The need

Nova Scotia’s Department of Cyber Security and Digital Solutions (CSDS) is focused on making it easier for businesses and citizens to interact with government. New digital services would allow businesses to apply for and renew licences, permits, and registrations in one place in addition to enabling citizens to complete transactions and finding information in a streamlined manner. Other services could enable the online registration of citizen birth and death records. These services would reduce paper use and data entry, lower service delivery costs, and provide more user-friendly information when applying for licences and permits. The service would allow citizens and businesses to manage their affairs online across government departments.

The solution

Barrington Consulting designed, built, and supported a secure web-based system for licences and permits; this involved:

• Engaging staff in several government units to gather business and system requirements
• Developing a high-level system design and architecture
• Identifying hardware, software, security, and network requirements
• Working with CSDS corporate IT to develop interfaces between the information systems
• Developing a web application and user front-end
• Developing training documentation and detailed technical documentation
• Creating a program secretariat to oversee the projects and provide recommendations on governance
• Developing a Digital Operating Model to enable onboarding additional programs and services
• Providing ongoing support and maintenance

The results

Barrington has been continuously engaged on this project since 2011, providing integrated program management, individual project management, requirements analysis, system architecture and design, assessments of the required systems and technologies, and assisting with the delivery of the online service by developing the application from off-the-shelf tools. This service currently permits over 100 licences and permits to be applied for and renewed online. The birth and death record registration system records over 96% of births and 80% of deaths that occur in Nova Scotia, freeing up considerable time for Vital Statistics staff to handle complicated transactions and furnish population information to decision-makers. The feedback for the new services has been positive, with the Birth and Death registration system winning a “Bonjour” award for excellence in French-language service delivery.