Building smarter government: about our projects
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Learn about our Ontario Onwards Action Plan for a People-Focused Government
Digital first: Delivering simpler, faster, better services
Lead ministry – Ontario Digital Service
The challenge
For too long, government processes and procedures have been unchanged, preventing opportunities to easily respond to people’s needs in a timely and cost-effective way.
Our solution
Digital first is about meeting people where they are, and delivering a simpler, faster, better experience — whether it’s online from the comfort of your living room, or in person at a government office or retail location.
It’s about putting people at the centre of every policy, program and service — cutting through overly restrictive red tape and looking for new ways of delivering services that meet people’s needs.
Through the Digital first plan, we are putting the most-used transactions at ServiceOntario online. Improving the government’s digital platforms will ensure Ontarians who need to renew their driver’s licence, licence plate sticker or health card can do so quickly, error-free and with ease.
We’ll meet you where you are, making more options available to you online, around the clock. For example:
- Davis has an expired licence plate sticker. Instead of worrying about leaving work early to make it to a government office before it closes, he can now renew the sticker online from the comfort of home, when it’s most convenient for him.
- In the future, Marcy will receive text messages from the government letting her know that it’s time to renew her driver’s licence or health card.
Meet Jerome
Jerome is a single parent who works during regular business hours and can’t get away to visit an office to renew his health card. Jerome needs government services to be accessible online, 24/7.
When Jerome visits a government website to renew his health card online, we want that experience to be as quick and easy as possible. And when Jerome and others like him choose an online option, it speeds up service for the people who must visit an office in person.
Spotlight on Lean
The Lean and Continuous Improvement Office was launched in March 2019 to improve the way government works by finding efficiencies, reducing red tape and removing redundancies across the Ontario Public Service and broader public sector. Their work is already well underway. For example:
- The Lean Office is also building capacity across government. In 2019, they trained and certified nearly 2,000 public servants in lean, doubling the number of lean-trained staff across the public service. This means that across the Ontario Public Service, staff will be able to explore opportunities to apply lean principles in their daily work.
- Alison has a disability that requires her to apply for an Accessible Parking Permit. Because of the Lean Office’s work with ServiceOntario in late 2019 to streamline the Accessible Parking Permit process, back office productivity has increased by 20% and ServiceOntario has increased their output by 200 more permits per day. That means Alison is one of 200 more Ontarians getting their permits faster, every day.
Business supports: Helping businesses grow
Lead ministry – Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
The challenge
We want to help Ontario businesses focus on what they do best – growing the economy and creating jobs.
Our solution
We’re making sure our business support programs and services are more responsive to the needs of companies and we are creating regional programs that help companies and regions invest, grow and attract talent. This will make it easier for companies to access programs and services so they can create jobs and grow their business.
Meet Kwame
Kwame owns an auto parts manufacturer with 300 employees in southwestern Ontario.
When he applies to the Regional Development Program, his company will now receive access to complementary supports that will facilitate and connect him to a range of government services. This can help Kwame’s company gain investments, create new high-value jobs and increase revenue and exports.
A focus on helping businesses with compliance
Too often, businesses have a hard time understanding and navigating government regulations and getting the information they need to create jobs or thrive in Ontario. We want businesses’ interactions with government to be fast, consistent and helpful.
We will get feedback from businesses on ways to improve these interactions — so that we can help them do what they do best.
Lead Ministry – Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
Contact centres: Providing better service
Lead ministry – Government and Consumer Services
The challenge
Every day, people, organizations and businesses call our contact centres to access a variety of government services and supports.
Our solution
We’re working to continue to update technology, improve how contact centres operate and streamline services.
This will shorten call wait times, expand hours of operation and help people access government services through multiple options — telephone, email and online chat.
Meet Aneesa
Aneesa is helping her elderly mother renew her driver’s licence, but she needs to speak with someone to understand the process. Instead of having to face long wait times on the phone, Aneesa will be able to connect with the government and get the information she needs — faster and easier.
In the future, she will also be able to connect by email or online chat if she is too busy to call. Aneesa will no longer be transferred from one person to the next — she’ll get the right answer the first time she connects with the government.
Better I&IT: Modern tools for a modern government
Lead ministry – Government and Consumer Services
The challenge
Technology is the backbone of the services we provide. More people need — and expect — to access government services online, anytime. But we need better technology to provide government services and programs when, where and how people want them.
Our solution
By leveraging modern tools, we can provide simpler, faster and better services. That includes more than 190 million OHIP claims, 300,000 driver’s licence renewals and 1.5 million vehicle stickers that we process every year.
