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Security Conference Presentations Available
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Nov. 28, 2011
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All of the presentations from the MISA Ontario 2011 Security Conference are available on the members-only section of the website. Simply log on to Share Point and you'll find the presentations in the 'Security Conference' folder. The presentations contain great information from municipalities and vendors alike, on critical issues like mobile security and membership information about the International Security Forum. Thanks to all speakers for providing their presentations.
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SAS Session - "Conquer Big Data With Big Analytics"
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Nov. 10, 2011
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On the afternoon of Tuesday November 22, at the SAS head Office on King Street East, there will be an Executive Power Session with Futurist Thornton May and Merv Adrian, VP Research from Gartner Group. The SAS Power Session isn’t just another workshop it’s a new approach to the traditional business conference – a dynamic forum where ideas, perspectives and experiences commingle and collide, fueling collaborative innovation at its best. This workshop is ideal for Senior Executives who are directly involved in the enterprise architecture, data warehouse, and information management of their organizations or who need to address their specific business challenges through the application of “Big Data” related technologies. These highly-collaborative sessions produce meaningful results and ideas for participants – ideas that can be taken away and applied within your own organization. Working with seasoned facilitators using proven methodologies and a highly graphical approach to problem-solving and opportunity identification, the SAS “Power Session” is like no other workshop you have experienced. Note: the afternoon session is by invitation only, please contact Claire Atkinson as noted below.
There is also a breakfast session being held from 8:00 - 11:45 at the CN Tower. Please see this link for additional information, and to register! http://www.sas.com/reg/offer/ca/big-data-Nov2011 You can also contact Claire Atkinson at Clare.Atkinson@sas.com
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URISA Ontario Chapter Fall Event - Nov. 22
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Oct. 28, 2011
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URISA is hosting their fall event on Nov. 22 in Peterborough, ON at the Canadian Canoe Museum. Presentations will update members on what's happening at URISA and what's being planned for the months ahead. Cost is $55 for URISA members and $75 for non-members. Details and registration can be found at this link: http://www.urisaoc.ca/WhereAreWeFall2011.asp
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Computerworld Canada 2011 IT Leadership Awards Recipients Announced
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Oct. 26, 2011
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Congratulations to Larry Franks from Peterborough who received the IT Leader award in the small - medium enterprise category. Also, kudos to Garry Bezruki from the City of Waterloo who was a finalist in this category.
Other finalists included Chad Szymanski from the City of Toronto, (IT Rising Star category) and Roy Wiseman from Peel Region (IT Mentor category). It's great to see the work of our municipal colleagues recognized at this level!
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GITAs 16th Annual Geospatial Fall Forum Nov 3 in Oakville
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Oct. 21, 2011
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Join colleagues from across the province for this great opportunity to learn what is happening now and what will happen next in the GIS space.
Joe Francica, editor of Directions e-magazine, is our keynote speaker. Joe is perhaps the best informed GI commentator in North America, whose own GIS experience in deep and broad.
Exhibitors will include AGSI, Cansel, Consortech, ESRI, Intergraph, Teranet, Tecterra. Fee is only $50 for individuals with discounts for groups of 5 or 10.
REGISTER NOW at http://gitaontariofallforum-auto.eventbrite.com/
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Roy Wiseman Retirement Photos
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Oct. 21, 2011
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Roy's retirement celebration on Sept. 30 was a great event with many colleagues, family and friends in attendance. To view the photos, visit this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68884666@N05/?saved=1
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Ontario Municipal SAP Users Meeting
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Oct. 13, 2011
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Mark your calendars for an Ontario Municipal SAP Users Meeting, October 27, 2011 in Mississauga. This free educational face-to-face event covers subjects of interest to Ontario municipal customers of SAP.
Current topics planned for this event include:
· City of Mississauga/Accenture - Clone & Test functionality and specific uses for HR and Payroll testing at the City of Mississauga
· Simcoe County - eRecruiting implementation
· Region of Halton - PSAB/TCA update
· SAP - Business Analytics and Mobility Solutions - Enabling Municipalities to Become Best Run Cities
· City of Toronto - Municipal update
To register for the event go to https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEVQN2ZReG5IQU1rYTJoTnBMc3piOWc6MQ
If you'd like to present at this meeting, contact john.ramlall@mississauga.ca by Oct. 14.
