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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCRPS-09-085 - Expressions of Interest for Corporate Technology Strategic Plan & CIS Assessment REPORT REPORT TO: Finance and Corporate Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: June 22, 2009 SUBMITTED BY: Troy Speck, General Manager, Corporate Services Mike Grummett, Director, Information Technology PREPARED BY: Jeff Ham, Manager, Database Administration and GIS WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: May 28, 2009 REPORT NO.: CRPS-09-085 SUBJECT: EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR CORPORATE TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIC PLAN AND CUSTOMER INFORMATION SYSTEM ASSESSMENT RECOMMENDATION: For information. BACKGROUND: During the month of July, 2009 the City of Kitchener Corporate Services Department will be requesting Expressions of Interest (EOI) from interested consultants for the following 2 strategic technology studies: Study 1: The development of a detailed Corporate Technology Strategic Plan The key goal of this assignment is to provide a business centric corporate technology strategic plan that the organization as a whole will embrace to succeed in meeting our collective technological objectives. The plan will also be in support of efficient and effective government as outlined in the foundations of the “City of Kitchener Strategic Plan”. The study will specifically look at technology planning strategies for the next 3 to 5 years and keep an eye towards the future and how refinements to our corporate technology landscape should occur. The Municipality is targeting the final Corporate Technology Strategic Plan to be completed, including final presentations and approvals, by no later than January 31, 2010and to have recommendations in place to support the 2011 budget process. The extent of work carried out under this project will be sponsored by the Corporate Services department and championed by the City of Kitchener’s Information Technology Division. Study 2: A detailed business application assessment of Kitchener’s Customer Information System Under a separate report, the consultant will conduct a detailed business application assessment of Kitchener’s Customer Information System (CIS). The CIS is Kitchener’s tax and utility billing system. This study will be initiated at Kitchener’s sole option based upon the content of the EOI responses and the evaluations completed by a review committee. è ó ï The vendor will conduct a detailed assessment of Kitchener’s CIS and provide strategic direction and detailed recommendations for the next 3-5 years. The report shall include a review of the current governance, support structure and costs. This analysis shall be used internally by City of Kitchener Staff as a template to conduct reviews of other key business systems in the future. Both studies are being carried out as planned for by Corporate Services and the Customer Information Systems Steering Committee and are fully funded in the current budget. REPORT: The Corporate Technology Strategic Plan and the Customer Information System assessment studies are important evolutions in developing and sustaining our corporate technology investments over the long term. Both studies are seen by administration as essential planning tools that will help guide us in our technology related decision making. To this end, the Corporate Services Department and the Finance Department made budget requests that were approved in 2009 to fund these highly specialized business and technology studies. Timing of the Studies The Municipality requires comprehensive reports that document the best utilization of the existing technology infrastructure and resources to accomplish its current and future technology related services. The two studies will establish the technology master directions and priorities for information technology and electronic services across the organization over the next five years. It is important to conduct both studies as planned for this year for a number of reasons. Last year there were significant business and technology investments made in implementing new corporate systems. As an example, in 2008 the corporation undertook the largest new technology implementation project to date when we established SAP Financials and Cityworks as cornerstone financial and work order management systems. These applications will serve the corporation for many years to come. The strategic plan will advise of any alignments or changes to existing technology systems that should be considered in the next 5 years resulting from the new systems landscape. The Customer Information System Steering Committee has also identified a risk that needs to be investigated this year through the CIS assessment study. Currently we rely on an external contractor to assist with the development and reprogramming of the system which is often required to support our business due to legislated changes. This contractor has unique and detailed programming knowledge of the underlying design of our CIS system. We have been reviewing the terms of work with this contractor on an annual basis and have determined that the organization needs to conduct a detailed study as planned this year to mitigate any potential risks associated with the current system operation. An equally important reason for conducting these assignments as planned for this year is that there are many synergies between the two studies and we believe there will be cost savings realized through economies of scale reflected in the bid prices of the prospective vendors by issuing both studies under one Expression of Interest (EOI). That said, we will also have the sole option of working with separate consultants for each study should the EOI evaluation committee conclude that areas of specialization are unique enough that it warrants using separate vendors to complete each assignment. The following describes how the studies will be developed and used by administration to support our business needs for many years