Report to: General Committee Report Date: April 16, 2007

SUBJECT: Joint Portal Business Plan

PREPARED BY: Nasir Kenea, Acting Chief Information Officer (4733)

RECOMMENDATION:

That the report dated April 2, 2007, entitled “Joint Portal Business Plan” be received;

And that Staff proceed with the issue of an RFP for the procurement of a joint portal solution for the York Region and the Town of Markham;

And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

This report provides an update to and seeks direction from Council on the result of a joint portal business plan project initiated in the summer of 2006 between Markham and York Region following council recommendations.

The study reveals that at present both Markham and York Region may not able to provide the level of online services that external and internal customers expect. Opportunities to substantially improve productivity and increase efficiencies in online service delivery cannot be fully realized with existing web technology.

The qualitative benefits to constituents, businesses and employees in providing online services through portal technology are compelling. Furthermore, this strongly aligns with the Town’s strategic visions and goals of providing leadership in e-Government services, connecting the community, providing high quality municipal services, and being recognized as the knowledge-based capital of Canada. A Consultant (Connected Insight Inc.) conducted a study, and recommended to the project Steering Committee to proceed with the issuance of an RFP for the procurement of a joint portal solution.

The initial capital cost for the shared portal is estimated to be $4 - 6 million, while the internal labour cost is approximately $3 - 4 million. The ongoing annual operational cost is estimated at $0.7 - 1 million. Annual savings from discontinuation of the current infrastructure is approximately $85,000 for both Markham and York Region.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

It is estimated that the initial capital cost for the shared portal will be $4 - 6 million for the mandatory requirements (Appendix A) and it will require internal labour worth approximately $3 - 4 million. The labour cost includes six staff dedicated to the project over the two year period as well as others that will be involved at various stages for the duration of the project. The annual operational cost is estimated at $0.7 - 1 million, which includes maintenance and support cost, resource to administer the portal, as well as other resources required to maintain the new environment on ongoing basis. It must be emphasized that these figures are for both Markham and York Region and is expected to be modified should other area municipalities decide to join the Portal initiative. Table 1 provides a breakdown of the cost estimates.

Table 1: Capital and operation cost break down for joint portal implementation

Implementation Phase	Year 1	Year 2	Total (likely)	Total (high)
Initial capital cost	$2,342,000	$1,335,000	$3,677,000	$5,778,000
Operating (SW/HW support & maintenance, training)	-	$279,400	$279,400	$468,600
Sub Total (implementation)	$2,342,000	$1,614,400	$3,956,400	$6,246,600
Internal Labour *	$1,600,000	$1,600,000	$3,200,000	$4,300,000
Total (implementation)	$3,942,000	$3,214,400	$7,156,400	$10,546,600

Operation Phase (starts year 3)			Per year (likely)	Per Year (high)
Operating (SW/HW support & maintenance, services, training)			$304,400	$508,600
Sub Total (operation, annual)			$304,400	$508,600
Internal Labour *			$386,000	$524,000
Total (operation, annual)			$690,400	$1,032,600

* Markham’s internal labour requirement can be accommodated by secondment of existing staff to the project as well as its future operation. All costs are combined for Markham and York Region.

The total savings from the discontinuation of the current infrastructure once a joint portal is in place is approximately $85,000 per year. According to the Consultant it is difficult to provide a reliable quantitative value for the other benefits gained through portal implementation. However, the Business Value Assessment (BVA) conducted by IBM for Markham in 2005 has identified efficiencies equivalent to $6 - 8 million over five years.

The Consultant, noting that the Councils of the Town of Markham and York Region will make the final decision whether or not to charge user fees (sometimes referred to as Convenience Fees) has assumed that Councils will choose to encourage portal adoption by providing all services free of charge. Therefore, the Consultant has assumed that no new revenue will likely be realized through portal in preparing the Business Plan.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to get council endorsement in order for staff to proceed with the recommendations included in the attached report called “York Region-Markham Portal Business Plan and Draft Portal Solution Request for Proposal” (Appendix A).

BACKGROUND:

The Town of Markham conducted an IT Strategic Plan with the goal to provide a mid to long term vision and direction for Information Technology Services, that will enable technology solutions to strongly align with and accommodate growing business needs. The study for the plan was conducted by IBM Consulting Services with the participation of senior management, various department leaders, and staff from various levels through interviews and workshop sessions. The Strategic Plan was approved by Council on March 6, 2006 and includes the following six recommendations:

Adopt Enterprise Architecture Principles and Policies
Optimize Business Architecture
Plan Portal Implementation – Access to everything, everyone, anytime, anywhere
Initiate Information Management Programme
Implement IT Process best practices
Refine IT Governance Model

IBM Consulting Services also conducted a similar IT strategic study at York Region in 2005, and made recommendations comparable to that of Markham.

