Local government faces increasingly demanding and complex community expectations, with limited resources and competing demands, it’s critical that councils find new ways to deliver services. Three leading Victorian councils (City of Casey, City of Ballarat and City of Whittlesea) identified the following focus areas:

1. Transport - We are striving to create compact neighbourhoods within our communities. A compact neighbourhood is one where residents have the ability to meet most of their everyday needs within a short time frame from their home. We are looking to improve community traffic and transport to enable all residents to have their everyday needs met within a short time frame.

2. Waste - In the most recent Australian National Waste Report, it was found that Australia generates more waste and also recycles less than the average country (when compared with a selection of other developed economies). In 2016-17 Australia generated an estimated 67 million tonnes of waste, which is equivalent to 2.7 tonnes of waste per person.

3. Health and Wellbeing - Now more than ever, Councils are placing an importance on healthy eating, regular exercise and mental wellbeing of residents. Many families within our communities are struggling to maintain a healthy lifestyle, especially given the ease of access to unhealthy food options and limited motivation to exercise. We are looking to create supportive environments for healthy choices.

City of Ballarat, City of Casey, City of Whittlesea and Collective Campus joined forces to create opportunities for Startups and Scaleups to solve challenges within the community.

The ‘Springboard’ program offered innovators and entrepreneurs from not only Australia but all over the world, the chance to share their innovative solutions to address high priority community challenges.

The councils offered successful startups and scaleups the opportunity to share their ideas, develop proof-of-concepts and work directly with local government.

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