Councils of Corangamite, Warrnambool and Moyne

About This Project

Three Councils were seeking to accelerate their digitisation by coming together to define an agreed Shared Services Strategy and Business Case.

The Situation

Like many councils throughout Australia, the Councils of Corangamite Shire, Moyne Shire and Warrnambool City faced increasing demands for digitised services. With the added challenge of flat revenue, they needed to find a way do more with their technology spend.

Together, they engaged our team to assess the feasibility of integrating their technology and core enterprise functions into a shared service model that effectively delivers corporate services for each Council.

The aim is for this integrated, shared services model to reduce duplication and repetition and provide more innovative and accessible services to customers.

The Approach

Information Professionals Group collaborated with the Councils to design a strategy for achieving an increase in digitised services through a shared service model. We clarified strategic drivers and risks, and assessed internal strengths and weaknesses.

Multiple options for achieving the strategic drivers were identified and evaluated. We reviewed technology options, mapped business processes, profiled costs and benefits, and engaged the market to assess options for future enterprise systems.

The project determined that the integration of each Council’s core ERP system into a shared services model was feasible, ensuring that the proposed model delivers on the strategic drivers. We defined a business case to assess and promote a recommended Shared Services design, achieving agreement between all stakeholders.

This case was then presented to State Government to seek funding and a further review of the business case was undertaken when another opportunity arose to obtain State Government funding support through a defined program.

The Impact

The strategy and business case delivered clarity of the Councils’ shared vision and the means to achieve it. Their capability was increased in technology architecture, business process design and alternative market options.

This set the stage for accelerating the delivery of digitised services to citizens, a priority that was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Councils will also have access to improved data, which they can leverage through process automation and other technologies.

The business case which was prepared and submitted to the Victorian Government has resulted in the successful funding of the project through a competitive process.

The project is now in implementation planning phase and a project team will work towards achieving the vision of shared services delivering better digital outcomes to Council customers and citizens.