Meet Sara
Sara is a single mom with two young children. Sara recently moved to a new town and needs to confirm her kids’ immunization records for their new school. Sara went to the Immunization Connect Ontario online tool through her local public health office and confirmed her children’s immunizations are up to date.
This saves her time and means she doesn’t have to take time off work. Sara also knows her children’s personal information will remain secure because Ontario has strong cyber security protections.
Transfer payment consolidation: Streamlining how the government funds programs and services
Lead ministry – Treasury Board Secretariat
The challenge
About 90% of all government program spending is provided through transfer payments and is used to support vital programs used by the people of Ontario, including health care, non-profits, education and social services. Currently, this funding must be administered through different systems and processes, which results in duplicated effort and wasted time.
Our solution
We will simplify our processes and streamline agreements and contracts to make it easier for our partners to work with government. That way, our partners can spend less time applying for and reporting on government funding, and more time making a real difference in the lives of the people they serve.
Meet Maria
Maria works at a multi-service agency that provides a range of supports to families and children. Maria spends a lot of time managing 10 agreements from three ministries to get the funding she needs for her organization.
In the future, Maria will only need to manage a few agreements, which she can apply for and manage online. That will give her less paperwork to do and more time to deliver services that help families and children in Ontario.
A focus on social services
The funding we provide to our social service partners supports vital services for vulnerable children, families and citizens. For these partners, the need to focus less on government process – and more on serving clients – is especially important.
That’s why, as part of our plan to streamline how we fund programs, we’re going to put additional focus on improving how we work for social service partners.
Lead ministry – Children, Community and Social Services
Supply chain centralization: Using our buying power to save money, drive innovation, and deliver better services
Lead ministry – Government and Consumer Services
The challenge
We spend about 20% of Ontario’s annual budget on goods and services to help us deliver programs and services to the people of Ontario. Too often, this purchasing is fragmented and uncoordinated across government ministries, agencies and the broader public sector, including school boards and hospitals, resulting in wasted time and money. It also means that service providers don’t always get access to the best products to deliver high-quality programs to Ontarians.
Our solution
We’re working together to use our collective public sector buying power to deliver projected savings of $1 billion annually, while also adopting leading supply chain processes and practices that will that will make Ontario one of the global leaders in supply chain. Our new supply chain will enable innovation and reduce red tape and burden, while providing opportunities for small and medium-sized companies across Ontario.
Meet Mary
Mary is a dentist. She has a supply of gloves and face masks that she and her staff use while treating patients. Her office is now closed as the province works to stop the spread of COVID-19. But Mary wants to help. She went to Ontario Together and created a submission to donate her gloves and face masks to the frontline – doctors, nurses, caregivers in long term care homes, paramedics and more. It feels good to know that supplies she has on hand will help keep these professionals safe so they can focus on helping the sick and protecting the vulnerable.
She’s not alone – many businesses and people are also submitting their supplies and ideas to help, and Mary’s also reaching out to her colleagues to see if they can do the same. By working together, we can all do our part to help protect each other and save lives.
Meet Sandeep & Chelsea
Sandeep works in a hospital that needs to buy office furniture. Chelsea works in a nearby school board that needs to buy the same office furniture.
Although they both work in the public sector, Sandeep and Chelsea currently have to go through two separate processes to get the products they need. This process takes a lot of time and Sandeep ends up getting a better price than Chelsea.
In the future, Sandeep and Chelsea will be able to easily access the same contracts for the goods they need. That will save them time and money that can be used to improve public services.
Meet Andrei
Andrei owns an innovative start-up company that has figured out a better way to make an essential computer part. The way things are currently done, Andrei may not be eligible for government contracts because he likely doesn’t have the capacity to fill out the procurement applications and can’t compete with the big producers. Our government is opening up the procurement process by placing all contracts online and in the same location. We’re democratizing Ontario’s supply chain so that people like Andrei can grow their business.
Evaluation of agencies: Delivering better service
Lead ministry – Treasury Board Secretariat
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how the government delivers the variety of services Ontarians depend on to buy local, connect with people and enjoy the natural beauty of the province.
It is important that Ontarians interact with agencies in a way that is safe and convenient for them. To continue to support the government’s broader response to COVID-19, and to ensure that agencies can continue to deliver efficient and effective service, we launched an Enhanced Agency Evaluation. The Enhanced Agency Evaluation builds on the recommendations of the 2019 Agency Review Task Force, which addressed inefficiencies while making better use of limited resources. Many of the Agency Review Task Force recommendations have already begun improving service delivery, including:
- Agricorp, a provincial agricultural agency, is developing a new self-serve system that will allow farm owners to register their business and pay fees all through one convenient website.
