Government On-Line is the Government of Canada’s plan to deliver programs, services and information over the Internet, and a key component in ACOA's plan to improve service delivery to Canadians.

"The initiative is a multi-year project ending in 2005 that will provide citizens with the ability to interact with government, to receive information, programs and services, and to do business electronically with the Government of Canada. [more]

Government On-Line will complement the other ways we deliver services to Canadians - in person, by mail and by phone.

ACOA's Vision for Government On-Line (GOL) and how it fits into our overall service delivery improvement strategy

ACOA's GOL vision continues to focus on improving the quality of interactions between Atlantic Canadians and the Agency by enabling them to request and receive services and information when and where it is most convenient for them, wherever they live.

Our on-line service delivery strategy aligns itself with our mandate to increase opportunities for economic development in Atlantic Canada and, more particularly, to enhance the growth of earned incomes and employment opportunities in the Atlantic region. In general we will:

• continue to improve on our commitment to provide information on-line on for key programs and services by finding new and innovative means of effective delivery;




• in collaboration with central and similar service departments, review and re-engineer as necessary, those individual and common business processes which will enable improved electronic delivery of service to our clients; and,
  

• consult and develop with our clients and stakeholders on-line systems and processes which empower them to interact with us, reduce the amount of redundant processing, and provide relevant information and services. This will enable ACOA officers to provide value-added services, guidance, support and improved response times.

ACOA delivers its services in-person, through mail, telephone, the Internet, e-mail and fax. On-line delivery mechanisms continue to play an important role in service delivery and as a result of the realization of benefits and confidence for our clients, the swing to on-line services continues to grow.

The following is an overview of the Agency's efforts to improve service delivery to its clients through the use of on-line tools.

Incorporating client service delivery needs and capabilities into the Strategy

Our clients are entrepreneurs from all age groups, existing businesses, business associations, academia, provincial and other government departments (OGDs), internal staff, and media.

From its head office and through each of its provincial offices in Atlantic Canada, ACOA carries out extensive internal and external consultations with employees, clients, partners, and other stakeholders such as the Atlantic Provincial governments, the Canada Business Service Centre Network, Community-Based Organizations, etc.

Various client satisfaction surveys and studies, conducted annually, will continue to be used to measure the expectations of partners, clients, and internal staff in providing web-based services.

For further information, please contact: Ronald Surette Director General, Service Transformation and CIO Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency 506-851-2271 ronald.surette@acoa-apeca.gc.ca

Key Service - On-line Delivery of Programs

ACOA Direct, as it is aptly named, provides our Canadian business clients with the ability to review up to the minute information about their projects with ACOA from anywhere in the world, at a time and place of their choosing and in the official language of their choice.

Also built into the system is the capability for clients to send and receive secure messages and attachments. They can submit a claim for reimbursement, request an advance (if their contract permits), and can even manage the users of their system.

Because the system was transformed from the inside out, as more services become available internally, more will be available for the client to access. In the spirit of true transformation, when claims are submitted on line and internally approved, they are automatically moved to the payment generation phase which can significantly reduce the waiting time for clients.

At the appropriate time upon project completion, the electronic repayment phase of the loan to ACOA will commence.

Transformation timeline

2002: For several years clients were able to access the ACOA web site to gather information and to communicate electronically. This year they began applying on-line for Atlantic Innovation Project funding as part of a pilot using the latest in both encryption software and hardware.

2003: Clients were able to repay loans through the use of electronic transfer of funds from their financial institutes.

2004: The ability for clients to create claim(s)/invoice(s) against approved projects, and monitor all facets of account information was introduced.

