Keeping a Community Safe During Emergencies

I feel lucky to have a very rewarding job. IT in city government is often buried behind the scenes, but today we frequently find ourselves the limelight, because we can provide services that are genuinely useful.

In Edmonton, the second largest city in the province of Alberta, one of the most visible ways we are helping citizens and visitors is by enabling them to travel by bus using mobile devices versus quickly outdated paper maps. In 2009, we began offering Transit on Google Maps, putting trip planning right in the palms of users' hands. When users search for a destination, they see a Google map showing the transit trip, departure times, bus stop locations, transfer information, and walking route details. And, Google Maps supports multiple languages, so it's easy for international users.

I've also been using Google Docs and Google Sites to make multiple types of documents—planning calendars, presentations, meeting minutes—available to internal users or to the public. We have a collaborative learning partnership that brings in high-profile speakers to promote employee development in project management, business analysis, and other topics. I was able to organize the entire event, from working with speakers to organizing venues, by staying on track with internal and external parties through Google Docs.

I also use forms in Google Docs to create surveys. We can tailor our IT services based on the responses. We no longer spend time trying to figure out where a document or form is, and which version is the latest, so we stay more productive.

For me, Google Apps and other Google tools like Google Maps make my job easier but they also cut costs, not just in up-front software licensing, but also in lower labor overhead. Our time savings and productivity ultimately result in the ability to maximize taxpayer dollars and make Edmonton a better place to visit and live.

Google Maps - Visualize location based data and engage citizens with interactive maps.
Meet the Government Transformers
Rick Hinrichs
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Eric Button
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Joe Fiumara
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Carmella Sabaugh
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Jason Kirkland
CITY OF LEWISVILLE, TX
Sylvia Harris
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Brad Stevens
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James Ferreira
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Lt. Tim Tullis
SNOHOMISH COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT 5
Carson Chandler
City of Orlando, FL
Laura Peveler
City of Columbia, MO
Anna Rodriguez
FULTON COUNTY, GA
Scott Dollison
City of Westerville, Ohio
Mayor Jill Dabbs
CITY OF BRYANT, AR
Brooks Bennett
City of Round Rock, TX
Jessica Nelson
City of Foley
Elliott Marvin
South Carolina State Guard
Crystal O'Brien
STATE OF WYOMING
Todd Jackson
CITY OF WESTERVILLE, OH
Bob Mathews
STATE OF WYOMING
T. W. Sawyer
COUNTY OF YORK, VIRGINIA
Alexis Barone
CITY OF PITTSBURGH
Jillian Balow
STATE OF WYOMING
Amy Gibbons
St. Louis County Library
Stephanie Nordmann
St. Louis County Library
Fardowsa MacLeod
City of Edmonton
Apps Benefits

Mobility

Access information anytime, anywhere.

Collaboration

Work as a team in real-time across boundaries.

Productivity

Save time to focus on core government initiatives.

Transparency

Promote open government for broad participation and collaboration.

Savings

Dramatically lower total cost of ownership.
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