How to encourage innovation in local government

It has been a pleasure to highlight innovations and collaborations occurring in the local government sector through a series of LinkedIn posts. As I have been sharing them I have been wondering how these ideas came about. Was it one person having a flash of intuition on a better way to do something, and successfully socialising that idea in their organisation? Or was the idea born in a brainstorming session, a one to one discussion or through the positive reception of a public submission?

Were these ideas arrived at using critical thinking (such as asking ‘why’ five times, to really get to grips with the true source of a problem) or was it a flash of insight? Both pathways to innovation are viable — and can be complementary as outlined in the NZ Transport Agency’s excellent practice note on Innovation and Creativity in Business Case Development.

The practice note discusses the value of beginning with divergent thinking where the aim is to think as widely and imaginatively about the problem as possible, followed by convergent thinking, where the aim is to think much more analytically, using critical thinking skills to evaluate ideas and focus on the best option.

Innovation can occur in a number of different ways. I know my best ideas arrive as a consequence of doing three pages of writing every morning. New ideas can also spark into life when people with different perspectives and talents come together in a workshop setting.

The NZ Transport Agency’s practice note says “there is strong evidence to suggest that genuinely new creative insights are associated with situations where people are more relaxed and can give thoughts a chance to incubate”.

Here are my questions for the local government sector.

• How can local government organisations encourage and make room for the whole gamut of idea generation methods? (Introverts are more likely to arrive at their best ideas in quiet environments and in solitude, and extroverts are more likely to generate their best ideas in workshops and brainstorming sessions.)
  
  
• How can local government organisations give staff permission to spend time mulling on and trying out new ideas while also delivering on core business in a really efficient way … which often means doing something consistently over a long period of time without potentially wasting time on trials and errors when on the pathway to successful innovations.
  
  

I welcome your thoughts on these questions! Meanwhile, here are some of the innovations and collaborations I discovered in some of New Zealand’s 2018–28 Long Term Plans and other documents.
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Coastal management

• Marlborough District Council and Land Information New Zealand are co-funding a multi-beam survey of the entire seabed of Pelorus Sounds/Te Hoiere. This work will provide valuable information about the different habitats and their values, and enhance management of marine ecosystems. (From Marlborough's LTP consultation document, page 7.)
  
  
• Napier City Council, the Mana Ahuriri Trust, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, and the Department of Conservation worked together to create the Ahuriri Master Plan. It includes more than 30 projects focused on recreation, environment, transport and the redevelopment and upgrade of coastal areas and the Ahuriri estuary. (From Napier's LTP consultation document, page 10.)
  
  

Economic development

• Marlborough District Council is partnering with Screen Wellington for a three year period to promote Marlborough as a region for films, TV shows and TV commercials. (From Marlborough's LTP consultation document, page 8.)
  
  
• Napier City Council is proposing to expand the scope of the National Aquarium to create a marine centre of excellence — which would include marine science research, education and conservation programmes. This is a collaboration with Iwi, Weta Workshop, the University of Waikato and Air New Zealand. (From Napier's LTP consultation document, page 11.)
  
  

Stormwater and wastewater management

• The use of low impact urban design including swales and natural treatment methods are becoming more common in the Selwyn District. A protocol has been established to ensure there is integration between Roading, Stormwater and Parks management.  (From Selwyn's infrastructure Strategy, page 22.)
  
  
• Masterton District Council's Wastewater Strategy includes identifying land suitable for treated wastewater irrigation, developing a means of on-selling available water, and (ideally) eliminating discharges to the Ruamāhanga River, particularly during lower flows. (From Masterton's Infrastructure Strategy 2018–2048.)
  
  

Property and facilities

• Nelson City Council staff will assist with the development of an asset management plan for Whakatū marae, recognising it provides a home for the six mana whenua iwi. (From Nelson's LTP consultation document, page 21.)
  
  
• The Smart Buildings Challenge aims to provide a user-friendly platform to enable commercial building owners to manage and reduce their energy use and costs. It is a collaboration between Wellington City Council, EECA, Microsoft, Switch Automation, Vector AMS and the Energy Management Association of New Zealand.  (From Wellington's Low Carbon Capital Plan 2016–18, page 17.)
  
  

Financial management

• Tasman District Council is proposing to reduce development contributions charges for small homes to reflect the lower demands smaller homes place on infrastructure. (From Tasman's LTP consultation document, page 13.)
  
  
• Kāpiti Coast District Council (KCDC) is proposing to rely more on 'capital value' related rates rather than fixed charges (including the roading rate) to address affordability issues in its district. (From KCDC's LTP consultation document, page 14.)
  
  

Climate change

• Kāpiti Coast District Council will work with the community to identify the key issues and risks of climate change, with a particular focus on coastal hazard management. The intention is to align the Council and the community through setting up a community stakeholder group.  (From KCDC's LTP consultation document, page 21.)
  
  
• Napier City Council is participating in the LGNZ Climate Change Project. As part of this project, a practical tookit will provide councils with up-to-date resources. Topics include the ability of local authorities to limit or stop the provision of services in areas that might be affected by climate change and natural hazards risks.  (From Napier's infrastructure strategy, page 19.)
  
  

Recycling

• The Masterton, Carterton and South Wairarapa district councils propose to work together to provide both an e-waste recycling service and a kerbside food waste collection. This project could avoid the disposal to landfill of 20 tonnes of e-waste and 500 tonnes of food waste per year in the Wairarapa region.  (From Masterton's LTP consultation document, page 20.)
  
  

Transport

• Queenstown Lakes District Council will develop ferry/water taxi infrastructure by 2025. This will revolutionise how commuters and visitors come into the CBD from locations such as Frankton and Kelvin Heights. (From Queenstown's LTP consultation document, page 17.)
  
  
• Wellington City Council will consider phasing out the minimum car parking requirements across the city (not just in the CBD). This change will be considered for the parts of the city where car ownership rates are already low and comparable to CBD levels.  (From Wellington's Low Carbon Capital Plan 2016–18, page 15.)
  
  
• Dunedin City Council plans to build a bridge to provide a much better connection between the city and the harbour. This would mean one of Dunedin's great assets could be better used and enjoyed, as is the case with harbours in other New Zealand and overseas cities. (From Dunedin's LTP consultation document, page 6.)
  
  

Parks and reserves

• Coronet Peak Forest will be harvested early and the area will be revegetated with grasses and indigenous beech and shrubs. This programme includes eradication of pests in the area, ongoing maintenance and construction of tracks for walking, biking and horse-trekking to create a valuable new community asset in Queenstown.​  (From Queenstown's LTP consultation document, page 29.)