AGENDA R

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Implementation Advisory Group

 

MONDAY 15 AUGUST 2016

 

6:30pm

  

 


Implementation Advisory Group

15 August 2016

 

 

INDEX

 

 

1          Welcome by Administrator

 

2          Acknowledgement of Country

 

3          Apologies

 

4          Disclosures of Interest

 

5          Confirmation of Minutes                                                                                   PAGE #

 

            Minutes of 14 July 2016 meeting of Implementation Advisory Group                         3

 

6          Items for Discussion

  

IAG0816 Item 1   INTEGRATION AND INNOVATION PLAN  – Monthly Update                  5

 

IAG0816 Item 2   ICT ROAD MAP - Status Update                                                               13

 

IAG0816 Item 3   STATEMENT OF VISION AND PRIORITIES                                           18

 

IAG0816 Item 4   CHARACTERISTICS OF A STRONG COUNCIL                                    20   


Implementation Advisory Group

15 August 2016

 

 

  


Implementation Advisory Group

15 August 2016

 

Item No:         IAG0816 Item 1

Subject:         INTEGRATION AND INNOVATION PLAN  – Monthly Update  

File Ref:         16/6012/90602.16         

Prepared By: Nellette Kettle - Director, Innovation and Strategy  

Authorised By: Vanessa Chan - Interim General Manager

 

SUMMARY

This report provides the IAG with a high level summary of progress against the actions in the Integration and Innovation Plan (i-Plan) and advises of a number of proposed changes to the Plan.

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

THAT the report be received and noted and the IAG provide any feedback.

 

 

 

BACKGROUND

The purpose of the Integration and Innovation Plan (i-Plan) is to guide the establishment of the Inner West Council, with the focus being the integration period in the lead up to the return of the elected Council in September 2017.

 

The i-Plan is an iterative roadmap that will be updated and amended to reflect organisational needs and priorities throughout this period.  The plan currently comprises a total of 89 individual actions support the integration and early innovation work. 

 

As at 5 August 2016, 33 of the 89 actions have been completed.  A status overview against the actions is provided at Attachment 1.

 

Progress in relation to the seven key strategic areas is highlighted below:

 

Service integration and review

·    Role statements for 20 new positions have been created

·    Each role has been evaluated for grading and remuneration

·    A recruitment strategy has been determined (having regard to current industrial requirements)

·    A report has been prepared for the newly established Joint Consultative Committee (JCC)

·    The positions are ready to be advertised following the meeting of the JCC

·    Whilst the formal structure is being established, early service integration work continues in the background.  Examples include:

Libraries have commenced shared events programming

IWC events programs are being consolidated

Grants programs are being harmonised and consolidated

Sustainability programs are being integrated

Common project management methodologies are being implemented across the capital works program

Consolidation of major procurements has commenced

New internal policies and practices are being developed

Resources are being shared across IWC to deliver services

Contemporary local democracy

 

·    The IAG has given in-principle support to development of a new local democracy framework

·    Civic reception has been organised for former committee members on 18 August

·    Model for new engagement forums is being developed with the first forum likely to be held on 5 September with a focus on the development of Council’s Statement of Vision and Priorities

·    The second forum will focus on Stronger Communities projects.

Integrated planning

 

·    Consolidated 16/17 Operational Plan and Budget exhibited and adopted

·    Reporting for final quarter of 15/16 Operational Plan completed

·    Process drafted for the development of the Statement of Vision and Priorities (refer separate agenda item)

Equipping and supporting Council staff to be resilient through change

 

·    Resilience training rolled out across IWC staff

·    ‘Love it, leave it or change it’ workshops conducted in all teams

·    Commenced organisational values project

·    General Manager ‘roadshows’ and videos

·    Fortnightly staff newsletter

·    Directors have established regular program of staff meetings

·    Joint Consultative Committee membership has been established, with an extended membership at this important time in the Council’s formation

·    Lunch-time sessions on navigating change delivered by EAP provider

·    ‘Change champs’ program being developed

Organisational re-design

 

·    Interim Executive structure in place

·    Organisational re-design project team formed

·    Early scoping work commenced

Systems integration and transformation (refer separate agenda item)

 

·    Systems inventory completed

·    Procurement in progress for consultant to develop ICT roadmap (two stage process, with second stage closing 24 August)

·    Contract awarded to develop dark fibre connectivity between sites (2-3 month project)

·    Inner West Council website established

·    Inner West Council email addresses active 

Organisational development

 

·    Integration and Innovation Plan developed

·    Interim structure for the Innovation and Strategy Directorate has been finalised and report prepared for first meeting of Joint Consultative Committee

·    16/17 IWC Learning and Development Plan nearing completion

·    Leading Through Change seminar/Q&A scheduled for managers 

 


FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

A budget for the merger implementation is being developed and will be considered as part of the quarter 1 budget review process.

