September 9, 2014
Motorola Solutions and AFAC unveil 2014 Knowledge Innovation Award recipients
MELBOURNE, Australia – September 3, 2014 – Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) and the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Council (AFAC) have unveiled the 2014 AFAC & Motorola Knowledge Innovation Award winners at the annual AFAC/Bushfire & Natural Hazards CRC Conference Welcome and Awards Ceremony, held in Wellington last night.
It is the fifth consecutive year that Motorola Solutions and AFAC have partnered for the awards, which feature two categories: Individual and Agency.
Richard Host, director, information technology for Fire & Rescue NSW, took home this year’s Individual Award in recognition of his exceptional leadership and management of major reforms in information technology and knowledge management at Fire & Rescue NSW. As part of the award, Host will receive $2,500 to go towards attending a conference or other learning opportunity to further increase his knowledge and skills.
Meanwhile, the Agency Award was shared between the New Zealand Fire Service and the Country Fire Authority, Victoria.
The New Zealand Fire Service was recognised for the development of The Absence Management Project – a nationwide knowledge management and wellness strategy.
The Country Fire Authority, Victoria, was recognised for the work the agency has undertaken on its Knowledge Strategy and Knowledge Innovation Policy to improve and sustain its strategic performance.
Key Facts
- The event is sponsored by Motorola Solutions’ charitable and philanthropic arm, the Motorola Solutions Foundation (MSF).
- The conferece began last night and will run until September 5. The theme for the conference this year is “After disaster strikes, learning from adversity”.
- It will include presentations from: Dr. Deen Sanders, chief executive officer for the combined Australian Government's Professional Standards Council; John Hamilton CNZM, MVO, director of Civil Defence & Emergency Management, New Zealand; Paul Fuller, chief fire officer, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, UK; Vaughan Poutawera, consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Tauranga, Whakatane & Grace Hospitals, New Zealand; Professor Kathleen Tierney, director, Natural Hazards Centre, University of Colorado, USA; and José Santiago, commissioner, Chicago Fire Department, USA.
- This year marks the fifth consecutive year that Motorola Solutions has funded the AFAC Knowledge Event Series and AFAC Knowledge Innovation Awards Program in Australia and New Zealand, providing professional development and knowledge sharing opportunities for fire and emergency services personnel, and awarding organisations and individuals for their outstanding contributions.
- MSF's support this year enabled the organisation to host a series of events – which would otherwise not be financially viable – to promote knowledge among its agency members, further increasing the incident management capabilities of fire and emergency services personnel across the region.
SUPPORTING QUOTES
Stuart Ellis, chief executive officer, AFAC
“AFAC is grateful for the ongoing support provided by Motorola Solutions over the past five years on a series of activities to support and enhance knowledge management across the industry. The AFAC Motorola Knowledge Innovation Awards recognise the efforts of individuals and AFAC member agencies that have made a significant contribution to developing and implementing knowledge management initiatives.”
Steven Crutchfield, managing director, Motorola Solutions Australia and New Zealand
“The AFAC Conference has become a must-attend annual event for the firefighting community. It’s an opportunity for all of us involved in the community to recognise excellence, but it also provides us the rare opportunity to share knowledge among our peers, knowledge that otherwise might be siloed. We are proud to continue to support such an important event.”
Matt Blakeley, director, Motorola Solutions Foundation
“The Knowledge Series is a very important public safety initiative in the Asia-Pacific region. It has enabled the open sharing of ideas within the industry, as well as greater awareness of safety and response in a region that has experienced too many natural disasters in the past decade. The Motorola Solutions Foundation is proud to support a program that is improving the safety of the people of Australia and New Zealand.”