Most Ontario citizens expect government to provide better service than the private sector, according to Art Daniels, and that means government has great expectations to fulfill.
“Since we are serving a large and diverse customer base, we must continue to be in touch with their changing expectations,” he said. “Using tools such as Citizen’s First and customer relationship management, we must constantly be aware of customers’ use of service channels and their increasing expectation of government to be a service leader.”
In the early days, Daniels worked in a senior leadership capacity for major IT projects and later as an advisor and mentor to his senior colleagues. He also works with public sector employees throughout the world, sharing Ontario’s experiences with them.
The e-government projects that Daniels has worked on include Direct Access, an online registration and inquiry system for the Personal Property Security Service; Ontario Business Connects, which provides a single-window access for small business services; and the Vital Statistics Imaging System, an initiative to turn more than 18 million paper records into digital images.
Daniels has helped Ontario present its case for receiving awards in the international community for its initiatives and is proud of having presented Ontario’s achievements to a jury of international experts who awarded the province the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management Gold Award in September 2002.
It’s important to constantly strive for innovation, Daniels said.
“We cannot rest on our laurels. Maintaining our e-government leadership is a constant challenge.”