2005: The completion of this key service to clients was realized which now provide the following capabilities:

• snapshot view of all activity with ACOA in one location
• views of all client information the Agency has on file;
• create a draft or final claim any time;
• ability to send secure attachments such as financial statements in electronic format;
• view repayable/installment amounts due;

Measurable Benefits

• For Clients:
  • elimination of much of the telephone tag that occured; clients can now get answers to questions on-line that would have formerly required a phone call to an Account Manager;
  • time savings for clients as they can communicate with the Agency when it is convenient for them and since turnaround time for claims is reduced;
  • cost reduction from both a savings in their work time and because claims are received and in their bank account quicker;
  • elimination of duplication since the client can verify all the information that has been received by the Agency.
• For ACOA:
  • as is for clients, the reduction of telephone tag reduces effort and frustration;
  • workflow of an integrated system will result in better efficiency;
  • significant reduction of data capture errors since the client information is entered by the client;
  • elimination of duplication and mailouts since all information can be viewed by the client at any time; and,
  • a reduction in cost for cheque issuance and the deposit process.

Client Satisfaction:

Results from client surveys and polling indicate that clients:

• appreciate the ability to access and verify real-time information on-line;

• are pleased to be able to electronically send sensitive documents securely with confidence;

• appreciate being able to have an alternative way of conducting business with the Agency

The results indicated from these responses suggest that our strategy for increasing the awareness of this on-line service and providing easy to use capabilities within the system are driving up the take-up of this self-serve channel.

• Statistics tracking usage are regularly captured and have indicated a steady increase in take-up; as of the end of December 2005, there are 192 registered users, a significant number considering ACOA attracts 500 unique clients per year for our services.

In the Works

The following is a list of activities which are currently under development:

• building on the success of the above-mentioned project, the Agency is working on a tighter integration of back office processes to the on-line system, ie. fully automating the submission and response processes to reduce turn around times for various aspects of the activities;
  

• development of electronic collaboration services which will enable the Agency and its partners to evaluate project requests more efficiently; and,
  

• extending the functionality of the existing system following recommendations received through surveying our clients, partners and stakeholders.
  

Key Services - Information Exchange and Sharing

In fulfilling its mandate to promote economic development through a leadership role in Atlantic Canada and in delivering its strategic priorities, ACOA has adjusted the way it communicates and exchanges pertinent information to its clients for things such as:

• Exchanging and sharing essential business information relevant to program delivery with clients and stakeholders;
  

• Providing access to project information on-line.
  

• Transparency in reporting
  

• Collaboration services
  

Transformation Timeline

Prior to 1999: ACOA has had a presence on the Internet for several years providing a host of valuable information to the public and specifically to ACOA clients, small and medium sized businesses.

2002: As of the beginning of this year, clients, stakeholders and the media were able to access all public-related information pertaining to the projects that have been supported by ACOA. ( (http://pub.acoa-apeca.gc.ca/atip/)

2003: During this year the development of modules for Exchanging and Sharing essential business information relevant to program delivery with clients and stakeholders began.Common form templates were also created and made available.

2004: Initial components of transparency reporting were presented on the Agency's site. The initial federal council collaboration site was built in partnership with the PEI Federal Council.

2005: Expenses, travel and procurement expenses transparency reporting are in full service on the web. PEI and NL Federal Council sites are now functioning with NS and NB in development. Web hits are at an all time high:

• Total Visits: 610,053

• Total Pages Viewed: 3,266,268

• Total Unique Visitors: 371,852

Measurable Benefits

• For Clients:

  • ACOA web site provides clients and stakeholders with the information they need; and

  • the information is available when they need it.
    

• For ACOA:

  • reduced number of telephone calls;

  • clients are better informed when they do call;

  • information is centrally located; and,

  • clients are satisfied with the service.

Client Satisfaction

The following results come from a recent survey:

74.5% of clients indicated that it was easy to find what they were looking for on the Web site; 69.5% of clients indicated that the web site had the information that they were looking for; and, 83.2% of clients indicated that they felt their privacy was protected when using the website.

In the Works

Even though 74.5% of clients said that it was easy to find the things that they were looking for on the web, we want that number to be even higher:

• To that end, we are replacing the technology at the back end which will allow us to create rich, dynamic content and we will bring this down to the level of the individuals developing this content.

• Internal ACOA authors will create their content on-line, submit their work to an editor electronically who, at the push of a button, can instantly approve for publication after viewing. This will ensure that content is current and interesting.

Our programs and services can also be found through the Government of Canada's main portal at http://www.canada.gc.ca under Information and Service Gateways for Canadian Business and Non-Canadians.