Building an

Information and

Technology Vision

for Toronto

October 2002

Purpose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Why eCity?... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Why Now?... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Summary... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

eCity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

A Look Forward... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Building eCity... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

eCity Principles... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Key Strategic Goals.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

eCity Model.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

eCity Components... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

eCity Objectives... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

eCity Governance and Organizational Changes... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Next Steps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Table of Contents

1

Purpose

This discussion paper provides anoverview of eCity and solicitsfeedback about the proposeddirection for the future ofinformation and technology in theCity of Toronto. It builds on aseries of presentations being madeto departmental seniormanagement teams and othergroups by the Executive Director,Information and Technologythroughout the summer andreflects many suggestions andrefinements that were madeduring an initial round ofconsultations.

This discussion paper identifiescore principles and describesseveral key strategic goals. Itdiscusses an eCity model, asuggested governance structure, anew relationship between theCorporate Services Department’sInformation and TechnologyDivision and departmentalinformation and technologyteams, a redefined divisional roleand a process for moving thisinitiative forward.

eCity must be a plan thatrecognizes and supportsdepartmental business needs. Itallows departments to better linktheir information and technologyneeds with a broader corporatevision that is consistent with theCity’s strategic directions. Itallows for better collaborativeplanning and co-ordinating ofinitiatives and investment, whilejointly aiming for the samestrategic goals and objectives.

Comments, suggestions and ideasfor eCity can be directed by e-mailto eCity@toronto.ca. News about eCity will be postedto the Information andTechnology section of the City’sIntranet site athttp://insideto.toronto.ca/itweb/.

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Why eCity?

Have you ever stopped to considerwhat local government in Torontowill be like in the future? Howwill Council meetings operate?How will people interactivelyparticipate in the democraticprocess? How will property taxbills be delivered and how willthey be paid? How will buildingand parking permit applicationsbe submitted to the City? Howwill businesses bid on Citycontracts and tenders? How willcompanies be paid formerchandise sold to the City?How will time sheets be processedand pay stubs delivered? How willCity employees get informationabout their benefits coverage andcheck their vacation balances?

The answers to questions likethese provide a foundation forimproving local government in theCity of Toronto. Building on theexisting range of service deliveryoptions, municipal information,services and operations willincreasingly be available usingtechnologies such as the Internet,interactive voice response (IVR)systems and electronic kiosks. Theincreased use of thesetechnologies will make it easierand more convenient toparticipate in the democraticprocess, find information aboutmunicipal services, and conductbusiness and personal transactionswith the City of Toronto.

Providing reliable and secureelectronic service options will also

help improve the traditionalservice channels: over-the-counter, telephone, and mail. Areduction in the number of peoplephoning or coming in-person toCity Hall, Metro Hall or a civiccentre will help reduce the timespent waiting in line or “on hold”for those individuals who chooseto continue using traditionalservice channels.

To effectively provide electronicaccess to local government 24hours a day, seven days a week, ina consistent, reliable, secure andconfidential manner requires aclear direction for the future ofinformation and technology in theCity of Toronto. It requires avision for the future and anunderstanding of the stepsnecessary to get there. It requiresa governance structure thatfacilitates collaborative decisionmaking and priority setting andensures that the delivery ofinformation and technologyservices is organized and alignedwith departmental servicerequirements to provide thenecessary support to the diverseneeds of the entire corporation.This direction for information andtechnology in the City of Torontois called eCity.

eCity will make it easier toparticipate in local government,improve local service delivery andincrease operational andadministrative efficiencies in theCity of Toronto. It represents acommitment to assisting the Cityand its departments achieve

Context

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service excellence. eCity willenable departments to enhancetheir communication with andprovide electronic services to thepublic, businesses, othergovernments and employees thatwill be second to none and willhelp pave the path to better localgovernment.

Why now?