- The Justices of the Peace Appointments Advisory Committee is implementing online applications that will improve the user experience for candidates and help fill vacancies faster.
- The Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal now uses online filing for applications, saving Ontarians, and the agency, time.
- The Ontario Labour Relations Board now delivers video conferencing options so Ontarians can appear at hearings remotely.
Ontarians interact with provincial agencies every day and we are working hard to make them more accessible, customer-focused, digital and data-driven for Ontarians.
Meet Maya
Maya lives and works in a rural area. She needs to submit a claim to an agency but finds it inconvenient to visit during their business hours.
In the future, Maya will save time by using the agency’s website to seek the information she needs and file her documents online. By taking advantage of digital options, she can more easily access agency services that fit her schedule.
Meet Angelo and Danielle
Angelo lives in rural Ontario and is a victim of unfair labour practices. He will soon be able to appear remotely at Ontario Labour Relations Board hearings via video conference instead of being required to attend in person.
Danielle is a single mother who was injured at work and is seeking more compensation than what was awarded by the Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB). In the future, she will be able to file her Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal application online – saving her time and allowing the Tribunal to process her application more quickly.
Strengthen value for money
We’re helping government to stay current in a rapidly changing world.
Capital asset management: Building and maintaining the right infrastructure at the right time
Lead ministry – Infrastructure
The challenge
Across Ontario, government owns or funds roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, courthouses, correctional facilities and transit networks. Multiple ministries, agencies and public sector organizations are responsible for procuring and planning this public infrastructure. This can make it challenging to plan, prioritize and deliver public infrastructure in a coordinated, cost-effective way.
Our solution
We’re consolidating how infrastructure is planned, purchased and managed. We’re also going to use data to ensure that Ontario is investing in infrastructure where and when it’s needed in our communities. This will help us minimize duplication, focus our time and people on priority projects, and deliver infrastructure more efficiently and effectively.
Meet Qiang
Qiang lives in a growing neighbourhood with increased traffic congestion, making it more time-consuming for her to get to work. A new transit line is being built in her neighbourhood that will result in quicker commutes for Qiang and many of her neighbours. The government made this new line a funding priority, over other infrastructure investments, based on evidence showing that it will benefit the greatest number of current and new transit riders.
An improved approach to infrastructure procurement – led by a team of experts and employing best practices in design, procurement and project management – will allow the new line to be built more quickly and effectively than previous similar transit investments. This will allow Qiang to benefit from the new transit investment much more quickly than she would have under older procurement approaches.
Coordinated real estate: Managing our property more efficiently
Lead ministry – Government and Consumer Services
The challenge
The Ontario government manages a variety of offices and properties that employees need to deliver public services. We need to make sure we’re getting the best value for money and being fiscally responsible.
Currently, each ministry manages its own office space, including rent and maintenance. This leads to overlap, inconsistent standards and inefficiencies.
Our solution
We’re going to manage government offices centrally rather than by individual ministry. And we’re working on plans to get more value out of the offices and land we own, reduce our footprint and cut back on our need for expensive, private-sector leased offices.
This will reduce the space government needs to do business, save money and improve services — without affecting front-line services.
Meet Faisal
Faisal works in downtown Toronto, which is home to Ontario government ministries and 3,600 Ontario Public Service employees.
Faisal’s office near Queen’s Park is being updated with a standard, efficient layout that takes up less space and costs less to maintain. This will allow government to eliminate 586,000 square feet in leased offices and save $20 million over the next 50 years.
An inventory of property: Getting a clear picture
Lead ministry – Government and Consumer Services
The challenge
Hospitals, school boards, colleges, universities and public sector organizations own and manage property across the province. But the government does not have a complete picture of these properties, including location, use, cost and size.
Our solution
We’ve recently completed an inventory of properties owned by hospitals, school boards, colleges and universities, and will continue to update it twice a year. This will provide a clearer picture about how space is being used across Ontario. We’ll use the data to explore opportunities for savings.
Unused property: Making better use of our resources
Lead ministry – Government and Consumer Services
The challenge
The Ontario government owns hundreds of properties across the province that are no longer needed to deliver government services. These cost millions of dollars a year to maintain and take up space that communities could be using for businesses, community centres, affordable housing and other uses.
Our solution
We are speeding up the process to assess and potentially sell these properties.
Meet Carl
Carl works for a small company that is moving its office to downtown Toronto in two years. It will take him almost three hours to get there by transit from the apartment he rents, but he can’t afford a place downtown where rents are much higher.
The government recently sold a property to builders who will redevelop the land with 700 rental units, including 200 affordable housing units to help people like Carl so they can live and work downtown.