The Local-E project came about in an effort to address the problem of rural Councils lagging behind metropolitan Councils in the use of internet based services, despite growing community needs and expectations. Rural Councils did not have the funds to maintain a static website and their communities were frustrated with difficulties and time delays in obtaining information.
The Commonwealth Government's Networking the Nation (NtN) program provided the funds to the Local Government and Shires Association of NSW (LGSA) to plan and implement services for rural Councils.
The Local-E Project's aim was to save Councils' time and money through streamlined service delivery and provide the community with better services. The project also aimed to enable the sharing of data and services with the wider community including Government and help the Councils work together towards common goals such as regional and economic development.
Allison Hornery, Program Director of Local-E, says Local-E was a "challenging project: the logistics of managing the implementation of the websites and different geographical locations was a real challenge. The scale of the system required a huge commitment in development and testing... but the team rose to the occasion. All parties contributed above and beyond the call of duty to delivery against a very tight timeframe."
The Local-E Project was completed in two phases. Phase 1, which commenced in March 2002, provided Councils with a website complete with an easy to use content management system and strong design standards: metadata, compliant with W3C usability and accessibility standards.
Phase 2 commenced in July 2002 and enhanced the Council's websites with Advanced Online Service Delivery systems:
- Online booking service for Council facilities such as tennis courts, halls and parks.
- Facilities information including automated mapping
- Online requests for services such as inspections, special waste services etc
- Map publishing facilities allowing the incorporation of interactive maps into published articles
- Community publishing allowing community groups to maintain their own information on the Council site.
Cheyne Hughes, Web Administrator from Port Stephens Council says "The development of an on-line mapping facility had been on our "wish list" for some time however the cost of developing a web based system by an individual Council is very expensive. Local-e, through their collaborated approach, has provided an outstanding product, which is affordable and provides enduring benefits to our customers".
The system the Councils were provided with includes AIMS4 Content Management System, WebMap Composer (Map Portal Builder), Spatial Data Manager and Map Catalogue.
The project has been a resounding success with the Councils and the communities they represent and has won numerous awards including:
- Asia-Pacific Spatial Excellent Awards 2004 - Local-E won the "'Environment and Community" Award at the inaugural Asia-Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards on 25 November 2004
- The NSW Association of Consulting Surveyors awarded the e-Mapping module second place in its annual "Excellence in Surveying and Mapping" awards. Local-E e-Mapping was runner-up in the "Public Infrastructure and Community Facilities" category.
A Local-e Focus Group, facilitated by Social Change Online in April 2005 to gain feedback from Councils about their sites, revealed an overwhelming enthusiasm for the project.
For more information about the Local-e project, go to local-e.nsw.gov.au or call Social Change Online on (02) 9692 5100.
|
http://www.portstephens.local-e.nsw.gov.au