Delvinia’s work around eDemocracy in the Town of Markham is the subject of a feature story in the January issue of Canadian Government Executive, published by IT in Canada.

“Voting digital: Markham connects through tech,” authored by Delvinia CEO Adam Froman and Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti, is based on a presentation delivered by the pair at the GTEC 2011 conference in Ottawa last fall. The article tells the story of Markham’s journey in using digital technologies to engage with citizens.

“Technology has fundamentally changed the way governments and their citizens interact. Governments are realizing that the future of eDemocracy is more than offering citizens a means to transact or obtain public service information; it is about listening to citizens and becoming part of the conversation,” the article states.

“This is something the Town of Markham understands. Through the use of Internet voting and the implementation of multiple interactive online initiatives, Markham has become a leader in eDemocracy.”

With Delvinia’s support, Markham became the first major Canadian municipality to introduce Internet voting in 2003. Since then, Delvinia has conducted three online surveys to gather data on the attitudes and behaviours of Markham residents, the findings of which are outlined in three reports chronicling voter feedback and preferences collected following the 2003, 2006 and 2010 municipal elections.

The Delvinia Report on Internet Voting in the Town of Markham, released in September 2011, can be downloaded here.

To read the Canadian Government Executive article in its entirety, please see the January issue.