 

 

OTHER STAFF COMMENTS

Nil

 

 

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

Nil

 

 

CONCLUSION

This report provides the IAG with a high level summary of progress against the actions in the Integration and Innovation Plan (i-Plan).

 

 

 

ATTACHMENTS

1.

i-Plan update as at 8 August 2016

  


Implementation Advisory Group

15 August 2016

 

 






Implementation Advisory Group

15 August 2016

 

Item No:         IAG0816 Item 2

Subject:         ICT ROAD MAP - Status Update 

File Ref:         16/6012/90640.16        

Prepared By: Emma Lannan - Executive Policy Officer, Marrickville 

Authorised By: Nellette Kettle – Director Innovation and Strategy

 

SUMMARY

This report provides the IAG with background on the current state of ICT integration for the Inner West Council and work undertaken to date.

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

THAT the report be received and noted.

 

 

 

 

BACKGROUND

Developing an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Strategy to guide the selection and roll out of ICT systems across Council is a key deliverable of the Integration and Innovation Plan (I-Plan). The integration of ICT systems is one of the most important and challenging actions, due to the high levels of complexity, business impact and financial cost. On 14 July 2016, the Independent Advisory Group requested regular progress reports on ICT implementation. This report provides background to the current state, outlines the work undertaken to date and anticipated actions over the next period.

 

ICT - Current state

 

ICT is characterized by its complexity, interconnections and critical dependencies across the various systems and applications, connectivity and networks and infrastructure.

 

 

 

Infrastructure

 

ICT infrastructure is the foundation and includes physical hardware (servers, computers) as well as the enabling systems (firewall, disaster recovery, back-up and storage).

 

Following is an overview of the physical infrastructure that supports staff (and public) access of ICT.

 

Infrastructure

Current situation (approx.)

Corporate users

1250

Public access

(e.g. via desktop in libraries)

65

Remote access

Up to 100

Wi-Fi networks

13 sites

Internet speeds (Varies across size/type of site)

20 Megabit per second – 10,000 Gigabit per second

 

 

The key issue for infrastructure is the low levels of correlation between existing infrastructure set ups

 

Correlation between infrastructure systems

An audit undertaken during due diligence identified a total of 26 ‘systems’ operating to support ICT infrastructure across the amalgamated council. Of these, 21 are different.

 

The ICT Strategy will provide a staged approach to resolving infrastructure divergence. This issue requires a strategic, long-term assessment of options due to the expense of ICT infrastructure, and it ability to enhance or limit options relating to connectivity and systems and applications in the future.

 

 

Connectivity

 

The physical and virtual connectivity between sites’ networks is an integral component to integrating directories and networks. Work was commissioned in June 2016 to connect the existing service centre/administration sites via dark fibre infrastructure. Dark fibre was selected due to its reliability, high level of security and flexibility of control of Council’s bandwidth, network protocols and WANs and is anticipated for completion in October 2016.

 

The key issues for connectivity are:

1)   Consolidation of directories

2)   Integrated email systems

 

Consolidation of domains and directories

The consolidation of domains and directories will support similar systems (such as email and other corporate systems) to be integrated and accessible across various locations. Resolving this issue will dramatically improve staff mobility across sites, removing the need for remote log-in or patches and increasing staff efficiency and productivity.

 

The ICT managers have scoped a project to engage an appropriate supplier to undertake the consolidation of the domains, directories and email systems. This work is estimated to cost between $100,000 and $150,000 and is estimated to take about six weeks. Similarly to the dark fibre solution, this work is required to be undertaken regardless of the broader ICT Strategy.

 

Integrated email systems

Email is the primary means of communication internally and externally for staff. During July, ICT teams have piloted and tested the new domain email address (“@innerwest.gov.au”). A full roll out of the new email address was initiated on Friday 5 August. Currently, the three former council email systems ‘coexist’ with the new email domain. Emails sent to former addresses will be diverted to the new email domain for some time into the future. From an external perspective, council will be operating using the email for the new organisation. However, at the backend, staff do not yet have fully functioning email systems and directories.

 

At a practical level, staff are unable to see their colleagues’ availabilities via calendars, book meeting rooms or resources in other, unconnected sites and require a static list of telephone numbers in order to contact their peers. While not insurmountable issues, these are currently barriers to doing everyday business efficiently and effectively.

 

The proposed solution is the consolidation of domains and directories, outlined above, which will allow for full integration of email, calendars and resource bookings.

 

 

Systems and applications

 

Systems and applications are – the most visible and familiar component of ICT, and also the most prolific.

 

The key issues with systems and applications are:

1)   Low levels of correlation between existing systems and applications

2)   High degree of interdependence between systems and applications

 

Correlation between systems and applications

Due diligence audit of all systems and applications identified 155 systems and applications in operation, with the majority (125) being different. The table below details the total systems/applications in operation and levels of similarity/difference. It also provides examples of the types of functions supported.

