How we got here...

1997

- Discussions between Mayor Bob Harvey and Bevis England led to the development of the concept of a Wired City, Telecity, or Smart City for Waitakere City.

- The term Eco Tech City was coined to carry Waitakere’s Eco City branding forward.

April 2001

- Public consultation and awareness raising commenced under the project name of WestSmart which grew to become Fish-bones in October. This led to the identification of around 70 component action points, some of which Council was already working on through its Waitakere Online strategy, and to the formation of Waitakere e-Democracy Group (Andy Williamson, Chairman) in November 2001.

Early 2002

- Bevis England was recognised by the Mayor and Council as the City’s Ambassador for Information Technology

- Council responded to the need for a multi-partner governance structure for the campaign by forming the Waitakere Eco Tech Trust working party, of which Councillor Greg Presland was a member.

- While this group discussed forming a possible Trust, work continued on developing and promoting the overall vision and identifying additional projects, under the name of Waitakere Eco Tech Action (WETA). Council funded much of this work.

- Work also continued on developing the Waitakere Online strategy.

Late 2002

- The WETA framework had over 200 components.

- The Eco Tech Trust working party had failed to establish a working platform, and Council was again challenged to push the campaign forward.

- The Waitakere Eco Tech Advisory Group was formed under the chairmanship of Councillor Carolynne Stone. The overall Vision developed in the late ’90s, together with four components from WETA’s framework, were adopted by the advisory group, and by Council.

During 2003

- Bevis England (Executive Trustee/Chairman), Andy Williamson and Greg Presland formed Work Raft Trust to work in “ICT in the Community” fields nation-wide, and to provide a possible funding channel for work on WETA.

- The evolution of Council’s Waitakere Online strategy had reached a point where a full-time staff member was employed to manage its implementation.

- The Advisory Group continued to meet but progress was slow. The group had, apparently, become another Council management tool. In the absence of a funded organisation to drive WETA, Council had effectively taken ownership, but without providing the visionary leadership the campaign needed.

- A number of early champions in the wider community lost interest and very few of WETA’s projects were able to progress – due to a lack of overall direction, leadership, and resource.

- Work Raft began applying for funds to answer these problems.

March 2004

- Work Raft received funding from the Community Employment Group, but only to refine the overall project framework and to consult with the wider community to identify the most important actions. A report comprising a complete project framework and a detailed action plan is the intended outcome (in July/August).

- It was envisaged that this work would also provide the direction the campaign needs – supporting Council’s Waitakere Online strategy and breathing life into the WETA framework. However, such an outcome remains unfunded.

July 2004

- The Waitakere Online web portal was launched under the auspices of Council's Waitakere Online Strategy.  This portal continues to grow and develop under the guidance of an editorial board chaired by Work Raft Trustee, Andy Williamson.

August 2004

- Report on phase 1 of the consultation exercise published and made available for further comment and input.

September 2004

- Report on phase 1 was finalised and work began on phase 2 -- getting funding for to pursue the priority actions.  Unfortunately, the Community Employment Group of the Department of Labour that had funded much of the work to date was then disbanded.  Work on developing funding was delayed against the launch of the Government's Digital Strategy and the General Election of September 2005.

Also in September, Work Raft signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Council to provide a framework for further work.  The management group has met twice so far (23/11/05) and it remains to be seen whether it will be an effective vehicle.

September 2005

Council endorsed a Digital City Strategy, developed by Andy Williamson (Wairua Consulting) and Rochelle Edwards (Waitakere City Council) as a framework for further development.  This is available for consideration here.  The Trust has expressed its support for the broad principles and vision of this document and is committed to the further development of it as a vision against which we will seek to align the WETA framework.