CivicInfo BC: Information Services for Local Governments

Transcription

1 CivicInfo BC: Information Services for Local Governments

2 This will be an exciting and interesting session.

3 Ground Rules Ask questions at any time. I am happy to go off on tangents, and discuss anything at all with you as long as it s vaguely related to our line of work. If you re interested in talking more, please call or me. (Contact details on last slide.)

4 About CivicInfo BC We are a not-for-profit municipal agency, incorporated in We re membership based 99% of BC local governments are members. We offer a wide range of services for people who are in the local government sector. Unique in Canada. (One sister association in the USA.)

5 Document Search

6 Document Search We maintain a Google Custom Search tool for searching all local government websites and those for related agencies in the province. We will occasionally assemble mini-libraries of documents specific to topical issues. We also have a Practices & Innovations database. Great starting point for research.

7 Directories

8 Find your local government colleagues, or suppliers that serve the sector.

9 Election Reporting

10 Mr. Peanut Candidate for Mayor of Vancouver, 1974

11 Mr. Peanut Campaigning with The Peanettes

12 Mr. Floatie Lobbying for sewage treatment. Aspiring Candidate for Mayor of Victoria, 2005

13 Election Reporting Database of 3,000 local government candidates assembled as soon as nominations close. Live results, direct from local governments, on election night. Results are fed live to all media, including CBC, CTV Bellmedia, major newspapers, TV, and radio.

14 Press Releases

15 Active transportation infrastructure provides bitchin new multi-use pathways

16 Press Releases We cross-post all local government press releases that may be of interest to a professional audience. Average of 2 or 3 per day. Excellent and easy way to see what your colleagues are doing in other communities.

17 @BCHeadlines on Twitter

18 One of our Twitter Followers (Really.)

19 @BCHeadlines on Twitter Local government news headlines, aggregated daily. About 75 headlines a day, linked. Includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. Horrible abuse of social media, but very popular with elected officials, senior staff, and community watchdogs. Great feedback.

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22 Surveys & Statistics

23 Surveys & Statistics We conduct annual surveys of British Columbia local governments. (Fees & charges; wages, etc.) Most popular: salary and benefits surveys for staff; remuneration rates for elected officials. Opportunity exists to work with other provinces; sharing survey methodology and results.

24 Legislative Calendar

25 Legislative Calendar Key dates and deadlines from over 30 statutes and regulations. Invaluable tool for Finance Officers; especially new ones.

26 Career Postings

27 Think your job stinks? Think again.

28 Career Postings CivicInfo BC operates Canada s largest municipal job boards. BC job board at National job board at About 800,000 page views per month between the two. Nearly 10 million per year.

29 Career Postings On the national job board (Civicjobs.ca) we are working with AUMA (Alberta); Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators, and others. Competes with job boards offered by other levels of government; co-operative (not competitive) model, working with other associations.

30 Bids & Tenders

31 Bids & Tenders Looking for a new contractor? Post the RFP with us. Highly engaged audience. Heavily used section of our website.

32 Professional Development Listings

33 Find exciting conferences, workshops, courses, and seminars.

34 Event Registrations

35 Event Registrations As a small revenue generator, CivicInfo BC does registrations for local government professional events of all sizes. About 150 events per year. We work with associations in BC, Ontario, Nova Scotia. Would love to work with associations in other provinces, too.

36 Open Data

37 What is Open Data? Open data is a philosophy and practice under which machine-readable data is available to everyone, without restrictions from copyright or other mechanisms of control. Open data is considered to be a key pillar of any open government strategy. Taking root in the UK, US, and in Canada.

38 Inter-Municipal Open Data Catalogue CivicInfo has a beta-version live now at data.civicinfo.ca. Combine open datasets from multiple jurisdictions; let s see what happens! Potential to expand across western provinces and beyond.

39 Video & Web Meetings

40 Video & Web Meetings Microsoft Lync System for CivicInfo members. HD multi-party video conferencing; full web meetings; application sharing, instant messaging. Share desktop and applications for troubleshooting purposes.

41 Conclusion

42 Our services are diverse because we have a diverse audience.

43 Water Treatment Plant Operators

44 City Managers & Finance Officers

45 Economic Development Officers

46 Animal Control

47 I.T. Department

48 Communication Directors

49 Parks & Rec Staff

50 Bylaw Enforcement

51 Elected Officials

52 THANK YOU Todd Pugh, CivicInfo BC Ph: