Bay of Plenty Regional Council has won the Grand Final of the 2018 Australasian Management Challenge. The winner was announced at the LG Professionals Australia National Congress 2018 held in Canberra, Australia on Thursday 23 August.
The Australasian Management Challenge provides real-life problem-solving experiences for local government professionals, as well as opportunities to develop leadership, communication and analytical skills. Teams must tackle a quick succession of real life scenarios based on the kinds of management challenges that may arise day-to-day in the local government environment.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council were the winners of the New Zealand leg of the challenge in February earlier this year where they competed against 14 other councils from around New Zealand. Following on from their win in February, Bay of Plenty Regional Council represented New Zealand in Canberra, competing against seven teams from Australia.
Lead Facilitators of the 2018 Australian Management Challenge, Jim Myhill and Jane Trotter, commented on the winning team: "The teams that competed in the Final of the Australasian Management Challenge in Canberra were the eight regional Challenge winners. These teams were the best of the best, so we expected a high standard. Even against such high-calibre competition the Bay of Plenty team shone through. They displayed outstanding professionalism, problem-solving, attention to detail and teamwork - they were very worthy winners."
Bay of Plenty Regional Council also won the best "Risk Task" award. This task was a component of the Management Challenge and was developed and judged by the Principal Partner of the National Congress and Management Challenge - JLT.