A number of different factorssuggest that now is an appropriatetime to initiate eCity. This criticaljuncture is defined in part by theCity’s continued commitment toimproving local government, risingpublic expectations for electronicaccess to - and participation in -local government, the emergenceof new enabling technologies, theintegration of electronic commerceinto the mainstream, and thecurrent fiscal reality.

Improving Local GovernmentThe City of Toronto is committed toproviding high quality andaffordable services that respond tothe needs of the Torontocommunity. Improving the qualityof local government informationand services, communicating themand providing them more effectivelyand more efficiently are keyelements of a number of Cityinitiatives that provide thecorporate policy framework foreCity.

Strategic PlanToronto City Council’s StrategicPlan contains Council’s vision for

Toronto, a mission statement forthe City government and Council'sgoals for the community. The planincludes civic participation,organizational sustainability, andservice excellence goals that aredirectly relevant to eCity.

eCity establishes a foundation forthe use of technology to enhancecitizen participation in localgovernment and establishesgovernance and organizationalstructures to support the diverseoperational and administrativerequirements of the City. eCityrepresents a commitment to serviceexcellence that will contribute tothe delivery of the high quality,well co-ordinated and easy toaccess services that are acornerstone of the strategic plan.

Customer Service ImprovementInitiativeThe Customer ServiceImprovement Initiative focuses onexpanding public information andservices on all public accesschannels (mail, in-person,telephone, Internet and e-mail).Improving service throughelectronic channels (electronickiosk, Internet and interactivevoice response) are viewed asenhancements to existing servicedelivery not as replacements.There are very strong linkagesbetween several key eCityobjectives and the major elementsof the Customer ServiceImprovement Initiative.

Civic Participation “Open, democratic decision-making processes and effectivedialogue invite people tocontribute their ideas, opinionsand energy to the well-being ofthe city”.Toronto City Council’s Strategic Plan,

January 2002

Organizational Sustainability “The City has appropriatelegislative authority, financialtools and organizational structuresand processes to undertake itsresponsibilities and achieve goalsthat support and enhance thecity’s quality of life within itsfinancial capacity”.Toronto City Council’s Strategic Plan,

January 2002

Service Excellence“Public services are high quality,well-coordinated and easy toaccess”. Toronto City Council’s Strategic Plan,January 2002

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PATH to ExcellenceThe PATH to Excellence wasdeveloped in part to maintainconfidence in the government ofthe City of Toronto. It places anemphasis on accountability,continuous change reviews,transparency and consistency, andintroduces a more structured anddisciplined manner of conductingCity business. eCity aligns withthe PATH to Excellence, and usesthe change paths of leadership,organization, strategy, policy, andskills development to organize anumber of key initiatives.

People StrategyThe People Strategy echoes thestrategic plan’s commitment toservice excellence. Directly linkedto service provision the PeopleStrategy provides a framework formaintaining a skilled andproductive workforce and forattracting and retaining talent.These directions provide thecorporate human resource contextfor eCity.

In addition to these initiatives,expanded and enhanced municipalservices and infrastructure arecritical supports to a number ofplans and strategies currently underconsideration or recently adoptedby the City. These include, but arenot limited to, the Official Plan,Economic Development Strategy,Social Development Strategy, andthe Environmental Plan.

Rising Expectations andEmerging TechnologiesThe increase in personal computeruse and the proliferation andacceptance of the Internet arefundamentally changing publicexpectations concerning localgovernment. In a world wheregoods and services may bepurchased and personal andbusiness financial transactions canbe processed anywhere, any time,citizens and businesses aredemanding no less of government.In fact, in an Environics poll ofToronto area residents undertakenin October 2000, 47% of thosesurveyed said that they use theInternet to buy products or dobanking and 33% said they wouldlike to do business with the Cityon-line. In the same poll 61% ofcitizens said they had access tothe Internet either at home or atwork.