to come: è ó î Study 1: The development of a detailed Corporate Technology Strategic Plan This plan will be used to support the City of Kitchener’s vision to be a leader in building a different future for city government and public service. The primary objective of the plan will be to ensure that the Municipality can: leverage its’ current technology investments get maximum value on future technology investments optimize the Municipality’s ability to meet and enhance customer service. develop a technology governance, leadership and performance model along with a decision making framework The scope of the plan will include all functional areas of the Municipality and include interviews or on-line surveys with the following stakeholders: Business Units and Front Line Staff Mayor and Council Corporate Management Team (CMT) Senior Leadership Team ( SLT) Management Leadership Team (MLT) Recommendations from the plan will clearly demonstrate how they support the City of Kitchener Strategic Plan through alignment with its defined strategic imperatives. Costs associated with any recommendation in the plan will be justified and be inclusive of all capital costs as well as ongoing operating costs and city staffing resources required. Estimates of tangible and intangible benefits related to all recommendations will also be provided and quantified. The Corporation of the City of Kitchener wishes to retain all copyrights for work completed under this assignment. Deliverables of the project may be used as a template for future strategic planning reviews within the Corporation of the City of Kitchener and may also be shared with other Municipalities to assist in strategic planning initiatives. Phase 2: A detailed business application assessment of Kitchener’s Customer Information System The following areas of interest are not necessarily all inclusive but are considered essential to the successful business application assessment of the Customer Information System. Administration will look to the consultant for direction on other recommended areas or approaches in their response based on similar initiatives they have undertaken for other municipalities and/or utility organizations. The consultant will also demonstrate and present a clear understanding of the unique and diverse nature of business the Kitchener CIS supports. To illustrate this it is important to note that the CIS is used to support Tax, Water, Wastewater and Gas Utilities Customer information and billing. Any experience the consultant has with similarly diversified business environments will be evaluated by the selection committee. As detailed below, the business application assessment is to be structured around the following key areas of interest and deliverables: 1. Analysis of current overall approach used by Kitchener to provide the services encompassed by the CIS system 2. Analysis of costs and any value added resulting from current approach 3. Sustainability analysis of current approach 4. Analysis of options to current approach è ó í 5. Other options for partnerships and services The Municipality is targeting the final Customer Information System Assessment to be completed, including final presentations and approvals, by no later than March 31, 2010 and recommendations in place to support the 2011 budget requests. The extent of work carried out under these projects will be sponsored by the Financial Services department and championed by the City of Kitchener’s Information Technology Division. The Corporation of the City of Kitchener wishes to retain all copyrights for work completed under this assignment. Deliverables of the project may be used as a template for future strategic planning reviews within the Corporation of the City of Kitchener and may also be shared with other Municipalities to assist in strategic planning initiatives. Outsourcing vs. In-House Approach Administration has determined the best approach for conducting these studies is through an external consultant. The justification for outsourcing is as follows: 1. In March 2009, the Corporate Services Department issued of “Letters of Intent” and gathered information from Consultants intending to respond to a future Expression of Interest. After reviewing the information received, the Corporate Technology Strategic Plan Committee determined that there are indeed consultants who can provide deep insight and knowledge in conducting these assignments. These professional consultants have access to resources with highly specialized knowledge and skills both in municipal business and in technology. Further, a number of the consultants who expressed intent to respond have successfully developed similar strategic technology plans for other municipalities in Ontario. 2. We have contacted other Municipalities who have undergone similar studies using professional consultants, and all have indicated positive results. Using professional consultants to conduct this type of assignment has become an industry best practice, in both the public and private sectors. 3. Upon review of internal skill sets and evaluating current work loads we have determined that there is not capacity to undertake these assignments with internal staff resources. 4. Based on the timelines required for the delivery of study results it is anticipated that there will need to be a team of consulting associates deployed to complete the work in the required timeframe. Internally, we do not have the capacity to assign staff to these studies without significantly compromising other core work initiatives staff is involved in. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The 2 studies are fully funded through the current budget and were approved by the Mayor and Council during the 2009 budget deliberations. Study 1 will be funded by the Computer Reserve Fund; Study 2 will be funded by the Customer Information System (CIS) Capital Account. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Troy Speck, General Manager, Corporate Services è ó ì è ó ë è ó ê è ó é è ó è è ó ç è ó ïð è ó ïï è ó ïî è ó ïí è ó ïì è ó ïë è ó ïê