Gagants des Prix de Distinction 2006
Group I: Federal Awards
A: Service Delivery to Citizens & Businesses
GOLD: Public Health Map Generator
Public Health Practice and Regional Operations; Strategic Policy, Communications and Corporate Services
Public Health Agency of Canada
Making sense of mountains of public health data is a challenge facing thousands of public health professionals across Canada. Although geographical information system mapping has proven useful in this regard, its use is still not widespread: commercial software tools are proprietary, expensive and often require special expertise. A unique, easy-to-use, Web-based Public Health Map Generator service is now available-at no charge-from the Public Health Agency of Canada, making it easy to visualize and correlate spatial data to help meet the public health needs of Canadians. A picture is worth just a thousand words-a map can be priceless.
SILVER: Military eRecruiting
Canadian Forces Recruiting Group and Director Human Resources Information Management
National Defence
The Canadian Forces Online Employment Application, developed as part of the Military eRecruiting project, integrates an online Internet application, the Government of Canada Secure Channel ePass, an intranet application tracking system for recruiters and the PeopleSoft recruiting system. This secure, automated solution saves significant time and effort for applicants while ensuring privacy. The 25,000 Canadians who apply every year to join the Canadian Forces can now complete their applications from anywhere in the world and track their application status online throughout the recruiting process.
BRONZE: Represent a client
Information Technology Branch
Canada Revenue Agency
Nearly half of all Canadians use representatives to file their tax returns-tax professionals, family members or community service workers. To permit taxpayers to e-enable a representative, the Canada Revenue Agency developed Represent a client, a service that allows authorized representatives to go online, authenticate themselves and work on behalf of clients. The service features security based on the ePass solution as well as authentication at the individual level, and offers convenience for taxpayers and a high degree of efficiency for representatives. As of May 2006, over 6,200 representatives and 1,900 tax-service businesses were registered with Represent a client, serving more than 450,000 clients-greatly outstripping projections.
B: Internal Business Operations
GOLD: Secondary Processing and Passage History Initiative
Innovation, Science and Technology Branch
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
Canadian Border Services Agency's Secondary Processing and Passage History (SPPH) initiative is a critical component of Canada's highly integrated and sophisticated Public Security and Anti-Terrorism border management and security agenda. Travellers arriving at any one of Canada's border sites are first subject to an initial (Primary) inspection and may be referred to a more detailed (Secondary) inspection process. Streamlining information flows within and between these two process points is vital to improving service at Canada's busiest border locations while enhancing the identification and detention of high-risk travellers. The SPPH initiative now seamlessly provides examination officers at the Secondary Processing area with comprehensive information on which to base their decisions. Further, the agency's risk assessment and intelligence units have complete and accurate traveller information for risk profiling and trend analysis work.
SILVER: the ALPHA Project
Information management/Information Technology Directorate
Public Health Agency Canada
In Learning from SARS, Dr. David Naylor, chairman of the National Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health, stressed the need for relevant, timely reporting and analysis within a flexible surveillance system. Reducing 'time-to-market' in emergencies like SARS means wasting no time in redeveloping common application components. A Public Health Agency team addressed these concerns with the ALPHA software architecture, delivering configurable software applications including those for disease surveillance. ALPHA-based applications share the same underlying architecture and proven components, maintained in a steadily growing enterprise repository. ALPHA not only saves a lot of time and money-it can potentially save lives.
BRONZE: Government of Canada BioNetwork
Canadian Biotechnology Secretariat
Industry Canada
The Government of Canada BioNetwork is a new and dynamic online service for the federal government's biotechnology community. This feature-rich Web site provides a simple and secure platform that encourages the collection and sharing of information, active dialogue and knowledge management among community members. Through the BioNetwork, members and working groups can record and preserve corporate memory; share knowledge, opinions and ideas; receive automatic email notifications of new postings by community members and working groups; link to pockets of expertise throughout the federal biotechnology community; manage their work spaces and deliberations online; and accelerate the transfer of knowledge to new federal government employees in the complex biotechnology field.
C: IT Operations
GOLD: Computer Operations and Network Services
Technology and Information Management Services Directorate
Transport Canada
The rapid evolution of information and communication technologies, the advent of globalization, and a shift to a knowledge-based economy have made information management (IM) and information technology (IT) critical to the delivery of federal government programs and services. At Transport Canada, IM/IT helps provide the best transportation system for Canada and optimum transportation safety for Canadians. The department's IM/IT infrastructure, applications and services support approximately 4,900 employees nationally within an annual budget of approximately $73 million. The Computer Operations and Network Services (CONS) team is responsible for the day to day operations of the Department's electronic infrastructure and its evolution as a cost-effective, technically-current environment. The CONS team has implemented a number of initiatives to improve its service-delivery model, including shared services agreements with other departments, service level agreements and performance reporting, monthly client surveys and consolidated hardware/software procurement. CONS was instrumental in implementing departmental IM/IT efficiencies that achieved savings of $1.7 million in 2005-2006, and work continues to attain targeted savings of $2.2 million in 2006-2007.
