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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFCS-16-084 - Digital Kitchener REPORT TO: Council DATE OF MEETING: May 16, 2016 SUBMITTED BY: Dan Murray, Director of Technology Innovation and Services, 519-741-2200 x7825 PREPARED BY: Dan Murray, Director of Technology Innovation and Services, 519-741-2200 x7825 Justin Watkins, Service Improvement Facilitator, 519-741-2200 x7203 WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: May 11, 2016 REPORT NO.: FCS-16-084 SUBJECT: Digital Kitchener Project Update ___________________________________________________________________________ RECOMMENDATION: For discussion. BACKGROUND: The City of Kitchener set out to refresh its 2010 Corporate Technology Strategic Plan and to develop it’s first-ever community digital strategy in 2015. The project was renamed Digital Kitchener early in 2015. Significant internal and external consultation has taken place to inform the development of this new strategy. Staff will provide a th presentation at the May 16 strategic session outlining the engagement efforts and the key strategic themes that have emerged, and will engage Council around the questions at the end of this report to provide further direction for the draft priority actions in order to finalize the Digital Kitchener strategy. REPORT: Consultation Highlights Over the course of the project, roughly 1,000 ideas and comments have been received from members of City staff and the public. What has been encouraging throughout consultation efforts is the consistency in people’s ideas for a new strategy. While not an exhaustive list, below are some of the highlights of the project team’s outreach. 2015 *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. 2. - 1 mind mapping Between March and April, a series of exercises were held with approximately 50 City staff to introduce the project. Ideas and feedback gained during these early stages of the project were built upon throughout July and August with a further 50 one-on-one interviews with members of council, senior management and other staff from across the corporation. Ideas of the Brave Symposium The project team participated in the hosted by the City’s economic development office on June 2. Approximately 20 community members were engaged through this event around the question “how might we create a more digitally-evolved city?” In October, staff received preliminary feedback from City IT staff as part of the risk assessment scheduled for that division. Over 30 IT staff responded to the online questionnaire, providing insights into expectations and opportunities for the digital strategy. Between October and November, 95 community members from seven of the council Advisory Committees engaged in a series of half hour brainstorming sessions to introduce the project and solicit feedback. 2016 Mayor’s Forum On January 14, Mayor Vrbanovic hosted a in support of the project and was attended by roughly 30 tech leaders and visionaries from across the community. The purpose of the forum was to test major themes that had emerged from earlier consultation and attempted to further build-out ideas. The two hour event was well received by those in attendance and generated favourable media attention. Wilfrid Laurier Two smaller roundtable events were held with students from UniversityUniversity of Waterloo and the on January 20 and 21, and utilized a format similar to the Mayor’s forum. The success of these events was made possible student unions by the support of both . Throughout the month of February, the City’s Facebook account was used to host a “Digital” Town Hall . Three questions were proposed and generated discussion from approximately 230 users. Year of Also throughout the month of February, a co-developed questionnaire (with Code WR ) was distributed. The intent of the questionnaire was to create a profile on the level of technological comfort, skill and access citizens have. KPL branches The questionnaire was hosted on the corporate website, four , 14 community centresWorking Centre (Queen Street Commons Café) and the . It Kitchener Youth Action Council was also shared with members of the and the Mayor’s Advisory Council for Kitchener Seniors ; and through several other Year of Code WRREAP WaterlooHacking Health channels/networks, including ,, 2. - 2 WRneighbourhood associations and the city’s . A total of 441 responses were received. Strategic Framework The following section summarizes the key components of the draft framework for the Digital Kitchener Strategy based on best practice research and public input to date. This strategic framework is attached in a visual representation in Appendix A. WhatWhy Vision ( we need to be and it is important) Digital Kitchener is: 1. Connected by technologies that make us more competitive, more productive and a more attractive place to be. Why is this important? Smarter infrastructure gives rise to smarter cities. 2. Innovative by inspiring a higher level of thinking – supporting ideas that improve service and user experiences. Why is this important? Capacity for innovation is an essential building block for smart cities. 3. On Demand by providing people with access to the information and services they want, when and where they want it. Why is this important? A more engaged and informed community. 4. Inclusive by building a smart city that benefits everyone. Why is this important? “When our people are connected and participating, we will discover resources in the community we never knew we had.” How Themes and Draft Priority Actions ( we will achieve it) 1. Infrastructure Offering a fibre optic network with the capacity and access required for Kitchener to be globally competitive. Reimagining city Wi-Fi capabilities as a contiguous, reliable and safe service for all users to access. Looking beyond traditional uses for infrastructure and incorporating emerging technologies to improve efficiency and user experiences. 2. Solutions 2. - 3 Providing flexible internal solutions that support City service delivery and process innovation. Testing new service delivery ideas through co-developed initiatives and piloting new concepts. Deploying more tech and wireless solutions internally, and automating more processes as a result. 3. Information Providing more centralized information to users that is customizable and easy to access. Using information in more dynamic ways to inform decision making. Providing more decentralized service options that are convenient and intuitive. 4. Digital Inclusion Digital inclusion needs to be a broader philosophy that is taken into account with everything the City related to information and technology. In turn, the City should advocate for strategic partners across the community to do the same. Next Steps The next step for the Digital Kitchener strategy will be to organize cross functional teams to work on further developing and finalizing the draft priority actions listed above to support the vision and strategic themes. We envision including relevant staff, interested Council members and key community members in those cross-functional th teams. Council’s input from the May 16 strategic session will be used to inform that work. The following table lists the remaining high-level milestones for Digital Kitchener. MilestoneDate Cross-functional teams to finalize priority actions May/June 2016 Digital Kitchener finalized / develop communications strategy July 2016 Final Strategy presentation to Council / Strategy launch October 2016 Questions for Council’s Consideration 1.) What specific parts of the Digital Kitchener strategy resonate most with you? 2. - 4 2.) As you reflect on the Digital Kitchener “vision, themes and draft priority actions” what specific actions do you think the City could be taking to support them? 3.) Enhanced Public Wi-Fi has consistently been a topic of high interest throughout the consultation. While city-wide Wi-Fi availability has been cited as an ideal state, no sound business case has emerged to support the required investment. The recommended approach at this time is to continue to investigate installations of public Wi-Fi at strategic City owned facilities and public areas and to look for What strategic partnerships & sponsorships to further the reach of public Wi-Fi. are your thoughts on this proposed approach? 4.) The importance of digital inclusion will continue to grow as technology becomes more integrated in everyday activities. The degree to which the City tackles digital inclusion can range from ensuring that all community members can access digital services to proactively increasing the digital literacy level of the future What are your thoughts on what “digital generations of the community. inclusion” should mean for Kitchener? What role do you think the City of Kitchener should play in digital inclusion vs. other public entities? ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: Strategic Priority: Effective and Efficient City Services Strategy: 5.2 - Improve the design and delivery of city services so that they provide what citizens want in the most reliable, convenient and cost efficient way Strategic Action: #68 - Corporate Technology Strategic Plan and Digital Strategy FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: No financial implications at this time. Any initiatives resulting from the strategy will be brought to Council for future budget considerations. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: CONSULT – As outlined above, the public at large has been offered the opportunity to provide input and share ideas on the Digital Kitchener project through various engagement opportunities as described in this report. COLLABORATE – Many stakeholder groups such as Kitchener Public Library, the Mayor’s Forum participants and the City’s advisory committees have collaborated to develop innovative ideas for Digital Kitchener. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Dan Chapman – Deputy CAO Finance and Corporate Services 2. - 5 2. - 6