Civic Hall Toronto events showcase examples of civic innovation, and provide opportunities for members to network, learn and work together. Some events are exclusive to members, while others are open to the public.
May 2019
Coffee Hour: Data Privacy and Access
As government collects, analyzes and shares more data, how do we balance the need to open up public data with the need to protect sensitive information? Join us for the next instalment of our Monthly Member Event series on data to learn about Data Privacy and Access. Building on our Data 101 in Government and Data Visualization events, this event will cover the key principles, practices and examples of data privacy in the public sector. We’ll look at the differences…
Find out more »June 2019
Meet the Code for Canada Fellows
The Code for Canada fellows are developers, UX designers and product managers embedded in government to develop digital tools that make life better for Canadians. The second cohort of fellows will be in town, so join us for lunch on June 11th to learn more about the fellowship program and the exciting projects this cohort is working on. Lunch will be provided. This event is for government members only. Please RSVP here by Thursday, June 6th.
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Office Hours
Civic Hall Toronto’s Office Hours happen every month in our collaboration space. They are an opportunity to connect with public servants about the issues you care about. Our Office Hours are open and are meant to create connections between people inside and outside government, so that we can share with and learn from each other. Staff from our government member teams will be available in person during this time, co-working from our space. Curious about what’s happening on a specific…
Find out more »July 2019
Training: Demystifying Data: Intro to Working with Data in Government
Led by Alex Chen, Senior Statistics Advisor with the Government of Ontario, this training workshop will introduce participants to working with data in a government environment. We’ll cover general best practices, tools and techniques related to data management, visualization and privacy, and discuss relevant examples for public servants new to data science or those looking for a refresher to level up their skills. By the end of the workshop, participants will: –Be able to cite general best practices in data…
Find out more »August 2019
Training: Human-Centered Design for Public Good: User Research & Synthesis
Led by design strategist Meghan Hellstern*, this session is intended for public servants and others working in public good contexts at all levels who are interested in learning more about the mindset and methods of design thinking and human-centered design (HCD). This introductory course is built for those who are new to this exciting set of tools and techniques that can help surface critical insights, unlock new value and enable more responsive, effective delivery across teams and organizations. Participants will…
Find out more »Lunch & Learn: Inclusive Usability Testing with GRIT Toronto
On Thursday, August 22, we’re hosting a collaborative, open discussion on how a people-first approach to research and testing leads to better insights – putting the ‘us’ in usability testing. Too often, technology products and services that are meant to improve the lives of everyday people are researched, designed and prototyped entirely behind closed doors. This could lead to biased technology that isn’t built for all users in mind. The key to avoid falling into this trap is to engage…
Find out more »September 2019
Training: Human-Centered Design for Public Good: Ideation, Prototyping, Testing
Led by Meghan Hellstern*, this session is intended for public servants and others working in public good contexts at all levels who are interested in diving deeper into a critical set of practices under the human-centered design and design thinking umbrella: ideation, prototyping and testing. This course is built for participants with some basic knowledge of human-centered design as it will expose participants to more advanced practices that can help reduce risk, increase stakeholder engagement and enable more responsive, effective…
Find out more »Lunch & Learn: A Conversation with the Civic Innovation Office
We’re kicking off our fall event series on Resident Engagement with the City of Toronto’s Civic Innovation Office. From Winter 2018 to Spring 2019, the Civic Innovation Office (CIO) took on a big, complex project: they sought an in-depth understanding of civic engagement in Toronto, with a focus on people living in Neighbourhood Improvement Areas. The CIO teamed up with the Social Development and Finance division, as well as local resident champions, and held countless interviews and events to understand…
Find out more »October 2019
Training: Resident Engagement Meets Human-Centered Design
Part 2 of our Resident Engagement fall event series Residents are keen to have a say in the decisions that affect them. Conventional public consultation processes are rife with challenges, which impacts the kinds of policies and services that come out of the public service, and who has a say in their development. The mindset and framework of human-centered design or design thinking offer tools to shift from resident consultation to co-design. When done well, effectively engaging residents in the…
Find out more »Lunch & Learn: Turning Resident Engagement Challenges into Opportunities
Part 3 of our Resident Engagement fall event series What are the pain points in how the City of Toronto currently engages residents? And what are some tangible ways to improve the process? Join us on October 31 for a Lunch & Learn to discover how engagement activities can be made more valuable for both residents and staff. We’ll discuss some of the challenges involved in connecting with residents and explore examples of engagement done well at the City. Our…
