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Open Government: How can we strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness by making government more transparent, participatory and collaborative? How are we, as public servants, going to adapt and change to meet new challenges and seize opportunities to better serve the public? How does innovation and technology help re-imagine government and public service in the age of participation?

In 1982, after 10 years of work experience in Europe, Andrew immigrated to Canada. In 1983 he joined the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto Central Mapping Agency, where he became deeply involved in the creation and implementation of the municipal digital mapping program. Over the years he assumed various progressively higher positions within the Central Mapping Agency, Geographic Information Centre, and Land Information Services. In 1999 he was appointed the Director of Land Information Toronto. Since 2007 he is managing the Geospatial Competency Centre (GCC), and as a Project Director in the CIO Office he is responsible for the delivery of the Enterprise Geospatial Program. This program includes geospatial strategy and a service delivery framework for the City of Toronto. Andrew is also involved in the ongoing provision of geospatial services to City business units, where he is promoting effective and efficient use of geospatial data and tools in operations and service delivery. Andrew has a Master Degree in Geodetic Surveying from the University of Warsaw in Poland. He is a member of the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors, Urban Regional Information Systems Association and Geomatics Industry Association of Canada. He is also licensed as an Ontario Land Surveyor and Ontario Land Information Professional.

It is generally accepted that over 90% of municipal information is associated with or related to geographic features. The use of GIS technology over the past 25 years has proven that the geographic nature of municipal data provides almost unlimited opportunities for improving service-delivery, work management, policy making activities, cost efficiencies, and an increase in civic engagement. For enterprises to fully exploit the power of GIS it must be accessible to those who need it in a timely and directly consumable method. Providing GIS services to support the ever challenging demand from the user community requires now more than ever, data standards, policies, current data, flexible technology and collaboration.

Sharon Ryan has over 25 years of experience in adult education in the Information & Technology area. Currently, a member of the I&T Training and Education unit, of the Information & Technology Division, Sharon has achieved the Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management (ITSM) and the ITIL Practitioner Combined Change, Configuration and Release Management. She has also obtained a certificate in Instructional Designer/Developer. In her current position, Sharon develops and delivers courses in a number of areas including the MS Office Suite and ITIL's Service Desk/Incident Management and Change Management.

Have you ever heard the term "ITIL" and wondered what it is? Used by thousands of organisations around the world including Canada, whole ITIL philosophy has grown up around the guidance contained within the ITIL books and the supporting professional qualification scheme. This session will provide a brief introduction to ITIL and some of its various components.
-What ITIL is
-Benefits of ITIL
-History of ITIL
-Plans for ITIL in the City of Toronto

Since obtaining his Education degree over 13 years ago, Costa Athanasopoulos, BA, BEd, has been involved with adult learning and education in both a consultative and supervisory capacity, including the planning, design, development, facilitation and evaluation of training projects. At present, Costa is an Enterprise IT Training Designer & Developer with the City of Toronto, I&T division, Business Enablement & Client Services section. He provides training design and development expertise to the end-user training component of the City's automated applications and corporate-wide technology projects. Costa is currently developing on-line training materials for the Maximo application which is used corporate-wide by Desktop Support staff

In previous releases of Microsoft Office applications, people used a system of menus, toolbars, task panes, and dialog boxes to get their work done. This system worked well when the applications had a limited number of commands. Now that the programs do so much more, the menus and toolbars system does not work as well. Too many program features are too hard for many users to find. The Office Fluent User Interface is to make it easier for people to find and use the full range of features these applications provide and reduces distraction for users so they can spend more time and energy focused on their work. This session will cover the new Office 2007 graphical user interface called the "Fluent User Interface". The Features of the new Fluent User Interface are:
-The Ribbon, Microsoft Office Button, Quick Access Toolbar
-Tabs with Groups, Contextual Tabs, Mini Toolbar
-Galleries, Live Preview

Dhanu is an enthusiastic and a passionate motivational speaker with extensive breadth and depth of Project Management experience backed by 30 years of service in IT with HP, DEC, Honeywell, Nortel, Scotiabank, Univac and the Norwegian Computing Center. Dhanu was recently named as a "PM Ambassador" by PM Forum for his contribution to Project Management and availability as a speaker for PM events worldwide. He is president of D2i Consulting, and also serves as a Project Management Consultant to the City of Toronto. Dhanu holds a B.Sc. in Mech. Eng. from Pune, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Production Eng. from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Dhanu is a past President of the Project Management Institute (PMI), Southern Ontario Chapter, Canada, and the Rotary Club of Newmarket. Dhanu has also authored two books on Project Management titled, "Rainbows & Ratholes: Best Practices for Managing Successful Projects" and "From Ratholes to Rainbows: Managing Project Recovery".

