Squamish officials are looking to lasso the power of the digital world.
The community's knowledge-based industry organization Inside Edge is proposing to lead the charge in kickstarting a digital strategy for the District of Squamish.
While today, many people have learned to use technology, by 2020 all users will have been brought up with it, the organization's co-organizer Auli Parviainen told the economic development standing committee on Tuesday, July 2.
As such, it's essential that the community has a plan to engage and empower networks of people through diverse platforms, she said. Digital strategies are meant to specify goals, opportunities and initiatives that maximize business benefits of digital projects.
Relatively little investment in digital initiatives can actually have some huge benefits in terms of reducing costs, Parviainen said.
Many municipalities already have digital strategies in place. The City of Vancouver revived its policy last April, with goals to enhance multidirectional digital connections amongst citizens, employees, business, and government.
A digital strategy could outline what infrastructure Squamish has in place and what's needs to be enhanced, Parviainen said. If there's a clear sense of the municipality's future digital vision, that could in turn attract business to town, she said.
The strategy would be a cornerstone document, said Randy Stoyko, the municipality's general manager of community and business services. For the district, it could help shape the community's and officials' interactions, he added.
The district is in the process of eying new digital platforms to provide more opportunities for public engagement, Stoyko said. Currently, staff are reviewing its document management, with the aim of having everything available online.
We are looking at it, but it is something that is quite heavy and deep to deal with, he said, noting scanning existing paperwork alone would cost approximately $150,000 over the next three years.
The creation of a digital strategy comes with a price tag, which isn't currently in the district's current budget, Coun. Patricia Heintzman noted.
We have to understand that there is a cost for this, so the district has to understand how it fits into their workforce, she said.
Heintzman, along with the committee's two other councillors Susan Chapelle and Ted Prior, backed Inside Edge's proposal, putting a motion forward for council to review.
