Morpheum RH Dougherty Awards 2008
Entries have now closed
Winners will be announced at the Local Government Awards Evening on Wednesday 30 July 2008 and a list will be available on this page after that time.
What are the Morpheum RH Dougherty Awards?
The purpose of the Morpheum RH Dougherty Awards are to promote excellence in communication within Local Government.
The Morpheum RH Dougherty Awards aim to recognise and encourage greater understanding and accountability by councils to their local communities. The importance of building a partnership between community and council has been acknowledged by Local Government and consultation and two-way communication are taking place all the time.
There are two sections: Reporting to your Community and Excellence in Communication and four categories within each:
Division A - population less than 30,000
Division B - population 30,000 - 100,000
Division C - population more than 100,000
Division D - ROCs and county councils
Special commendations can be awarded for work that deserves recognition. Councils can enter for either or both awards and more than one submission is welcome in both categories.
The range of media used (including the annual community report, regular newsletters and the Web site) is expanding and the options for feedback from the community are also growing and play an ever-increasing role in the outcome of council decisions. Reflecting these changes, the Dougherty Awards were amended in 2001 to include an award for "Excellence in Communication" and in 2006 this is further expanded to include not only campaigns but special events.
This Award covers communication strategies put in place by councils to meet a specific community related issue, where different media and methodologies are used and where feedback and change are incorporated into the process.
Who was RH Dougherty?
The RH Dougherty Award was established in 1981 and was named after former Local Government Association President, Robert Henry (Bob) Dougherty.
Cr Dougherty's life was one of local and community involvement; he worked for over 20 years in Local Government and served on more than 20 local cultural, sporting and community organisations, including the Keep Australia Beautiful Council of NSW, the Chatswood District Community Hospital and the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra.
Cr Dougherty had a vision of what Local Government should be, one of which was 'to develop real means of communication between councils and their ratepayers', an aim which the Award serves to encourage, promote and recognise.
What is the judging process?
The judging panel consists of representatives from the Associations, the Local Government Managers Australia, the Local Government Public Relations Association, the Australian Local Government Association and the metropolitan media.
Who manages the award?
The Award is managed and administered by the Associations. The Associations represents all 152 councils in NSW along with county councils. The Associations' mission is to be a credible, professional organisation representing Local Government, providing services to councils and facilitating the development of an efficient, effective, responsive, community based system of Local Government in NSW.
The Moroheum RH Dougherty Award is one of several awards managed and administered by the Associations, designed to encourage and recognise best practice in community reporting mechanisms to improve communication strategies between councils and their citizens.
The 2008 awards are proudly sponsored by Morpheum.
Past Winners
2007 winners for projects completed in 2006
The Dougherty Awards were presented at the Local Government Week Awards Evening on Wednesday 1 August 2007. A complete list of winners can be found on the 2007 LG Week Awards page.
2006 winners for projects completed in 2005
The Dougherty Awards were presented at the Local Government Week Awards Evening on Wednesday 2 August 2006. A complete list of winners can be found on the 2006 LG Week Awards webpage.