Future Ready Government: Building Digital Foundations for Tomorrow’s Communities

With climate resilience and digital transformation in mind, one council envisioned a smarter, more connected future for its community. Faced with increasing demands for transparency, service excellence and climate resilience, a metropolitan council in Victoria embarked on a bold journey to modernise its digital landscape. With a newly appointed CEO championing customer-centricity and a community eager for smarter, greener services, the council partnered with Terra Firma to craft a future-ready ICT Strategy. The result? A transformative roadmap that empowers the council to deliver responsive, data-driven and sustainable services for years to come.
The Challenge

The council was operating in a complex and evolving environment marked by resource constraints stemming from rate capping and cost shifting. With a newly appointed CEO driving a strong customer-focused agenda, the need for a modern, responsive digital strategy became urgent. The existing technology strategy was nearing expiration, and the internal Information Services and Strategy department lacked the capacity to develop a new roadmap within the required timeframe. These pressures created a critical need for a future-ready ICT strategy that could align with council goals, support community engagement and enable efficient service delivery in a resource-constrained setting.

Our Engagement

Terra Firma delivered a five-phase engagement to assess the council’s digital maturity and develop a future-ready ICT Strategy. This involved conducting virtual workshops and interviews with key stakeholders and completing a community-wide survey to gather public input. Insights from policy reviews, technology assessments and best practice benchmarks shaped a strategic roadmap aligned with council priorities and emerging trends. The final strategy provided a clear, actionable path to modernise services, enhance governance and support innovation.

Solution

Immersive Community Engagement

Proposed use of virtual reality and 3D tools to enhance civic engagement and participatory planning.

Smart City Foundations

Strategy included IoT applications for asset monitoring, parking, and pollution control.

Climate Resilience

Emphasis on data-informed decision-making and AI for urban challenges like congestion and environmental sustainability.

Governance & Risk

Embedded mechanisms to ensure ongoing strategy execution and value extraction from existing systems.

The Outcome

The ICT Strategy was unanimously endorsed by the council’s executive leadership. It delivered:

  • A 3–5 year roadmap aligned with council goals and emerging technologies.
  • A cost-effective and achievable plan for digital transformation.
  • A governance model ensuring accountability and adaptability.
  • A community-informed vision that reflects local needs and aspirations.

The strategy is expected to:

  • Improve service delivery efficiency by up to 25% through automation and digital workflows.
  • Reduce operational costs by 15–20% via smarter asset management and cloud adoption.
  • Increase community engagement by 40%, driven by interactive digital platforms.
Why It Matters

This initiative demonstrates how local government can embrace digital transformation to deliver smarter, more sustainable and community-focused services. Terra Firma’s strategy empowered the council to overcome resource constraints, enhance transparency and build long-term resilience – laying the foundation for a future-ready organisation that puts people and innovation first.

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