Find out more »November 2019
Lunch & Learn: Co-Designing Inclusive Cities
Part 4 of our Resident Engagement fall event series How can we engage with a more diverse and representative set of Toronto’s population – and do so in a meaningful manner? Join us on November 21 for a Lunch & Learn with OCAD’s Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC). They’ll be sharing their exciting work on building a more accessible and inclusive engagement process through their Co-Designing Inclusive Cities project, where they sought input to help create Sidewalk Toronto’s accessibility and…
Find out more »Training: Human-Centered Design: Introduction to Inclusive Usability Testing
Too often, technology products and services that are meant to improve the lives of everyday people are researched, designed and prototyped entirely behind closed doors. Government institutions must undertake the monumental task of providing products and services that work well for a range of residents and many that are underserved. As such, it is paramount that governments test with potential users and in an inclusive manner. Led by Marisa Bernstein, Program Manager of GRIT Toronto, this workshop will introduce participants…
Find out more »Office Hours
Join us on November 29 for a special morning edition of our Office Hours! Drop by before work to connect with staff from Civic Hall Toronto and our government member teams over coffee and bagels. Our Office Hours are a casual, drop-in event that’s meant to create connections between people inside and outside government, as well as between public servants. Curious about what City of Toronto staff are working on? Got a burning question? Have a project idea you’d like…
Find out more »December 2019
Training: Agile for Public Servants
Developed and led by agile trainer Matt Thompson, Agile for Public Servants is a hands-on workshop covering agile basics that work in the real world. The challenge is simple: agile methods like Scrum really work – but are often intimidating to implement, require more training than busy professionals really want or need, and can be hard to apply in hybrid or non-technical teams working in areas other than software development. Agile for Public Servants is a workshop designed to bridge…
Find out more »January 2020
Member Morning
Drop by on your way to work to see what's in store for Civic Hall Toronto in 2020 and connect with fellow government members over coffee and bagels. Our Member Mornings are a new monthly drop-in event meant to provide space for public servants to discuss common challenges and share out best practices and innovative work. We'll also be joined by some of the Code for Canada fellows, including the incoming 2020 cohort, who will be sharing their experience building…
Find out more »Training: Software Development 101
Working with IT and need a better way to get your ideas across? Curious about what an API is? Led by Adam Simonini, one of the current Code for Canada fellows, this workshop will cover the basics of working with data and code, as well as important considerations for digitizing a product. We’ll also discuss concepts such as APIs and open source software, and how they can be relevant to your own work. Participants will walk away with key concepts…
Find out more »Office Hours
Drop by before work to connect with staff from Civic Hall Toronto and our government member teams over coffee and bagels. Our monthly Office Hours are casual, drop-in events that are meant to create connections between people inside and outside government. Each Office Hours shines a spotlight on a different member team and a project or challenge they're working on. For this edition of Office Hours, Ian Boodhai from Toronto Children's Services will be sharing his team's journey to working…
Find out more »February 2020
Member Morning
Drop by on your way to work to connect with fellow government members over coffee and treats. Our Member Mornings are a monthly drop-in event meant to provide space for Civic Hall Toronto members to showcase innovative work, discuss common challenges and questions, and share best practices. For this month's Member Morning, we'll be facilitating a session of Cards Against How Might We, an activity created by the Nova Scotia Digital Service. Drawing from design thinking, this activity helps public…
Find out more »Office Hours
Drop by before work to connect with staff from Civic Hall Toronto and our government member teams over coffee and pastries. Our monthly Office Hours are casual, drop-in events that are meant to create connections between people inside and outside government. Each Office Hours shines a spotlight on a different member team and a project or challenge they're working on. For this edition of Office Hours, StreetARToronto will share how they're collaborating with artists and community stakeholders to make Toronto's…
Find out more »Lunch & Learn: Monitoring and Evaluation for Public Servants
How can we better measure the progress and effectiveness of our work? Join us on February 27 for a Lunch & Learn on monitoring and evaluation. Led by Merlin Chatwin, this session will look at current challenges and opportunities in monitoring and evaluation, and dive into a theory-based evaluation approach called contribution analysis. We will review how to track implementation progress though periodic data collection, as well as how to determine the effectiveness of your program or initiative. Participants will…
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