e-council Best Practices Guide

e-Council Best Practices Guide

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Introduction

This guide is aimed at enabling municipal governments to introduce electronic services into their council operations to benefit councillors, municipal staff and constituents. The topics and concepts provided below are based on research into industry best practices and on lessons learned from a number of municipalities within Nova Scotia who have implemented electronic services into their council operations.

1.1

Background

Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations (SNSMR) retained Unisys Canada to prepare a report on the best practices and considerations for the adoption of e-Council within municipal

governments. For further information on the company www.unisys.com.

This report was prepared after consultations with the Town of Wolfville, Town of Truro, Cape Breton Regional Municipality,

Halifax Regional Municipality and Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations.

1.2

What is e-Council?

In virtually all business and government sectors, more and more processes are being performed with technology and/or supported by technology every day. The term ‘e-Council’ refers to the use of information technology services within the council operations of a municipal government. E-Council does not refer to any specific set of products or processes. It refers to a wide range of scenarios, from the very simple (e.g. using email to facilitate communications among councillors, staff and constituents) to the very involved (e.g. having a paperless council operation where every process is conducted in an electronic or digital fashion). Many municipalities in Nova Scotia and across Canada have begun to implement e-Council concepts into their operations. This guide will delve into those concepts, considering the technology, processes and physical setups and dependencies to support e-Council operations.

e-Council refers to a wide range of

e-Council Best Practices Guide

1.3

High level benefits and challenges of

e-Council

The benefits of e-Council are varied, and to a large extent, depend on the types of technologies and services you introduce to your council operations. Below is a high level description of some benefits and challenges that would be expected in a larger, full-scale introduction of technology to council operations.

Some potential benefits:

• Smoother operation of your council proceedings (better recording

of voting, minutes, etc.)

• Easier information flow among constituents, councillors and staff

• Reduction in the use of paper for your council operations

• Increasing the professionalism of your council operations through

improvements in technology and/or council chambers

• Improved access by your constituents to their councilors

• Improved access by members of the press to your council

proceedings

• Improved access to information by your constituents and the ability

for constituents to review your documents and view council proceedings without the need to be physically at your municipal offices/council site

Some potential challenges:

• Limited budgets for technology acquisition

• Limited on-staff expertise to support technology

• Resistance among councillors who are used to working in a

paper-based fashion both within the council chambers (i.e. during meetings) and outside of council chambers

• Physical space restrictions in your council chambers for the

introduction of new technologies

• Training of your staff and councilors on the use of new

technologies

1.4

How to use this guide / goals of this guide

This guide is intended to provide you with the following:

• Lists of services and functions for you to consider adding to your

council operations

• A guide to the process by which technology can be introduced into

your council operations

e-Council Best Practices Guide

are keeping critical considerations in mind as you progress toward introducing technology into your council operations.

This guide is designed so it can be used by a municipality interested in starting the process of introducing some technology services into their council operations or by a municipality that already has a number of technologies in use for their council, but is looking to grow and expand their offerings to their councillors and/or constituents.

2

e-Council Technology and Services Views

Your e-Council initiative must take into account all of the stakeholders it will affect. The diagram below shows how an e-Council initiative is situated among your municipal councillors, your staff (administrative, legislative, etc.), your constituents and the press/media that help in informing your constituents.

When beginning to plan your e-Council project, you should think about it in two streams that are described below:

• e-Council Lifecycle – This will guide you through the phases of

your e-Council project from conception through to the operation of your e-Council. This will help you with the process of introducing technology and services into your council operations.

• E-Council Inventory – This will help you to think about the

potential services and technology you may want to add to your

Ways you can think about e-Council

e-Council Best Practices Guide

council operations. This will help you identify what you wish to modify or add to your current council operations.

2.1

e-Council Lifecycle

Starting the process of introducing technology into your council operations can be intimidating. In beginning to examine modernizing your council operations, consider the life cycle shown and described below.

Throughout your project, you will need to Manage the initiative (i.e. ensuring contractors complete work as agreed, coordinating suppliers, etc.) As with any project, the first step in this lifecycle (Needs

Analysis and Requirements) is where you should gather and validate

your requirements and determine your needs. From this, you will progress to more detailed thoughts on your requirements

(Specifications) that will make your ideas one step closer to being able to be implemented. The next step (Planning and Prioritization) will be to do the detailed planning for the introduction of the service(s) and determine priorities among competing services. The Selection and

Acquisition phase is where you reach a final decision on the

product(s) and service(s) to purchase. At this point in the lifecycle, you are now ready to implement the technologies and services

(Roll-Out) and have your councillors and/or staff begin to use them. At the

point your roll-out is complete, the “last” stage in the lifecycle

(Ongoing Use of Technology) is the use of the technologies/services where you should expect to support the technologies and your users. At any time during the lifecycle, expect Change to occur (i.e. changes in priorities, change in a currently used technology).

The process of introducing e-Council

technologies and services

e-Council Best Practices Guide

The lifecycle above can be thought of and used in one of two ways:

1 To gather your thoughts and enable you to plan a larger-scale,

multiple service/technology introduction (i.e. a full-scale introduction of e-Council) to your council operations

2 To gather your thoughts and enable you to plan a single

service/technology introduction (i.e. email for councillors) to your council operations

More detailed explanations and examples of each stage as well as detailed checklists for considerations at each stage of the lifecycle are provided in section 4 below.

2.2

e-Council Inventory

Another way to think about introducing new technologies and services into your council operations is by examining possibilities. Below is a comprehensive list of potential services and technologies to introduce into your council operations as well as considerations for the council chambers. You can use this list to begin the discussion of the needs and requirements that are unique to your situation. Each of these services and functions will be discussed in more detail in Section 5 to follow.