SILVER: Continuous improvements to CRA forms and publications warehouse operations
Finance and Administration Branch
Canada Revenue Agency
Two new carousel systems have generated significant savings in Canada Revenue Agency's forms and publication distribution centre in Mississauga. These automated carousels interface with the corporate warehouse management system and the Agency's network infrastructure to effectively distribute over 500,000 orders annually. The carousels have increased order filling effectiveness by more than 500%, and form selection errors and unproductive walking time are eliminated.
Group II: Provincial Awards
A: Service Delivery to Citizens & Businesses
GOLD: Nova Scotia PACS Project
Information Management Services
Nova Scotia Department of Health
The use of hard copy film to record medical diagnostic images presents many challenges in terms of timely access and treatment. Film may often be misplaced or signed out to another individual, department or hospital; retaking examinations results in increased patient inconvenience, delays in diagnosis and treatment, and increased cost to the system. A Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) has replaced nearly all film-based medical imaging in Nova Scotia with faster, safer and more streamlined processes. Today, 41 health care sites are active with PACS, making Nova Scotia the largest provincial jurisdiction with a fully digital imaging environment, processing over 1.2 million studies annually. Thousands of patients benefit from improved care delivery, improved report turnaround times and better health outcomes.
SILVER: On line authorization for exception drugs, a Web service for physicians
General Management-Remuneration of health care professional and General Management -Information Systems and Technology
RAMQ
Quebec's Public Prescription Drug Insurance Plan covers more than 5000 drugs, including 157 'exception' drugs. A physician who prescribes an exception drug must apply to the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec for authorization. An interactive tool known as PME en ligne now benefits insured persons who, because of their state of health, need to obtain an exception drug quickly. PME en ligne asks the physician a series of questions to determine whether the application fulfills the requirements for coverage of the drug, thus making it possible to quickly evaluate and authorize the application online. PME en ligne is unique in Canada. Users have found it simple, flexible, efficient, rapid and easy to use. What's more, the authorization processing time for 82 of the 157 exception drugs has been cut from 12 days to 4 minutes.
B: Internal Business Operations
GOLD: GoSMART
Road User Safety Application Solutions Branch
Economics I&IT Cluster, Ministry of Transportation
The GoSMART project was initiated by Road User Safety Application Solutions Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation to achieve Level 3 of the Capability Maturity Model. The goal was to manage application development projects in a disciplined manner using industry best practices. The resulting GoSMART portal is a knowledge repository of application development and project management methodologies. The power of the portal lies in the integration of knowledge with a project management tool to increase efficiency and effectiveness of the organization and to improve the quality of developed solutions. GoSMART was recognized with the 2006 Canadian Project Excellence Award for excellence in knowledge management.
C: IT Operations
Information Technology Service Delivery Partnership
Corporate Information Services
Information Technology Office, Government of Saskatchewan
To reduce costs, increase internal efficiencies and improve program delivery to the public, the Saskatchewan Government Information Technology Office (ITO) was tasked with leading a voluntary initiative to consolidate the IT services of all executive government organizations. To date, 16 departments and agencies have joined the IT Service Delivery Partnership, with the remaining organizations expected to join by March 31, 2007. The initiative will result in annual savings of at least $5.6 million, improved IT system security, better IT business decision making and coordination of internal services, and opportunities to enhance program delivery to citizens.
Group III - Municipal Awards
A: Service Delivery to Citizens & Businesses
GOLD: City of Grande Prairie muniportal.ca Project Team
Corporate Information Technology Team
City of Grande Prairie – Municipal Government
The City of Grande Prairie's eGovernment Internet Portal is one of the leading initiatives in the city's Cyber City program. This portal offers an advanced electronic service delivery tool that combines industry-leading content management with online payment functionality. It provides citizens, businesses and visitors with a single point of access to municipal, community and other government services. Online services currently available include GIS Viewer services, recreational program registration, live webcasts of City Council meetings, parking ticket payments, property tax certificates, property tax enquiry information, municipal property tax estimating, events and conference registration, as well as electronic document, form and permit download and submission.
