The Province is opening the lines of communication so British Columbians can speak up about the future of digital services and the tools that deliver them, including the BC Services Card.

This fall, government will undertake a provincewide citizen consultation process to gain a better understanding of British Columbians' priorities, expectations and vision for the future delivery of government services digitally, with a specific focus on how the BC Services Card may be used as a key tool to enable this vision.

The first step in the engagement process is today's presentation to the public of a white paper entitled "Designing the Digital Service Consultation". The white paper outlines government's proposed consultation plan - which includes plans for a BC Services Card user panel, a broad public consultation and a specialist forum. Government will seek public feedback on the plan itself. This feedback will then be used to help finalize the consultation process, which is scheduled to take place beginning this fall.

In addition to the white paper, a Request for Proposals (RFP) has been posted today for a contractor to help organize and facilitate the BC Services Card user panel component of the planned public consultation. The panel will be selected from the general public and will represent a cross-section of B.C.'s population. There will also be an independent chair and a facilitator who will help guide the panel's work. The successful proponent will work to provide administrative and operational support to the panel and its members.

The full RFP can be found on the BC Bid website at: http://www.bcbid.gov.bc.ca/

The white paper contains a detailed description of the proposed approach to this consultation, as well as information on how to submit feedback and can be found online at:http://www.gov.bc.ca/digitalservices

Contact:

Jason Macnaughton
Communications Director
Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services
250 387-3134