TOPIC

SERVICES, IDEAS, CONSIDERATIONS

Council Chambers Facilities (physical setup):

• Arrangement and layout of council chambers

• Furniture • Cabling • Public gallery

• Space for presentations from the public and staff

• Sightlines

• Space for the press

• Other potential uses for your council chambers

Equipment and Services for Direct Use by Councillors

• Laptops

• LCD screens / monitors • Printers

• Provision of internet access • Email / Calendars

e-Council

technologies and services you may wish to adopt

e-Council Best Practices Guide

• Policies for use of technology • Operation of your e-Council

during meetings

In-Chambers Technology • Audio

• Video (displays, screens)

• In-chambers networks • Fixed computers • Recording of proceedings • Speaker priority / management • Voting

• Facilities for community and

staff presentations

Cable Television Broadcasts • Physical setup

• Equipment required

• Camera placement

• Storage and technology

requirements

• Lighting

Municipal Web Site • Web-casting

• Publishing

• Events calendars

• Issues tracking

• Public compliant submission

• Public submission of

comments

• Polls

2.3

Considerations for e-Council Initiatives

In addition to thinking about the process of how to introduce e-Council (i.e. e-Council Lifecycle) and the potential services you could

introduce (i.e. e-Council Inventory), you also need to consider the following concepts that relate to a number of stages in the lifecycle and to a number of the services in the inventory. Below is a list of

considerations which will be fully explored in Section 5 to follow.

Things you should keep in mind throughout introducing e-Council technologies and services

e-Council Best Practices Guide

• Security – Your e-Council technologies may store sensitive

information. This section will provide you some items to take into consideration relative to securing your information resources.

• Backup and Recovery of Information – As you become reliant on

technology to operate your council, the backup and recovery of the information managed by your technology products becomes a critical factor in allowing you to have long term access to your records.

• Business Continuity - As you become reliant on technology to

operate your council, you will need plans for how you can adapt to technology problems if and when they arise.

• Legislative Requirements and FOIPOP – Your council operations

currently exist in a legislative framework. The introduction of technology creates some new issues to consider.

• Records Retention – You will need to devise policies and

procedures for records retention for the electronic records generated and maintained by your e-Council technologies.

• Patriot Act – If you are considering the use of a service provider

who may store data in the United States, you should take into account current understandings on the Patriot Act.

• Support for Technology – The ability for you to support your

technology and your councillors and staff in their use of technology needs to be taken into consideration.

• Training – In order to ensure your councilors can successfully use

the new technologies you will implement, you will need to consider the manner in which you will train and educate your users.

• Growth and Extensibility – To maximize the return on the

investment you will make in e-Council, you will want to ensure that the technologies and products you purchase can grow and support your operations over the long term.

• Technology Standards – Taking technology standards into account

will allow you to make smart purchases, minimize support costs and ensure your purchases will be usable over the long term.

• Working with Vendors – You will need to work with many

different types of vendors throughout your e-Council project. This section will provide some tips on how to successfully engage and secure services from your vendors.

e-Council Best Practices Guide

3

e-Council Lifecycle

Starting the process of upgrading your council operations from a traditional paper-based model to one incorporating more modern electronic services is a daunting task. You will be faced with budget and timeline pressures, resistance to change on the part of your councillors and staff, not to mention the challenges inherent in determining what you want and need to do and the analysis and selection of complicated technology tools.

Before you begin to think in detail about changes to your council operations to introduce new technologies and practices, review the checklist below to see if some of the initial indicators are positive for you to begin your e-Council project.

Items to Consider – Starting Your E-council Project

Do you have a champion for your e-Council project?

• Many municipalities have found it a key success factor to

have a visionary who can set the strategy to ensure their e-Council project got off the ground and continued to progress even during difficult times.

G

Read this guide and discuss the concepts with your team. Try to arrive at an agreement for the common goals for your e-Council project.

G

Discuss what you can reasonably afford before starting your e-Council project.

G Determine and document what is driving you to adopt

e-Council practices, technologies and operations (e.g. improved efficiency, demands by councillors, improved communications, improvements to facilities, etc.)

G

Determine who you want to be part of your team.

• Decide on participation of staff, councillors and external

parties.

• Ensure you understand what each person brings to your

project.

e-Council Best Practices Guide

The sections that follow will walk you through some high level steps to help guide your thinking through the process of implementing e-Council services.

3.1

Management of your e-Council Activities

You need to keep a number of considerations in mind throughout the introduction of your e-Council services. Review the checklist below to see some of the key management concepts that can help you keep your project on track.

Items to Consider –

Management of Your E-council Activities

Managing the expectations of your councillors, your staff and your constituents is a key to success.

• Ensure they are aware of the status of your activities

and ensure you are continually seeking their opinion and advice.

G

Expect the timelines for the following items to take longer than you might originally expect and insure you have adequate time in your schedule to mitigate the inevitable issues that will occur in a project:

• Acquisition and delivery of computers, network

components and other technology products

• Installation and configuration of technology products

• Completion of custom furniture

• Completion of construction changes to your physical

council chambers

G

Plan to coordinate the activities of a large number of players during your e-Council activities. You should expect to be managing the activities of the following people (among others):

• Construction crews

• Technology vendors

• Architect

• Stakeholders (councillors, media, staff)

G

Treat your e-Council activities as a project. Expect to assume a role of “general contractor” to ensure all of the pieces come together.

G

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider –

Management of Your E-council Activities

councillors that may help you in your project. You may have significant IT and/or technology expertise that you can use to help guide you and/or provide a second opinion. Speak with other municipalities when considering a

particular technology. Ask detailed questions about how they made their decisions.

G

Expect to spend a significant amount of your time

consulting with councillors, vendors, other municipalities and staff.

• This consultation time is necessary and will help you

in introducing services that genuinely aid your councillors and help you achieve the goals you have set for your e-Council initiative.

G

Take sufficient time to plan your overall project, its activities and who will perform what tasks over time. Ensure your plan is flexible to accommodate the changes that will inevitably occur.