Project management is defined as the art and science of getting work done with the active co-operation of individuals and organisations who are directly or indirectly involved with the project. As a result, the Project Managers' role as a central communicator is invariably correlated to the success of a project. Given the reality of minimal authority and total responsibility for the outcome of the project, one of the Project Manager's biggest challenges consists of "Bridging the Communication Gap." This presentation will give attendees the tools to leverage communication tools to facilitate successful communication to help project managers meet the challenges of dealing with the human side of project management.

Stephen Lew is a Project Manager in the Project and Resource Management Office. Stephen has more than 12 years experience with the City of Toronto. 11 years in various capacities in the information and technology field and 9 years experience in managing IT projects. Stephen is a certified Project Management Professional, and holds both Bachelor of Social Work as well as Bachelor of Science degrees. With his seemingly disparate educational background, he hopes to bring together both Art and Science to Project Management.

Learn how Project Management Methodology tools can be used to plan your project and maximize efficiency and eliminate possible risks. When many think of project management, or its tools, they think of the steps that they need to take to complete milestones and can become lost when facing the unexpected. However, using a template driven approach to project management, you too can save the world - one template at a time.

The Toronto Open Data Lab is an opportunity to explore the innovation possibilities of open civic data in Toronto. Join City subject matter and technology experts, community stakeholders and talented members of Toronto's vibrant technology and design communities in an interactive and collaborative afternoon imagining commercial, social and civic applications of the City's newly launched open data program. This extended series of sessions kicks off with an aspirational talk about the Future of Open Cities from Peter Corbett, one of the open data leaders behind AppsforDemocracy.org and the success of Washington DC's open data program. We will also hear from City of Toronto CIO Dave Wallace about the launch of Toronto.ca/Open and the future direction of Toronto's open data program, and invited guests from the community will have an opportunity to inspire us with their open data dreams. Participants will then have the opportunity to explore the first datasets to be released to the public from Toronto's open data program. The content of the session is created by the participants. You will have the opportunity to propose and facilitate discussion on a topic related to Open Data that you're passionate about or participate in those discussions proposed by others. Facilitated by ChangeCamp organizer Mark Kuznicki, this is a unique opportunity that organizers hope will generate much interest and spark some ideas for new applications that will demonstrate the kind of value that open data can create for the City government and the community at large.

Huw Morgan is the new Head Architect at the City of Toronto. Huw has over 15 years of information technology experience, with a focus for the past 8 years in enterprise architecture. He has worked in both the private and public sectors, the most recent at the Ministry of Health. Some of Huw's recent accomplishments are: development of re-usable architecture frameworks, reference architectures and reference models, creation of enterprise architecture governance frameworks, and development of multi-year technology blueprints. Huw is currently working with MISA on the MRM V.2 initiative, where the City of Toronto is the Lead Development Municipality. Huw lives in the Beaches area of the City of Toronto with his wife and daughter.

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a comprehensive framework used to manage and align an organization's Information Technology (IT) assets, people, operations, and projects with its operational characteristics. In other words, the Enterprise Architecture defines how information and technology will support the business operations and provide benefit for the business. This session will present the EA program framework for the city of Toronto with guiding principles in IT planning, designing and deployment.

