Datacom delivered IRIS to the Regional Council Collaborative Development Group to manage core council functions.
The Challenge
Regional Councils have a demanding and important job. They are tasked with managing the natural and physical resources of a region, providing governance over large areas of the countryside and waterways under the Resource Management Act, Biosecurity Act, Maritime Transport Act, and other acts. Six councils identified a need to replace their current regulatory and business support systems, and formed the Regional Council Collaborative Development Group (RCCDG) to tackle this imposing challenge.
The Solution
RCCDG is made up of Northland Regional Council, Waikato Regional Council, Taranaki Regional Council, Horizons Regional Council, West Coast Regional Council and Environment Southland. These councils recognised the benefits of centralising functions for consistency in viewing and working with information. They also wanted more accurate and timely business processing.
Following a comprehensive review of the marketplace, they could not find a software package that fully supported their requirements. What the group needed was an innovative, flexible solution developed and implemented.
Accustomed to collaboration, RCCDG believed it could achieve economies of scale, cost savings and process improvements – working with the right partner. The group chose Datacom for its track record of successful delivery, experience in the sector, and existing relationships with many of the participating councils.
RCCDG was responsible for overall project governance, while Datacom deliver the software development project. We also had to allow for individual council’s differing perspectives at each project phase, while bringing the overall solution together to work for all.
The web application solution, called Integrated Regional Information System (IRIS), was designed to manage core regional council functions, including the regulatory areas of consents, compliance, biosecurity and enforcement. The system includes workflow that assists councils in following business processes to meet deadlines and provide better service to their customers.
While the solution offers commonalities, each council had its unique customisation requirements. Each customisation can be turned on or off via configuration. A data-driven fields feature can be used by each council to collect additional information.
“We are getting the business benefits we expected and real synergies. The six councils achieved more together than each of them could on their own, and individually it cost each of us less than we would have paid had we done it on our own. The IRIS application supports our business well.”
Derek Postlewaight - Project Director, RCCDG