G

3.2

Needs Analysis and Requirements

The first step in your progression toward e-Council is to identify your needs and requirements for your council operations. The requirements you have will differ in some respects from other municipalities, and will have a high degree of overlap in other areas.

Items to Consider – Needs Analysis and Requirements

Talk with other municipalities to learn what their requirements and needs were.

G There is no standard e-Council package available that will

solve all of your issues. You will need to determine what your needs are and then (potentially) look for a number of tools to solve your issues.

G

Take the time to understand the lessons learned from municipalities that have adopted some level of e-council within their operations.

G

Speak with your councillors and staff (and other stakeholders like constituents, the media, etc.) to understand their needs as well as the obstacles that they perceive they have. This can help you in determining needs as well as strategies on how to introduce new technologies.

G

How to decide what services and

technologies you should introduce

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider – Needs Analysis and Requirements

Understand your overall budget and the high level costs and expected benefits of your e-Council initiative.

G Validate your understanding of your needs and requirements by speaking to councillors and staff.

G Don’t think in depth about particular products at this stage.

• Consider the types of functions you would like to

introduce.

• Detailed thinking about products should be left until the

Specifications stage to ensure you keep an open mind about the service you want to provide via technology.

G

Think about each requirement you have identified and

determine if it is a need or a want and the level of necessity to fulfill the requirement.

• Do not be afraid to postpone fulfilling a requirement that

is a “want” rather than a “need”.

G

3.3

Specifications

The Specifications stage is where you begin to identify the detailed qualitative and quantitative measures that you require for your e-council operations. Some examples of specifications are listed below to provide a flavour of the types of things to think about in this stage:

• The electronic voting system needs to support 10 councillors

• Twenty permanent seats in the public gallery are required with

overflow seating able to handle an additional 30 people

• Each councillor’s desk in council chambers should measure at

least 24” wide by 24” deep.

Frequently when determining your requirements and specifications, you will work on both of these simultaneously, going back and forth from requirement to specification, then back to requirement, and so on.

Items to Consider - Specifications

You should always document your specifications for later use.

G Seek feedback on your specifications from councillors, staff and other stakeholders to validate that your specifications are accurate.

G

Depending on the change under consideration, your

specifications can be very different (i.e. specifications for a physical change may involve precise measurements while

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider - Specifications

specifications for a technology change may be more qualitative in nature).

Are the changes specified to a level sufficient to allow for the selection of competing products?

• Understand that you might need to come back later and

refine your specifications as you learn more.

G

For detailed technical changes, do you have sufficient technical experience on staff to create specifications that are meaningful?

G

3.4

Planning and Prioritization

In this stage you will examine the options available to you from your Needs Analysis and Requirements with the additional detail you documented during the Specifications stage. Given that you are likely working under tight budgets and/or timelines, you will have to rank the options under consideration to arrive at decisions of what functionality and/or changes you will make now, which you will postpone and which you will decide not to do.

Items to Consider – Planning and Prioritization

Communication during this stage is crucial. You should communicate to your stakeholders to let them know the status and background of (or better yet, involve them in) the decision making process.

G

Document all high level costs and expected benefits to determine if a particular concept (or grouping of concepts) is justified.

G

Work with your stakeholders to reach consensus on the changes and the process by which the change will be accomplished.

G

Plan your change and consider the impacts on:

• Staff

• Existing technologies

• Business processes currently used

• Anticipated timelines and anticipated costs

• Budget

G

Identify any related changes that are required to allow you to implement the main change under consideration (e.g. Do I need to upgrade my web server to allow an events calendar to be posted?)

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider – Planning and Prioritization

Estimate time requirements of your staff to be involved in the change (training, helping manage the initiative, etc.)

G

3.5

Selection and Acquisition

Once you have prioritized your options and created a plan for what you want to introduce into your council operations, you must now select among a number of viable alternatives. Your selection may have short and long term impacts that must be considered, and depending upon the procurement rules under which you operate, the manner by which you select and acquire new technology and services may be quite detailed. Below is a guide to concepts you should take into account when selecting technology products and/or services. Please review Appendix A to see an example of a decision model and how it can be used to help you make a technology selection.

Items to Consider – Selection and Acquisition

Create selection decision models with weighted scoring to help guide you to a decision.

• Ensure a wide range of opinions in creating the model

and weightings, as well as evaluating the alternatives.

G

Ensure you allow adequate time for your selection, negotiation with a vendor and eventual purchase. This typically takes longer than expected.

G

Work to get as many possible options on the table early in your selection process.

• Continue eliminating options that do not satisfy your

requirements.

• Always start with a comprehensive list of options.

• Do not jump to a product choice immediately.

G

Consider including the following as criteria in your decision model:

• Functional fit – does the alternative meet your high level

requirements

• Technology fit – does the alternative integrate well into

your existing tools; do you have internal experience with the technology

• Cost – cost to acquire, cost to operate, cost of

deployment, cost to maintain

• Risk – stability of the vendor, timeline risk, cost overrun

risk

• Implementation impact – can the alternative be

introduced into your business with minimal operational G

Things to think about when making decisions and purchasing products and/or services

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider – Selection and Acquisition

impact?

Consider using a two-pass methodology when examining alternative solutions:

• First pass: Review options at a coarse level to eliminate

alternatives that are obviously not feasible

• Second pass: Use a scoring system to rate each

remaining alternative solution against the criteria you have established in your decision model.

G

3.6

Roll-Out

After making a purchasing decision and acquiring products and/or services, you must now roll these out to your users. In order to ensure your users are productive, you must do this in a well-planned manner so the change is manageable and allows your users to continue doing their job with the minimum of interruption or disturbance. A key outcome to a well managed roll-out is that your first council meeting will operate smoothly. This is important to the councillors and also to your overall municipality so you portray a professional operation.

Items to Consider – Roll-Out

Consider ways to encourage your users to adopt the change. Ideally, you’ve involved your users through the entire process to ensure their buy-in to the change.