Terry Shin's thirteen year career has its foundations within the telecommunications industry. His work experience includes: technical support, call centre operations, wireless network provisioning, corporate training and carrier/vendor relationship management. For the past five years, Terry has worked as a Wireless Specialist and supported the Telecom department as its acting Wireless Supervisor in 2006. During this time, he provided project, technical, training and vendor support across all levels of city business. In December of 2008, Terry joined the IT Training and Education team as an Enterprise IT Designer & Developer where he contributes to the development and delivery of instructor-led training on a number of corporate and in-house applications. As a strong supporter of training, Terry has successfully completed the following professional development courses: Business Communications, Negotiations, Blackberry Administration and Support and ITIL Foundations.

Email is probably the most widely used form of communication today, especially in the workplace. In the city of Toronto, email is now a mission critical application that staff is depending on. Co-workers who sit near each other often email back and forth instead of picking up the phone or talking in person. But how effective are we in using email? This session will cover:
-How can get the most of out email?
-Common mistakes in using email
-Communication basics
-Best practices

In the last 9 years, Snezana Zenkic has worked for various City divisions including MLS, HR and IT. She has a teaching background and a number of certificates in adult education and IT. She has successfully participated in multiple high-level City-wide projects. Currently, Snezana is performing the duties of the Enterprise IT Designer &Developer for the I&T Training and Education unit.

This presentations objective is to share a few tips and tricks that can enhance your Visio drawings and your ability to use this application more effectively. Learn how to better organize, set up and format your diagrams and express your ideas in a clear, visually appealing and professional manner.

Mark Adams is a Coordinator with Toronto Emergency Medical Services where he maintains the Electronic Patient Care Reporting (ePCR) system databases and oversees the delivery of relevant information to internal and external stakeholders. In addition to this, he and another Coordinator maintain 16 Windows servers, 152 mobile tablets and provide daily technical support to over 800 paramedics. Mark's paramedic experience was invaluable for developing routines, input screens and education programs to meet the needs of the paramedic user. As a member of the Toronto ePCR management team he helped develop a wireless system that can transmit data from the patient's bedside in addition to processing patient care reports at the end of the call. The Toronto ePCR team was awarded a Diamond Award for Innovation at Showcase Ontario, 2009. Mark's background includes over 20 years of EMS experience, including 14 years as a Paramedic in Toronto. He still maintains his certification and practices as an Advanced Care Paramedic. He earned his Bachelor of Health Science in Pre-Hospital Care from Charles Sturt University, Australia and a Certificate in Ambulance and Emergency Care from Georgian College

Murray is responsible for the City's information security strategic planning requirements, a position he has held since 2003. Prior to joining the City, Murray held senior information security positions in the professional services and financial services sectors. Murray is a well respected information security professional, having presented at international conferences on topical information security issues. Murray has contributed to several leading information security for a, and written for Municipal Interface, the national professional journal of MISA/ASIM Canada. In 2007, Murray represented the municipal government sector on the Inter jurisdictional Identity Management & Authentication Task Force. He has also presented thought leadership on the topic of security architecture in the Zachman Framework that has been recognized by John Zachman as "especially innovative". Murray is a Certified Information Systems Auditor, an internationally recognized information security designation that he has held in good standing since 2000.

Samir has over 25 years of experience involved in all aspects of Information Technology, including project management, systems development and data management covering various technical platforms. Samir has solid knowledge in many business sectors such as Public Health, telecommunication, retail, aviation, customer service and government. Samir joined the City in 1999; since then he was responsible for the development of many applications for Public Health, Transportation and PPF & A divisions.

A panel discussion on public participation and public confidence in government. For democracy to work, government needs to be participatory, and it needs informed and engaged citizens. There is a worldwide trend of declining participation of the voting public in elections. This is a clear indication that people are not engaging in the democratic process. Why not? Are governments accountable? How do we demonstrate the ethics of government? How do citizens know their governments are working for them? Can we demystify the process? What should governments do outside of the traditional methods to help engage the disconnected citizen into participating in the democratic process? This panel representing the worlds of politics, academia, civil service and the citizenry will enlighten us on this issue and propose opportunities to improve the future of government.

A full morning of exciting presentations on open data dream and ideas will be made by participants from communities and city's subject matter experts.

