Together, putting data to work
York Region works with its municipal partners, clients and residents to “put data to work.”
The amount of data the Region records and relies upon is growing significantly. Each vehicle position reading, asset refurbishment, resident contact and business transaction contribute to the Region’s collective data resource. We put this data to work by providing expertise and solutions through partnership development, data purchases, data analytics, data access and integration, GIS (geographic information system) mapping, database design and build, visualization and storytelling, and business process improvement.
Data drives insights. However, the data we provide must be of known and suitable quality for it to be trusted and used efficiently. People can do their jobs better with good data – whether it’s routing emergency vehicles in new neighbourhoods, prioritizing inspections, forecasting development fees, avoiding emergency repairs on water mains and much more – because they have easy access to trusted data.
York Region is leading a digital transformation by building capacity and capability across the organization, fostering our data-informed culture working with our partners to serve our thriving communities, today and tomorrow.
Envisioning our Future
York Region is committed to building a data-empowered culture based on collaboration and innovation. We've delivered ground-breaking projects and programs that have increased our capacity to better serve our communities. And through the development and implementation of our first Data and Analytics Master Plan in 2019, we streamlined and modernized processes so our employees can more effectively “put data to work.”
By continuing to strengthen our data-empowered culture, we’ll continue to make better decisions, design better programs, and deliver more effective services to our communities. That’s why, in 2022, we created a second iteration of our Data and Analytics Master Plan – or what we like to call DnA 2.0.
Our updated Master Plan lays the groundwork for a future where the strength of our analytics is as important as our data management. The Region’s programs, insights and directions reflect both technical and organizational capabilities largely unavailable just four years ago.
Read the Data and Analytics Master Plan 2023 to 2026 to understand our overall approach to Data and Analytics at York Region and our plan to achieve a robust data foundation with maximum data maturity levels by 2026.
Our Journey
Whether you’ve followed our journey though the last several years or are reading about our work for the first time, we’re pleased to share our change journey with you.
Implementing a Data and Analytics Master Plan has given York Region a way to take a more corporate approach to data and analytics services, and to share our data and experience. It has also allowed us to better leverage the capabilities and learnings from across the Region.
We’ve developed a data collaboration “Playbook” to share insights and support our partners in achieving similar success. It tells the story of how we established a partnered approach to data and analytics across the organization, enabling improvements to the Region’s delivery of programs and services to residents.
The Data and Analytics Playbook: 2021 Federated Model includes interaction diagrams, skills and explanations of all of the base elements (services) in the Data and Analytics Master Plan.
Interested in learning more about how we got to where we are? Read the Data and Analytics Playbook: 2021 Master Plan for the history and overall approach to Data and Analytics at York Region.
Leaders in the Industry
York Region was named the 2020 President’s Award recipient from Esri – the global leader in location intelligence. The President’s Award is the highest honour given by Esri, with recipients carefully chosen by Esri’s Founder and President, Jack Dangermond. York Region is honoured to be the first Canadian organization recognized with this prestigious award. Read the news releases from Esri Inc. and Esri Canada for more details.
This award was the result of a 25-year journey focused on working collaboratively with our partners and using data to solve problems and make a difference within our communities. We are honoured to be recognized for our commitment to continuous improvement and using trusted data to inform decisions and aim to continue making strides as leaders in the industry.
Want to Connect?
Are you ready to learn more about the work York Region and its partners are doing to put data to work? Please submit your request through to our team using the form below and a subject matter expert will connect with you.