SILVER: Spider (Transit Solution)
IT Division
Management and Administrative Services, Corporation of the City of Brampton
Driven by an urgent business need to create bus schedules for a new, highly re-engineered, grid-based route system, the Spider project implemented comprehensive scheduling planning software for Brampton Transit four months faster than industry standard. The route system has seen a 20% increase in service levels and a 75% change in the coverage of existing routes. This makeover has resulted in significant savings and operational efficiencies for the City of Brampton and its taxpayers.
B: Internal Business Operations
GOLD: Electronic Ticketing (e-Ticketing)
IT Project
Ottawa Police Service (OPS)
E-Ticketing goes far beyond creating and issuing an e-ticket from a handheld or laptop. By using magnetic stripe readers, barcodes and OCR codes, among other technologies, the City of Ottawa has created a better ticket management system, freed up resources, increased data accuracy, minimized human errors and made it a one-time data entry system from issuing officer to final payment or court trial. E-Ticketing has revolutionized how Ottawa's traffic tickets are issued, managed, prosecuted, filed, analyzed and paid, and others have noticed. Other Canadian municipal services are now implementing the Ottawa solution while inquiries come from as far as Europe and Australia.
Group IV: National Awards
A: Information Management
GOLD: TSB Reference Centre
Transportation Safety Board (TSB)
In April 2003, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) embarked upon a project to develop an integrated IT and IM platform to support the organization, and in particular, TSB's investigation teams. Known as the TSB Investigation Information Management System, the platform consists of five sub-systems. The TSB Reference Centre, delivered in the fall of 2005, is one of those sub-systems, designed as a first-stop tool for all TSB management and staff. The Reference Centre consolidates those often hard-to-find policies, guidelines, operation manuals, checklists, slideshows and other reference tools in a single area for easier access.
SILVER: Reporting Silviculture Updates and Land Status Tracking Systems (RESULTS)
Information Management Group & Forest Practices Branch
BC Ministry of Forests and Range
RESULTS-Reporting Silviculture Updates and Land Status Tracking System-is a Web-based application that helps British Columbia's Ministry of Forest and Range to track and monitor legal reforestation obligations on Crown Land. Forest companies historically have reported via a paper-based system: they now report electronically. RESULTS offers a combined total of $13 million savings per year for forest companies and the Ministry.
SILVER: efence Total Asset Visibility (DTAV)
ADM(Mat)
Department of National Defence (DND)
The Defence Total Asset Visibility (DTAV) project at the Department of National Defence (DND) identifies and integrates required data from various systems to support logistics reporting needs. Over 600 personnel are currently using DTAV applications to track the flow of materiel in theatre and in Canada. The DTAV team has established internal project processes and rigorously follows an iterative development methodology-two primary contributing factors to its success. As a result, DTAV projects are delivered on time, within budget and with high levels of customer satisfaction. DTAV continues to draw interest from various groups across DND including DTAV's latest clients, the new DND operational commands.
B: Cross-Jurisdictional Partnerships
GOLD: Integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS)
Health Services I & IT Cluster
Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care
Ontario's integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) is a secure province-wide, integrated data and surveillance system that is critical for reporting and managing communicable diseases and outbreaks. It was born out of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, which revealed the weaknesses in public health infrastructure and the limitations of existing information systems to provide fast access to detailed information. Ontario has now developed a comprehensive Outbreak Management module, capable of handling the next SARS. iPHIS was fully implemented in all 36 Public Health Units in Ontario by December 2005. It provides immediate, essential information for public health care providers. It provides access to near real-time reporting data for 75 Reportable and Communicable diseases in one centralized system. The Communicable Disease and Outbreak Management system tracks exposures to infectious disease and manages quarantines. iPHIS is an e-Health transformation and an important step towards the development of the pan-Canadian Public Health Solution and the Electronic Health Record.
SILVER: BizPaL - On-line Permits and Licences Service
Canada Business (Secretariat) on behalf of project partners
Industry Canada
Industry Canada, as project secretariat, has led a team comprising federal, provincial/territorial, municipal and regional governments to create the BizPaL On-line Permits and Licences service, a multi-jurisdictional project focussed on the needs of business clients. The online system offers users a wizard that effectively provides a customized list of permits and licences needed from all levels of government to start or expand a business. The success of the BizPaL project can be attributed to the development of a unique partnership model that can become the basis for further cross-jurisdictional service transformation initiatives.
BRONZE: BCeSIS-BC Enterprise Student Information System
Business Integration Branch
British Columbia Ministry of Education
The new British Columbia enterprise Student Information System (BCeSIS ) is bringing information about 600,000 students in all 2,000 BC schools into one, powerful Web database. Collaboratively developed by school boards, independent schools and the BC Ministry of Education, BCeSIS replaces 25 systems previously used across BC. It provides functions that enhance communication to all education stakeholders, address reporting and management needs, improve student and school performance, and help base education policy decisions on results. By integrating high quality, timely information to support data-driven decision-making, the system will reduce information management costs and administrative burden while enabling educators to monitor and improve student achievement.