Fiscal RealityWhile the general fiscal situationof the City is healthy, mostindicators suggest a period offinancial pressures and continuedfiscal challenges. Budget pressureshave contributed to a renewedinterest in ensuring a planned,coordinated and fiscally prudentinvestment in information andtechnology. Departments haveidentified that fiscal restraint anda desire to improve service are thekey drivers behind the greatmajority of information andtechnology projects. Evidencefrom both public and privatesector organizations has

“The City of Toronto will berecognized by others as amodel of civic serviceexcellence through the effortsand professionalism of allemployees.” People Strategy (under development),

June 2002.

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demonstrated that significantefficiencies can be producedthrough the innovativemanagement of information andthe use of information technology.Coordinated investment will helpprovide a sustainable informationand technology infrastructure tomeet rising public expectations ina fiscally prudent manner.

Summary

eCity will redefine the wayinformation management andtechnology services arecommunicated, delivered andmanaged in the City of Toronto. Itwill position the City to deliver onthe potential of an electronicallyenabled municipal government.eCity will establish a direction forthe future of informationmanagement and technology inthe City. At the centre of thisinitiative is the intent to provideCity staff, citizens, businesses,and other levels of governmentwith access to municipalinformation and services,including the opportunity toconduct electronic business,anywhere, any time, in a secureand stable environment.

eCity will increase the emphasison information management,whereby information technologywill be recognized as an enablerrather than an end unto itself. Itwill introduce a new decisionmaking framework and governancestructure to ensure thatinvestments in information

management and technology areco-ordinated, fully aligned withcity businesses, fiscallyresponsible and sustainable in thelong term. The initiative willredefine the relationship betweencorporate and departmentalinformation and technology teamssupported by a new structure inthe Corporate ServicesDepartment’s Information andTechnology Division.

Perhaps most importantly, thisinitiative will establish afoundation for the use oftechnology to enhance citizenengagement in local government,and the quality and usefulness ofinformation available to politicaldecision makers.

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Electronically enabling the City ofToronto will provide for moreresponsive, more effective andmore efficient civic service.Providing increased self-service forroutine information requests willfree staff to more promptlyaddress new issues and resolveproblems. As the varied municipalinformation systems becomeincreasingly linked andadministrative and operationalprocesses are aligned andintegrated, staff will spend lesstime searching for information andmore time providing the highquality services that are ahallmark of the City of Toronto.

Building eCity

eCity is built upon three criticalaxes: information, technology andpeople. It includes a focus on theinnovative management ofinformation. This focus isintended to provide a betterbalance between informationmanagement and technology, toensure that technology is viewedas an enabler, not an end initself. At the same time itrecognizes that security and theprotection of privacy arefundamental and cannot becompromised.

Striking a better balance betweeninformation management and

A Look Forward

Within the next decade localgovernment in Toronto will befully electronically enabled. Thiswill allow residents to participatein the democratic process withoutever going to a civic centre, MetroHall or to City Hall. They will beable to express their concerns andvoice their opinions in a virtualmeeting room using on-linediscussion forums, videodeputations, and Internet pollingfrom their own home, publicaccess terminals or communityinternet access centres. Counciland Committee meetings will beincreasingly automated as realtime information tools will putcritical information at thefingertips of decision makers whenthey need it during meetings, notin the next cycle of Council.

Electronically enabling localgovernment will provide residentswith enhanced service deliveryoptions. In addition to in-person,telephone and mail, residents willbe able to use technologies suchas the Internet, IVR andelectronic kiosks to register forrecreation programs, arrange forspecial garbage collection, payproperty taxes, get buildinginspection results, renew parkingpermits and business licences.These services and many otherswill be available 24 hours a day,seven days a week in a secure andprotected environment.

eCity

Local government anywhere, any time, for everyone.

“The average knowledge workerspends 2.5 hours a day searchingfor documents.”KMWorld, Volume 11, Issue 3, March2002

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technology helps ensure that theinvestment in technology issupported by clearly definedbusiness requirements - matchingthe needs of the user with thetechnology. Aligning theinvestment in informationmanagement and technology withthe City’s business requirements isa cornerstone of eCity.

