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Staff Feature: The Virtual Public Information Center

June 22, 2020

On April 28, 2020, TRCA staff from Capital Projects (Melody Brown and Nick Lorrain) and Project Management Office (Crystal Robertson and Meg St. John) teams hosted TRCA’s first ever virtual Public Information Centre (PIC), achieving public consultation objectives of the Class Environmental Assessment process. The PIC was hosted live online and attended by 26 unique participants. Attendees could watch a live presentation, followed by a question and answer period where they could ask their questions directly to a panel of specialists.

Project Description

The virtual PIC was the second of two PICs held for the Pickering and Ajax Dyke Rehabilitation Class Environmental Assessment Project, which is being led by TRCA’s Capital Projects team, with the assistance of PMO. This project is following the Class EA process for Remedial Flood and Erosion Control Projects outlined by Conservation Ontario to study rehabilitation options for two (2) existing flood control dykes referred to as the Pickering and Ajax dykes, respectively.

The dykes were constructed in the 1980s to provide flood protection for the Village East community in Pickering and the Notion Road/Pickering Village community in Ajax, which are both designated Special Policy Areas. Recent studies completed by TRCA have identified various deficiencies which prevent them from meeting current engineering design standards and factors of safety (FOS). As such there is a risk of dyke failure under an extreme storm event.

Existing Dykes

This project is being funded in part by the National Disaster Mitigation Program, which, due to funding timelines, created some urgency in having the project proceed without significant delay, despite the unique challenges caused by COVID-19.

For more information about the project, please visit the project website at www.trca.ca/PADR

Virtual PIC Format

A traditional in-person PIC was originally scheduled for March 24th at a community centre in Ajax. On March 16th the decision was made to postpone the PIC and host it virtually instead, due to the rapidly changing conditions and best-practices under the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the collaborative and “all-hands-on-deck” response from staff in Capital Projects, PMO and Karin Micheelsen in Marketing, the team was able to quickly turn around notices of rescheduling to all stakeholders, who were previously informed of the March 24th event, and issue an advertisement of rescheduling in the March 19th edition of the local newspapers.

Working with Kevvy Weng and Chris Moore in IT, different software options for hosting the PIC virtually were assessed. Everything from Zoom, YouTube, GotoMeeting and GotoWebinar were considered. After some deliberation, GotoWebinar was selected as it provided the closest analog to the public consultation documentation needs of a PIC and TRCA staff were more familiar with its options and features:

  • Ability to track attendance as attendees must register with their name and email and join the meeting with a unique access link. This provided a virtual “sign in sheet”.
  • Host a live presentation with multiple users giving the presentation (able to share their screen, audio and webcam) from different locations allowing for safe physical distancing.
  • Allow participants to ask questions through a chat/question box during the event. Organizers can see who asked what question, allowing for follow-up with individuals after the meeting if their question could not be answered on the spot.
  • GotoWebinar software recorded the entire event and the recording has been posted on the project website. This allows flexibility for the public to access the PIC at a time that works best for them, increasing accessibility.

Additionally the informational display boards, which typically would be available for the public to view on easels around the community centre room during an in-person PIC, were posted on the project website a few days in advance of the meeting for public review. A fillable comment form was also posted on the website for the public to complete and submit to TRCA at their leisure after the PIC.

Accessibility was a key consideration during the planning of the virtual PIC. Recognizing that not all members of the public will be comfortable using a virtual platform, the option was given to request an individual ‘PIC presentation’ via a phone call with the project team.

The PIC was advertised in the local newspaper (physical copy), via snail mail (Canada Post) to all addresses within the larger study area, via email to the stakeholder mailing list, via social media (LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter) and on the project website.

Measures of Success

There was uncertainty around whether the public would have an appetite for the virtual format of the PIC. If no one attended the event or engaged with us through this method, then the objectives of public consultation could not have been met. The team was very pleased by the public response to this new virtual format! Here are some indicators of the success of the virtual PIC:

  • 10 individuals requested to be added to the project mailing list after the notice of virtual PIC was advertised in the local newspaper;
  • 26 unique participants attended the virtual PIC (in comparison to 32 attendees at the first PIC which was held in-person);
  • 18 participants stayed for the Q&A session;
  • 6 questions were asked by attendees during the PIC; and,
  • 3 online comment forms were submitted following the PIC.

TRCA would like to recognize and thank the following staff for their contributions to the planning and delivery of TRCA’s first virtual Public Information Centre: Crystal Robertson (PMO), Melody Brown (Capital Projects), Meg St. John (PMO), Nick Lorrain (Capital Projects), Craig Mitchell (Infrastructure and Hydrometrics),  Karin Micheelsen (Marketing Services), Kevvy Weng (IT Operations), and Chris Moore (Digital Media).

Please reach out to Crystal Robertson or Melody Brown if you have any questions about the virtual PIC session.

Question and answer session during the PIC (clockwise): Melody Brown (TRCA), Meg St. John (TRCA), Nick Lorrain (TRCA), Fuad Curi (KSG Group), Shan Gnanasunthar (KSG Group), Craig Mitchell (TRCA)