The Client:
In 2001, the towns of Ancaster, Dundas and Flamborough, the Township of Glanbrook, and the cities of Hamilton and Stoney Creek, amalgamated to become the City of Greater Hamilton. The city now has over 500,000 residents, with nine per cent of the population concentrated in rural communities.

The Challenge:
While Hamilton has as a large downtown population, the amalgamation brought in many small farming communities, which were isolated from the city core. The city wanted to use its website to help bridge this disconnect.  The city of Greater Hamilton joined more than 16 community partners ranging from university representatives to local business owners, to steer the initiative. Their mission was to ensure the site adequately addressed the needs of all citizens through access to a one-stop online information and services resource.

The Solution:
Navantis implemented an interactive community web portal (www.myhamilton.ca) providing local residents, community groups and tourists with an innovative and convenient way to collaborate, share information and access resources. 
Based on Navantis’ Community Municipal Portal (CMP) technology, the site offers people a single, convenient entry-point for 24/7 access to Hamilton information and services. A powerful search engine brings together news, events and government resources – as well as access to the public library. Residents can turn to the portal to find out about the latest exhibit at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, review educational and recreational course offerings, or see what special events are taking place by searching the extensive community events calendar. 

The framework for the site is based on Microsoft technology, and provides innovative features while presenting the content in a simple, intuitive web format.  Designed to enable collaboration and information-sharing amongst communities, the Navantis CMP aims to help municipalities provide self-service to citizens and encourage investment in their cities.

The Benefits:
myhamilton.ca is a great example of how a large and wide-spread community was able to collectively work together to build an innovative solution to improve communication and services to citizens.  Through Navantis’ CMP solution, the City of Hamilton is now able to make the vision of connecting people and information a reality.

The site is the result of local representatives from the public, private and non-profit sectors collaborating to answer the needs of their community. The scope and breadth of the solution is a testament to the ability of many groups to work together to demonstrate how a large amalgamated city can come together through technology.  By working with Navantis, the city was able to develop a core technology infrastructure that can grow as the city continues to expand in the years to come.