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City of Guelph Upgrades Network for "Bring Your Own Device" Policy
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Sep. 15, 2011
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The City of Guelph's 'Bring Your Own Device' policy for employees gave rise to a need for deeper visibility of all possible devices that employees and contractors might connect to the corporate network, as well as a need to meet regulatory requirements such as PCI-DSS. Read the full article here:
http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/local/article/594854--city-of-guelph-spends-59-000-on-network-access-control-system
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Automating Municipal Business Practices Workshop
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Sep. 12, 2011
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Ontario Municipalities are invited to attend a workshop in Toronto on Oct 6th at the Boulevard Club on Lakeshore Boulevard. At this event, a representative from MPAC (Ontario Municipal Property Assessment Corporation) will be demonstrating an ‘electronic building permit’ application that all municipalities can use from their offices (or via mobile) to complete those ‘forms’, to calculate costs and even to take payment from property owners and/or their builders. This service has been developed by and for MPAC , to allow that data to be shared between your municipality and MPAC. By adopting this electronic form, municipalities will eliminate the administrative task of periodically reporting to MPAC. At the same time, municipalities will be able to visit the hosted site to search Building Permit records and can access and export those files from any internet access point using passwords and authorizations.
This system will simplify the ‘communications’ and services that MPAC provides Ontario Municipalities and also help to standardize those processes.
This event is focused around the mobile technologies that MPAC uses for their work processes and should provide some interesting learning for your operations.>/br>
David Miller, former Mayor of Toronto is the key note speaker. David will speak to sustainable environmental business practices, a common theme throughout his mayoralty and his current business effort. Mayor Miller is recognized internationally for his environmental stewardship; and that perspective played a role in FieldWorker and the City becoming business partners.
This user conference is dedicated to the use of Mobile Business Applications across many different business user types. Existing Clients willingly share their experiences about how they achieved their goals and about their realized and anticipated ‘gains’.
For addtional information and to register for this free event, visit www.fieldworker.com
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MISA Members Step in to Assist Goderich in Aftermath of Storm
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Sep. 02, 2011
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Kim Reid is the Manager of the Information Technology Division at the County of Huron. On Sunday, August 21, she was left with an unimaginable challenge as she and her team tried to coordinate the restoration of IT services in the tornado ravished town of Goderich. She sent a plea out to IT colleagues across the province for assistance. What resulted was an outpouring of support as MISA members near and far sent IT professionals to assist Kim’s team with the re-building efforts. Within the week, the County IT Division was able to recover to the point that they could handle the technical requests and requirements going forward.
In Kim’s words, “An immense thank you to Geoff Hogan for his coordination of resources, and to each of you for your offers of assistance. Brad Banks from the City of London, and Tim Scott from Grey County both attended on site and were amazing at pitching in and working alongside to assist us. Again, thank you to everyone who has offered and provided assistance in this regard - it is appreciated beyond words...”.
What a great example of the spirit of cooperation and volunteerism that drives MISA Ontario!
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Sharing the Front-Line: Provincial/Municipal Collaboration Opportunities Workshop
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Aug. 30, 2011
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The workshop will be held on Thursday Sept 8th from 2-4pm as part of Showcase Ontario. Information about the session is being distributed to MISA members, the OPS I&IT leadership group and selected ministries/business areas with an established interest in collaboration activities. The purpose of the session is to raise awareness of the work of the External Relations SIG and challenge a mixed group of provincial and municipal staff to identify additional opportunities for collaboration. Ralph Blauel will be the lead off speaker representing MISA; Marty Gallas (Corporate Chief Infrastructure Technology Services) and Richard Steele (Assistant Deputy Minister, Service Ontario) will be lead-off speakers from the OPS.
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New Member Offers
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Aug. 30, 2011
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Check out the new MISA Ontario member offers from our vendor partners. Details can be found on Share Point under 'Member Special Offers'. If you have a special promotion or offer for members, please contact alison.hermansen@misa.on.ca
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WEBINAR: “The Relationship Between Employee Engagement & Client Satisfaction”
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Aug. 29, 2011
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You are cordially invited to participate in a webinar hosted by the Institute for Citizen-Centred Service (ICCS) on behalf of the Joint Councils (PSSDC-PSCIOC) Research Committee. The webinar will explore the relationship between employee engagement and client satisfaction. Nicholas Prychodko from the Province of Ontario and Martin Monkman from the province of British Columbia will present the research that their organizations have undertaken that establishes an empirical link between employee engagement and client satisfaction. Come and learn about how your organization’s investment in either employee engagement or client satisfaction can result in improvements to both!