Director of Communication Services and the Customer Contact Centre for the Region of Peel is a former graduate of the University of Waterloo. Over the past 20 years, Karla has worked in her capacity as a social service worker, manager and recently as director helping customers and clients to access and utilize the many services and programs offered by the Region. Karla's expertise is in understanding the customer needs and delivering service to meet these needs

Carroll Hoyes works at the Region of Peel as a Project Manager for the implementation of 3-1-1 service delivery. Since 1990, she has worked as a Supervisor for the Region of Peel in the consolidated Customer Contact Centre and Human Services. In her current role, Carroll has successfully implemented 3-1-1 services and 2-1-1 Information and Referral services for residents in the Region of Peel. She is actively engaged in the 2-1-1 system development for province-wide delivery of Information and Referral services. These duties combine with her special interest in process and organizational improvements

Manager Call Centre Consolidation, City of Mississauga, has over 25 years of progressive project and operations management experience in the Call Centre and Customer Service industry. Since joining the City in 2004, Nancy has led the introduction of a new CRM and KB solution, the transformation of business and call handling for 11 significant areas of business, as well as the City of Mississauga's 311 charge in partnership with the Region of Peel, Town of Caledon and City of Brampton. With the official launch of Mississauga 311 completed on October 5th, 2009, Nancy will next turn her attention to further consolidation, running the call centre, Customer Service on the City of Mississauga's website, eCity, and taking on accountability for the City's main Information Counter at City Hall.

Rhonda Tsingos is a Program Manager for the City of Brampton with responsibility for management of 24x7 Corporate Call Centre operations and delivery of related citizen service enhancement projects. She recently obtained her Masters Certificate in Municipal Leadership from York University's Schulich School of Business. Rhonda is a highly motivated, customer-oriented manager with 20+ years private and public sector experience leading technology and business transformation initiatives as well as strategic customer, partner and vendor relationships.

Darlene Publow is a long time resident and employee of the Town of Caledon. Darlene has almost 20 years of progressive and varied municipal experience at the Town, having served in most departments over the years. As the Town's Customer Service Supervisor and Deputy Clerk, Darlene is currently responsible for the customer service and call answer functions at the Town of Caledon. Additional duties include licensing officer and Deputy Division Registrar. The skills learned in previous professions as an Early Childhood Educator and Systems Analyst can easily be applied to her municipal duties.

How do four municipalities - Brampton, Mississauga, Caledon and Peel - work together to meet the challenges of providing 3-1-1 service in a unique two-tiered environment? Learn first-hand in this shared account of their innovative 3-1-1 vision, strategy, service model development and delivery experiences. Join in celebrating this integrated citizen service enhancement and municipal partnership success!

Rob Meikle is responsible for the delivery of flexible and integrated information technology solutions that enable Service Excellence along with management of the Corporate Call Centre (7x24 operation). Rob is a strategic business and technology leader who is innovative and results driven with a proven track record of 18+ years experience planning, developing, and implementing leading edge global business and technology solutions to achieve business objectives in the private, public and not for profit sector.

Manager, Program Support, has served Toronto residents in need in exemplary fashion during her lengthy career with Toronto Employment & Social Services (TESS). She has acquired extensive knowledge of the legislation, policy and complex operations involved in delivering social assistance in Canada's largest and most diverse municipality. She has successfully built strong relationships with community partners and has collaborated with community advocacy groups to ensure comprehensive wrap around services for mutual clients. She has put her tremendous skills and background to excellent use in her role co-leading the design and development of WAYS - an intelligent, innovative and award winning initiative that has already secured the coveted "Diamond" award at Showcase Ontario 2009. Claudia is proud to lead a team of creative and tireless TESS staff who are committed to improving the lives of TESS clients, and who have generated a phenomenal product that serves both clients and staff of TESS.

Manager, Program Support, after several years in front line service and front line management in delivering social assistance to clients of the TESS Division, has spent most of his career with Toronto Employment Social Services in the Division's IT Unit, leading various major IT initiatives and acquisitions that facilitated improved performance for the Division and enhanced work experience for TESS staff. He applied his combined technical and business background in co-leading the WAYS initiative, overseeing the technical development of WAYS, and coordinating the efforts of multiple partner organizations in ensuring a seamless interface between WAYS and several existing systems - both Provincial and Municipal. James was fortunate to work with a marvelous group of talented and dedicated TESS staff whose synergy and effort produced "WAYS" - a ground-breaking improvement for social services in Canada.

As the first social assistance program of its kind in Canada, "WAYS" (Web Access to Your Services) has the potential to revamp the way social assistance is delivered to residents across Ontario. Launched by Toronto Employment & Social Services as a pilot in November 2008, the exciting new WAYS project was designed to improve access to services for clients of the Ontario Works program, clients who are among the most vulnerable people in Ontario. WAYS provides clients with web access to a suite of sophisticated tools that serves to empower the client. WAYS helps individuals and families overcome barriers, and makes critical services and benefits more accessible to those who need them most. Despite the complexity inherent in social assistance legislation, this suite of intelligent, streamlined and customizable online tools ensures that the client experience is as easy to use and as stress-free as possible. This presentation will include demonstrations of these new, user-friendly and innovative tools that provide clients with:
- 24/7 access - an intelligent web application which tailors its questions based on client responses to capture the specifics of each individual or family situation
- information on services and benefits
- a fast, anonymous eligibility estimator
- an online appointment scheduler
- an online office locator including automated, customized directions from their home

Neil Evans has been the Director of Toronto's 311 project since January 2008, before that he was the 311 Project Manager and an initiator for the 311 project in Toronto. Toronto's 311 Contact Centre is North America's 2nd largest 311. As a 25 year employer within the City of Toronto, Neil has held many positions in various departments including Public Health, Recreation, City Managers Office and Communications. While in these positions Neil has been responsible for developing contact centres to respond to large scale emergencies such as SARS and West Nile Virus. He has been a project manager for over 20 years, developing projects at the municipal, provincial and NGO level, focusing on customer service for the last 11 years.

The 311 Toronto Contact Centre will provide residents, businesses and visitors with one easy-to-remember phone number to reach non-emergency City services, programs and information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Toronto's 311 program is part of a larger customer service transformation at the City of Toronto. The City has launched the largest fully integrated 311 system in North America. What that means is that the City's various work order systems are now able to work together. This is a state-of-the-art technology solution that will drive improvements in service request fulfillment and customer satisfaction. Not only will residents and businesses benefit from the launch of 311, it also provides senior management with the data needed for the City to better plan, forecast and budget for improved service delivery.

Robert Rishchynski is the Manager, Portfolio & Investment Management. For the past two years, Rob has worked exclusively on developing and implementing governance and project evaluation processes and tools for IT at the City of Toronto. Prior to his current role, Rob was the Manager, Geospatial Data Management at Land Information Toronto. His experience also includes managerial and consulting roles in other public and private sector organizations. Rob holds an MSc from the University of South Carolina and an Executive MBA jointly from Northwestern and York Universities.

Rita took an excellent customer service course, through Goodwill Community Youth Program, which led her career to the Wireless Industry. She worked for Verizon Wireless for 6 years prior to coming to City of Toronto. Rita joined Dave Nesbitt and Barb Collins on the Wireless team in 2003, when they were introduced to the Blackberry world

Barb is a Graduate of Ryerson in Telecommunication Management and has an Honorary BA in History and English from York University. Before working for the City of Toronto Barb's telecommunications experience started at Clearnet, which is now known as Telus Mobility, where she was employed for 4 years. She has been employed with the City of Toronto since 2000 and is 1 of the 2 original employees that were hired to start the Wireless team.

Kelly Hines has twenty one years of training development and delivery experience in the Information & Technology and Human Resources areas. She is currently on staff with the I & T Training and Education unit, of the Information & Technology Division. She received the Training Generalist Certificate with LANGEVIN Learning Services in 2006 and Instructing Adults Program Certificate with George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology in 2003. In Kelly's current position, she has developed and delivered instructor-led training on a number of corporate applications including Microsoft Office Suite, GroupWise, SAP - HR/Payroll and Finance modules.

