Let’s get digital: City of Hamilton launches first Digital Strategy

HAMILTON, ON – Hamilton City Council has approved the City of Hamilton’s first Digital Strategy that will guide how City services and internal processes are delivered through digital technology moving forward, ensuring the City can meet future needs and expectations of the community.

The City’s Digital Strategy establishes a vision that will enable the seamless delivery of customer-centered digital services for residents, businesses, partners and employees, and continue to enhance confidence and overall accessibility in the City and its services.

The new Digital Strategy is an action item in the 2021-2025 Economic Development Action Plan (EDAP), which highlights the importance of digital services for the City aimed at enabling and enhancing both digital service delivery and infrastructure.

Public engagement conducted in person and online with the public and City staff helped to inform the development of the Strategy. Feedback indicated that people are becoming more comfortable with, and interested in, using digital services. Although many users report being satisfied with the City’s current digital services, there is room for improvement. The survey indicated:

• 89 per cent of respondents’ report average to above average competency using digital services
• 60 per cent are frequent users who use digital City services daily, weekly or monthly
• 71 per cent are satisfied to very satisfied with digital City services

Key objectives the Digital Strategy will aim to achieve include City digital services that are simple and easy to use; a digital service experience across channels that is connected, empowering our workforce with access to digital tools and training to deliver services effectively; and improving digital service delivery efficiency.

Quick Facts

• The City continues to expand its online and digital services available.
  • Over the past few years, the following new online functions/features have launched: HSRNow Transit; Parking Payment apps; grant management solution for the City Enrichment Fund; virtual trials for Provincial Offenses; green and blue bin, and bulk material pick-up requests; marriage license requests; property request lookups; eBilling service for taxation; Hamilton Fire Department online services; film permit payments; and vaccine appointment bookings.
  • Further enhancements include additional open data sets, a beta release of the City Dashboard, a new Hamilton.ca website, and updating nearly 150 online PDF forms to be both fillable and accessible. 
• The development of the Digital Strategy was fully funded by the Province of Ontario’s Audit and Accountability Fund Intake Round 3 under the Digital Modernization Stream.
• Terms of the funding required that a third party undertake an independent assessment, which was awarded to Deloitte LLP following an open procurement process.

Staff will report back to Council after year one of implementation on the progress made.