Canterbury

The Eyebright ‘Innovation’ Team Award for 2007 went to Canterbury’s six-strong Office Holder Training Team. This resourceful team of Christchurch mums created a ‘CD ROM Toolkit’ of templates, guides and agendas for parents who might otherwise have been daunted by the task of becoming an office bearer on a Plunket committee.

The CD included clear checklists detailing how to run an effective meeting, how to apply for grants, how to record and report the financial workings of the committee, how to set goals and standards and measure success or failure. It even included some lighter tips on the different ways people behave at meetings, such as ‘gate-keeper’, ‘harmoniser’, ‘clarifier’, ‘topic jumper’, ‘blocker’ and ‘joker’. The toolkit has improved turnout by 80% at Canterbury’s Plunket meetings.