Capturing creativity to ride brainwaves to success

Landgate is to promote its successful innovation program to business and Government across Western Australia. 

The innovation program sprang from the brainwave about how to do business better in times of rapid change. 

The upshot is an innovation program that captures the intellectual capital of the Agency's workforce, and turns clever ideas in to efficiency and money making projects. It is also the first program of its kind in the Australian Public sector. 

Landgate Chief Executive, Mike Bradford, said the heart of successful innovation is staff involvement backed by targeted funding and active corporate support. 

Staff enthusiasm has been shown through an online forum that attracts thousands of comments and suggestions for improvements and new products, and has led to the funding of 50 projects in the past two years. 

Staff participation has been bolstered by the chance for some workers who make successful suggestions to pursue and test their ideas with grants from the innovation program. More than three hundred employees
have also taken advantage of training in creative thinking funded under the program. 

Successful ventures included the "Earth is Art" series of aerial images capturing extraordinary pictures of our planet's beauty. The art work now adorns many company boardrooms. One Queensland company has gone as far as using the art on glass to create a unique look to its foyer. 

Other successful projects include ForestWatch, which allows clients to track forest health for diseases such as dieback. The general public has also benefited directly with free property information services like Property Hotspots which identifies suburbs with high sales activity. 

New ventures include a sophisticated streetview measuring system that would allow an operator to sit at a desk to measure trees across suburbs and schedule a lopping program. The technology has practical applications for service providers like local government which can gather detailed information on a streetscape before assigning equipment and personnel. 

The Landgate Innovation experience will be shared at a breakfast for Government Department heads in Perth on Wednesday 23 February at the Art Gallery of Western Australia. Master of Ceremonies will be all round science guru and television presenter, Doctor Karl Kruszelnicki. Guest speakers will include Professor Lyn Beazley, Western Australia's Chief Scientist, and Landgate CEO, Mike Bradford.

Landgate is Western Australia's primary source of land information and geographic data, providing the accuracy government, business and individuals rely on.