MAVlab – Innovation for the Public Good

All tiers of government are experiencing shifting roles and expectations in an increasingly complex and turbulent world. Individual councils respond admirably to these challenges. At MAVlab, we believe that yet more can be achieved when our councils collaborate on shared challenges. Facing rapid change, a resilient local government sector will need imagination, determination and foresight to deliberately adapt to radically different contexts – to develop an “anticipatory muscle” to flex into new challenges. MAVlab is committed to walking with local government on this journey to develop the capabilities needed to shape ‘what’s now’ and ‘what’s next’ with passion, purpose, and optimism.

Established in 2024, the MAVlab approach is data informed, wilfully optimistic and wildly collaborative - both with our colleagues in council and more broadly across the sector. Our initial design work drew on collaboration from council, university and sector partners and collaborators to define our structure and program of work. Our first action was to invite council staff to join a community of practice - the MAVlab Innovation Associates - that meets regularly to learn from one another and ensure that our program of work continues to reflect the needs, resources and skills of local governments, local communities and the broader sector together.

MAVlab is building connection and collective intelligence across the Victorian local government sector by enabling councils to collaborate, share knowledge, and co-design solutions. This approach distributes risk, making it safer to experiment, innovate, and respond to fast-emerging challenges. By fostering cross-council learning and supporting data-informed, community-led design, MAVlab strengthens the sector’s collective ability to plan ahead, build resilience, and act decisively. The impact is long-term: smarter investment, stronger services, more confident leadership and more inclusive innovation, ensuring local governments are not just reacting to change, but shaping a better future together.

MAVlab works over the following program areas: * Futures of Local Government Innovation – Cultivating local government innovation capability to meet the future well prepared * Active Democracy and Engagement – Strengthening trust and supporting active democracy through engaged communities. * Risk Infrastructure and Resilience – Supporting innovation in risk, infrastructure, and maintenance for greater community resilience. * Service Innovation and Technology – Enhancing service innovation, efficiency and improvement through advanced technologies and AI. To further define the projects we work on, we look to the following criteria: * Shared challenges and champions – Is this a challenge/opportunity shared by multiple councils? * Scaled impact and network distribution – Is there potential to scale and replicate solutions? * Systems change and complexity – Is this a challenge/opportunity that sits outside of standard silos or work areas? Does it require a diversity of non-traditional skillsets and expertise? Are interventions likely to sit outside of traditional authorising environments? * Capacity building and knowledge sharing – How can we support councils to develop increased skills and capability? How can we unlock the collective intelligence of the network for greater impact?