How to be more productive at work
Everyone knows New Zealand would be better off making furniture (and houses) rather than exporting raw logs. While productivity is a bit of...
debraAugust 1, 2019
What will a climate emergency declaration mean for councils?
Many New Zealand councils have made a climate emergency declaration as they recognise the need to urgently implement solutions to climate change over...
debraJuly 1, 2019
Eight ways to improve your infrastructure strategy
The Long-Term Plan cycle sure comes around quickly! It feels like we just finished the last one, but now it's time to think how...
debraJune 1, 2019
Five ways to improve your reports
Many of the disciplines of business case writing can also serve us well when writing reports. These include: digging deep to identify the...
debraMay 1, 2019
Community engagement: five ways to ask for feedback
Do a job badly enough and you won’t be asked to do it again. That’s a commonly-held belief, but it doesn’t always work...
debraMarch 1, 2019
Climate research will support local government decisions
The complexity of climate change, as well as the unpredictable rate of change, can be overwhelming when considering how to respond to these...
debraFebruary 1, 2019
Summer reading … with a local government twist
I love reading a book in one big gulp during the summer holidays. My favourite this year was ‘Unsheltered’ by Barbara Kingsolver. The...
debraJanuary 5, 2019
Moving to a low carbon economy
Introduction What role will local government have in New Zealand’s progress towards a low carbon economy? In this article I reflect on some...
debraDecember 4, 2018
How to be a smart city
I booked a flight to Wellington and a Masterton motel. Next minute my smart phone was wishing me a great visit to the...
debraJuly 3, 2018
Advice for local government on adapting to climate change
Councils have to respond to the increasing intensity of weather events, organising civil defence responses then fixing damaged infrastructure. At the same time,...
debraMarch 1, 2018
