Government of Canada Gouvernement du Canada

Putting it all Together

Clustering Information & Services

around Client Needs

Peter Oberle

Office for Government On-line

Treasury Board Secretariat

Government of Canada

(613) 952-7578

Oberle.Peter@TBS-SCT.GC.CA

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Canada U.S. Australia Europe*

% PopulationOnline 48.2 43.0 38.0 26.0

Mean hours/ weekOnline 5.1 4.2 3.6 3.2

*Europe includes France, Germany and the UK

Canada U.S. Australia Europe*

% PopulationOnline 48.2 43.0 38.0 26.0

Mean hours/ weekOnline 5.1 4.2 3.6 3.2

*Europe includes France, Germany and the UK

Figures from the Pricewaterhouse CoopersCanadian Consumer Technology Study 2000

Canadians are going on-line at a phenomenal rate...

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…and expect government to do the same

Sources: Ekos, Angus Reid

Government and Internet

60% of Canadians who look for government information do so on the Internet

59% think the Internet is an effective way for Governments to communicate

Government and Internet

60% of Canadians who look for government information do so on the Internet

59% think the Internet is an effective way for Governments to communicate

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The government’s commitment

“The Government will become a model user of information technology and the Internet. By 2004, our goal is to be known around the world as the government most connected to its citizens, with Canadians able to access all government information and services on-line at the time and place of their choosing.”

Speech from the ThroneOct 12, 1999

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1 / 4 citizens do not know how to find government services Of the rest, 1 / 2 experience access problems:

*Erin Research 1998

Canadians have difficulty getting the services they need

• Telephone lines were busy• I got bounced from one person to another • I got conflicting information • Trouble with voice mail or answering system • I received incorrect information • No one took time to explain things • Parking was difficult • I couldn’t find it in the phone book • I didn’t know where to look • I had to travel too far

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*Erin Research 1998

16

5

1216

51

16

915

17

43

0

20

40

60

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

“One-Stop”Centre

How much would this help you get the service you described?(1 = Not helpful, 5 = Very helpful)

Per

cen

t of

resp

on

den

ts

Get ServiceElectronically

Among Canadians’ priorities for improvement

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Department & Agency SitesDepartment & Agency Sites

One-stop access on-line: where are we now?

GoC Portal links to 450 federal web sites different sites independently offer information

and services to common clients - as a consequence: clients search through multiple sites to

find what the GoC has to offer the work to find & assemble information

and services components falls to the client

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Government of Canada PortalGovernment of Canada Portal

Department & Agency SitesDepartment & Agency Sites

We need to cluster information & services around clients

Information& Service Groupings

Partnerships

Information& Service Groupings

Partnerships

Clustering: bringing together relevant information and services across organizational boundaries into groupings that make sense to clients - one-stop electronic access.

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First step: how should information & services be clustered?

Life Event? Client Group? Subject?

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Assessing the expectations of Canadians

Focus Test 1 - The Organizing Principles, March 2000 25 focus groups, 5-7 persons per group Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, Kelowna, Vancouver Youth, Adults with & without Internet experience, Seniors, & Business

Focus Test 2 - The Specific Clusters, May 2000 25 focus groups, 6-8 persons per group Halifax, Quebec, London, Winnipeg, Calgary Youth, Adults, Seniors, 2 x Business, half of whom tried to get Government service more than once in the past year

Client-level Focus Testing - Cluster Content & Design Cluster champions to test each cluster with specific clients

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Focus test 1: organizing principles

Test 1: Organizing Principles

• Subjects are the primary organizing principle• Tested subject clusters work well for citizens• Some citizen clusters (I.e., who you are) are useful, e.g., Seniors, Youth• Business representatives want a separate set of subjects

SubjectsSubjects CitizensCitizensLife

EventsLife

Events

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Focus test 2 : specific clusters

Test 2: Set of Clusters

• Concept of International cluster included• Three cluster streams work well - minor labeling issues• Specific Citizen & Business clusters intuitive & obvious• International cluster not tested beyond this• Participants prefer some redundancy - some content should appear in more than one cluster

Subjects for Canadians

Subjects for Canadians

Subjects for Business

Subjects for Business

Subjects fornon-Canadians

Subjects fornon-Canadians

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Business Canadians Non-Canadians

GoC cluster blueprint

Start-upFinancingTaxationRegulationsHROthers

Government of Canada PortalGovernment of Canada Portal

JobsHealthTaxesYouthSeniorsOthers

Going to Canada

Canada & the World

Doing business with Canada

Others

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Different approaches to clustering ...

Partners Develop Whole-ofGroup links Single Window Government

... lead to different ends

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Group links Characteristics

• One-stop access to information & services• Partnerships not required• Clients required to assemble the components without guidance• Conflicts, gaps, duplication• Different look & functionality behind the links

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Partners developSingle Window Characteristics

• One-stop access to information & services• Partnerships required• Components assembled for clients• Navigation, technology & content guidance• Conflicts, gaps, duplications resolved• Standard look & functionality behind the links• Integration within the cluster

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Whole ofGovernment Characteristics

• Full set of partnership sites providing one-stop access• Sites add up to a client-centred government• Common experience across sites• Navigation, technology & content guidance across sites• Conflicts, gaps, duplications resolved across sites• Standard metrics, service standards, shared user support• Integration of common systems & processes across clusters

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Blueprint on-line in December 2000: what does it mean?

Simple, clean, quick-to-loadFocused on client needs & expectationsMultiple modes of access• clusters• department/agencies• search• alphabetical subjects

One click to:• 30+ clusters• most popular services• department & agencies sites• government contacts• FAQs / What’s New• GoC Features, Publications• available E-Services

Towards a whole-of-government system• coordinated user support• some family look and functionality• starting set of common metrics

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Among the challenges

Partnerships

• Individual brands• Accountability• Integration / rationalizing content & service delivery• Keeping focus on evolving & growing client expectations

Corporate Management of Clusters

• Common metrics & standards• Family look• Creating content once• Similar functionality across single windows• Operations• Common communications strategy• Shared lessons / solutions