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News Release tool earns City "Spirit of Innovation Award"

NEWS RELEASE - Distributed September 25, 2015 2:15 PM

Summary

A News Release tool envisioned and developed by Nanaimo City staff has received the Spirit of Innovation Award by the Municipal Information Systems Association of British Columbia (MISA). The City's News Release Creator was recognized for its innovative and collaborative approach for preparing, approving and sharing information. Using any desktop or mobile device, the tool provides coordinated access to communication resources that staff can task to send announcements to both the media and the City's nearly 10,000 Twitter followers, as well as posting all announcements to a dedicated newsroom on the City's website.

Link to Strategic Plan: Taking responsibility to be an excellent municipal government through the development and adoption of new tools and processes which assist the City in providing information to the public.

Key Points

  • Since its introduction in March 2014, the News Release Creator has processed over 375 announcements discussing department updates in every business area, decisions of Council, new projects and emergency alerts. This exceeds the combined number of news releases issued during the previous four years.
  • MISA BC exists to promote greater co-operation among local government staff in the IT field by sharing information and developing common solutions on a broader and cost-effective scale. The City of Nanaimo regularly shares ideas and solutions within the MISA membership.

Quotes

"The Spirit of Innovation Award was established to recognize local governments who find unique ways of applying technology to challenges in municipal operations. This marks the fourth time that the City of Nanaimo has won this award since 1998, showing Nanaimo’s longstanding focus on innovation."

Barbara Davey
President
Municipal Information Systems Association of British Columbia

"This award is special because it's an acknowledgement by our IT peers in other municipalities of a project that is original, impactful and potentially applicable to a broad range of communities."

Jason Birch
Manager of Information Technology
City of Nanaimo

"It's not often you issue a news release on the topic of writing news releases, but this occasion is indeed special. MISA's recognition has confirmed the innovative nature of this tool and the value of the planning and work that went into its creation."

Philip Cooper
Communication Manager
City of Nanaimo
-30-

Contact:

Jason Birch
Manager of Information Technology
City of Nanaimo
250 755 4486
Philip Cooper
Communication Manager
City of Nanaimo
250 755 4532

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