WEBINAR DATE: SEPTEMBER 15th, 2011
WEBINAR TIME: 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm EST
This webinar will be of interest to Service Delivery and Human Resources professionals. Register today by clicking on the link below. Everyone who has already registered will receive an email from the ICCS with instructions about how to join and participate in the webinar. If you register for the webinar, you will receive this email from the ICCS just a few days before September 15th. If you are unable to participate, please forward this invitation to your other colleagues (or the members of your association if you are an MSDO or MISA Board member) who may be interested.
Visit this link to register: https://iccs.webexone.com/MeetingHostRegister/MeetingHostRegister.aspx?_command=newmeetinghostregister&_appid=100&confID=768485670&topic=The+Relationship+between+Employee+Engagement+and+Client+Satisfaction+-+Webinar+by+Joint+Councils'+Research+Committee+hosted+by+the+ICCS
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MISA Ontario Seeking Volunteers
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May. 11, 2011
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MISA Ontario is looking for new, committed volunteers to serve on its Committees and Special Interest Groups (SIGS) . It's a great opportunity for members to get more involved in MISA as we implement our new strategic plan by attending teleconferences, in-person meetings and contributing your ideas and energies in all ways possible.
Terms of reference documents, revitalized and aligned to the association's strategic plan which you helped develop, are posted in the members area of www.misa.on.ca under this link http://misa.on.ca/en/aboutmisa/execcommittees.asp#admin. You will also find contact information for Committee and SIG Chairs. Take a moment to review the volunteer opportunities - we'd love to have you involved!
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MISA BC Announces Fall Conference
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Apr. 01, 2011
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This year's MISA BC Fall Conference will be held in Sidney (Vancouver Island) British Columbia. "Sidney by the Sea" is a charming, picturesque seaside community located just 25 kilometres north of Victoria, close to the Victoria International Airport and the BC Ferry terminal.
This year's conference theme will focus on Social Networking and Social Media, the impact they are having and how municipalities can better understand and use these technologies to communicate services.
For information on registration, keynote speakers, conference programs and partner programs available to delegates and vendors please go to this year's conference website at www.misa2011.com/
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Wanted: MISA Ontario Committee Volunteers
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Nov. 16, 2010
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MISA Ontario is looking for new committed volunteers to serve on its committees . It's a great opportunity for members to get more involved in MISA as we implement our new strategic plan by attending teleconferences, in-person meetings and contributing your ideas and energies an all ways possible.
Draft terms of reference documents, revitalized and aligned to the association's strategic plan which you helped develop, are posted in the members area of www.misa.on.ca under the Member Resources. These documents will help the interim chairs work with the new volunteers to finalize the committees' terms of reference and elect a committee chair over the coming months.
Please submit your interest via e-mail to the interim chair list below.
Communications & Web Committee: Interim Chair: Geoff Hogan: geoff.hogan@grey.ca
Member Services & Program Committee: Interim Chair: Harry Turnbull: hturnbull@city.windsor.on.ca
Nominations Committee: Interim Chair: Ralph Blauel: ralph.blauel@halton.ca
Events & Conference Committee: Interim Chair: David Laneville: davidl@timmins.ca
Committees deal with the day to day operational decision making of the Association. In contrast Special Interest Groups are focused upon topic areas that are relevant to the Associations membership, and provide a forum for developing best practices in the operation of IT functions, solutions and services primarily at the Municipal level but also potentially applicable to the broader public service. Calls for Special Interest Groups including Gov 2.0, IT Security and Provincial Liaison are scheduled for the coming weeks.
Committees are a significant opportunity for the broader membership, including Associate members, to participate in the day-to-day running of the Association. The Committee Chair and Secretary will be renewed every two years and Membership of the Committees will be established through an open call to the MISA Ontario membership for participation.