G

There are a number of approaches to introduce technology changes. You may want to consider which approach you will take in the rollout of your e-Council technologies based on your knowledge of your councillors and staff:

• Strictly encourage use – Do not force a user to change, but

provide sufficient incentive to make the change.

• Encourage use, but provide a time by which a change

needs to be made – Allow your users to slowly make the change to the new system and/or way of doing their business while providing a firm deadline by which they will need to change.

• Require a change – Your users must adopt the change at a

particular time.

G

If your goal is to operate a paperless council, consider continuing with paper backups for your first number of

meetings to ensure any technology glitches do not interrupt the G

How you introduce your e-Council to your councillors and staff is a critical factor in the overall success of your initiative

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider – Roll-Out

work of your council.

If your goal is to operate a paperless council, consider the approach of going completely paperless from the first day using you new e-Council technologies.

• This approach has some drawbacks - resistance to change,

councillors unhappy with the change

• This approach significantly reduces the possibility that a

number of your councillors will continue to operate in a paper-based manner for an extended period of time.

G

Consider performing mock council meetings using your new technology to enable your councillors and staff to become comfortable with the use of the new technology in a relaxed setting.

G

Seek out early adopters and get them using your new

product/service first. Early adopters tend not to allow minor setbacks to bother them and they also tend to speak highly of the change to their peers which will help you ensure your other users will adopt the change.

G

Provide widely available hands-on support, especially early-on. G

Is sufficient reference documentation available? Do you need to create documentation to explain the change or how to use a new product?

G

Consider your plans by which you will train your users. Training is a key component of introducing a new service/technology to your users.

G

3.7

Ongoing Use of Technology

Whatever product(s) or service(s) you select, the longest aspect of the lifecycle will be the ongoing use of the technology by your users.

Items to Consider – Ongoing Use of Technology

Change will happen – plan for it and expect it. G

Ensure you have sufficient budget set aside for the following events:

• Upgrades

• Support of your users (e.g. diagnosing problems,

providing guidance)

• Any support contracts

• Maintenance and changes to your service, application,

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider – Ongoing Use of Technology

technology

Ensure you survey your users on a regular basis to understand what they like and don’t like and their suggestions on

improvements to be made

G

Recognize and plan for the eventuality that you will always be “rolling out” your service to new users (e.g. newly elected officials, newly hired staff, etc.)

G

4

e-Council Services and Functions

While the previous section dealt with the steps in the process or projects to implement e-Council technologies and services into your council operations, this chapter provides you with detailed

considerations for actual technology services. Review the checklists for each service and function described in this chapter and use them when you are thinking about adding that function to your council operations.

4.1

Council Chambers Facilities

Below are a number of topics to consider for your physical council chambers. These will mainly be ideas to take into account before and during construction projects.

4.1.1

Arrangement and Layout of Council Chambers

Items to Consider

Arrangement and Layout of Council Chambers

Depending upon the space with which you have to work, consider contracting the services of an architect to ensure space planning and furniture is optimal for your space.

G

When designing the location from which members of the community and/or staff will present to council, ensure you allow for space sufficient for at least two individuals.

G

Ensure that members of the gallery have a direct line of sight to all councillors and that councillors can see the gallery, the Chair/Mayor, all displays, and the podium from which presentations will take place.

G

Consider whether you need a separate room for members of the press. Consider what services they may need (e.g. access to the

G

The physical space in which you conduct your council meetings will play a large role in your overall e-Council inititiave

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider

Arrangement and Layout of Council Chambers

audio/video from the meetings).

Allow the layout and configuration of your space to dictate your technology purchases. For example, in a room where everyone is facing the centre of the room, displays which allow everyone to view them are difficult and may require the use of dual projectors and double-sided screens.

G

Allow your councillors and other users of your council chambers the opportunity to have feedback into the configuration of the room.

G

Consider priorities when designing the space in your council chambers.

• Typically, you should consider your councillors first, then

the gallery, then staff.

G

In the construction of your council chambers, consider using your existing staff wherever possible (where expertise and abilities allow) to help minimize out of pocket construction costs.

G

When designing your council chambers, consider all potential uses of the space:

• Council meetings

• Committee meetings

• Community meetings

If your council chambers is to be a multi-purpose room that serves a number of diverse purposes, you will need to consider the trade-offs to the operation of the room for council purposes versus other purposes.

G

Ensure you have designed your chambers to be an accessible facility.

• Provide space for wheelchair access.

• Consider providing a specialized audio feed for the hearing

impaired.

G

Do you need to move or disassemble your councillors’ desks and/or other council chambers technology to support other purposes for your council chambers.

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider – Furniture

Allow your councillors to test out furniture samples before placing orders to ensure the furniture meets their needs.

G Let your councillors provide their opinions on materials,

colours and finishes to ensure they are comfortable with the decisions being made.

G

Consider if you require lockable storage spaces for each councillor and/or staff member at his/her in-chambers desk.

G

4.1.3

Public Gallery

Items to Consider – Public Gallery

Ensure you have sufficient space to hold your normally expected gallery.

G If possible, plan for an overflow room for your gallery for

council proceedings. Ensure this room is equipped with an audio feed (and video feed if possible).

e-Council Best Practices Guide

4.2

Equipment and Services for Direct Use by

Councillors

The following sections provide checklists for various types of

equipment and services you may wish to provide to your councillors.

4.2.1

Laptops

Items to Consider – Laptops

If you are providing laptops to your councillors, ensure you are planning for an adequate replacement cycle (i.e. 3-4 years) for the laptops.

• After this period of time, laptops will be very dated. This

will make your councillors less efficient and will provide support issues to your organization.

G

Think about the provision of laptops to your councilors:

• Be aware that some citizens may see this as offering a

perk to your councillors. Be sensitive to this perspective.

G

Consider installing software on the laptops you provide to councillors to “lock down” the machine.