In addition to the innovativemanagement of information andthe use of appropriate technology,eCity recognizes that it is peoplewho make the difference. To besuccessful, eCity must besupported by a highly skilled,knowledgeable and engagedToronto civic service. Thecombination of informationmanagement, appropriatetechnology and skilled peopleprovides the foundation for eCity.

eCity Principles

Universal accessibilityImproving access to localgovernment is a guiding principlefor eCity. It should be easy andconvenient to find informationabout the City and its’ services, toconduct business with the City, toparticipate in local government

and to contact members ofCouncil or staff. Universalaccessibility provides everyonewith the opportunity to accesslocal government information andservices from anywhere at anytime using a variety of deliverychannels.

Responsible investmentInvestments in informationmanagement and technology must beplanned, co-ordinated across the Cityand agencies, boards and commissionsand be fiscally prudent. Investmentdecisions should be clearly linked toservice delivery and improvements inservice quality. A responsibleinvestment framework should providethe maximum return on Cityexpenditures including ongoingmaintenance and support costs.

Enabling municipal services Applications development,implementation and support, andbusiness process re-engineeringare key factors behind thedevelopment of the electronicallyenabled local government.Enabling municipal servicesrequires a close workingrelationship among informationand technology staff, corporatecommunications staff, anddepartmental business contacts. It is also dependent upon theexistence of a reliable informationmanagement and technologyinfrastructure that is aligned withthe administrative and operationalrequirements of City businesses.

“Information Management isthe process of planning,co-ordinating and controlling theacquisition, analysis, processing,integration, distribution,transmission, use andsafeguarding of information inall its forms and its associatedtechnology and supportingresources.”IQPC, Information Management for thePublic Sector. May 2002

InformationManagement

+AppropriateTechnology

+SkilledPeople

=

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Security and privacy areparamountThe issues of security and privacyare fundamental to eCity. The Cityof Toronto will continue todiligently exercise itsresponsibility for protecting theprivacy of personal information inits possession. This responsibilityis accompanied by a commitmentto provide secure electronicoperating environments, standardsand policies to protect against theunauthorized use of the City’sinformation, systems and services.

Key Strategic Goals

Key strategic goals reinforce theCity of Toronto’s commitment toimproving local government byproviding a framework for thedevelopment of an electronicallyenabled municipal government.These goals will be put into actionthrough various projects andinitiatives that combined defineeCity. These are:

◆ Support citizen engagement inmunicipal government.

◆ Enhance political andmanagement decision processes.

◆ Provide a new service channel toCity businesses allowing 24/7,citizen centric, one-stopelectronic access to a widerange of municipal services on avariety of devices, includingpublic access terminals.

◆ Ensure the sustainment and enhancemant of the City’s businesses, which are increasinglyfully dependant on technology.

◆ Support the City’s departmentswith internal computing, support,information, and developmentservices that meet or exceed themost demanding internationalstandards, at a competitive cost.

eCity Model

The eCity model is composed ofthree strategic elements:eGovernment; eService; andeBusiness, plus foundationinitiatives that are common to allthree strategic elements (see thenext section for more detaileddescriptions). The importance,relationship and interdependenciesamong these components arereflected in the shape of themodel. There is no implicit orexplicit hierarchy among the fourequal components. The level ofinterdependency is reflected inthe fact that any singlecomponent of the model is alwaysin direct contact with andsupported by each of the othercomponents. Each component ismade up of a number of subcomponents representing thevarious systems, projects and workteams in each of the four areas.

