Ontario’s New
I&IT Strategy

The Ontario government is taking a new approach to managing its information and information technology (I&IT) resources - an approach founded upon aligning I&IT to business goals and integrating I&IT across government. Driven by rapid developments in technology and changing client expectations, the government's strategy includes design of a new I&IT organization, and a new governance structure, both needed to ensure that the government's goals of efficiency, effectiveness, and maximum business value from its I&IT assets are met.

The new strategy was needed because the government's business directions and accelerating I&IT demands could not be addressed by existing capacity. I&IT in the Ontario government today is both a driver and enabler of changes in our way of doing business. The business of government requires increased integration of I&IT across the government to address program and client needs, to achieve efficiencies through sharing information where appropriate, and to provide improved access to services. This includes integrated program delivery, complementary electronic and brick and mortar channels, and integration of related products and services, such as business services.

The government's I&IT strategy, and its integration with business directions, is under the overall responsibility of the Honourable Chris Hodgson, Chair, Management Board of Cabinet. As part of the I&IT strategy implementation, integration is happening across the government: integration and alignment between the government's business plans and the I&IT plans; integration of I&IT organizations into clusters of ministries sharing common themes and information; integrated I&IT architectures and common infrastructure; and supporting policies and standards. This integrated approach is essential for achieving excellent customer service and a leadership position in I&IT.

Our goal as an I&IT organization is to be the best public service I&IT organization in the world, dedicated to leadership, customer service, integration, innovation, and empowerment, which advances the government's business vision.

We are moving from an operational support focus to understanding and generating added business value through I&IT that not only is aligned with, but also transforms how we do business.

This has created a need for rethinking how government provides service to meet changing expectations. This includes rethinking the hours in which service and program information are available, offering the multiple channels used by other service providers, and a choice of information sources.

This focus on customer-centered service drives the I&IT strategy, which will:

• Give customers more choices among convenient, streamlined ways to access government services and transact business they want and need in their daily lives.
• Improve service quality.
• Deliver services across program lines with the appropriate privacy and security protection.
• Streamline administration and service delivery.
• Create new opportunities for partnerships with: other levels of government; vendors; and the broader public sector, such as hospitals and academic institutions.

Working across ministry lines, combining services in easy-to-access electronic and over the counter channels, and making services available how and when people can access them, will improve service quality and customer satisfaction. This means giving people choices among different sources, such as:

• Going to a government office during office hours, or obtaining forms from a government website, accessible 24 hours a day.
• Registering on4Ine for programs.
• Using publicly accessible workstations to register a business or search for government information.

This benefits the public by saving time and effort in getting government information or in transacting business such as registering a company or changing addresses and renewing licenses.

Internal services are also being integrated to provide internal benefits to the Ontario Public Service (OPS). The Workforce Information Network (WIN) is now being implemented to provide easier human resource management. All OPS employees will soon be able to view and update their records (including attendance credits), and managers will be able to do staff planning, on the government intranet. The Integrated Financial Information System OFIS) is being planned to provide a uniform chart of accounts and improved financial management across all ministries.

Both of these are examples of how a new approach to integrated services and common applications across government will lead to more efficient management, decision-making, and effective deployment of resources.

The I&IT strategy is being implemented under the overall leadership of the Corporate Chief Information Officer part of the Management Board Secretariat. For the first time, ministry I&IT areas have been grouped and integrated on the basis of business clusters. This structure is a major departure from the government's traditional approach of organizing I&IT activities by individual ministries. This organizational approach allows I&IT business cluster CIO's to focus their attention on developing solutions which support ministry business requirements, while using a common infrastructure developed by, and within a frame-work of overall directions and strategies established by the corporate organization.

A business cluster is a grouping of government ministries that deliver programs and services that have common themes, that are delivered to clients with similar interests and needs, and that can be supported efficiently by common or similar services. The benefits of grouping I&IT by business clusters and integrating I&IT include: encouraging the development of I&IT solutions which serve common businesses and/or clients; economics of scale and scope; increased productivity from an integrated management team; challenging projects that will retain and attract IT professionals to careers with the government; and directing scarce resources to areas of greatest corporate need.