• Software can be purchased and installed which will

prohibit your councillors from downloading or installing programs you have not authorized.

• This will typically result in an ongoing savings in the

amount of money and time you need to spend to support and maintain the laptops.

G

4.2.2

LCD Screens and Monitors

Items to Consider – LCD Screens and Monitors

Do you want to provide each of your councillors their own individual monitor at their desk? If so, consider embedding the monitor in their desk to increase the usable desk space.

G

Monitors and/or screens for your gallery are an important feature so your gallery can follow presentations.

• Consider the aesthetic and price trade offs between using

television monitors, LCD screens or a simple screen with a projection system.

• For larger rooms, the price for higher end television/LCD

screens with sufficient resolution tend to be prohibitive. G

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider – Printers

If one of your goals is to become a paperless council, consider the following with respect to printers:

• Consider not providing one for your councillors to use at

home.

• Consider not reimbursing your councillors for printing

supplies (toner, paper).

G

4.2.4 Provision of Internet Access, Email and Calendars

One of the key outcomes of transitioning your council operations to new technologies is to improve the communications among your councillors, constituents and staff. A key aspect of this is the services you provide to your councillors and staff in the area of Internet access, email and shared calendars.

Items to Consider –

Provision of Internet Access, Email and Calendars

Consider providing/reimbursing your councillors for Internet access from home so they can use email and calendar

functionality outside of council chambers.

G

Ensure you select a calendar system that allows your councillors to see the schedules of other councillors to facilitate setting up meetings.

G

Consider if you need to secure your email communications or if standard (i.e. unencrypted) communications will be

acceptable.

G

Email services are frequently outsourced to third party providers (e.g. cable companies, telecommunications companies, Internet service providers). Consider if this is a good fit from a support and/or budget perspective for your municipality.

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider – Document Management and Retrieval

Think about the documents that you will produce and store as a basis of your council operations (e.g. minutes, agendas, reports).

• For the documents that you will wish to make visible to

your constituents, consider document management solutions which allow you to keep the document in one place but provide a manner to make it either privately available (i.e. to only councillors) or publicly available to your constituents on your website.

G

4.2.6

Operating your e-Council

Depending on the types of services and technologies you introduce into your council operations, you will need to consider how to operate these services during a council meeting. You should consider the following:

Items to Consider – Operating Your e-Council

Ensure you have sufficient staff available during the meeting who will operate the technology (i.e. turn displays on/off, conduct votes, etc.)

G

Ensure you have backup staff trained in the operation of your e-Council technologies.

G Do you intend to allow or facilitate the participation of your

councillors in meetings when they are not able to be physically present in council chambers? If so, take the following into account:

• The ability of a remote councillor being able to “follow

along” with the meeting – does he/she have access to all documents and presentation materials

• You will need to provide a conference call facility where

the remote councillor can clearly hear all of the in-chambers communication.

G

4.3

In-Chambers Technology and Electronic

Facilities

The following sections provide best practices and considerations to take into account when introducing various technology and electronic services and facilities into your council operations.

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider – Audio and Recording of Proceedings

When deciding upon an audio system, it is best to favour well-know off-the-shelf audio packages rather than custom

developed solutions.

G

Ensure you purchase the number of microphone units you require. Keep in mind the following:

• The number of councillors you support including any

near-term plans for changes in that number

• The number of staff who will require a microphone during

council meetings

• A microphone for community presentations

• Consider if you require a wireless microphone

• The other groups who will use your council chambers and

its infrastructure to conduct meetings. Ensure you have sufficient microphones to support their use if this is required.

G

If you wish to use your audio/recording system in a location other than your primary council chambers, ensure your system is portable and easy to setup at a remote location.

G

Consider your requirements for recording your council operations. To record digitally, you will require significant disk space (i.e. a 2 hour council meeting may take about 40-50MB of storage).

G

Given the criticality of the audio and recording of your council operations, consider the level of support your audio system vendor is prepared to offer you to help solve problems that may arise in the future.

G

If you plan to record your council proceedings, take the time to put in place policies for the following:

• The retention time for your recordings

• The express purpose of the recordings (i.e. to aid your staff

in preparing minutes, to act as the official record of the meeting)

• The manner and timeline by which you will archive (or

destroy) your recordings

• The access to the recordings by constituents, councillors,

staff or the media.

G

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider – Audio and Recording of Proceedings

microphones.

• Be careful that microphones only pick up (and hence,

allow for the recording of) the intended speaker.

• Any conversation picked up via microphone may be

recorded. If this occurs, it may be subject to a FOIPOP request.

4.3.2

Speaker Priority and Management

Items to Consider – Speaker Priority and Management

Typically, off-the-shelf microphone/audio systems can be purchased with software components to allow you to control microphones (i.e. turn them on/off, manage the length of time a speaker is allowed to speak, manage the queue of speakers, etc.).

• Determine how you want to control the microphones and

manage your council meetings. This will allow you to purchase only the equipment you need.

• Consider if you will require your microphone system to

have a timer feature which would allow you to place time limits on how long a presented can speak.

G

For small council operations, the built in features of

microphones you purchase may be enough for you to manage speaker priority. Consider trying this out before committing to a larger purchase of software that may/may not be necessary.

G

4.3.3 Voting

Items to Consider – Voting

Some speaker priority and management systems (and some microphone systems) are sold with the option of adding a voting component. Consider if you wish to have your councillors register their votes electronically.

G

By allowing your councillors to vote electronically within council chambers, you may be able to provide better

information to your constituents on how each councillor voted. G

If your councillors are voting electronically within council chambers, consider if you wish for the results of the vote to be displayed immediately within chambers to the gallery or on any broadcast you may be conducting. This is a feature of some software packages for speaker management/voting.

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Video and Display

Items to Consider – Video and Display

Pull down screens that use a data projector to display information for the gallery (and/or councillors) within

chambers are usually much more cost efficient than purchasing display monitors / televisions with suitable resolutions to be widely visible within your chambers.