The work of the committees will conform to the principles defined in MISA Ontario’s 5 year strategy;
•Open and transparent decision making and communication
•Increased participation at all levels in the Association
•Increased focus upon balancing small and large member interests
•Increased focus upon balancing technical and IT decision maker interests
Please get involved!
Ralph Blauel - MISA Ontario Past-President
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Niagara Region receives 2010 IPAC/Deloitte Public Sector Leadership Award
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Nov. 10, 2010
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NIAGARA REGION, November 8, 2010 – Niagara Region triumphed over some 79 other applicants to win a 2010 Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC)/Deloitte Public Sector Leadership Award for the Protocol for Electronic Clinic Systems (PECS) mass immunization software. This prestigious national award was founded by IPAC and Deloitte.
Leadership of public sector organizations is one of Canada’s most important assets. Recognizing and building the cadre of public sector leaders is a critical ingredient in the success of our country and communities. “The Leadership Awards encourages outstanding leadership and recognizes the important work that is being done in the public sector and how it affects Canadian citizens,” said Paul Macmillan, Deloitte’s National Public Sector Industry Leader.
PECS is a made-in-Niagara software, supported by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, which was used throughout the province during H1N1 mass immunization clinics. This technology has showcased staff skills to transform paper-based clinic operations into an innovative electronic model that successfully improved customer satisfaction, clinic efficiency, record collection, and access to real time data.
“Niagara Region is proud of this success story,” stated Mike Trojan, Chief Administrative Officer. “We will continue to be innovative and embrace leading edge ideas to showcase Niagara as a centre of excellence.”
The IPAC/Deloitte Leadership Awards are designed to formally recognize and reward excellence in leadership within the public sector in Canada. They showcase projects and initiatives undertaken by organizations or agencies where leadership played a key role in making it possible for major organizational transformation and outstanding performance to occur.
“In today’s environment, Canadian public sector organizations recognize the need to go beyond their traditionally bureaucratic nature and focus on customer-service, innovation and productivity. That, of course, requires the example of leaders, such as those being recognized today,” said IPAC’s CEO, Michael Fenn.
-30-
Contact:
Mike Trojan, Chief Administrative Officer
Niagara Region 905-685-4225 ext. 3201 or 1-800-263-7215
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Niagara Region wins Showcase Ontario Diamond Award - Working Together - PECS!
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Oct. 14, 2010
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Congratulations to Niagara Region for representing municipalities so well in winning the Diamond Award in the Working Together category at the Showcase Ontario Awards of Excellence for the PECS - Protocol for Electronic Clinic Systems project.
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The Town of Milton Wins Showcase Ontario Awards of Excellence Merit Award for Their Town of Milton Municipal Suite E-bids and Tenders System
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Oct. 13, 2010
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The Town of Milton has received the exciting news that they have been selected as a Showcase Ontario Award of Excellence Merit Winner in the Green Technolocy Category for their Town of Milton Municipal Suite - E-bids and Tenders.
The team has been invited to the Merit Awards Ceremony on Monday, September 20th at the Metro Convention Centre.
Details about this exciting application can be found on the SharePoint site in the Members Section in the MISA 2010 Awards folder under EVENT RESOURCES.
Congratulations to the Town of Milton!
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MISA Ontario 2010 Annual General Meeting Notice
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Jun. 10, 2010
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The Annual General Meeting of the Municipal Information Systems Association of Ontario will be held at the MISA Annual conference on Tuesday, June 15, 2010, at 4:00 pm in the Grand Hall, Fallsview in Niagara Falls, Ontario. This meeting will be held for the purposes of receiving the President’s address, financial statements, accepting board reports, and dealing with other matters including motions relating to the 2010-2014 MISA Ontario Strategic Implementation Plan and MISA Ontario Intellectual Property.
You are reminded that each municipality in good standing has one vote and the vote may be exercised by proxy if your municipality is not represented in person at the meeting. If this is the case, please complete the proxy form and return it to me. Typically, you may wish to appoint the current President, Garry Bezruki , or Secretary, Dan Munns, to vote on your behalf.
AGM Documents can be found under the Events category within the members area of www.misa.on.ca.
I look forward to seeing you at the Annual General Meeting.
Sincerely,
Ralph Blauel
Past President, MISA ON
(905) 825-6000 x 7997
Ralph.Blauel@halton.ca
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MISA 2010 Annual Conference - Registration Closes Monday, June 7th!
