Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Chief Information Officer and City Clerk

SUBJECT:

Increasing Use of Internet Technology:
The Need for a Corporate Internet Webmaster

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

On June 19, 1990, Council established 'information' as one of the City's corporate priorities.

In the Better City Government initiatives of 1994 and 1995, Council endorsed a work program that identified Technology and Communications as key supporting strategies.

City Council approves the establishment of new positions and has directed, whenever possible, that they be funded from existing budgets.

Council has instructed that departments requesting program or staffing increases identify expenditure reductions or revenue enhancements that fully offset the incremental cost to the Operating Budget.

BACKGROUND

In 1995, Council approved $90,000 for the implementation of Internet technology and the creation of a City presence on the World Wide Web. Global use of this technology and the City's website have both flourished.

The City's (public) Internet website provides:

· Information on municipal services;
· Distribution of City reports (it is the prime means of distributing the council package to the public);

· Links to relevant websites containing information on areas outside the City's jurisdiction, like tourism and services provided by other levels of government;
· A quick way for the public to find information and resources through self service and powerful search capabilities.

Highlights and acclamations accorded to the site are listed in Appendix A, which also lists key usage statistics, including the fact that the site offers over 20,000 pages of information and serves 2,500 customers a day - with the majority of requests coming outside of regular working hours. This is outreach on a scale difficult to achieve through traditional information distribution. It allows a public, who might not access City information otherwise, to serve themselves with information unique to their needs or interests.

The City's (private) Intranet provides staff with:

· Easy and quick access to a wide variety of information resources and administrative tools, both internal and external, that help staff respond effectively to service requests and more efficiently carry out their daily work;

· Communications facilities, through the web, e-mail and newsgroups, for various cross-departmental groups;

· Daily updates on training opportunities, staff moves, organizational changes, Fit City events, awards and recognitions, furthering internal communication and helping to foster a sense of community.

Highlights are listed in Appendix A.

All departments recognize the value of the technology and contribute to the website. Several have assigned responsibility for their information to a staff member, on either a full or part-time basis, as "Internet coordinator". This departmental information ownership works very well.

Like most government organizations, the City justifies its (relatively small) investment in Internet technology primarily through improved services to the public. However, while it is difficult to prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship, a reduction in photocopying, paper and printing costs is evident. It is also reasonable to believe that the City's website relieves the inquiry load on staff, and that the site contributes positively to the Vancouver economy through support for tourism and business investment.

An example of the impact that this service can have from an operational and policy perspective is the City Pound. This site, with pictures of dogs available for adoption, is one of our most popular sites. Since the site went into operation, there has been a significant increase in dog adoptions, believed to be in large part due to the site. This increase in the adoption rate has helped the Pound meet the objective of the recent no-kill policy.

It should be noted that the Internet and (especially) intranet services are being used as administrative tools for the regular work of staff, as opposed to the popular entertainment image that the Internet conjures up.

DISCUSSION

Success has brought challenges. The volume of information and our dependence on it demand active management: ensuring that information remains current, repairing broken links to other documents and sites, maintaining a consistent look for ease of use, identifying and pursuing new service opportunities, and analysing the site's use, effectiveness and design. The rate of technological change requires that hardware and software upgrades be performed regularly. The rate of innovation and the growth of customer expectations demand constant monitoring of technology trends, and research into new tools and technologies. Within the City, policies, standards and procedures must adapt rapidly to these changes.

Although the website is having a growing influence in shaping public perceptions of the organization, tese are more than just cosmetic issues. People depend on the website - for example, for the Council package and decisions - and are quick to complain when it is unavailable, when it is slow, or when their information needs are not met.

Challenges like these have prompted organizations to create the role of "webmaster" to manage their site. Depending on the organizational structure and size, this role may encompass responsibility for some or all of technology implementation and management, information content, presentation, communications policy, and corporate image.

The webmaster position recommended in this report will provide the interface between the City Clerk's Corporate Communications Office, which has overall responsibility for corporate communications policy and specific responsibility for media relations, and the departmental Internet coordinators, who provide service-related information. Responsibilities involve both reliability and quality of the service and will be (more detail is provided in Appendix B).

· Hardware and software maintenance and support, ensuring that the site is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week;

A website should leave the user feeling rewarded and encouraged to return. Information must be easy to find, complete, current, quick to download (many users reach the site through relatively slow modems), and have a look and feel that are consistent and pleasing. For a large and diverse site like the City's, maintained by a number of different people, this demands coordination, site management utilities, and standards. The Corporate Communications Office sets the tone and communication goals for the website; the webmaster translates them into a structure that allows individual information providers to contribute and create a harmonious whole. The webmaster is responsible for the overall quality of service.

A staff member has been seconded to this role on a temporary basis for six months, making considerable progress during that time, and confirming the need for a permanent position.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

While there is no direct environmental impact, the overall environmental implications of electronic delivery of information and services are positive, through reduction of both paper use and visits to City Hall.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

While new positions are subject to evaluation by the General Manager of Human Resources, we anticipate that the position will be classified at PG 24, for which the annual cost including fringe benefits and an allowance for appropriate computer equipment is $55,000.

The proposed source of funding is the microcomputer maintenance component of the Information Technology Corporate Support budget. Annual hardware maintenance for the City's inventory of 3,000+ microcomputers is budgeted at $566,000. The webmaster position can be funded by a $55,000 re-allocation of this budget, made possible because the oldest and most non-standard components of the City's microcomputer inventory have been replaced over the last two years and the maintenance contract can be re-negotiated to reflect this. The negative impact on operational efficiency will be minimal, and far outweighed by the positive impact on service to the public.

CONCLUSION

The City's website is a recognized leader in the depth of information it offers. With further development and the widening use of the Internet in homes, offices and public places, it promises real extensions to traditional service delivery offerings and new opportunities for public participation and involvement in the process of government.

A Corporate Internet Webmaster can help to ensure that these opportunities are captured, and that the growing number of people who use the City's website every day will be rewarded with quality service.

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APPENDIX A

City Website and Intranet - Highlights and Usage

Public Website:

· The website has set a high standard for quality, won the 1997 UBCM award for best BC municipal website, and was recognized by the Vancouver Sun in 1998, as a "hot" site;
· The website has become the primary means of distributing the Council meeting package and minutes to elected officials, public, media and staff;
· Quickfind, a directory of staff and services, received the 1998 Municipal Information Systems Association (MISA) "Spirit of Innovation" award;
· The City Pound "dog adoption" pages are visited by 50 to 100 people a day, and adoptions are up by 160% over the comparable pre-web period last year;
· An option to pay parking tickets on-line will be available in early June, 1999;
· Records, including photographs, from the City Archives will available for browsing in early June, 1999. Customers will be able to order photographs on-line;
· It is proposed that the City web server host the Vancouver Millennium web site, starting around September, 1999;

· Key statistics with interpretive comments italicised:

· Number of "hits" (daily average) 49,000

Appendix A - Page 2

City Website and Intranet - Highlights and Usage (Cont'd)

Intranet:

· The intranet ("Citywire") is accessible to around 3,000 staff, providing access to a wide range of information and a growing number of information systems, including:

· Key statistics:

APPENDIX B

Corporate Webmaster Role & Responsibilities

Role:

To work closely with the Corporate Communications Office, providing content coordination and technical support for the maintenance and further development of the City's public and internal web sites as key components of its communication and service delivery strategy.

Responsibilities:

Hardware and Software Maintenance and Support:

Security Administration:

Management of Information Structure and Quality Control:

Development and Application of Usability Standards:

Assistance to Others with Web Pages and Applications:

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