G

Ensure you place your display screen(s)/monitor(s) in areas so all meeting participants and observers can clearly see what is being displayed.

G

Decide how your councillors will view information during council meetings:

• One large display that all councillors view (which may be

the same or different as the display the gallery is viewing)

• Directly from their laptop (good for pre-set agenda items,

not very useful for presentations where advance materials were not available)

• From screens at the desks of each councillor. In this case,

consider embedding the viewing screen/monitor within the councillors’ desks to maximize the work area available.

G

Determine what video feeds you need to support and the equipment you will need to facilitate that:

• DVDs

• VHS tapes

• Cable television

• Presentations from computer (i.e. PowerPoint, PDF, etc.)

G

Do you need to provide a viewing mechanism for hardcopy documents or other artifacts not available electronically?

• If so, you may want to consider the purchase of a

document reader / projection system.

• The requirement for this is likely quite small and it may be

difficult to justify the purchase.

e-Council Best Practices Guide

In-Chambers Networks

Items to Consider – In-Chambers Network

Consider wiring every councillor’s desk to support internet, power, telephone and audio microphone.

G Ensure your networks support any other uses that your council chambers may be required to support (community meetings, committee meetings, etc.)

G

Consider installing conduits to ensure future network upgrades or cabling changes can be made with minimal disruption to your council chambers.

G

4.3.6

Fixed computers

Items to Consider – Fixed Computers

You may wish to install computers directly in council to support any of the following features:

• Recording of the council meetings

• The control of the microphones or management of the

meeting via purchased software

• For use by community groups presenting to council

G

For any fixed computers in your council, think about their purpose in the operation of council meetings. Should the computer have a battery backup in case of a power failure?

G

Consider the type of operating system and level of release that is installed on your computers. Is all of the software you wish to install on this computer compatible with the operating system?

G

Consider where you should place/position the computers you will install in council chambers. Will their positioning allow them to be used for the job functions they are to support?

G

4.3.7

Facilities for Community/Staff Presentations

Items to Consider –

Facilities for Community/Staff Presentations

The location from which you will direct community members and staff members to present to council should be equipped with the following:

• Electricity (at least 2 plugs)

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider –

Facilities for Community/Staff Presentations

• Microphone

• Internet connection

• The ability to have a laptop display projected for viewing

by council, the gallery and the broadcaster.

• Ensure that this location can support 2 concurrent users (i.e.

2 community presenters each with their own laptop). Consider if you wish to have a stand-alone computer that resides at your podium for community presentations to support individuals or groups who cannot bring a laptop into your council chambers.

G

4.4

Considerations for Cable Television

Broadcasts

If you are currently televising your council meetings or plan to

broadcast your council meetings in the near future, you should take the requirements of your cable television broadcast partner into account. The checklist below can be used to ensure your council chambers and operations will be amenable to broadcast via cable television. The same principles apply if you are considering producing a live webcast of your council proceedings.

Items to Consider – Cable Television Broadcasts

Involve your broadcaster in improvements and/or changes you are making to your council chambers early in the construction planning phase.

G

Discuss lighting with your broadcaster and build this into the construction / upgrade of your council chambers to ensure your proceedings and councillors are visible during broadcasts.

• This will avoid the future requirement to use portable

television lights which will take up space in your chambers, create unpleasant lighting conditions and produce extra heat during council meetings.

G

Consider providing the necessary fibre optic links both within and external to your building to support television broadcasts.

G Consider providing a separate lockable room for your

broadcaster to use in storing their equipment and for use during live broadcasts.

G

Consider allowing space in your council chambers for a fixed G

Many councils are now broadcasting and/or webcasting their public

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider – Cable Television Broadcasts

camera to be used for broadcasts. This will minimize setup and tear down time before and after your council meetings. Consider installing a remote controlled camera in your council chambers in the ceiling to maximize the physical space that you can devote to your councillors, presenters and your gallery.

G

4.5

Municipal Website

When your council operations involve the use of technologies,

specifically in the area of electronic documents (e.g. minutes, agendas, reports), consider the implications of publishing those documents on your website.

5

Discussion of Overall Considerations

There are a number of concepts that span many of the electronic services described above. Understanding these concepts is critical to the success of your e-Council initiatives. For each topic below, a brief description is provided followed by a checklist of items to take into consideration.

5.1

Development of Policies

As you add electronic services and facilities to your council operations, you will need to develop policies to govern the use of the technologies and the access to information produced. Below is a list of policies you should consider developing as you add electronic services to your council operations.

• Appropriate Use Policy - For use of any technology provided to

your councillors and/or staff such as laptops, printers, etc.

• Information Management Policies including record retention

timelines, destruction or archival of information processes. These policies are critical given that you may have new records as a result of your e-Council initiative. Email messages sent and received by councillors and the digital recordings of your council proceedings need to have their retention, archival and destruction policies considered. Please refer to the Local Government Resource Handbook, section 2.2 on Records Management for more details.

• Access to Information Policy – Some of the artifacts you generate

to support your e-Council operations may be new and require new or modified policies. For example, if you digitally record your

You will need to develop policies for re-use of your new technologies

e-Council Best Practices Guide

council meetings for use by your recording secretary for producing the minutes, you need to consider what policies should be in place for people to access the digital recordings.

5.2

Security

The information a municipal government manages is a combination of that in the public domain, that which is private and information that may be in transition from one state to the other (e.g. information from an in-camera discussion which will become part of a public record when a decision on release is made). The security and integrity of your technology solutions for your council operations is critical to the operation of your day-to-day business. Section 22 of the Municipal Government Act provides details on records management that should be reviewed.

Items to Consider - Security

Do I have the necessary staff and expertise to ensure information resources are properly secured?

G Do I have a staff person or outside resource whose job it is to ensure the ongoing security of my technology infrastructure and products and the information contained within?