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Jun. 05, 2010
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With only a little over a week remaining before the MISA 2010 Annual Conference –the excitement is building! The response this year has been absolutely incredible and the registrations have been pouring in - In fact, many of the events are nearing full capacity. As a result we will be closing registration as of Monday June 7th and will not be able to accept on-site registrations this year. If you haven’t registered yet and would like to attend this amazing conference please register online now through the MISA website.
Looking forward to seeing you all at MISA 2010 – it’s going to be an event to remember!!
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MISA Ontario Strategic Plan 2010 - 2014
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Jun. 04, 2010
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We are very excited to present the MISA Ontario Strategic Plan 2010 - 2014 to you. This is a very progressive plan and outlines a vision for growing the Association and providing even more value to all of it's members. A copy of both the Plan and the Executive Summary have been posted in the Memebers login area for your review. We value all input so we invite you to review the documents and join in the discussion on them in the Water Cooler. Your feedback is essential!
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There is still time! 2010 MISA Awards Final Submission is May 3, 2010
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Apr. 23, 2010
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MISA 2010 Awards Nomination From
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MISA Ontario is expanding its awards program in 2010 and providing better opportunities for people and organizations to gain recognition for excellence.
The awards categories are as follows:
1) Excellence in Municipal Systems Awards
2) International Excellence in Municipal Systems Awards (open to GMIS and LOLA delegates)
3) Associate Member of the Year
Award
4) Regena Lerke Distinguished Service Award
5) John Cushing Award of Merit
6) Life Membership
7) Special Recognition
The awards panel this year is introducing a two-stage submission process. After the initial submission deadline of April 16, the panel will review all nomination forms submitted and provide the submitters with advice and feedback.
Submitters can then make any desired revisions before meeting the final deadline for submissions of May 3.
The MISA awards will be presented June 15 during the annual banquet at the Annual Conference and Trade Show in Niagara Falls.
The attached document includes a description of all of the awards, plus an outline of the questions included in the Nominations Form. You can either e-mail your completed MS Word document to strategy@misa.on.ca or use the on-line submission form:
MISA Awards - Nomination Form Survey
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MISA Praires Conference Update
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Mar. 17, 2010
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The MISA Prairies 2010 Spring Conference is on the horizon. With only 6 weeks until the delegates start arriving in Regina the conference committee is very busy making sure everything will exceed your expectations.
There has been a lot of activity by the conference committee in getting vendor sponsorships in place. The week of March 15 - 19 was the last week for vendors to express interest in sponsorship or presentation opportunities. Any vendors who have not contacted Kevin Peacock to discuss sponsorship or presentation are recommended to contact him immediately.
With vendors confirming their support of the MISA Prairies conference the conference committee has released its latest version of the conference schedule. It provides information on the welcome activity on April 28th, as well as information pertaining to the presentation schedules and keynote speakers. It is definitely worth a look!
If you haven't already booked your hotel for the conference we strongly recommend you do so very soon. The conference hotel, Hotel Saskatchewan, only has availability within the block of rooms that are reserved for conference delegates. Take advantage of this and book now!
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MISA Board Meeting – In-Person / Teleconference
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Feb. 11, 2010
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MISA Board Meeting – In-Person / Teleconference
February 26th, 2010 - 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
The MISA board would like to invited any MISA member in good standing to our February 26, 2010 MISA Board Meeting. This In-Person / Teleconference meeting will be held between 9:30 am and 12:30 pm on Friday February 26th, 2010.
Interested MISA members wishing to attend this meeting are asked to send an email before 4:30 pm on Wednesday February 24, 2010 to Daniel Munns
Both the In-Person and Teleconference bridge space capacity is limited, so access will be granted on a first come, first served basis. Interested members which can be accommodated will be notified by email by 10:00 am on Thursday February 25, 2010.
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Survey on Licence and Service Agreement
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Jan. 21, 2010
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MISA Ontario has published on this site a contract template that municipalities can use to save time when purchasing low-risk IT products and services.
The document, called the Ontario Municipalities Standard Form IT Agreement, is intended to be used voluntarily as an appendix to a municipality’s RFP, containing terms and conditions that would not be contentious to either the municipality or the supplier and could be accepted without further negotiations.
