At an evening ceremony in Melbourne, the City of Boroondara won the prestigious LGPro Innovative Leadership Award for its Innovation Academy. The award recognised the hard work, creativity, and commitment to excellence from Council officers.
Council also received a high commendation for its Bookable Spaces initiative in the Digital and Technology category.
Both projects reflect Boroondara’s unwavering commitment to improving services for the community through innovation and excellence.
Hosted by LGPro, the peak body representing professionals in the Victorian local government sector, the Awards for Excellence celebrate outstanding achievement and innovation across councils in the state. The LGPro Awards for Excellence are Victoria’s premier local government awards.
The CEO of the City of Boroondara, Phillip Storer, congratulated staff on the well-deserved recognition.
'Every day I see innovative and inspiring work being done by Council officers to improve the lives of residents, and these winning programs are just two examples of this brilliant work.'
'This recognition at these prestigious awards demonstrates our commitment to delivering excellent services to residents, powered by new technology and a customer-centric approach. We are not perfect, but we are focused on delivering better outcomes for our community,' Mr Storer said.
About the award-winning project: The Innovation Academy
Now in its sixth iteration, the Boroondara Innovation Academy is a 12-week training program that empowers staff to develop innovative, real-world solutions to Council challenges. With a focus on experimentation, autonomy, and executive support, the academy is driving a culture of innovation within Council operations and service delivery.
Participants learn a structured innovation process while working across departments, producing outcomes that lead to measurable improvements and new ways of working across Council.
About the highly commended Bookable Spaces initiative
The Bookable Spaces Initiative has transformed the way residents interact with Council’s bookable spaces. By consolidating 89 bookable facilities into one streamlined digital platform, the initiative significantly improved user experience and access to information.
Since launching:
- The new ‘Book a space’ web page has been accessed over 45,000 times by more than 31,000 users.
- More than 5,800 bookings have been made through the new booking system.
- Calls to customer service for basic booking information have dropped by 65%.
- Staff time spent on booking administration has reduced by over 60%.
This initiative has not only improved convenience for the community but has also delivered operational efficiencies and received positive feedback from both users and staff.