G

For systems containing private information, has access to this information been secured?

G

5.3

Business Continuity, Backup and Recovery of

Information

As you progress toward moving aspects of your council operations from paper-based to technology-centric solutions, you must keep in mind how your business will operate in case of a technology failure (i.e. Business Continuity). You also need to keep in mind how the information created, managed and/or stored in electronic forms is backed up and maintained so it is not lost in case of a technology failure (i.e. Backup and Recovery of Information)

Items to Consider – Business Continuity

What are the workarounds available should the technology solution be unavailable for use? Can council operations continue in another fashion?

G

Is Business Continuity a concern for the technology solution?

• Is the solution needed to be “always available” or are

there acceptable limits to the length of time a system is

e-Council Best Practices Guide

unavailable?

• The more critical the system and its information, the more

important a business continuity plan is.

Items to Consider – Backup and Recovery of Information

How will information that is stored electronically be backed up to ensure it is available should the primary service malfunction?

G

Should a copy of my backups be kept off-site? G

Do I have a regularly scheduled time to test that the

information contained in my backups is able to be recovered? Am I actively testing my ability to recover?

G

How quickly does the information need to be restored from backups?

G Do I have the ability to manage backups within my

organization or should I contract the storage of backup information to a third party provider?

G

5.4

FOIPOP Considerations

Any technology you introduce into your council operations will need to operate within your legislative requirements. Close attention should be provided to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP). Refer to Part 20 of the Municipal Government Act for further details. Many of the records you may collect and generate through technical advances in your council operations (e.g. use of email, digital recordings of council proceedings) will have FOIPOP considerations you should take into account.

Items to Consider – FOIPOP

You may be required to release information to the public through a FOIPOP request that you did not have to previously consider (e.g. a digital recording) prior to implementing e-Council services. Take this into account in developing a policy to handle any digital recordings made of your council meetings.

G

Consider carefully the ramifications of digitally recording any in camera council meetings. Any recording may be

considered a “record” for FOIPOP purposes and you may be required to turn this over in response to a FOIPOP request.

G

Information exchanged among councillors and between G

The use of new FOIPOP technologies provide new issues of which you should be aware

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider – FOIPOP

councillors and their constituents may be considered a “record” for FOIPOP purposes and you may be required to turn over email messages in response to a FOIPOP request. Consider developing policy in the following areas in consideration of FOIPOP requirements:

• Use of digital recordings, purposes of digital recordings,

their relation to the official minutes, and their archival and destruction

• Use of email as a communication tool – ensure your

councillors are aware of the possible ramifications.

G

5.5

Records Retention

The artifacts that are produced, received and/or managed via your e-Council technologies need to be considered in the light of records retention requirements. Digital recordings of council meetings, email messages between councillors or between a councillor and a

constituent, among many others, are good examples of records for which you will need a retention policy.

Items to Consider – Records Retention

Itemize each potential “record type” you are managing within your council operations, giving particular attention to new records that have arisen due to your introduction of e-Council. Some examples of new record types are:

• Email messages

• Digital audio recordings of meetings

• Video recordings of meetings

• Any messages exchanged in electronic fashion between

councillors.

Consider what record retention requirements (if any) are placed on each type of record due to FOIPOP.

G If you outsource any technology components to a third party provider, ensure you have considered record retention and that any requirements are part of the formal agreement you have with your provider (i.e. to ensure that records are retained as per your policy and/or legislative requirements).

e-Council Best Practices Guide

5.6

Patriot Act Considerations

If you are considering outsourcing some of your information management to a private company (e.g. email provider, document repository, website hosting) you need to consider the implications of using a service provider who may store some of your data within the United States. Any data which physically resides in the United States may be able to be accessed by American authorities using powers provided to them under the Patriot Act. There is currently substantial debate on the risk of this occurring. Nonetheless, you should take this into consideration and seek additional information and opinions if you are considering using a service provider who will store some of your data in the United States.

5.7

Support for Technology

When purchasing a new technology solution for your council operations, be aware that your job is not done once you have

implemented the solution and have your councillors and/or staff using the solution. Typically for technology solutions, most of the work and cost is realized during the operational use of the solution. The ability to support your users, meet new requirements and fix issues will be crucial to the overall success of your initiative.

Items to Consider- Support for Technology

What is the track record of the solution under consideration? G

Have you allocated sufficient budget for the ongoing support of your solution?

G Have you allocated sufficient budget for any maintenance

costs, whether part of the original licensing agreement or for an as-needed approach to maintenance.

G

Who will support your solution?

• The vendor who sold the product

• A third party who the vendor recommends or through

whom the vendor contracts their support

• Someone on-staff within your municipality

• A contract you procure with an independent organization

/ contractor

G

Are ongoing upgrades / support included in the original licensing agreement?

G If contracting for support, are the service levels acceptable? (i.e. time to fix, responsiveness, etc.)

G

Always keep support

considerations in your mind

e-Council Best Practices Guide

Items to Consider- Support for Technology

Consider purchasing technology from companies in your general geographical region. This may help you obtain support in the event of issues you may encounter with your technology over time.

G

How will you support your councillors in their use of technology outside of

council chambers? (i.e. use of laptop) Consider how you will provide after-hours and weekend support.

G

5.8

Training

When you introduce a new technology service to your staff and/or councillors, you will likely need to train at least a portion of them on its use. Training is a key component toward the successful use of a new technology service and can help reduce frustration that is often seen by users when facing a new way of performing a job or task.

Items to Consider - Training

If you have purchased a product, does it come with self-contained training that you can use?

G What is the best method to train your users?

• In a classroom setting

• Hands on training conducted in small groups or in a

one-on-one fashion

• Computer-based training

G

Do you have the expertise to train your users or do you need to seek outside help to conduct training?