With the intent to understand the value of a portal implementation to the Town, and with the direction from Council, a Business Value Assessment (BVA) was initiated through a consultant in 2005. The result of the study, which involved participation of staff through series of workshops, identified a large number of portal capabilities that were prioritized based on business value impact, ease of implementation and impacted users. The qualitative and quantitative benefits of these capabilities were also identified.

On the General Committee of Council meeting of February 28, 2006 the following recommendations were adopted:

1) In 2006, work with the Region to create the governance, define portal requirements and begin implementation in 2006 on a Shared Portal Solution.

2) Focus should be on phase 1 of external portal first, with planning only for internal portal for 2006;

3) An RFP should be issued to ensure that the portal that provides the best value is selected.

The recommendations endorsed by General Committee of Council meeting on March 6, 2006 included the following:

“And that Staff develop a business plan for a portal solution, in conjunction with the Region of York, funded through ITS Capital Budget, Account #049-5350-7300-005, at an estimated cost to Markham of $75,000”.

A report from York Region staff to the Finance and Administration Committee meeting of April 6, 2006 was approved by Regional Council and it recommended that York Region join the Town of Markham in developing a Business Plan for a portal to serve the residents and businesses of the Region. The budget for this plan was $75,000.

Based on these two recommendations, a Consultant (Connected Insight Inc.) was retained through a joint procurement process that used the templates and resources of the Town of Markham Supplies and Services and an agreement was entered into with the Consultant to produce the portal business plan. The study was initiated in the summer of 2006 and was completed in Feb 2007. The total cost of the Study was $89, 951.60 (including GST) equally shared between Markham and York Region.

York Region and Markham formed a Joint Portal Steering Committee (JPSC) for the purposes of investigating the potential implementation of portal technology as another milestone in electronic service delivery and transformation towards e-Government.

Markham’s JPSC membership was comprised of:

· Janet Carnegie (Director, Corporate Communications)

· Rick Dominico (Manager, Corporate Quality, CAO's Office)

· Bob Henderson (Director, Strategic Planning & Service Support, MPL)

· Nasir Kenea (Acting CIO & Manager, Applications and GIS, Corporate Services)

· Peter Loukes (Director, Operations, Community and Fire Services)

· John Wright (Director, Building Standards, Development Services)

This report is based on the findings from the above noted study which has been compiled in Appendix A.

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

All levels of government in Canada are moving aggressively towards solutions that provide seamless service to people using programs and services across several agencies. Canada has embraced the Internet, and increasingly Canadian citizens and businesses are coming to expect the substitution of paper forms, facsimiles and telephone calls in favour of interacting with government online. The transformation to “government online” is being driven by consumer demand, rapidly evolving technological capabilities and increased government confidence in matters related to privacy and security.

The opportunity for York Region and Markham to join forces and share the costs, risks and benefits of shared portal infrastructure is unique. The level of cooperation proposed by the partners, indeed between levels of government, is exceptional. York Region and Markham propose to build a common framework to enable present and future development in their respective online services.

At present Markham and York Region may not be able to provide the level of online services that internal and external customers expect. Limited integration of current systems/services creates the impression that Markham and York Region are lagging. Opportunities to substantially improve productivity and increase efficiencies in online service delivery cannot be fully realized with existing web technology.

Markham and York Region have completed significant analysis to determine whether sufficient business value would likely be delivered by a joint web portal. The end users would include both those who work within the partner organizations and other organizations. However, the most significant group to benefit from a portal are citizens and businesses who wish to interact with Markham and York Region on their own terms and regardless of which level of municipal government provides a particular service. Once implemented, the portal is expected to make available a dynamic, personalized gateway to access municipal information and conduct regional government services and transactions.

A shared portal stems from the recognition that government operations need to modernize and traditional information silos be eliminated, within and between levels of government. Also, interagency, interdepartmental and intergovernmental information flow must improve so that taxpayers have a single point of entry for government services.

Presently York Region and Markham online capability gaps render access to services less than optimal. Furthermore, constituents are paying a premium to maintain two online technological infrastructures. If Markham and York Region wish to provide better online services, they must invest in upgrading their online offering. Many municipalities have upgraded or are upgrading to portal technology, including Mississauga, Toronto and Hamilton. By making a portal investment, the partners will be better able to keep pace with other technologically advanced municipalities and communities.

Pragmatically, there are three e-government alternatives for Markham and York Region to consider:

Status quo (maintain existing websites). This alternative is less resource-intensive in the short-term and will allow Markham and York Region to divert capital investment to other opportunities. However, this alternative is misaligned with the partners’ strategic plans for technology leadership and may create the perception that the partners are technology followers. As well, existing websites have a limited capacity to meet future growth.