The template agreement could apply in typical commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) type procurements of equipment, software, and service and support services.
MISA Ontario is seeking comment from users on the effectiveness of this contract template.
We invite our member representatives to visit the Member Resources section of this site, click on “COTS Software Licence and Services Agreement,” and complete the brief survey of 10 questions.
We will use the survey results to improve the use of the standard form of the licence and service agreement. Thank you in advance from MISA Ontario!
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MISA Prairies prepares for 2010 Spring Conference
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Jan. 15, 2010
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The MISA Prairies 2010 Spring Conference and Annual General Meeting is being hosted in Regina, Saskatchewan from April 28th to 30th. Saskatchewan's Prairies members are all pitching in to make this an event you won't want to miss!
The Theme for this year's conference is "Green is the Colour", with emphasis on the use of environmentally-friendly technology and supporting environmentally sustainable municipalities.
Details about the conference agenda are forthcoming. The website's online conference registration and payment functionality will be use by Prairies for the first time.
In the meantime:
- For travel planning information, the Hotel Saskatchewan ( www.hotelsask.com or 306-522-7691) has a block of rooms reserved for conference attendees. The hotel is within walking distance of City Hall, where most events will take place. The first event begins Wednesday (28th) at 7 pm at the hotel, including a fun (yet competitive) time of Survivor 2, sponsored by Digital Boundary Group. The AGM will end the conference by 4 pm on Friday April 30th.
- Vendor Sponsorship opportunities are available through contacting Kevin Peacock
- Municipalities interested in making a presentation or taking part in the Municipal Showcase, should contact Larry Eirich
Saskatchewan's cities are looking forward to hosting you in Regina in late April. Get involved. That's what makes this event so valuable to MISA Members.
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Strategy Institute Lowers Conference Fees in Deal with MISA/ASIM Canada
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Oct. 06, 2009
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The cost of attending a variety of business conferences will be reduced in the coming year for qualified municipal employees as a result of an agreement between MISA/ASIM Canada and the Strategy Institute.
The Strategy Institute, a Toronto-based company that produces conferences for business and public-sector leaders in targeted topic areas, has joined MISA/ASIM Canada’s member special-offers program to offer savings to municipal purchasers.
Employees of municipalities that are members of any of the five regional associations within MISA/ASIM Canada will receive 15 per cent off the cost of attending any Strategy Institute conferences through October 2010.
In the event that Strategy Institute offers more savings to any particular municipality, the company will extend that as a special offer to all municipalities in the MISA/ASIM membership. The offer has therefore been designated as “platinum” within the MISA/ASIM Canada Member Special Offers program.
The offer is described in the Member Special Offers folder in the Members Only section of this site, and at www.misa-asim.ca.
Information about Strategy Institute conferences is available at www.strategyinstitute.com. The first conference for which the special offer will apply will be the “Canadian Smart Grid Summit” in Toronto on October 14-15, 2009.
For further information, please contact:
Waleed Khan
Senior Marketing Manager
Strategy Institute
401 Richmond Street West, Suite 40
Toronto, ON M5V 3A8
416-944-8833 x 268
khan@strategyinstitute.com
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Websense Canada Special Offer
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Sep. 29, 2009
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Websense Canada Inc. has announced that municipal members within MISA/ASIM Canada associations are able to purchase Websense solutions at discounts of up to 66 per cent off list prices.
The offer applies to 14 products within the Websense suite of Web, data and e-mail security products. It is being made through MISA/ASIM Canada’s Member Special Offers program.
Websense has set up a tailored microsite on the Web specifically for municipal customers interested in this special offer. Prices and discounts for the range of solutions are listed at http://sites.syndicationlane.com/websense/misa/home. The information is also contained in the Member Special Offers folder in the Members Only section of this site, and at www.misa-asim.ca.
Websense describes its special offer as “best customer pricing,” with terms that municipalities could not normally negotiate on their own. The company has committed that its special offer through MISA/ASIM Canada will continue to contain the best pricing available to municipalities, so MISA/ASIM Canada has designated the offer as “platinum.”
Ottawa-based Websense Canada is wholly owned by Websense, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN) of San Diego, California, whose products are designed to enable organizations to use the Web, including Web 2.0 applications, safely to meet business goals without having to worry about security, productivity and liability threats such as malware, inappropriate content and data loss.