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eCity Components

Working definitions have beendeveloped for each of the eCitycomponents. These are based uponthe scope of activities includedwithin each component. Thiscategorization provides a usefulway of organizing eCity intomanageable pieces and providesfor the discussion of eCity withreference to examples of existingand anticipated projects andactivities. The categories alsoprovide a mechanism fororganizing a large number ofprojects and initiatives intoappropriate groupings to assistwith identifying priorities andestablishing goals and objectives.

eGovernmenteGovernment describes activitiesthat are directly associated withthe operation of City Council. Thiscomponent has an internaldimension that includes enhancinggovernance and the decisionmaking processes and an externaldimension with an emphasis onengaging the public in citygovernance.

eServiceeService includes the mostfrequently referenced and the mostwidely implemented examples ofelectronic government activitiesand initiatives, Web-basedmunicipal information andtransactions. This component alsohas external and internaldimensions. The external focus ison providing secure and privateelectronic service delivery to the

public through a variety of servicechannels (Internet, IVR systems,electronic kiosks and public accessterminals). The primary focus ofthe internal dimension is providingreliable, efficient computing anduser support services.

eBusinesseBusiness includes those projects,initiatives and activities thatsupport the day-to-day business ofoperating the City of Toronto andthat enhance operationaleffectiveness. This component hasan internal dimension based oncorporate and departmentalpriorities and an externaldimension primarily concernedwith providing new business toolsfor external business partners.

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To ensure that we make progresswe need to know where we aretoday, where we are going, andhow we are going to get there. We intend to accomplish this byestablishing benchmarks,identifying gaps and measuringour progress towards achievingclearly defined goals andobjectives. A number of draftobjectives and milestones havebeen identified for discussion andto assist in identifyingdepartmental priorities.

In addition to measuring eCityprogress, the service deliveryperformance of the Information andTechnology Division will beproactively measured. Regularreports concerning the delivery ofinformation management andtechnology services will focus inthree areas: leadership, service andcapacity. Customer surveys will beconducted several times a year anda planning, standards and qualityassurance team that will emphasizeservice standards and performancemeasures will be constructed.

Foundation InitiativesA number of information andtechnology initiatives are equallyimportant to the success of eCitybut do not fall into one of thethree strategic elements:eGovernment; eService oreBusiness. As the name suggests,this group of initiatives is core tothe delivery of information andtechnology and provides thefoundation for eGovernment,eService and eBusiness. In someinstances foundation initiativessimply reflect good management orstate of good repair practices thatwould be undertaken with orwithout eCity, while others arenew activities that have a criticalrole to play in integrating two ormore of the eCity components.

eCity provides a framework andstructure for co-ordinatinginformation and technologyactivities across the corporation.While eCity includes a number ofnew and exciting initiatives, aconsiderable amount of work thatsupports the delivery ofinformation and technologyservices is already underway. Byproviding a new framework, eCitywill help ensure that futureinformation and technologyinvestments are properly alignedwith the city’s business units.

eCity Objectives

eCity establishes a direction forthe future of information andtechnology in the City of Toronto.

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Draft eService Objectives◆ Under the auspices of the CAO’s service improvement initiative, bring

City transactions on-line by 2006◆ Work with CAO’s office to create integrated call centre support◆ Report on 311 non-emergency phone service by the end 2003◆ Implement quarterly reporting on service use and service

quality beginning in 2003◆ With Economic Development, Culture and Tourism and Toronto Public

Library, report on a plan to provide wide public access to computers in libraries and community centers.

◆ Report on electronic kiosk and other access opportunities by 2004◆ Provide 90% first call problem resolution for Information and

Technology Help Desk calls by year end 2003◆ Conduct annual internal user satisfaction surveys◆ Improve internal network service reliability to 99.999%

availability during working hours by 2004◆ Intranet services for City businesses◆ Electronic forms and document management◆ Continue to support the Community Information Toronto (CIT) 211 initiative

Draft eGovernment Objectives◆ Launch the Digital Academy, an information management and

technology learning forum for senior staff and politicians, in 2002◆ Report on on-line discussion forums for Council by 2003◆ Review on-line [non-scientific] survey and polling tools for Council

by the end 2003◆ Report on video deputations, streaming video of Council and

Committee meetings by 2004◆ Working with the City Clerk, develop a plan for greater

automation of Council and Committee meeting management processes by 2004

◆ Develop more powerful real-time information tools for Council and Committee decision making

