2016 SOLGM Gala Dinner Recognises Professional Excellence

2016 SOLGM Gala Dinner Recognises Professional Excellence

The 2016 SOLGM Gala Dinner, hosted by broadcaster Mark Sainsbury last night in Wellington, recognised the very best of professional management across the New Zealand local government sector.

Working closely with the community to transform what was once the city dump into an internationally recognised world class public garden earned Hamilton City Council the 2016 McGredy Winder SOLGM Local Government Excellence Awards® Supreme Award.

Also announced on the night was Nicola Chrisp of Waikato Regional Council as the Brookfields Emerging Leader of the Year; Dunedin City Council as the winning team from the New Zealand leg of the Australasian Management Challenge, and the recipients of SOLGM’s Overseas Manager Exchanges and Leadership Scholarships.

“The Gala Dinner is a very special event for professionals in the sector” says SOLGM Chief Executive Karen Thomas.

“All across the country we have managers and staff who are working on innovative and collaborative projects and developing their leadership skills. We want to ensure these efforts, and the impact they have on the communities we all serve, are recognised.”

The 2016 McGredy Winder SOLGM Local Government Excellence Awards®

43 entries were received for the excellence awards this year; 31 entries were received for the project categories and 12 entries for the inaugural Brookfields Emerging Leader of the Year Award.

The winner of the Supreme Award, selected from the five project categories, was Transforming a City Dump: Hamilton Gardens submitted by Hamilton City Council. The project was a successful transformation of a piece of marginal land into an internationally renowned garden complex. The entry focused on the processes through which the council secured community buy-in, worked with 18 independent trusts and countless volunteers to deliver a transformative project.

Peter Winder, one of the Award judges said “Hamilton Gardens are a national treasure. The transformation of a city dump into an internationally renowned tourist facility would not have been possible without community support, a successful fund-raising programme and passionate staff. The project’s governance framework is an exemplar for all projects where councils and communities work together and for the use of trusts in general.”

Brookfields Emerging Leader of the Year Award

This award was offered for the first time in 2016. Nicola Chrisp, Manager, Communications, Waikato Regional Council was selected as winner from the 12 entries received with the judges noting that Nicola demonstrated all the attributes of an ‘up and coming leader’. She has a proven track record of sustained and innovative projects many of which had been taken up outside her council.

The quality and diversity of entries was very high and the judges awarded three highly commended citations to Rochelle Faimalo, Youth Development Officer at Hurunui District Council, Doug Tate, Community Facilities Manager at Manawatu District Council and Julia de Ruiter, Social Media and Digital Support Librarian at Waitaki District Council.

The New Zealand leg of the Australasian Management Challenge

Dunedin City Council provided the winning team in this year’s New Zealand leg of the Management Challenge. A record number of council teams entered this year’s Challenge reflecting its increased recognition as a leadership development opportunity that also provides for strong cross council collaboration.

A 2016 participant, Margaret Maclaurin from Hauraki District Council said “The Challenge not only took our team out of our comfort zone, but created a wonderfully competitive and fun network of contacts throughout Local Government in our region. There was a real sense of wanting to be your best, perform your best for your team and be better in Local Government.“

The Dunedin City Council team will go on to the Australasian Finals where they will compete against the state finalists. Wellington City Council placed second and Christchurch City Council was third.

The other announcements made at SOLGM’s Gala Dinner were the five project category winners of the 2016 McGredy Winder SOLGM Local Government Excellence Awards®:

Innovation in Organisation and People Development Category
Auckland Council for their project: Regulation 18, National Qualification for Building Control Officers

LGFA Transforming Service Delivery Category
Stratford District Council for their project: CxT (Customer Experience Transformation). The judges noted that Stratford is the smallest council to ever win a category award.

Innovation in Council-Community Relations Category

Hamilton City Council for their Hamilton Gardens project. The judges also highly commended Waitaki District Council for their project, The Rebuilding of Haven Street, and Rotorua Lakes Council for their project, Te Arawa Partnership Programme.

Collaborative Government Action Category
Wellington City Council on behalf of the Memorial Alliance for their project: Victoria Street Transformation

Innovation in Policy and Regulatory Development Category
Grey District Council for their project: Project Freedom Camping

Also announced were the following Overseas Manager Exchange and Leadership Scholarship recipients:

2016 SOLGM Overseas Manager Exchanges:

United States Exchange; Hamish Waugh, General Manager-Infrastructure, Manawatu District Council

Australia, New South Wales Exchange: Katherine Trought, Director Communications and External Relations, Environment Canterbury

Australia, Queensland Exchange: Adrian de Laborde, Engineering Services Group Manager, Hauraki District Council

British Columbia, Canada Exchange: Fiona McTavish, General Manager- Strategy and Science, Bay of Plenty Regional Council

These exchanges, which provide managers with the opportunity to focus on development of their managerial career though a short exchange with a partner manager in another country, is made possible through the support of JLT and Civic Assurance.

2016 SOLGM Leadership Scholarships

Mt Eliza Melbourne Business School Leadership Development Programme (Sponsored by The Skills Organisation): Leanne Mash, Chief Executive, Central Otago District Council

Leadership Development Centre Leadership in Practice Programme: Amanda Cox, Manager, Parks, Greater Wellington Regional Council

Opus ‘Leading Self’ Programme: Jason Marris, Governance Manager, Whangarei District Council and Mara Bebich, Departmental Strategy and Stakeholder Manager, Infrastructure & Environmental Services, Auckland Council

These leadership scholarships are part of SOLGM’s LGLeadershipPathways initiative that provides opportunities for local government managers to develop their leadership skills.

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