 


 

Total systems

Similar

Different

Examples of functions supported

Business systems

126

14%

86%

·      Finance

·      Records management

·      Customer request

·      GIS/mapping

·      Asset management

·      Fleet management

Applications

29

38%

62%

·      Email

·      Telephony

·      Call centre

·      IT Helpdesk

·      Desktop operating system

·      Project management

·      Internet browser

·      Database management

 

 

Interdependence between systems and applications

In addition to the number and variation of systems, there is a high degree of dependency between systems and applications. Many systems are integrated to each other, for example, records management, email and customer request systems. Standard applications, such as word processing, are linked to business paper processing applications and records management. Selecting one system or application over another will have ramifications for those applications and processes integrated to each other. The historical use of niche systems that have been designed for the needs of specific, local government functions is an additional level of complexity. Unlike other industries, organisations or businesses, the diversity of business processes, regulatory and operational functions of councils has resulted, over time, in the use of a number of sector-specific, integrated systems.

 

 

The proposed solution to address these issues is the development of the ICT Strategy, to provide a roadmap for the prioritisation and selection of fit-for-purpose systems and applications.

 


 

Progress to date

 

There have been some key achievements for ICT integration since proclamation.

 

1)   Upgrade to Microsoft Office 2013 for former Ashfield systems has been completed and will allow for email system to be transferred to Microsoft Outlook. As a result, email integration will be relatively simple, once consolidation of directories is completed.

2)   Interim remote access and ICT mobility for the Executive Team has been implemented to support Directors and the General Manager to work across all sites.

3)   Online collaboration portal established to enable staff working on integration projects and sharing of documentation.

4)   Establishing of a new webpage, detailed below

 

Inner West webpage

A veneer webpage was quickly established, following proclamation. Since May 2016, it has been progressively developed, expanded and integrated to the existing, three legacy sites. A more uniform design has been applied to the website, and legacy sites. Universal content on the main site (www.innerwest.nsw.gov.au) is rapidly expanding. High level navigational tabs have been added to provide space for media releases, announcements and a focus on promoting services valued by the community such as libraries, aquatic centres and community facilities.

 

One of the complexities of the website is the different back end systems and e-business enablement of the three former councils. A long term staged approach is required for development of the website and decommissioning of the old websites in order for functionality not to be lost.

 

In the short term, the focus is on finalising architecture documentation for a permanent and website. A content merging review will commence in the coming months, as part of the integration process.  Aligned with Council’s requirement to complete an Inclusivity Action Plan in 2016-17, the new website is working towards compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

 

 

ICT Strategy

 

To navigate the complexity, scope and potential cost of the project, sound specialist advice is being sought to develop an ICT Strategy and provide the high-level implementation plan required to transform Council’s ICT systems.

 

The objective of the Strategy is to identify options that are fit-for-purpose, cost-effective and future-proof. To do this, it anticipated that a suitable specialist will:

·    Assess the current state and future scenarios or options for critical and high importance systems, applications and infrastructure

·    Facilitate the selection and engagement of suppliers and vendors

·    Provide strategic advice regarding prioritisation and staging of implementation

 

Key considerations in this process include Council’s current internal capacity to implement ICT transformation, future capacity to support and maintain systems/infrastructure; technological limitations, risks and viability of the consolidation or replacement systems; and value for money and cost-effectiveness of options.

 

The second stage of procurement is a current market transaction and therefore details are unable to be discussed in a public report. It is anticipated that upon appointing a successful supplier, the ICT Strategy will be delivered within an 8 to 12 week timeframe.

 

Leveraging State Government

Opportunities to leverage recent state government experience in transforming and consolidating multiple agencies’ ICT systems are being explored. Utilising the state government’s data centre (for off-site storage) may be a specific opportunity. This will be better assessed in the context of the ICT Strategy and future plans for secure data storage (via a data centre, cloud or on-site storage).

 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Installation of dark fibre is valued at $178,200. Commissioning of the ICT Strategy is estimated to cost between $100,000 and $200,000. Consolidation of drives and directories is estimated to cost between $100,000 and $150,000.

ICT transformation is arguably the most expensive aspect of organisational integration and is likely to have much of the Merger Implementation Funds dedicated to its roll out.

 

 

CONCLUSION

This report provides the IAG with background on the current state of ICT integration for the Inner West Council and work undertaken to date.

 

 

 

ATTACHMENTS

Nil.


Implementation Advisory Group

15 August 2016

 

Item No:         IAG0816 Item 3

Subject:         STATEMENT OF VISION AND PRIORITIES  

File Ref:         16/6012/90651.16         

Prepared By: Prue Foreman - Coordinator Communication and Engagement, Marrickville  

Authorised By: Nellette Kettle – Director Innovation and Strategy

 

SUMMARY

This report outlines the proposed approach to the development of the Statement of Vision and Priorities which Council must adopt following community input by 31 December 2016.