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Draft Foundation Initiatives Objectives◆ Build a next generation technology infrastructure tailored to user

needs (wireless, networks)◆ To address departmental business needs, develop new business tools

such as an e-directory, datamarts, employee self service◆ Develop corporate IT policies, standards and guidelines◆ Improve information and technology service alignment with City businesses

by Fall 2002◆ Support the businesses of the City through a full applications review◆ Attract, develop and retain the best information management and

technology professionals ◆ Develop a new information management and technology acquisitions

policy by Fall 2002 ◆ Implement a print and reproduction plan for the City◆ Develop a corporate information management and technology

security policy by year end 2002 ◆ Develop a Technology Asset Management policy and process◆ Develop an Information Management strategy◆ Business continuity and disaster policy◆ IT professional development

Implement Web Content Management (WCM)

Draft eBusiness ObjectivesWork with departments to identify key business priorities, such as:◆ e-procurement◆ Public Health inspection system◆ Social Services datamart◆ IBMS phase 3◆ Water and wastewater District Service Improvement Project (DSI)◆ CLASS (Economic Development, Culture and Tourism)◆ Works Best Practices (Works and Emergency Services)◆ SAP interfaces (Finance and Corporate Services)◆ Geospatial Data Management and Mapping (Corporate

Services and Works and Emergency Services)◆ e-billing for water bills◆ Enhance the Toronto Fire Services (TFS) presence on the City Web site◆ Organization and staff development

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eCity Governance andOrganizational Changes

eCity includes a new governancestructure and organizational changeswhich redefine the manner in whichinformation management andtechnology services are managed,resourced and delivered in the City of Toronto. The new elements of theeCity governance structure includean Information and Technology Sub-Committee, an Information andTechnology Strategic Planning Teamand a new role for the Informationand Technology Division.

Experience with theTelecommunications SteeringCommittee has demonstrated thatthere is considerable overlapbetween telecommunications andinformation and technologyissues. This has contributed tosome confusion concerning themanagement and co-ordination ofthese matters and has led tosuggestions that it would beuseful to consolidate theresponsibility for decision makingfor telecommunications andinformation and technologymatters into a single Informationand Technology Sub-Committee.This would facilitate a more co-ordinated approach toinformation and technology andtelecommunications planning,improve the co-ordination ofinvestments across the city andimprove the alignment ofinformation and technology withcity business units. The potentialfor establishing a sub-committee

of the Administration Committeeshould be examined in consultationwith the TelecommunicationsSteering Committee.

The Information and TechnologyStrategic Planning Team would becomprised of senior executivesfrom across the corporation. Thisteam will play a critical role inensuring that departmental anddivisional business needs andpriorities are identified andproperly aligned. The team willprovide advice and recommendpriorities for the City’s informationand technology policies,procedures and acquisitions andhelp co-ordinate theimplementation of relatedpolicies, procedures, standards andsystems. Working with theExecutive Director of Informationand Technology, the Informationand Technology Strategic PlanningTeam would provide a forum forcollaboration and co-ordination andencourage corporate wideinvolvement in creating a strategicplan for information and technologyin the City of Toronto.

Making eCity a reality also requiressome fundamental changes in theway the Information andTechnology Division is structuredand in its relationship withinformation and technology teamsin the various departments.Providing local government servicesusing electronic service channelshas significant implications andthere is a corresponding need toensure that service levels arecarefully monitored, problems

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addressed quickly, call centresupports are in place and co-ordinated, and the necessary linksare made to traditional servicechannels. As the City’s electronicinfrastructure is called upon toserve the entire population, not justCity staff, availability, reliability andsecurity must be at exceptionallyhigh levels.

Related to this is a need for themore centralized co-ordination ofcertain functions, particularly thosethat expose the City to operational,financial, or security and privacyrisks. In addition to ensuring asingle high level of security andprivacy, certain key elements of theCity’s information and technologynetwork infrastructure must becentrally managed, includingInternet interfaces, on-linetransaction infrastructure, firewallsand wireless infrastructure.

