In late 2023, Waikato District Council embarked on a transformative journey to streamline and innovate its council meeting processes. We spoke with Karla Brotherston, Democracy Advisor, and Tom Rowland, Democracy Advisor, about their experiences, implementation approach, and additional benefits they are now experiencing beyond the initial objectives. With the council now able to stream Hearings and Deliberation Meetings with ease, the possibilities are endless.

   

The Need for an Innovative Meeting Solution   

Before adopting Resolve, Waikato District Council faced numerous challenges with its agenda-building process. Reports were initially submitted in Word, which required extensive layout adjustments due to varied formatting. Converting documents to PDF and circulating them to numerous team folders was becoming time-consuming.

Publishing agendas online was another lengthy and manual task for the team. It often resulted in inconsistent formatting, with varied spacing and fonts and frequent template updates, adding to the frustration. Overall, the process was inefficient and inconsistent, but the team also wanted a secure and future-proofed solution, as Tom emphasised.

Karla reflected on these issues: "Our agenda-building process was pretty time-consuming, and there was so much room for error. The reports were created in Word, and so many different formats would exist. We then had to convert each individual report to PDF and then merge them to a singular PDF with bookmarks and page numbering added. Following this, we would circulate the finalised agenda(s) to around 15 different team folders, plus publish them online. It was such a lengthy, manual process, and we knew we needed to streamline it and create some consistency."

During the research stages, council clearly defined its objectives and started searching for an innovative solution to meet its requirements; Resolve emerged as the ideal choice for a variety of reasons.
 

“Our agenda-building process was pretty time-consuming, and there was so much room for error. The reports were created in Word, and so many different formats would exist. It was such a lengthy, manual process, and we knew we needed to streamline it and create some consistency."

 

Implementation Success – A Staggered Rollout Approach    

To tackle the project, Project GEMS (Governance & Elected Member (Meetings) Solution) was formed—a team led by a project manager and the Democracy Manager, Gaylene Kanawa . Guided by Redman Solutions, Waikato adopted a staggered approach to implementation—the rollout started with meeting types and agenda layouts, followed by report writer training and then training with executive assistants (EAs) and various departments. Training sessions were conducted with the Executive Leadership Team, and ongoing training was provided for report writers to ensure everyone was comfortable with the new system.

Karla highlights how the staggered approach was crucial to their success, particularly during a busy period, allowing them to manage various meeting types effectively.

“We took a staggered approach to implementation and worked closely with the team at Redman Solutions. Once Project GEMS was created, we all knew our roles, and this made the transition quite smooth. It was important to have the report writers trained and comfortable with the platform before we moved on to elected members, and this approach allowed for a manageable implementation and gradual adaptation,” she explained.

During the rollout, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Users appreciated the intuitive and consistent interface and the transparency of the approval workflow.
.
“The feedback from the teams was excellent,” said Tom. “They could all see the benefits and loved how intuitive it was. As you click along and move throughout the platform, it’s all self-explanatory and just makes sense. Teams also loved the accountability that was now visible - it’s great to be able to see the approval workflows at any time and know where anything is up to.

​

“The feedback from the team was excellent.

They could all see the benefits and loved how intuitive it was.

As you click along and move throughout the platform,

it’s all self-explanatory and just makes sense."

 

Beyond the Council Meetings – Resolve for Hearings and Deliberation Meetings   

Resolve has proved beneficial not only for council meetings but also for Hearings and Deliberation Meetings. The platform facilitates hosting hearings with ease, enables live streaming of meetings—which was also previously a drawn out process and hard to find on their website —and provides bookmarking for on-demand access to extended meetings.

​

While Resolve wasn't originally built for multi-day hearings, some collaboration and quick thinking from team Redman and Waikato District Council meant they were able to make it work. They are now able to duplicate the agenda for each day and offer submitters the ability to attend either in person or via zoom - this seamless solution resulted in success for council's first multi-day hearings.  

 

Gaylene also expressed her feedback on working with the Redman Team to make these enhancements.​

​

"I have been impressed with Redman’s responsiveness, proactiveness and swift movement on enhancements to the system," she said. "Our Councillors and organisation are both embracing the new system and see great value."

​

"I have been impressed with Redman’s responsiveness,

proactiveness and swift movement on enhancements to

the system."

​

Efficiency, Consistency and Automation – The Key Benefits so far...   

From enhanced tracking capabilities to automation that has made a world of difference, while the key benefits of Resolve have been proven, it’s apparent that council is taking full advantage of further updates and enhancements to the platform.

For the team, the ability to see the status of the agenda and the approval workflow at a glance reduced the need for constant follow-ups. This enhanced tracking capability streamlined the workflow, providing clear visibility into the approval process and significantly reducing administrative overhead. However, they will now be working with the ELT to reduce the number of requests for extension to agenda closing timeframes to ensure urgent business is able to be discussed, as this continues to put pressure on the Democracy team, being left with a day at best to finalise agendas (enabled relatively smoothly by the introduction of the Resolve system).

Processes have also been streamlined by centralising everything in one place, and the ability to live-stream meetings has significantly increased public engagement.

“Resolve has reduced the need for multiple clicks and manual adjustments. This centralisation has streamlined the entire process, making it more efficient and user-friendly for all involved,” said Karla. “Live Streaming has also allowed us to reach a wider audience and gives the public greater transparency.”

​

"Resolve has reduced the need for multiple clicks and

manual adjustments. This centralisation has streamlined

the entire process, making it more efficient and user-friendly

for all involved. Live Streaming has also allowed us to

reach a wider audience and gives the public greater transparency."

   

Council has also taken advantage of a more recent enhancement, allowing them to automate the distribution of appropriate information to each stakeholder, speeding up the process and ensuring confidentiality where needed. This automation ensures that sensitive information remains secure while still providing relevant updates to the public and other stakeholders.

​

“One of the benefits is the ability to automatically distribute our open and public excluded minutes to each stakeholder. This automation means we no longer have to separate both types of minutes , and this speeds up our processes even more.”​​​

 

Waikato District Council's Top Tips and Advice for the Successful Implementation of Resolve

 

Karla’s Advice  

“For large councils with numerous meetings, I definitely recommend adopting a staggered approach and looking at what else you can achieve with the platform. This will allow you to also understand your internal processes and requirements and allow for a smoother transition.”

   

Tom’s Advice

“Avoid information overload and take the time to become experts so you can iron out any kinks. It’s important also to balance the implementation process with day-to-day responsibilities.”