The Township of Huron-Kinloss reimagines its digital journey

The Township of Huron-Kinloss used a variety of software platforms to perform various functions. They wanted to implement additional digital solutions and potentially replace some existing digital solutions to streamline services and increase departmental collaboration. The team needed our help to complete a digital modernization review. This review would help them better serve their citizens and employees, improve user experience, assist in more informed decision-making, and prioritise investments to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the municipal services. 

To further its status as a growing and innovative municipality, the Township looked to GHD Digital to conduct a corporate digital modernization review. This nature and scale review would enhance service delivery and improve efficiency through streamlined processes and increased collaboration across departments.

As such, the Township was looking to:

• Drive alignment with leadership and stakeholders on the vision and direction for the Digital Strategy. 

• Conduct a comprehensive review of the current state of Digital (people, process, technology, data, governance, etc.)

• Assess the opportunities for improvement across the key Township departments, including innovation opportunities.

• Develop a target state that aligns with the vision, the required strategic roadmap and potential cost savings.

GHD Digital’s Digital Strategy and Transformation team, part of our D-Lab practice, developed a digital modernization strategy and roadmap to meet the Township’s needs. As part of the project, we included stakeholder engagement with all key departments across the organization such as the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Treasury / Finance, HR, Public Works, Building & Planning, Community Services, and the Clerk’s Office.

Our team worked with Huron-Kinloss through a three-phased approach:

• Phase 1, Working Session: During Phase 1, we conducted a two-hour working session with leadership to establish their vision and the guiding principles for the project, which we call a “Vision Lab.” In parallel, interviews were conducted with representatives from all Township departments. These interviews, combined with analyses of their digital landscape, provided significant insights into their current digital maturity. With all perspectives in mind, we co-created the Township’s digital vision with input from the Township’s key leaders and stakeholders as “a data-driven organization empowered by modern and integrated technologies to create value through process efficiencies and exceptional user experience.”

• Phase 2, Analysis and Future State: In Phase 2, we aligned with the Township on target maturity scores for the desired future state. We conducted a gap analysis, which validated the findings gathered through discussions with departmental representatives. Draft recommendations and initiatives were compiled and reviewed by the Township Project team, where they were then prioritized for an analysis of the available options.
  
  After completing an options analysis, potential cost savings were identified, and the digital modernization roadmap was developed. The option to move forward focused primarily on using an enterprise system, which would have built-in integrations, among other recommendations. As part of future state working sessions, we identified improvement opportunities for their digital environment from technology, people, process, data, and governance perspectives, including new digital solutions that would be considered.
  
  
• Phase 3, Prioritization: Once there was alignment on the future state, we began Phase 3. Here, the recommendations were prioritized and included as foundational, high-priority, and long-term initiatives in the digital modernization roadmap, and the findings were presented to the Council. The potential costs and benefits of the initiatives were calculated at $1.3M and $1.4M over ten years, respectively, with the breakeven point at nine years. 

As a result of our work, the Township of Huron-Kinloss now has an actionable 5-year digital roadmap that clarifies where investments are needed in their digital transformation journey and the case for change. 

This enables the Township to achieve its desired digital maturity and implement new digital solutions and processes to help its data-driven decision-making. Additionally, our work has highlighted several modern and integrated technologies that will create value for the Township through process efficiencies and improved user experience for residents and employees in the future. 

The digital transformation strategy helped our clients understand and uncover what steps need to be completed to achieve the future state they desired. By working with a trusted partner with industry knowledge and experience in similar organizations, the Township gained an objective perspective, which helped the organization build a path forward in a structured manner with the appropriate stakeholders.

The Township is better positioned to deliver a higher quality of service to its citizens. From an internal perspective, this project has enabled the Township to consider ways to shift from conventional paper-based processes to more digital-enabled processes, increasing the human experience and business efficiencies.