Denis has been part of the research faculty for Don Tapscott-led research programs for almost a decade, authoring such breakthrough research as A Framework for Brand Engagement on Twitter and The Prosumer Strategy Guide. He holds an MA in Economics from the University of Toronto. Twitter ID: @denisbhancock

Twitter has clearly emerged as one of the hottest social media properties on the web. But it's also among the most controversial. What some see as its greatest feature - the simple, open, easy-to-use interface - others view as its primary problem. Some see it as a platform for conversations, others as a media and marketing vehicle masquerading as a social network. But as the experimentation process plays out, there is one underlying element that is worth staying focused on - the ability to connect with customers, for free, offers up many opportunities. In this presentation, Denis Hancock - a long-time Twitter skeptic who now has one foot planted on each side of the fence - will present insights into the phased evolution of Twitter, and how organizations should think about using the platform through the lens of nGenera Insight's Twitter Brand Engagement Matrix. He will also provide examples of ways Twitter can integrate into an overall social media strategy, and discuss the importance of the ecosystem that is emerging around the open Twitter API.

Pete Cramp has been working in IT for the City of Toronto since 1992, and has been involved in a range of infrastructure projects including the City's first wireless network, a 27 kilometre fibre-optic cable installation, one of the City's first Storage Area Networks, and the desktop sustainment for Cluster B. He has been involved in disaster recovery projects since 2001, and was the project manager for the Cluster B Disaster Recovery Plan. He currently project manages the Technical Information Systems' Disaster Recovery Plan, protecting the systems that run in the City's primary data centre.

Your business function relies on computer systems. Are you willing to risk it all in the blind confidence that I&T will protect you? Come find out what I&T is doing to protect your business systems. We'll show you the difference between Disaster Recovery Plans (DRP) and Business Continuity Plans, and why you need both. Find out where we are in the implementation of the DRP and what you should be doing to prepare your business unit for disruptions.

Anne Lapkin is a research vice president in Gartner Research, where she provides clients with advice on the alignment of technology solutions with business goals. She is an expert in the development of complex business and technology architectures in a variety of industries. Ms. Lapkin is also one of the leaders of Gartner's context-aware computing research, which deals with the use of context information to improve the quality of an interaction. Ms. Lapkin joined Gartner in 2003. Prior to joining Gartner, Ms. Lapkin served as the senior vice president in charge of architectural framework and product architecture at Reuters. While at Reuters, she was responsible for the strategy and architecture for the renewal of the editorial infrastructure. She also spearheaded the development of a systematic approach to product architecture. Previously, Ms. Lapkin was a senior technologist at Capgemini. In addition to managing the architecture practice in the United States and leading many complex architecture and strategy engagements, she led a multinational team responsible for the development of the architecture community at Capgemini. This team was responsible for the development of standard methodologies, an architect certification program and architecture education initiatives. "The best part of my job is the fact that I am constantly in contact with clients who bring new perspectives, ask new questions and challenge me to think of new ways to solve problems. Together, we push our capabilities farther."

Anne Lapkin will address Gartner Research's view of Enterprise Architecture in government, with reference to the local government level. Key issues identified by Gartner in 2009 for EA include: the struggle EA teams face in demonstrating and articulating the business benefits and value of EA; best practices for EA teams to collaborate with and support other disciplines and practices; support for new business and IT models; starting up an EA program and how EA efforts can support IT modernization. Find out how governments are dealing with these issues.

An avid researcher and TED lecture lover, Denis combines his passion, the experience design process, with the development of the City's 311 web presence. Denis works within the City of Toronto's Web Centre and is part of an enthusiastic team involved in the re:Brand of toronto.ca and the City's open data initiative. Denis holds a Master's degree in research science and has worked on knowledge-brokering projects with the Provincial and Federal governments

Designing from the outside in: The City of Toronto's online presence is undergoing a major metamorphosis beginning with the new 311 online service. "311 -- toronto.ca -- At Your Service" will demonstrate the City's 360-degree rebranding approach involving citizens first, often and continuously and will specifically showcase the design, development and implementation of 311's online information, search, service request and service tracking capabilities, soon to be officially launched on toronto.ca. Denis's presentation will also address the vital roles public engagement and consultation and online social networking have played in this process and how 311 is part of the City's accelerated push towards open government: increased accessibility, accountability and transparency.