The new role for the Informationand Technology Division recognizesthat information and technology isincreasingly important to allbusinesses in the City. Astechnology is increasingly imbeddedin departmental business processes,and in many cases is the businessprocess, departments must haveaccess to dedicated resources tosupport their applications. The staffsupporting departmental activitiesmust take their day-to-dayoperational direction from businessleads in those departments.

The new role for the Informationand Technology Division strikes abalance between continuing to

provide traditional Information andTechnology core businesses, takinga more active leadership and co-ordination role in areas of corporateinterest, and recognizing the needfor departmental based informationand technology support.

Several changes to the structure ofthe Division are currently beingimplemented, and discussions toclarify the different roles andresponsibilities of corporate anddepartmental information andtechnology staff are alreadyunderway. Formal memoranda ofunderstanding on roles andresponsibilities will be developedbetween Corporate ServicesDepartment’s Information andTechnology Division and eachdepartment, ultimately leading todetailed service level agreements.

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eCity consists of three phases:development; implementation; andsustainment. The first phase waslaunched with a series ofpresentations involving variousgroups of City staff. Feedbackfrom the initial series ofpresentations and a number ofworking sessions has been used torefine the eCity model. I&T alsoheld an external forum forbusiness and industry, receivinginput from several representativesof the 39 companies thatattended. The last steps in thedevelopment phase are to seekcorporate wide support andendorsement through theExecutive Management Team andAdministrative Committee,followed by Council’s approval andthe development of an effective,coordinated communicationsstrategy to ensure that the City’sdirections are well understood byall interested parties.

A summary of comments andsuggestions received will beavailable on the City’s Web andIntranet sites. The comments tendto express strong support for theeCity concept and its applicationat the City of Toronto. Otherfrequent observations andopinions:

◆ The City must ensure that its eCity systems provide universal access to all eServices.

◆ The City’s many business unitsshould be actively involved in the planning and implementation of the eCity.

◆ Privacy, confidentiality and security issues must be an integral part of the eCity plan,with systems designed accordingly.

◆ The City must address data management issues.

◆ The City must define in detail its technical, financial, and human resource requirements in the context of eCity initiatives.

The implementation of eCity willbegin immediately followingCouncil approval. Many of theinitiatives proposed for eCity arecurrently funded capital projects.For instance, several milliondollars has been spent in recentyears preparing the City’stechnology infrastructure forelectronic service delivery.

Most of the major hardware andsoftware tools are in place. FutureeCity initiatives will require detailcosting information. Eachinitiative’s business case will havebenefits clearly defined, and besubmitted for Council’sconsideration during the normalbudget process. Specific I & Tinitiatives that are a componentof eCity will be identified as such.For each budget cycle aconsolidated list of eCity projectswill also be available for Council’sconsideration. The proposed I & TSubcommittee of AdministrativeCommittee will provide ongoingguidance on the relative priorityof proposed projects.

Next Steps

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While political approval of eCitywill kick-start several newactivities, many initiatives arealready underway. Theimplementation phase includes areview of these initiatives toensure that they are properlyaligned with City businesses.

Change teams have been, or willbe, established to develop orreview terms of reference for anumber of key eCity initiativesand to provide a forum for co-ordinating work on a number ofrelated projects. Representativesfrom all departments have beeninvited to participate in thisprocess and the change teammembership includes a crosssection of Information andTechnology Division anddepartmental staff, from bothinformation and technology,communications, and businessbackgrounds. While theInformation and TechnologyDivision will provide technical andadministrative support to thechange teams, a number of thesegroups are or will be led bydepartmental representatives whounderstand both the corporateand their own operating units’priorities and businessrequirements.

The last phase of eCity,sustainment, represents a highlyevolved environment forinformation management andtechnology in the City. Althoughrepresented as an end state thisstage will continue to evolve withadvances in technology and

increased user requirements. eCityestablishes a new governancestructure and decision makingprocess which will help ensurethat the principles, strategic goalsand objectives remain relevant toall end users. The success of eCityis dependent upon a corporatewide commitment to aligninformation management andtechnology planning with thebusinesses of the City and gettingthere will require a commitmentfrom staff and members of Council.

