Dubbo Regional Council [DRC] will be putting more emphasis on technology and how they can adopt new services to suit the community's needs.

In a report to council about a 'Smart Region Strategy and Smart Council Strategy', it discussed how a smart region uses information technology, data and innovative solutions to solve problems and unlock economic, social, environmental and cultural opportunities.

That means the DRC would embed digital technology in infrastructure, the natural environment, and everyday processes to understand and respond to the region's needs so that council can capture, collect, store, analyses and shares data to inform decision making.

The use of pilot programs will provide a proof of concept, and comprehensive business cases will be developed to support future actions.

Projects currently being considered by council include:

Projects will initially focus on creating policies to coordinate the adoption of smart technology, increasing collaboration, data governance and potential security issues, web platforms to communicate projects, and developing communities of practice.

Councillor Joshua Black said it was great to see "innovative" ways the council staff have put together to move forward as a region.

"I encourage the public to have a read of the report and make comment on things they like or don't like," he said.

Cr Shibli Chowdhury said the strategy would be good for Dubbo's future but questioned about a time frame for the strategy to begin.

The answer was, "immediately".

Chief Executive Officer Murray Wood explained that council would be able to focus on their normal works, but would start incorporating this strategy into what they are already doing.

READ MORE:

"It is what could be called business as usual, with the strategy rolling in action as we move forward," he said.

Manager for DRC's Growth Planning, Steven Jennings said as soon as "rubber hits the road" the plan will begin.

"We are formalising our systems and thinking around these things, making sure we've got people in our organisation on the same page and making sure we do our projects in a financially responsible way," he said.

Deputy mayor Richard Ivey supported the concept, but wanted to make sure it wouldn't just be a "talk fest" after the amount of resources have gone into the project.

"Perhaps we ensure there will be a review after a period of time to see if the project have been effective?" he said.

Cr Ivey said he wanted to see what things council has gotten out of the project, whether that being one, three or five different projects.

Mr Jennings confirmed a report would be brought back to council to show the progress this new strategy has made in the community.

A smart council strategy has been prepared in conjunction with the smart region strategy which will provide the strategic backbone for the continuing digital transformation of Council and the delivery of the Smart Region Strategy.

Council conducted a range of engagement sessions in mid-2021 and early-2022 to gather relevant information and help guide council's approach to smart transformation.

"These insights have helped to shape the vision and objectives to meet the priorities of key stakeholders, influence the development of key actions that overcome local challenges and leverage local strengths," the report stated.

It is hoped the new technologies will provide an:

An implementation plan will identify priority action areas council will pursue over the next 12 months in support of the delivery of the strategies.

The report is currently on public exhibition.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: