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SPECIAL PROJECTS INITIATIVE
These are exceptional and one off initiatives. They must assist the community and be over and above Council’s day to day activities.
Judging Criteria
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➢ Clarity of the initiative’s objectives and outcomes ➢ Innovativeness ➢ Effectiveness ➢ Cost benefits of the initiative ➢ Demonstration of an effective / innovative approach and outcomes
Winner
➢ Casey City Council, INNovation Crowd
Finalists
➢ Ballarat City Council, 'Save Her Majesty’s – The Time is Now' campaign ➢ Casey City Council, Commit to Casey ➢ Casey City Council, Arts Agitators ➢ Gannawarra Shire Council, Leitchville Community Garden
WINNER Special Projects Initiative
CASEY CITY COUNCIL INNOVATION CROWD
Casey City Council has positioned its region as the new home of innovation thanks to INNovation Crowd, a program which is driving an entrepreneurial culture by supporting local start up businesses, creating jobs and attracting investment into the region.
While Casey was home to a dynamic, vibrant and emerging local entrepreneurial business community, start up businesses were fragmented, disconnected and generally lacked the collaboration required to support a sustainable ecosystem.
INNovation Crowd was formed in late 2018 to find these businesses, nurture them and retain them. A bottom up approach was adopted to uncover grassroots innovation and steadily built a community of like minded individuals who would benefit from an ecosystem designed to encourage new ideas and embrace emerging trends.
Council engaged several local business leaders recognised for their outstanding contribution in their fields, to collaborate with economic development officers to develop a bespoke Vision 2 Version (V2V) resource for the INNovation Crowd inner circle members.
The V2V resource is designed to navigate start ups through stages of ideation, validation and scale using 10 modules which members can complete at their own pace depending on their stage of development.
To complement the resource framework, the program also features a series of networking events called Humble Hustle. These allow participants to share their journey with an extended stakeholder group and offer a non intimidating environment for new members to explore opportunities to be involved in the program.
While other start up initiatives maintain an exclusive commercial focus, this program supports outcomes for the broader local community. Council recognised the value in leveraging the collective assets of local academics, entrepreneurs and community leaders by hosting bi-monthly Think Tanks. These forums are designed to explore some of the most complex issues facing the region and encourages members to work together to propose innovative solutions.
The goal in the first 12 months was to establish a solid foundation for local entrepreneurs that could continue beyond the first year. The short term goals focused on building an ecosystem, with a long-term objective of creating jobs. All expectations were surpassed with the program established, several start ups already in a growth phase, and further growth and expansion planned across the region.
The Council believes that only by taking both a proactive and reactive position, can Local Government truly create a sustainable economy. They have listened to their community to better understand their needs and concerns and then proactively created an environment of collaboration by building the ecosystem from the ground up, rather than taking a top down approach.
The INNovation Crowd also aligns with the Council’s vision to create Australia’s Most Liveable City, as well as its Economic Development Strategy and Vision to facilitate the creation of local jobs and build a smart economy.
FINALISTS Special Projects Initiative
The 'Save Her Majesty’s – The Time Is Now' campaign, launched in July 2018, aimed to harness the Ballarat community’s love of Her Majesty’s to save the 144 year old theatre.
Her Majesty’s – mainland Australia’s best preserved and oldest continuously operational theatre – required $15 million for urgent works to bring it up to safe and professional standards.
The campaign centred on the nostalgia of Her Majesty’s which has hosted some of the world’s best performers and captured the hearts of generations of local residents and performers from all over the country. Council also worked closely with the committee of the Royal South Street Society whose 125 year old Eisteddfod runs from the theatre each year. A digital engagement pack was created and shared with key partners encouraging them to show their support for the project by writing letters and posting on social media. A regular EDM was also created using the campaign branding to update interested people on the progress of the campaign.
The community was further engaged through group tours of the theatre and drop in information centres at the local library.
The campaign resulted in a $10 million contribution from the Victorian Government and a $5 million funding promise from local Federal Member Catherine King in the event that a Labor Government was elected at the 2019 Federal election. It also saw more than $100,000 donated to the cause by the local community, over 2,800 signatures on a change.org petition, and hundreds of messages of support on the savehermaj.com website.
CASEY CITY COUNCIL COMMIT TO CASEY
Commit to Casey was Casey City Council’s advocacy campaign for better roads and rail in the lead up to the 2018 Victorian State Election.
The Council adopted a principle based methodology to identify advocacy priorities and engage with residents and redefine the way Casey educates, activates, and advocates. The innovative approach improved advocacy practice and built capacity in the community that translated into $1 billion in direct and $2.6 billion in indirect election commitments and funding within the City of Casey.
Commit to Casey’s primary objective was to receive commitments from both sides of politics for $1.2 billion to fix local roads and $1.5 billion to extend and duplicate the Cranbourne railway line to Clyde. In addition to these tangible objectives, the campaign also sought to identify and build strategic relationships, enhance community support and confidence in Casey, and become a more trusted voice. The campaign involved a three phased approach. Phase one (educate) involved identifying advocacy priorities while establishing new and strengthening existing connections with stakeholders who could play a role in the campaign. Phase 2 (activate) moved to intense campaign preparation, building on engagement with communities of concern through best practice and capacity building. Phase 3 (advocate) focused on the campaign launch which included communications, outreach, media and government relations.
Underpinning the broader Commit to Casey campaign was an innovative principle based methodology which helped identify advocacy priorities and build the capacity of residents to become active advocates. This approach is now well defined and tested and has been used in other Casey advocacy initiatives.
FINALISTS Special Projects Initiative
CASEY CITY COUNCIL ARTS AGITATORS
Arts Agitators is a youth arts collective program that provides opportunities for young artists aged 15-25 to connect, learn and create, while developing and delivering original art events which are held in Bunjil Place, the arts and cultural precinct of the City of Casey.
The program provides professional development opportunities, access to world class artists, the opportunity to present and or perform their art form, and the chance to connect and collaborate with other young, emerging artists.
Arts Agitators functions to create career development opportunities and positive mental wellbeing outcomes for all program participants. It aims to:
• Improve the mental wellbeing of Casey’s young creatives
• Build resilience and confidence in young people • Foster ongoing and self initiated engagement with arts programing
• Build connections between the young people
• Create opportunities for participants to build connections with leading arts institutions and organisations to progress career development.
Since the program began in February 2018, the group has successfully delivered an exhibition, hosted a discussion forum as part of the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival, and participated in development opportunities such as artist talks and meetings with industry leading producers.
The co design approach of the program is innovative and best practice for community ensuring young people are empowered to develop their own projects and determine which experiences they would like to learn from.
The development of the Leitchville Community Garden aimed to provide one of Gannawarra Shire Council’s smallest communities – located in an area impacted by the decline in the dairy sector and water availability – with a space that residents can be proud of.
Opened in October 2018, the garden was developed following a request from the town’s 250 plus residents for a space to socialise. The completed project includes tables and chairs, built in game boards and vegetable beds that the community is encouraged to tend to.
A gate installed into the side fence links the park to the next door bakery and to the main street, and a six foot high aluminium fence on one side has been removed and replaced by an attractive red gum rail fence which opens the area up to the community. The project was completed at minimal cost, with Council contributing $6,450 for materials and $2,100 for labour completed by Council staff members. Cost savings were made thanks to residents assisting in the clearing of rubbish and using in house Council expertise and plants from the Council nursery.
Twelve months after its opening, residents continue to use the garden as a place to socialise and relax. The vicinity has become a civic hub for the community, linking in with the adjoining Rural Transaction Centre, local bakery and the free camping precinct. With community support the garden has continued to grow and thrive.
