You can help shape Ontario’s digital and data strategy — here’s how
By: Jesse Campbell
Tags: Digital Transformation, Ontario, Data, Privacy, Policy

The provincial response to the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that now, more than ever, we cannot afford to be an offline government in an online world.

At the Ontario Digital Service, we’ve maintained a laser focus on data — which is a key tool for the innovative, easy-to-use online tools we’ve rolled out throughout the pandemic.

We’ve seen Ontario’s COVID website visited over 29 million times, and near real-time data is available online via the province’s open data catalogue to provide the public with a sense of the situation, as it unfolds.

Message from the Minister

“In short, we have seized this moment to deliver government programs and services with unprecedented speed and convenience. There simply is no digital without data. And nobody has a monopoly on a good idea.” - Peter Bethlenfalvy, President of the Treasury Board, who is overseeing Ontario’s efforts to lead digital and data transformation for the people of Ontario, including oversight of the Ontario Digital Service.

Mobilizing digital and data-driven approaches did not start with COVID-19; but the global pandemic has certainly elevated the case for meeting people where they are.

That’s why we’re asking for your input in shaping the province’s first dedicated Digital and Data Strategy in development. We want to understand what your needs are, so that we design a plan that responds to our current context. More on what’s to come in a moment. First, we’d like to share the path we’ve been on so far.

Alpha data consultations

In 2019, our team launched a series of public consultations for Ontario’s Digital and Data Strategy and the first provincial Task Force on Digital and Data.

As our Chief Digital and Data Officer, Hillary Hartley, mentioned in her 2020 recap blog post, we asked the people, businesses and communities of Ontario about today’s most pressing digital issues, like protecting your data and exploring new opportunities for using data to drive economic growth, such as making more open data available to support new business ideas across the province’s thriving start-up sector.

We held public listening sessions in Toronto, Stratford, Ottawa, Peterborough, Sarnia, Sault Ste Marie and Thunder Bay.

We received a variety of feedback, including:

● 300+ total in-person attendees from industry, civil society, academia and the public

● 45+ long-form submissions from industry and,

● 750+ survey responses

Materials shared at public consultations in 2019

What we heard

The following themes emerged from our consultations in 2019:

● People want more information about their data rights and associated risks

● People want to know that their personal data is secure.

● Protecting privacy and data should be a competitive advantage for Ontario businesses.

● Small businesses and rural communities are losing out in the data economy.

● The government should manage and share data more effectively.

You can see how we’ve taken action on many of these concerns through the Ontario Onwards progress on the plan.

Beta consultations — the value of live user feedback

Building on what we heard through our initial consultations, together with our ongoing, active response to COVID-19 and our Action Plan, we know that data access, innovation, privacy, and cybersecurity continue to be top of mind for people as they navigate online life.

Whether we’re building policies or digital services, user feedback, trust and safety is essential.

Ontario’s Digital and Data Strategy will help guide future digital and data initiatives, starting with the projects recently announced in the Ontario Onwards Action Plan.

We want your ideas

We are now in a new, and the final, phase of public engagement for the strategy — the environment we’re in has changed as we’ve all adapted to living during a global pandemic. Our focus, now, is on asking specific questions to help us further refine potential focus areas with greater precision to meet the current-day needs of people and businesses, as we navigate Ontario’s recovery.

Have your say in charting Ontario’s Digital and Data Strategy. The public survey will be open from December 10, 2020 to January 7, 2021 and takes five minutes to complete.

https://www.ontario.ca/form/survey-help-shape-ontarios-digital-and-data-strategy

Your answers will help us understand what areas of digital and data-driven transformation are most important to you, contributing to a shared vision for Ontario.

Stay in touch

Did you know we’re on Twitter? Follow us at @ONDigital / @NumeriqueON to stay up to date!

Stay safe

If you haven’t already done so, please visit the Apple App Store or the Google Play store to download COVID Alert today.

Jesse Campbell is a Senior Policy Advisor at the Ontario Digital Service helping build people-centred digital policies through public engagement. This post is submitted on behalf of the Policy Chapter at the Ontario Digital Service.