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

THAT the report be received and noted and the IAG provide any feedback.

 

 

 

 

BACKGROUND

Council must adopt a Statement of Vision and Priorities following community input by 31 December 2016 to meet the State Government’s requirements for merged councils.

 

The development of the Statement of Vision and Priorities is a key strategic action in Council’s i-Plan which guides Council’s integration and early transformation work until September 2017.

 

This work will underpin the 2017/18 Operational Plan and Budget, as well as feeding into the development of the new Community Strategic Plan, which must be prepared for consideration of the new Council by 30 September 2017.

 

Proposed approach

 

Inputs to the development of the Statement of Vision and Priorities will include:

 

·    the Community Strategic Plans of the former Ashfield, Leichhardt and Marrickville Councils;

·    Second tier plans/strategies of the three former councils;

·    IWC demographic profile and place information (e.g. geographic boundaries)

·    Key strategic issues (e.g. sustainability, social justice, land use, priorities of the former councils etc.)

 

Council staff are already working on bringing together this research component.

 

From a community perspective, development of the Statement of Vision and Priorities will commence with a community engagement forum on 5 September 2016.  LRAC members, former committee members and the broader community (by advertisement) will be invited to register to participate.

 

Participants will be asked to picture a five year horizon and to identify:

 

·    What they care about / is important to them

·    What Council should be focusing on (noting this will assist in determining Council’s priorities for delivery over the next 18 months)

A series of focus groups will also be undertaken with targeted specific reference panels (incl. ATSI, youth, access) in early September, before the results of these and the engagement forum are fed back to a joint LRAC meeting on 20 September.

 

Broader community feedback will be sought during October via the Your Say Inner West community engagement portal and through engagement at major community events (Ashfield and Leichhardt food festivals and Marrickville Festival).

 

The final Statement of Vision and Priorities will be considered by a joint LRAC meeting in November 2016, prior to being adopted by Council.

 

Following is a summary of the indicative process and timelines:

 

 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Project costs will include print and distribution of materials and charges associated with the engagement forum including audio visual hire and operation, catering, equipment and staff/contractors. A budget is currently being developed and will be reported to the next IAG meeting.

 

OTHER STAFF COMMENTS

Corporate planning and community engagement staff have contributed to the development of this report.

 

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

Will commence with the engagement forum on 5 September 2016, running through to the major community events in October.

 

CONCLUSION

This report provides the IAG with a high level overview of process and timeframe for developing the Statement of Vision and Priorities for Inner West Council.

 

 

ATTACHMENTS

Nil.


Implementation Advisory Group

15 August 2016

 

Item No:         IAG0816 Item 4

Subject:         CHARACTERISTICS OF A STRONG COUNCIL  

File Ref:         16/6012/89922.16         

Prepared By: Nellette Kettle - Director, Innovation and Strategy  

Authorised By: Vanessa Chan - Interim General Manager

 

SUMMARY

This report provides the IAG with an overview of work being driven out of the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DP&C) to develop a Stronger Councils Framework.

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

THAT the report be received and noted and the IAG provide any feedback.

 

 

 

 

 

BACKGROUND

Over the past few weeks, the DP&C has been working with merged councils to develop a new Stronger Councils Framework.

The Framework is based on five characteristics and a shared vision for what it means to be a strong, vibrant council that delivers for its community.  The five characteristics are intended to provide the basis for councils to shape and measure their performance.  The draft model contains longer term indicators as well as measures for short term success come September 2017. 

The Framework is still under development and the most recent iteration is provided at Attachment 1.  DP&C is holding a workshop with merged councils on 12 August 2016 to further refine the draft Framework.  A copy of the workshop workbook is provided at Attachment 2.

At this stage it is unclear how this new framework is to fit with the 10 key results initially established for merged councils by the DP&C at the time of the mergers in May 2016.  Notwithstanding, it is anticipated that Inner West Council’s Integration and Innovation Plan (i-Plan) will need to be revised upon completion of the measurement framework to ensure that Council is well placed in relation to all performance measures.

 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Nil.

 

 

OTHER STAFF COMMENTS

Nil.

 

 

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

The Stronger Councils Framework will be publicised on Council’s website once finalised.

 


 

CONCLUSION

This report provides the IAG with an overview of work being driven out of the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DP&C) to develop a Stronger Councils Framework. Feedback and input from the IAG is most welcome.

 

 

 

ATTACHMENTS

1.

Framework - Characteristics of a Strong Council

2.

Stronger Councils - Workbook

  


Implementation Advisory Group

15 August 2016

 

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Implementation Advisory Group

15 August 2016

 

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