Implement separate portals. This would entail less cross-jurisdictional coordination with fewer stakeholders to satisfy. However, this alternative would prove more expensive and is estimated to be a 30-60% premium for each partner versus shared portal. Furthermore, it fails to demonstrate a cross-jurisdictional partnership.

Implement a joint portal. The cost of a joint portal is estimated to be 30-60% lower for each Markham and York Region versus separate portals. As well, portal services support the partners’ strategic goals and objectives and demonstrate willingness to partner to the benefit of the taxpayer. On the other hand, a joint portal would be realized through a large, complex and challenging multi-year project with numerous stakeholders to satisfy.

The qualitative benefits to constituents, businesses and employees in providing online services are compelling. The Consultant therefore recommended to the Joint Portal Steering Committee to proceed with the procurement of a joint portal solution.

There is substantial alignment between the partners’ strategic plans and the implementation of a portal technology would significantly contribute to helping realize the Markham and York Region Councils’- endorsed strategic plans. Clearly, portals can play a key role in engaging the next generation’s interaction with local and regional government. The following list summarizes the qualitative benefits identified by the Consultant for the joint portal:

1. Increased customer service

· Personalized client access to services and information

· Enable self-service for constituents

· Faster response to citizen inquiries, and transparency & accountability

2. Increased citizen engagement

· Enable citizens & businesses to access information anywhere, anytime

· Enhanced public awareness of local government & facilitates citizen participation

· Faster deployment of municipal information online

3. Operational efficiency

· Improved flexibility to expand services

· Improve workflow for portal-enabled processes, coordination & decision making

· Reduce knowledge requirements to access applications

4. Demonstrate municipal leadership

· Demonstrated municipal leadership through shared service partnership

· Demonstrated commitment to partnerships and cost sharing

The diagram below illustrates the proposed shared portal in the partners’ environments, each of which might otherwise have separate infrastructure. By leveraging shared portal technology the partners will realize savings through a lower total cost of ownership (capital and operating).

Figure 1 - Conceptual Joint Portal future state

Building the shared capacity to enable future growth and online services internally and externally will realize both short-term and long-term cost savings and advance York Region and Markham’s shared vision for collaborative future.

Federal and Provincial Approach to Portal Benefits

Quantifying the benefits of portal implementation is neither simple nor reliably measured. The Consultant noted that The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat proposes assessing both “comparative” and “level-of-service” advantages expected to result from an IT investment (including Portal Investment). Comparative advantages include:

· More time spent on highly-valued activities;

· Improved inputs to decision-making;

· Resource savings achieved by avoiding errors and needless work; and

· Reducing the number of steps in a business process, resulting in improved workflow.

Level-of-service advantages include:

· Reductions in paperwork;

· Improved client access to services;

· More timely services; and

· Improved quality or quantity of service.

The Province of Ontario has implemented a portal technology strategy for a number of compelling qualitative reasons. “The Portal Guide 2005” Ontario vision includes:

· Clients will have seamless, speedy and simple access to government information, expertise, products and services.

· Ontario is recognized as a world leader in providing electronic services. Client view portals as the preferred channel for receiving Government of Ontario services and client’s satisfaction with them is extremely high.

The Ontario Government recognizes “… that this transformation is being driven by consumer demand, quickly evolving technological capabilities and the need for robust security framework”

Ontario’s justification for a common portal framework stems from the recognition that government operations need to modernize; that information silos must be eliminated through access integration; that interagency, interdepartmental and intergovernmental information flow must be improved so that taxpayers realize the elusive goal of “build it once - use many”.

FINANCIAL TEMPLATE: (external link)

Not Applicable

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Portal can help in providing the means for staff and citizens to communicate through the internet from wherever they are and thereby reduce travel requirement in order to conduct business activities. Automated processes also help in reducing paperwork.

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

Portal implementation is expected to provide citizens with improved access to Town services from home, and the portal environment will be compliant to accessibility standards as provided by World Wide Web Consortium.

ENGAGE 21^ST CONSIDERATIONS:

In the “Engage Markham 21st Century Markham Report”, the community vision and corporate goals are to be realized through the following elements:

· Markham will be recognized as an international leader in the management and delivery of high quality municipal services;

· We are the high tech/knowledge-based capital of Canada;

· Our communities … feel connected;

· The Town will be a leader in e-government services; and

· To establish, promote and support Markham as the best location for diverse high-tech and related businesses.

It is the Consultant’s view that all these visions and goals can be realized through effective deployment of portal technology that permits access to services and information for its citizens and employee from any where at any time.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Selected business unit leaders took part as a member of the Joint Portal Steering Committee during this project.

RECOMMENDED

BY: ________________________ ____________________

Andy Taylor Nasir Kenea

Commissioner, Corporate Services Acting CIO

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix A - “York Region-Markham Portal Business Plan and Draft Portal Solution Request for Proposal”