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Conclusions

eCity establishes an excitingdirection for informationmanagement and technology inthe City of Toronto. Building onthe City’s commitment to serviceexcellence, eCity will make iteasier and more convenient forthe public, businesses, otherlevels of government andemployees to access a range ofmunicipal services andparticipate in local government.eCity provides an environmentwhich will deliver the highestquality municipal services andbusiness operations moreeffectively, more efficiently,more conveniently, moreresponsively, and moreconsistently in a secureelectronic environment.

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Data warehouse and datamartA collection of data used tosupport strategic decision makingfor an entire organization. Datawarehouses typically contain largeamounts of historical or staticdata in a structured database thatsupports various types of analysisoften involving rather complexqueries and/ or searches of a largenumber of records. A datamart is asub set of a data warehouse thatfocuses on one or more specificsubject areas usually in support ofdecision making for a particularbusiness area. Social Services usesa datamart to manage informationabout social assistance andOntario Works.

Directory serviceA directory of names, profileinformation and computeraddresses of every user andresource on the network. Directoryservices use specialized databasesto manage user accounts andnetwork permissions. When youlog on to the city network yourpassword is validated against thecity’s Directory.

Electronic commerceTypically refers to situationswhereby goods or services may bepurchased or sold throughelectronic channels, mostfrequently the Internet.

Electronic kiosksSmall, unattended, self-standingstructures providing access tovariety of services and publicinformation via computer screens.Often menu driven the user

requests information using akeyboard, touch screen or both.Most frequently used forinformation services, electronickiosks are particularly useful forsituations where the user receivesa document such as a parkingpermit or licence renewal. TheProvince has Service OntarioElectronic Kiosks in locations inToronto (including the Concourseunder Metro Hall).

FirewallA method for keeping a networksecure from unauthorized users bylimiting the information passedfrom one side of the firewall tothe other to information that isclearly intended and authorized toreach the other side.

Information managementThe process of planning, co-ordinating and controlling theacquisition, analysis, processing,integration, distribution,transmission, use andsafeguarding of information in allits forms and its associatedtechnology and supportingresources. Source: IQPC,Information Management for thePublic Sector. May 2002

Interactive voice response (IVR)An automated telephoneinformation system thatcommunicates to the caller with acombination of fixed voice menusand real time data from databases.The caller responds by pressingdigits on the telephone orspeaking words or short phrases.Current applications in the City

Glossary

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include recreation programregistration and parking tagpayments.

NetworkA system that transmits anycombination of voice, videoand/or data between users. Thenetwork includes the operatingsystems in the client and servermachines, any cables connectingthem and all supporting hardware.The City’s network connects13,000 desktop computers,numerous servers, printers andother devices.

Network architectureThe design of a communicationssystem, which includes thehardware, software, accessmethods and protocols used. Italso defines the method ofcontrol; for example, whethercomputers can act independentlyor are controlled by othercomputers monitoring thenetwork.

Real time information systemA computer system that respondsto transactions by immediatelyupdating the appropriate masterfiles and/or generating a responsein a time frame fast enough tokeep an operation moving at itsrequired speed.

Streaming videoUsing a data network to transmitvideo. To compensate formomentary delays and provideuninterrupted motion a fewseconds of video data is bufferedbefore being sent to the screen.

This buffering allows video to bedelivered over slower networks.Streaming video differs fromdownloading a video file bystoring video data in a temporaryfile that is deleted when themedia player is closed.

TelephonyThe science of converting soundinto electrical signals,transmitting it within cables orvia radio and reconverting it backinto sound.

WirelessRadio transmission via theairwaves. Various communicationstechniques are used to providewireless transmission includinginfrared line of sight, cellular,microwave, satellite, packet radioand spread spectrum. Cellphones,Blackberries, and pagers areexamples of wireless devices.