Item - 2012.GM12.19

The Government Management Committee:

1.         Requested the City Manager to report to the May 8, 2012 meeting of the Committee on the viability and need to hire a Chief Digital Officer to co-ordinate how the City of Toronto engages with its residents by utilizing its digital capacity; and further, the report address a suitable salary range and the position being filled within the current complement.

As the City of Toronto makes major ground-breaking advances into the digital age, there is a need to ensure all of the City's strategies are carefully laid out, constructed, and implemented in a comprehensive manner.

Many different areas of the City's government, including its agencies, boards, and commissions are trying to grapple with how to engage its residents through, social media like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Foursquare to name just a few with much untapped potential, not to even mention websites, blogs, and email.

The rapidly shifting dynamics of the digital sector make it difficult to predict. The City of Toronto's government should represent the residents of our city in a professional light, but we also want to use a tone which is appropriate for the platform people working within the City of Toronto, both bureaucrats at all levels, and elected officials included need to be persuaded to embrace, not fear digital outlets.