International Leading Practices Symposium

International Leading Practices

In collaboration with:

International Leading Practices Symposium 2010

22-23 April 2010, Rotorua

Download Symposium Programme (PDF 1.2 MB)

This is one of the major events for the local government sector for 2010. The symposium is held in Australasia every second year as a collaboration between SOLGM, ICMA (United States) and LGMA (Australia). This year's event is being hosted by SOLGM in Rotorua on 22 and 23 April. SOLGM previously hosted the symposium in 2006. One attendee described this as "the best good practice event they had ever attended".

Challenges of Sustainability in a Challenging Economic Environment

The Symposium theme for this year is 'Challenges of Sustainability in a Challenging Economic Environment.' Our aim is to emphasise that while the economic downturn has created a more challenging operating environment for local authorities both in New Zealand and overseas, the big long term challenges of building sustainable communities are still there needing to be addressed.

The programme features a keynote presenter and six case studies. The case studies are presented in a plenary session and participants have the opportunity to explore detailed aspects of the project during the workshop sessions.

Keynote Presenter
Case Studies
Who should attend?
What will you get?
Registration and Accommodation

Keynote Presenter

Bob O' Neill, Executive Director of the International City/County Management Association, will give a keynote address on the Fiscal Aspects of the Recession for US Local Government. There will also be an opportunity to discuss the similarities and differences between the US situation and in New Zealand and Australia.

Bob J. O’Neill, Jr., is also the Chair of the Center for the State and Local Excellence, LLC. Prior to joining ICMA in December 2002, O’Neill served as President of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) from January 2000 to November 2002.

Click here to read more about Bob O' Neill

Case Studies

There are six case studies selected from the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand which demonstrate how local authorities are addressing the long-term goals of sustainability whilst operating in a challenging economic environment.

Case Study 1: Whistler 2020 - sustainability plan for the the resort town of Whistler, British Columbia

Whistler faces specific challenges experienced by most tourist destinations -- growth pressures and the threat to environmental quality, the need to cater for peak visitor populations and affordability of housing for residents. ‘Whistler 2020’ is a comprehensive sustainability plan that addresses these challenges. Related initiatives have won awards in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Awards and the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators Award for Innovation.

Presenters:

Bill Barratt, Administrator for the Resort Municipality of Whistler
Allan Michael Vance, General Manager of Policy and Program Development for the Resort Municipality of Whistler

Case Study 2: Brahma Green Affordable Housing Initiative - presented by City of Salisbury, South Australia

Declining affordability of housing for existing residents and workers is a key issue in the City of Salisbury, one of the many towns and cities experiencing growth in recent years. In response, the Council worked with a private sector partner to develop the Brahma Green Affordable Housing Project. The project was a category winner in the 2009 Australian National Awards for Local Government.

Presenters:

Peter Fairlie-Jones, Director Finance, City of Salisbury
David Adams, Manager Product Development - Strategic Services, HomeStart Finance

Case Study 3: Project Twin Streams presented by Waitakere City

Project Twin Streams is an urban sustainability initiative project which aims to restore 56kms of stream banks through an integrated community development approach. By engaging local communities and residents via community organisations, the streambanks were weeded, replanted with natives and maintained. The project is about many things: community engagement, stream health, natural environment and the health and recreation of people and their community.

Presenter:

Dr. Sue Bidrose - Director Community Wellbeing, Waitakere City Council

Case Study 4: Local Authority Shared Services in the Hunter Region

In recent years, shared services approaches, involving joint service delivery and shared resourcing, among local authorities have attracted growing attention as a key option for sustaining and improving the levels of local services. Hard economic times sharpen the incentives to consider new approaches. The Hunter region of New South Wales has been the Australasian leader in this area through the Hunter Councils organisation which since 1999 has established a growing range of shared services activities

Presenter:

Roger Stephan - CEO, Hunter Councils

Case Study 5: ClimateCam

The City of Newcastle has emerged as a world leader in promoting an awareness of, and committment to addressing climate change. Newcastle's presentation on the development of ClimateCam, the world's first greenhouse gas speedometer, was one of the big hits at the 2006 Symposium. Since that time Newcastle has rolled out a comprehensive suite of emission reduction water conservation and energy efficiency initiatives into the community, schools, and busineeses. These initiatives won the Australian National Award for Excellence in local government for 2009.

Presenter:

Peter Dormand - Manager Climate Change Services, Newcastle City Council
Steele Adams - Business Development Coordinator Environment & Climate Change Services, Newcastle City Council

Case Study 6: Roadmap to Sustainability – Sarasota County, Florida, USA

Since the mid 1980s Sarasota County has been one of the “leaders of the pack” in the United States in working towards becoming a more sustainable community. The “roadmap to sustainability” plan was adopted in 2006. Hear about the plan, what has been achieved and learned on the journey, and how the arrival of the global economic recession has impacted on the aspiration to become ”an energy efficient and independent community, resilient to forces of nature and economic cycles”.

Who should attend?

This is a must for all local authority managers and policy advisors who are interested in the big issues facing local government and are interested in learning from the experiences of their peers in other similar countries. It will also be relevant to others who deal with the local government sector or who simply have an interest in the issues around the aspiration for sustainable communities.

An excellent learning opportunity for Chief Executives, managers and others involved in policy, strategy development and planning or project development and project management.
This is also an outstanding developmental opportunity for young staff with management or policy leadership potential

What will you get?

In-depth understanding of leading practices around the world and practical ideas that can be successfully transferred not only between countries but also between functional areas
Wealth of information and knowledge from presentations and workshops of diverse subject areas
Fresh ideas and innovative thinking to take back to your organisation
Comprehensive written material on each case study
Valuable networking opportunities with peers from different countries and throughout New Zealand

Registration and Accommodation

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