Regional contacts for the special offer are listed on the Websense microsite. For further information please contact:
Fiaaz Walji
Canadian Country Manager, Websense Canada
613-299-3543
fwalji@websense.com
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MISA Ontario to Promote Greater Participation
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Jun. 08, 2009
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MISA Ontario’s Executive will implement a plan to improve member participation in the association and its management, as a result of a motion passed at the Annual General Meeting on June 1.
Passage of the motion means that MISA will concentrate on its core mission of promoting collaboration among municipalities to make beneficial use of information and communications technologies, newly elected President Garry Bezruki of the City of Waterloo said.
“Now we’re going back to the basics again,” Bezruki said after municipal members voted to adopt a report recommending a series of steps to expand awareness of, and participation in, MISA Ontario.
“Let’s look at what this organization is really about, and start to live what its vision was originally -- collaboration and sharing among municipalities.”
The five-step program was proposed in a report tabled at the Annual General Meeting during the 2009 MISA Ontario Annual Conference, held at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology/Durham College joint campus in the City of Oshawa, with Durham Region as host.
The report was a response to a notice of motion presented at the 2008 AGM, urging that the Executive take initiatives to maximize opportunities for new members to become involved in the management of the Association.
Bezruki said the Executive will be focusing on expanding the number of member organizations in MISA Ontario, as well as educating people within those members about opportunities and processes in the association and encouraging participation by more municipal people at operating levels in addition to senior IT management.
The five-point program includes:
• Increased association activities at annual conferences to inform delegates of the benefits and opportunities presented by MISA membership;
• Expanding the number of contacts that each member organization has with MISA, with assistance from the organization’s primary contacts and IT leaders and through a direct e-mail campaign and a referral incentive program;
• Greater use of the MISA Web site as a resource for collaborative communications and discussion forums;
• Reviewing committees of the Executive for purposes of expanding their membership and activities and to appoint non-Executive members as committee chairs whenever possible;
• Expanding the outreach and recruitment activities of regional directors and directors at large on the Executive.
The report containing these recommendations was prepared by a committee appointed by then President Ralph Blauel of Halton Region, whose two-year term ended at the AGM. Committee members included Bezruki as well as Ron Blakey of Durham Region, who was chair of the 2009 annual conference, Scott Bradford of the City of North Bay and Daniel Munns of the Town of Whitby.
Municipal delegates at the AGM voted unanimously to accept the recommendations. The motion of acceptance was moved by Louis Shallal of York Region, who had submitted to the Executive the notice of motion that prompted the report.
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New Executive Approved for 2009-11
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Jun. 07, 2009
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MISA Ontario municipal members have approved a new Executive team for 2009-11 led by President Garry Bezruki, director of information systems for the City of Waterloo.
Member representatives voted unanimously at the Annual General Meeting on June 2 to approve a slate of candidates recommended by the outgoing Executive, which was led for two years by Ralph Blauel, director of technology services for Halton Region.
Bezruki moves up from his previous position of vice-president. That position now is held by Geoff Hogan of Grey County. Also in a new position is secretary Dan Munns of the Town of Whitby.
Munns is succeeding Karl Drysdale of the City of London, who has retired from the Executive. Drysdale had been secretary since 1998.
Another retiree is Rob Corrazzola of SAP Canada, who served as the associate member representative in 2007-2009.
David Laneville of the City of Timmins remains as treasurer, a position he has held since 1995.
Other positions on the Executive include:
• Northern region director: Scott Bradford, City of North Bay
• Eastern region director: Glenn Burroughs, City of Ottawa
• Central region director: Ron Blakey, Region of Durham
• Southwest region director: Helen McLaren, Municipality of Chatham-Kent
• Director at large: Kathryn Bulko, City of Toronto
• Associate member representative 2008-2010: Ron Begg, StarDyne Technologies Inc.
• Associate member representative 2009-2011: Karen Mayfield, eSolutions Group
• Associate member representative 2010-2012: Chris Medina, NCI.
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Research Reports Available at Attractive Prices
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Jan. 15, 2008
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Research Reports Available at Attractive Prices
(Dec 10, 2007)
A series of research studies published by the Institute for Citizen-Centred Service, which have been influential in the evolution of municipal service delivery, are now available at significantly reduced prices.
