Innovation Case Study: Tavis Vallance, Boroondara City Council
Boroondara City Council
Tavis Vallance, Coordinator Partnerships & Innovation
Redefining council culture by making innovation real and repeatable
Tavis brings a thoughtful blend of strategic thinking, creativity, and hands-on delivery to innovation in local government, shaped by a decade of experience in state government and the sport sector. From executive-led missions to grassroots initiatives, he approaches innovation as a practical discipline — focused on meaningful outcomes, steady progress, and community impact.
2025 MAVlab Innovation Awards Winner and Finalist:
Winner of the 2025 Innovatio Pro Bono Publico Award: Emerging Leader, and Finalist for The Thrive Award for Leadership in Change Management, both supported by Swinburne University of Technology.
Leadership and excellence:
Tavis has demonstrated bold, values-led leadership, positioning innovation not as a side project but as a core organisational capability. He introduced and embedded a mission-based innovation process tailored to the realities of local government — practical, human-centred, and focused on delivering meaningful value. His leadership reframes innovation from “nice-to-have” to “necessary,” blending design thinking, lean start-up principles and strategic foresight in a way that resonates across all levels of Council.
In his four years at Council, Tavis has led six major innovation missions on behalf of the Executive, tackling some of local government’s most complex and uncertain challenges — from community climate action and generative AI, to community connection and sports ground undersupply. Driven by insight, creativity and experimentation, these missions have delivered better, more sustainable solutions to Council’s most difficult problems.
Not content to innovate only from the top down, Tavis created the Innovation Academy — a 12-week internal program that builds staff innovation capability in real time, through real projects. Now in its sixth cohort, the Academy has equipped more than 50 staff with the tools and confidence to lead change from the bottom up, embedded within their everyday roles.
To activate innovation from the “middle out,” Tavis designed and delivered Innovation Process Espresso sessions tailored for people leaders and managers. These short, high-impact sessions built familiarity with council’s innovation approach and demonstrated how it can be applied to complex, adaptive challenges. They also helped leaders understand the conditions required for their teams to think creatively, test new ideas, and deliver value in more innovative ways.
Throughout his work, Tavis has navigated legacy systems, risk-averse culture and bureaucratic inertia with clarity, resilience and a collaborative mindset. He has built a small but highly effective team that works shoulder-to-shoulder with departments—embedding innovation into the DNA of the organisation.
His leadership reframes innovation from ‘nice-to-have' to ‘necessary,’ blending design thinking, lean start-up principles and strategic foresight in a way that resonates across all levels of council.
Impact and legacy:
Tavis has delivered both tangible results and long-term cultural change. In 2024 alone, his small Partnerships & Innovation team saved Council more than $500,000 in equivalent consultancy fees by delivering strategic innovation work internally. Yet the financial savings tell only part of the story — his work has built organisational capability, improved staff engagement, broken down silos, and embedded modern, human-centred ways of working.
At the heart of this impact is the Innovation Academy. Across six cohorts, more than 50 staff have completed the program, gaining confidence, growing professionally, and applying innovation tools to real Council challenges. Evaluation data shows that 87% of participants rated the experience 4 out of 5 or higher, citing increased capability, collaboration and professional development. Many describe it as “much better” than other formal training. With a Net Promoter Score of 92, the Academy stands out as a leading internal development program and a cornerstone of Council’s innovation culture.
Tavis has also led six executive-endorsed innovation missions on complex issues such as climate action, generative AI and digital inclusion. These missions have generated fresh insights, accelerated action, strengthened leadership buy-in, and built momentum for meaningful change. Combined with his “Innovation Process Espresso” sessions for people leaders and managers, Tavis is influencing the entire organisation — creating the conditions for innovation to thrive long after individual projects conclude.
Crucially, Tavis has repositioned innovation as a practical, repeatable discipline rather than a buzzword. His work has enabled Council to think and act more strategically, adaptively and collaboratively, demonstrating that innovation can flourish even in traditionally risk-averse environments.
Externally, Tavis has brokered a strategic partnership with Swinburne University, fostering multidisciplinary collaboration between Council and academia. His methods and insights are now being shared with councils across Victoria, nationally, and even in New Zealand.
In short, Tavis is leaving a legacy of empowered people, proven methods and shared knowledge — embedding innovation as a lasting organisational capability.
Collaboration:
Tavis is a deep thinker who excels at identifying new connections that create shared value. His Innovation Academy is intentionally cross-functional, bringing together staff from across the organisation to learn, test and solve problems collaboratively. This design has helped break down organisational silos and foster a culture of trust, curiosity and creative problem-solving.
His collaborative approach extends well beyond training. The innovation missions he leads are co-delivered with staff, grounded in community needs and aligned with executive priorities. Whether addressing community climate action, digital engagement or other complex challenges, he brings the right people together — internal and external — to deeply understand the problem and prototype meaningful solutions.
Tavis’s leadership style is marked by empathy, humility and curiosity. He works shoulder to shoulder with teams, coaching, facilitating and supporting staff to become comfortable with uncertainty and experimentation. His presence builds confidence, and his methods are transparent and inclusive. Staff don’t just feel consulted — they feel enabled.
He also contributes actively to innovation networks across the sector, sharing tools, lessons and frameworks with councils in Victoria and beyond. He positions innovation not as a competitive advantage, but as a collective responsibility for the public sector.
Most importantly, Tavis has created the space and permission for others to explore better ways of working. By reframing innovation from “the job of a few” to “the opportunity of many,” he has helped build a more connected and courageous culture — one where exploration is encouraged, learning is shared, and change becomes something people achieve together.