2011 Annual ALGIM Conference, 20 - 23 November 2011
Integrate, Collaborate, Transform… Engage!
Bayview Wairakei Resort, Taupo | New Zealand
ALGIM is proud to announce the 8 finalists for the 2011 ALGIM Excellence in Innovation Awards. Each of the finalists will present their case study during the 2011 Annual ALGIM Conference, with the winner of the award being announced at the Formal Conference Awards Dinner on Tuesday 22 November 2011.
Below you will find a brief description of each of the finalist’s case study.
Putting the “C” in ICT with Microsoft Lync
New Plymouth District Council
New Plymouth District council had an ageing PBX and Contact Centre which was hard to maintain. This, in turn, was affecting their ability to service customers which saw a considerable risk of an unrecoverable failure. To deliver on their ICT vision – World Class partners in excellence, connecting people and simplifying lives – NPDC planned to use UC technology to aid collaboration, improve communication, lower costs and improve efficiency. Initially it was believed this would be in a limited, phased way and NPDC worked with a concept of “UC Lite” for phase one (the deliverable of this project). After the initial public tendering process Microsoft Lync was chosen.
This case study focuses on the successful implementation of Microsoft Lync and Geomant’s Contact Expert at New Plymouth District Council – the first installation of Lync in NZ and the very first installation of Contact Expert.
2011 Rugby World Cup Geospatial Mapping | Where to Play?
Auckland Council
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the largest sporting event ever held in NZ. As Auckland acted as the hub of RWC 2011 over the six weeks, it provided challenges and opportunities to its current infrastructure and resources such as transport, business programmes, tourism, training venues and support events. The realization that many of the tournaments activities were location-based, the importance of spatial analysis and visualisation, and the information associated with it highlighted the need to get support from the Geospatial Team of the Auckland Council.
The Geospatial team offered web-based tools to better manage, analyze and visualize spatial information as required in its planning and operational management stages. It also served as a reliable medium in storing a variety of spatial information and easy access by various stakeholders across the region.
Canterbury Earthquake International Call Centre Response
Horizons Regional Council & Palmerston North City Council
Following the February 2011 Canterbury earthquake, there was a need to establish (with urgency) an international 24/7 contact centre to receive and process NZ Red Cross missing person enquiries. Horizons accepted a request to provide the service and teamed up with Palmerston North City Council (PNCC) to establish a 90 seat contact centre which later expanded to 120 seats at the peak of calls. Within 3 hours the facilities were fully operational.
The centre ran 24 / 7 for 3 weeks utilising staff from both Councils and volunteers. Overseen by Police contact centre specialists who were amazed at the capability demonstrated, the centre would deliver national standards of service.
Shared Service Telephony
Palmerston North City Council
In perhaps the first shared service of its type, Palmerston North City Council has provided a total IP telephony system to Horizons Regional Council.
The solution provides over 230 connections, a totally separated and feature rich contact centre operation, voice recording, unified communications including integration to outlook, conferencing, DDIs and links to a mobile provider as well as leveraged calling package.
Horizons have avoided the capital outlay for a PBX and telephony servers and now enjoy all the benefits of their own tenanted telephony system without the maintenance costs. Horizons run service centres around the central and lower North Island and all staff are utilising the leveraged IP telephony solution.
i-SITE Conversation Tables & Website
New Plymouth District Council
This project played a pivotal role in transforming the visitor experience in New Plymouth’s i-SITE facility. The Council had a vision to radically transform that customer experience by being more inclusive and interactive in the way information is shared and delivered. This included removing the counter to allow staff and customers to mingle more freely, providing a simple yet appealing way to transfer knowledge and information.
Based on world leading visitor centre installations in the UK and USA, NPDC used an interactive touch table environment to allow visitors to find accommodation, cafes, bars and restaurants, activities and events and other services. The tables utilise Google Maps with layers of information displayed according to the user’s interests, share information with the website and use a common administration system that updates information on the tables and website.
The District Plan Online | 2 Solutions in 1
Wanganui District Council
Wanganui District Council’s challenge was to “break down” the District Plan from a very large Word document into small components that could be more easily managed while still retaining the ability to present the District Plan to the public via their website.
Thus a Sharepoint site was created, featuring lists used to store each component of the DP – Zones, objectives, Issues etc. Each list item features lookup columns that point to related information within the DP e.g. “Z1” Residential Zone may have related rules and policy items.
Update Utopia for Porirua Sports Grounds Users
Porirua City Council
Porirua’s sports teams, parents and coaches, and Council staff, are all benefiting from the new state-of-the-art sports ground updates website called www.updates.co.nz launched in June 2011.
The website enables the public to receive up-to-date information about whether a sports ground is open or closed for training or weekend games, wherever they may be, on whatever device they choose. Subscribers can receive updates by RSS or email, or text-in to receive a response with the latest status information. They can also view a map of the location of the park and get driving instructions using Google maps. Administrators use the one-click update function, and managers receive automated monthly reports.
There is an opportunity for other Councils to join the system to reap the time and cost savings benefits already being experienced by Porirua users and Council Staff.
Taupo DC Service Requests & FixMyStreet Integration
Taupo District Council
FixMyStreet is a website to help people report, view, or discuss local issues to their local Council by simply locating them on a map, via a website or smartphone.
Two-way integration has been developed by Taupo District Council and NCS to enable FixMyStreet and the Taupo DC Service Request system to parse information between one another. This makes for a great customer experience.
REGISTER FOR THE 2011 ANNUAL ALGIM CONFERENCE TODAY
Registrations for the 2011 Annual ALGIM Conference close 5pm on Wednesday 16 November 2011. To register, visit www.algim.org.nz/2011annualconference. This page is updated frequently and will provide you with information such as programme highlights, a draft programme and information about accommodation options.
For all Conference enquiries please contact Rebecca Swansson (ALGIM’s Conference and Events Coordinator) on (06) 351 6336 or email events@algim.org.nz