The institute (ICCS) has decided to stimulate sales of its Citizens First and Taking Care of Business research series, as well as a book published in 2007 called Digital State at the Leading Edge, which examines the impact of information technology on government in the past five years.
Below are the old and reduced prices:
Taking Care of Business 2 – Full Report. Old price: $75. New price: $40.
Taking Care of Business 2 – Summary Report. Old: $40. New: $20
Taking Care of Business 1 – Full Report. Old: $45. New: $30.
Taking Care of Business 1 – Summary Report. Old: $25. New: $15
Citizens First 4 – Full Report. Old: $75. New: $30
Citizens First 4 – Summary Report. Old: $40. New: $15.
Citizens First 3 – Full Report. Old: $20. New: $20 (this price not reduced).
Citizens First 3 – Summary Report. Old: $14. New: $10.
Digital State at the Leading Edge – Hard Cover. Old: $75. New: $37.
Digital State at the Leading Edge – Soft Cover. Old: $35. New: $17
If 10 or more copies of a publication are purchased, ICCS is offering a 50-per-cent discount on the purchase price of the publication.
It is also offering special prices on publication packages, as follows:
Package 1: One copy of the full report of Taking Care of Business 2 and one copy of the full report of Citizens First 4 for $50.00;
Package 2: One copy of the Taking Care of Business 2 Summary Report and one copy of the Citizens First 4 Summary Report for $25.00.
To order, please e-mail info@iccs-isac.org or visit www.iccs-isac.org.
The Institute for Citizen-Centred Service is a not-for-profit corporation with a mission to promote high levels of citizen satisfaction with public-sector service delivery. It undertakes research into citizens' expectations, satisfaction and priorities for service improvement, is the custodian of the Common Measurements Tool and serves as the secretariat for the Public Service CIO Council and the Public Sector Service Delivery Council. MISA/ASIM Canada is represented on the ICCS Board of Directors.
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'eUniversity' Courses Now Available Across Canada
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Jan. 15, 2008
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‘eUniversity’ Courses Now Available Across Canada
(Oct 01, 2007)
Link: www.misa.bc.ca
Member municipalities of the five associations within MISA/ASIM Canada can now gain access to e-learning courses at affordable cost on the Web.
MISA BC has set up an “eUniversity” of more than 1,300 online courses available to municipal employees at attractive prices via www.misa.bc.ca.
Working through MISA/ASIM Canada, the BC chapter has extended the terms of its contract with the company providing the courses, Chalk Media, to member municipalities within MISA/ASIM Canada associations across the country.
This means that any municipality that is a member of a MISA chapter in BC, the Prairies, Ontario or the Atlantic provinces, or of Réseau de l’Informatique Municipale du Québec (RIMQ), can sign up for access to the courses of the eUniversity.
The courses covering such subjects as Web development, business skills development and desktop computing, as well as training in technologies offered by many vendors. Subscribers can click on the Education button on the MISA BC home page and download courses using a password.
MISA BC last fall entered into a three-year agreement with Chalk Media that includes:
· Licences for Chalk Media’s eLearning facilities;
· Licences to access five Mind Leader course packages: Technical General; Technical Microsoft; Web Development; End User Business Skills Development and End User Desktop Computing;
· Two course-authoring licences.
The contract enables municipalities to create their own courses, and possibly share the courseware with other municipalities within MISA/ASIM Canada member associations.
Municipalities wishing to sign up must commit to a minimum number of eLearning seats for the remainder of the contract. Licence costs are billed annually through MISA BC, and cost of the sign-up year is prorated.
Minimum licence counts are based on municipal population: one licence for municipalities with populations of less than 10,000; three licences for the next level of population up to 25,000; seven licences for populations up to 100,000 and 10 licences for municipalities with more than 100,000 residents.
If your municipality is interested in the eUniversity or would like more information, please contact the MISA BC Education Committee chair, Colin Redwood, at The Corporation of Delta, 604 946-3242, credwood@corp.delta.bc.ca.
The eUniversity was initially set up as a limited pilot project beginning in January 2007. The pilot project concluded successfully during the summer and five additional municipalities have since signed up, bringing the total enrolment at the end of September to 26.
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