Has anyone faced the task of updating their Council Chambers for newer technology? Either the use of IPADS or Tablets, Monitors for either the members or the audience, and live streaming. Please provide your thoughts on guiding me through this process. Not really sure what to ask for and what has worked or failed for people in the past.
Technology Updates for your Council Chambers
Hi Julie -
Yes, our council has gone from ipads to think pads this year. Our city manager handled our process. I can ask him for the specifics if you want to email me and let me know your specific questions. Darla.reese@ci.granite-falls.wa.us
Thanks,
Darla
Hey Julie,
Last year, I was tasked with updating our whole agenda creation process. This involved technology for building meeting agendas for Council, live streaming, running the live meeting, archiving of the video media, and using iPads for the voting process. Before the project, we were live streaming our meetings; but, this project infused technology further into the meeting. After the project, the meeting, television monitors, and video are controlled via a computer in council chambers and council members view the agendas, agenda items, and vote using iPads.
I'm not sure if you have a specific question however, here are some things to consider:
A. What are the requirements for the new technology? What are you trying to accomplish? It's good to break this down between what you need it to do versus what you would like it to do. In other words, the deal-breakers versus the nice-to-haves.
B. How will you handle things if technology fails? For example, the vendor we use recently had an issue with their video streaming which caused issues during the live meeting. You can't consider absolutely every situation; but, if you're going to introduce it and it's critical to operations - contingencies should be considered.
C. What is the expected support for the technology? Prior to our project, we had a video person present at the meetings to record the live streaming. Now, we have to also have a IT support person available in case there are issues with the iPads or computer that runs the meeting. The support model should be considered.
D. Are there budget and/or resources available to support the support and device life-cycle? After you understand all of the above, now you can ask if the budget and resources are available to ensure this new technology is sustainable.
These are just a few things which you may want to consider; however, depending on what you're wanting to accomplish, there are probably a lot more questions. If you have additional questions, please feel free to ask. :)
Hope this is helpful,
Trudi
Thank you so much
Previous administration thought is wise (and it was) to move from paper agendas to the use iCompass' Agenda Notes app with iPads. Avg. 150-page agendas, 26 open-meetings per year (not including 20 or so closed meetings) is $975 in printing costs, per member of Council, per year. Siginificant cost and eco-savings considering an iPad is approx $750-$900. In 2014, it was announced that BC local government would chage from a 3-year to 4-year terms.
Now, the challenge is to convince technological migrants that the screen is better than paper. That is a HUGE hurdle for anyone who has used paper for most of their lives. My suggestion, due to mixed feelings of technology vs. paper, do not stress on converting paper users over to the light side (joke). Even if 60% of your Council prefers screens and apps, it is still cost savings for your organization.