Knowledge sharing
LGs COLLABORATE TO BOOST DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION DIGITIAL TRANSFORMATION IS A HUGE, BUT NECESSARY, UNDERTAKING. COLLABORATION BETWEEN THREE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICES HAS BUILT A FOUNDATION FOR RESOURCE AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING.
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esource constraints often thwart the digital transformation plans of local government departments. For three South Australian councils, the key to speeding up plans and enjoying success in a particularly challenging year lay in collaboration. We spoke with Karin Swiatnik, LGITSA President, City of Charles Sturt, to learn more about the benefits benefits of pulling together to enable knowledge and resource sharing. HOW IMPORTANT IS DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT TODAY? Digital transformation is becoming increasingly important. Like all industry sectors, we had to move quickly in
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response to COVID-19 and, as such, finding finding ways to build resilience and manage uncertainty became key. In fact, recent research has shown that nationally, digital transformation was the highest-ranking priority for local government organisations this year, proving it’s now critical.
Other key challenges include the high proportion of legacy systems that exist in digital environments, technical debt and the vulnerability to cybersecurity attacks.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES FACED BY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN ACHIEVING THIS? Local governments are often time poor and don’t have the same level of resources as other levels of government or big businesses. Because of this,
WHAT ARE SOME WAYS THAT LOCAL GOVERNMENTS CAN COMBAT CHALLENGES WITH DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND OTHER KEY PRIORITIES LIKE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND TECH ADOPTION? Technology adoption can and should play an important role in tackling these challenges head on, and collaboration is
change and digital adoption can be slower and, at times, stifle stifle innovation. That’s why adopting the right type of technology is so important, as well as collaboration across the board.
also critical. By breaking down silos and creating a more collaborative public sector, we have the potential to unlock far greater capabilities and learn from one another.
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