D: Pilot Projects
GOLD: Nexus Air Pilot: Keeping an Eye on the Future
Innovation, Science and Technology Branch
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
NEXUS Air is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and United States Customs and Border Protection pilot program designed to simplify border crossings for pre-approved, frequent air travellers. Using leading edge iris recognition technology, program members use dedicated self-service kiosks to confirm their identity and satisfy Canada and U.S. security requirements-all in the blink of an eye. Clients find the iris recognition technology efficient and easy to use. The success of the NEXUS Air pilot led the Government of Canada to allocate $25 million in support of expanding the program in the 2006 budget.
SILVER: Federated Search
Services Branch/IT Applications Management
Library and Archives Canada
The Federated Search project, initiated by Library and Archives Canada, has developed a resource discovery tool that provides first- stop access to Library and Archives Canada information resources through a simultaneous searching of both published and unpublished holdings, showcasing Canada's documentary heritage and items of national significance. The pilot of Federated Search was successfully launched in March 2006. It provides an integrated searching capability for primary resources, Amicus (library catalogue), Mikan (archival descriptions) and the Library and Archives Canada Web site. While this pilot implementation is for a limited number of information resources, it has also successfully allowed testing of assumptions about user needs and functionality, and allows clients to provide feedback, so that on-going development can reflect their questions, comments and suggestions.
BRONZE: CIC IMTB Shared Development .NET Framework
Information Management and Technologies Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Big systems development gets the lion's share of attention, but often it's the small systems that make the difference between a successful IT environment and one that's not. Unfortunately, the high cost of developing, implementing and supporting small systems often makes them difficult to justify. Determined to find better ways to create and manage small applications, IT staff at Citizenship and Immigration Canada established a development framework using Microsoft's .NET Architecture, a shared hardware environment and common security processes. The framework has exceeded expectations: four applications have been successfully implemented with significant savings. Version 2.0 promises to be easier to use and even more robust.
E: The Human Dimension
GOLD: Agora (Learning Content Management System ) National Release
Learning Designs Services
RCMP
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has implemented Agora, a new Learning Content Management System, to manage its e-learning offerings. The application, which is fully encrypted and requires authentication through an Entrust certificate and token, can host protected learning documents. All of the RCMP's current and future online courses will be available in Agora, whether the courses are for cadets or specialized units. The application supports communities of practice, which are being put in place for various units. The application also provides the opportunity to push information to employees, based on their roles and responsibilities, via their My Agora portal.
F: Unique Achievements
GOLD: Teleradiology Engineering Initiative
DGIMT/DIMEI
DND / ADM (IM)
Canada has made two nine-month commitments over the next three years to provide medical services for all coalition nations supporting Operation ARCHER in Afghanistan. Without enough radiologists to meet its obligations, a tele-radiology system was seen as the only solution to meet this critical operational requirement. Major Donald Messier and Major Patrick Falardeau performed outstanding service to the Department of National Defence/Canadian Forces and, more importantly, to the deployed forces in Afghanistan, by designing and installing a complex information system to transfer large medical image files from the Canadian Hospital in Kandahar back to Canada and to provide a solution for Canadian medical specialists to send diagnostics back to Kandahar.
SILVER: Energy Cost Benefit Project
Innovation, Information and Technology
Service Canada
When the Energy Costs Assistance Act became law in November 2005, a team comprising staff from Service Canada, Canada Revenue Agency and PWGSC had just seven weeks to issue many low-income families and individuals a one-time, tax-exempt payment to help defray the high cost of energy. By working collaboratively and creatively, the Energy Cost Benefit project team was able to deliver a complex sub-system that enabled eligible recipients to be accurately identified. Over 1.6 million payments were issued-on time-by Service Canada by mid-January, 2006.
Group V: Leadership Awards
C: Career Achievement
GOLD: Tim McLoughlin
Innovation, Information and Technology Branch
Service Canada
For nearly 30 years, Tim McLoughlin has pioneered the use of innovative technology to deliver application solutions that provide services for Canadians. He has led and inspired teams in identifying, developing and implementing vital pieces of technology that allow disparate IT platforms and application systems to inter-operate. His has been a constant voice for innovative yet standards-based product development, a voice which has been recognized and honoured. Yet like the man himself, Tim's products nearly always work behind the scenes, providing the essential connections which seamlessly join complex technologies together and help achieve the cost-effective delivery of benefits to Canadians.
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