The seven business clusters (shown in Table 1), under the leadership of the cluster CI0s, have begun integrating I&IT information services to meet common needs.

Both the corporate and cluster I&IT areas have undergone major restructuring as part of I&IT strategy implementation. New organizations were designed to focus on integration and service delivery to support the government's core business, and new job categories were created to reflect the need for changing I&IT skills. Internal recruitment for new positions was carried out recently and is now complete. External recruitment is underway for positions that were not filled by existing OPS resources. This is the largest recruitment of I&IT professionals ever undertaken by the Ontario government.

Among the positions created were: Corporate Chief Information Officer; Chief Information Officers for the clusters; Corporate Chiefs of Strategy; Infrastructure Development; and iSERV Ontario - the new I&IT service delivery organization. The cluster C10s have a dual reporting relationship - to the Corporate CIO and the cluster deputy ministers. This ensures linkage of the I&IT and business functions as well as cross-government integration of infrastructure, architecture, policy and standards.

The Office of the Corporate CIO provides corporate leadership for Information Management and Information Technology (I&IT) in the Ontario government. This office works with the seven Clusters to ensure that I&IT.

• is aligned with the government's business directions;
• advances the government's business vision;
• supports flexible, responsive, innovative public service;
• enables the Ontario government to do business differently; and
• helps make Ontario the best place to live, work and do business.

Several new corporate organizations have been created to lead and integrate I&IT across government in key areas:

The Office of the Chief Strategist acts as the main custodian of the I&IT strategy and vision for the Ontario Government. This office helps situate the Ontario government I&IT organization in the broader context of global changes toward e-government and e-business. The Office ensures that the government's Information and Information Technology strategies and plans enable and drive the business directions of the Ontario government. Units include corporate architecture; strategy, policy, planning and management; and e-government. Joan McCalla is the Corporate Chief Strategist.

The Office of the Corporate Chief, Infrastructure Development works closely with the Corporate Chief Strategist and with the cluster organizations to design and develop a common IT infrastructure, aligned with the government's business initiatives, for the entire Ontario government. The Office develops the detailed architectures and development plans for I&IT infrastructure projects, including the integrated network, desktop, help desk, and directory and massaging projects; and ensures that they are compatible with each other and with enterprise strategy, and that components link and integrate well. Michael Jordan, currently Justice Cluster CIO, will be assuming the role of Corporate Chief Infrastructure Development in the near future.

iSERV ONTARIO, under Corporate Chief Kirk Corkery, is responsible for the effective and efficient delivery of common I&IT infrastructure and ensures that on-going service delivery aligns with current OPS business needs. This office is also responsible for security, both from a policy and operations perspective.

Cluster CIOs are responsible for leading all I&IT activities in their clusters and ensuring alignment and integration with cluster business directions and with corporate I&IT directions. Within each cluster, they take a common and integrated approach that not only meets individual ministry needs but also will lead to more effective and efficient delivery of information and information technology solutions.

Together, the three Corporate Chiefs, the seven Cluster CIO'S, with the Director of Human Resources & Change Management (Marcella Robitaille, who is responsible for human resource services to the I&IT community of the OPS), the Director of Procurement Policy and I&IT Procurement (Nell Sentance, who is responsible for IT central procurement services), and the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Smart Card Project (Angela Longo, who is responsible for the government's smart card initiative), along with myself, form the executive team that will ensure that I&IT continues to meet the government's business directions.

Information and Information Technology Directions Committee (IITDC)
Chaired by the Secretary of Management Board of Cabinet, the mandate of the IITDC is to maximize the effective use of I&IT in the Ontario Public Service. Deputy Ministers form the committee to: provide strategic direction; ensure alignment of I&IT with government business directions; provide leadership for areas such as electronic service delivery; and ensure that I&IT is used to the maximum extent possible as a provider and leader of public service transformation.