G Are there freely available training materials that you can use to help your users? (i.e. instructional websites)

G

Will training be mandatory or optional for your users? G

Plan for hands on training for councillors and/or staff who are resistant to change. Ensure the training encourages use and is supportive in nature.

G

Make a list of the items on which your councillors will require training. Some elements to consider are:

• In chambers use of microphones / voting mechanisms

• Laptops provided for their use (both in chambers and

outside of chambers)

G

Your training plans must take into the account the wide range of technology experience that is likely to exist among your councillors. You do not want to overwhelm novice users or waste the time of very experienced users.

e-Council Best Practices Guide

5.9

Growth and Extensibility

Any hardware, software or other technology product you purchase should be able to grow and extend as your needs change. Keeping your future plans in mind and purchasing solutions that can be added to or work well with other products is a key strategy for making successful technology acquisitions. Consider developing a long range plan which lays out how often you expect to upgrade various

technologies within your council operations so you can effectively budget and plan for these inevitable changes.

5.10

Standards-Based Technology Selection

When purchasing new technology products and/or services for your council operations, keep in mind both current technology standards and the number of deployments for a product relative to its direct competitors. Purchasing products based on widely accepted standards and products from larger suppliers/vendors can have a positive effect on your ongoing costs to operate, maintain and/or support your solution.

Items to Consider - Standards-Based Technology Selection

Is the product under consideration reviewed favourably by customers?

G Is the product under consideration reviewed favourably by

industry experts?

G Is the product under consideration used by a large number of companies / users?

G Is the service based on current technology standards? If not, are you comfortable with the longer-term maintainability and supportability of the product?

G

Are other Nova Scotia municipalities using the solution under consideration? What is their experience with the solution?

G

5.11

Working with Vendors

When you are introducing technology solutions into your council operations, you will be working with vendors. You will likely need to work with two types of vendors:

• Vendors of technology solutions or physical products – These will

be companies that will sell hardware and/or software that you will require for your council operations or will provide other physical goods (e.g. furniture).

e-Council Best Practices Guide

• Vendors of technology services/consulting – These will be

companies that will sell you services to help you round out your technology experience where you may lack sufficient staffing and/or experience levels. These companies may be the same as those above (i.e. offering services to complement a technology solution you have purchased from them).

Items to Consider – Working with Vendors

Look into the business track record of a vendor you are considering:

• Has the vendor been in business for a long period of time?

• Are you comfortable the vendor can meet your needs?

• Contact customers of the vendor and determine their level

of satisfaction.

G

Plan for 2-3 meetings with your vendors to understand their product(s) and/or service(s) and for them to understand your requirements. Invest this time to reduce the chance of unforeseen changes and issues later in the process

G

6 Conclusions and Summary

The move away from traditional business processes involving the use of paper to record information and the use of manual processes to manage information is always a daunting task. Making the transition toward modern electronic/technology services in a situation of limited budget and limited technology resources makes the adoption of e-Council particularly challenging. Municipalities in Nova Scotia and across Canada are making the changes described in this guide as a way to modernize their operations, to increase their efficiency and

effectiveness and to improve communications among their councillors, staff and constituents. In your transition to e-Council consider the lessons learned provided in this guide as you start your projects. Engage your councillors, staff, potential vendors and consultants early and often to ensure the understanding of your requirements and that all parties understand directions and decisions. Ensure you are providing vision and leadership throughout the transition, being sensitive to any signs of resistance to change. Keep in mind the long-term nature of your e-Council operations and that the technologies and processes you put in place today will need to be kept current and relevant over time. Continuously support your councillors and staff throughout the project

e-Council Best Practices Guide

and also in your new operations to ensure a high level of comfort and confidence with your new electronic operations.

7

List of Resources

You and your organization may find the following resources useful as you consider adding new electronic and technology services to your council operations.

7.1

Contact Information

The following organizations were consulted in the development of this guide:

• Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations

• Town of Wolfville

• Town of Truro

• Cape Breton Regional Municipality

• Halifax Regional Municipality

For further information on this guide, please contact Municipal Services at (902) 424-6642.

7.2

Other Information Resources Available

Below is a list of information resources you may find helpful in planning your e-Council project:

• Part 20 of the Municipal Government Act - Freedom of

Information and Protection of Privacy

• Municipal Government Act

• The Municipal Relations Division of Service Nova Scotia and

e-Council Best Practices Guide

APPENDIX A – Example Decision Model

Below is a description of a process by which you can arrive at a decision model and then how to pass each of the alternatives under consideration through the model to evaluate it.

Step 1: Plan the Evaluation:

• Form evaluation teams based on domain knowledge, experience,

and skills necessary for the evaluation about to be undertaken.

• Agree on the format of the evaluation model including agreement

of a 2-pass evaluation, how to document alternatives, how to select evaluation criteria and the criteria weighting approach.

• Schedule the evaluation to minimize impact on your staff.

Step 2: Establish the Evaluation Criteria

• Develop a proposed set of evaluation criteria.

• Elaborate and agree on the criteria in a consultative and

collaborative manner with your team (staff, councillors, etc.).

• Establish criteria scoring and weighting approach (e.g. scoring

from High to Low, from 1-10, ranking alternatives from most to least favourable, etc.).

Step 3: Collect the Data

• Determine alternatives to be evaluated through previously

documented studies, 3 party research firms, objective publishedrd

industry evaluations and other means.

• Collect data on alternatives (including literature reviews vendor

websites, 3 party research firms and independent evaluatorrd

reports; vendor appraisals including financial analyses of the vendor, customer reviews and references and vendor interviews; demonstrations of vendor tools or services practice).

Step 4: Analyze the Data

• Consolidate data to ensure all findings are expressed in a consistent

and understandable manner.

• Score the alternatives through the use of a 2-pass methodology

where the first pass evaluation is through a series of Pass/Fail criteria and where the second pass evaluation is to apply the weighted scoring criteria to a reduced list of remaining available alternatives.

• Based on an objective review of the scoring, determine conclusions