed priorities. The realised they couldn’t achieve what they set out to do - or, Community changes There is great change at every election in Queensland Local Government, and these changes may bring fresh ideas and energy to councils which may be great, but this research shows that it creates significant change every four years. If this trend, which seems very significant continues, it is fair to say that this will continue into the future and councils need to plan with this change in mind.

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.