Information and Information Technology Executive leadership Council (IITELC)
The IITELC mandate is to ensure that the value of the government's investment in I&IT is maximized and that this investment supports the business directions of the government. This committee is chaired by myself as the Corporate Chief Information Officer, and is composed of the cluster C10s and the Corporate Chiefs of Strategy, Infrastructure Development, and Service Delivery. The Director of I&IT Human Resources and Change Management and the Director of Procurement Policy and I&IT Procurement are members. IITELC also provides input to the framework for Information Management/ Information Technology (IM/IT) plans aligned with integrated planning initiatives, and sponsors work on I&IT performance measurement.

Information and Information Technology Management Committee (IITMC)
The IITMC reports to the Information and Information Technology Directions Committee (IITDC) and is responsible for ensuring business-I&IT alignment and for promoting e-government. It provides executive support and advice to IITDC. Membership on the IITMC is at the Assistant Deputy Minister level and reflects a number of perspectives on I&IT within the government: program delivery; I&IT management and delivery functions; and internal administration functions. The Corporate Chief Strategist chairs the IITMC.

Other committees are responsible for overseeing more specific aspects of the I&IT strategy in order to ensure continued integration in areas such as: the development of corporate architecture; standards; security; and the legal framework for electronic commerce.

Each committee plays an important role in delivering the new I&IT strategy and in ensuring integration across the enterprise, between business and I&IT, and with the customers.

Several major service delivery and restructuring projects are underway, enabled by I&IT. These initiatives combine and integrate services from many ministries and programs in new ways.

These business initiatives include the following:

Service Ontario is a project to provide routine government information and services to the public in convenient and user-friendly ways. The goal is to have driver and vehicle licenses, outdoor cards, health cards, and replies to general inquiries delivered through a variety of channels, including publicly accessible terminals, telephone, the Internet, mall, and over-the-counter.

Ontario Business Connects is a project to integrate the delivery of business services - such as registering unincorporated business names, Employer Health Tax, Retail Sales Tax, and Workplace Safety and Insurance Board applications - through multiple channels, including self-help workstations located in places like public libraries and land registry offices.

The Regional Delivery Restructuring project has, over the past few years, established 57 Government Information Centres located across Ontario to provide a range of provincial government and specialized over the counter services to the public. In order to provide services from several ministries, staff in the GIC's are reliant on I&IT. Public access terminals are also available in each Centre. In the future, more provincial services, as well as linkages to federal and municipal services of interest to each community, will be added.

The Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations is the lead ministry for the above three service delivery initiatives.

Land Information Ontario (LIO) is a project for providing accessible, affordable, and integrated information - based on standardized provincial, municipal, federal, and industry data - through walk-in centres, the Internet, telephone, mall, and other means. The Ministry of Natural Resources has lead responsibility for LIO.

Integrated Justice, led by the three justice ministries, is a project for linking electronically all the components of the justice system - including the bench, the bar, police, Crown attorneys, and probation and parole staff - greatly reducing paperwork for the participants and facilitating communications across the sector. Instant access to and sharing of up-to-date information will allow the justice system to operate more effectively.

Mobile Communications is a project for consolidating mobile communications for various ministries and for creating a common, province-wide mobile digital communications system for the OPS and its key broader public sector partners.

Our goal in developing and implementing the I&IT strategy across government is to provide quality customer service and meet the needs of our many clients. We are continuing to strengthen the alignment between business and I&IT - from planning to implementation and evaluation of results. We are also accelerating the development of a common infrastructure. All of this work supports the government's vision of making Ontario the best place in the world to live, work, invest, and raise a family.

More information on the Ontario
government's I&IT strategy and its
ongoing implementation can be
found at the Ontario government
website, www.gov.on.ca and the
website of the Office of the
Corporate Chief Information Officer,
Management Board Secretariat,
www.cio.gov.on.ca