The main way most Canadians interact with the government is online. Since the COVID-19 crisis began, Canadians have turned to Canada.ca, the Government of Canada’s website, for crucial health updates, financial assistance, information, and guidance.
Since January 2020, Canada.ca/coronavirus and supporting COVID-19 content has been visited more than 390 million times. At the beginning of the crisis, the site received more than 3 million visits each day, and traffic continues with upwards of 300,000 daily visits.
The information, services, and resources span multiple departments and programs, including outbreak updates, health prevention, symptoms, guidance; financial support; travel and entry; vaccines; supports for communities and business; and more.
With a whole-of-government strategy and a clear objective – make sure Canadians can find and access the information and resources they need – web teams from more than 40 departments and agencies have worked together to plan, develop, deliver, and continuously update digital content and services in one integrated presence under Canada.ca/coronavirus.
Breaking down siloes, applying evidence from testing with real users, and quickly adjusting content collaboratively, working with partners across jurisdictions, departments, divisions, and functional areas, the GC Web community has proven the power of the collective in coming together towards a common cause.
Keeping the needs of the user at the heart of all COVID-19 digital content has been driving these efforts, including more than 60 usability testing studies, ongoing feedback and task-success research and analysis, and prototyping and testing new content and content improvements to increase task success across all areas. This work has moved forward digital maturity practices and knowledge, human-centered research and design, and true collaborative work… under unprecedented timelines, in an extraordinary context, with high impact.
This integration is unprecedented, achieved by and as a community, through growing relationships, fostering collaboration, and taking a human approach in working with and in support of all the people doing the work across the Government of Canada, as well as with provincial and territorial counterparts.
Nominated by Treasury Board Secretariat and the Privy Council Office, this massive effort was recognized yesterday with a Platinum Award at the 2021 CCO Awards Ceremony.
Watch the video:
Thank you video for the CCO award ceremony
Congratulations and thank you to all the web strategists, developers/publishers, designers, writers, managers, researchers, and analysts involved in this effort!
Central coordination:
- Health Canada & Public Health Agency of Canada
- Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
- Privy Council Office
- Principal Publisher/Service Canada
Key departments and agencies and thematic leads:
- Canada Revenue Agency
- Canada Border Services Agency
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Finance Canada
- Global Affairs Canada
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
- Public Safety Canada
- Public Services and Procurement Canada
Contributors, collaborators, and content leads:
- Accessibility Standards Canada
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
- Business Development Bank of Canada
- Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions
- Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
- Canadian Anti-fraud Centre
- Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
- Canadian Digital Service
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency
- Canadian Heritage
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
- Communications Security Establishment
- Correctional Service Canada
- Destination Canada
- Export Development Canada
- Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
- Indigenous Services Canada
- Intergovernmental Affairs
- National Defence
- Natural Resources Canada
- Parks Canada
- Shared Services Canada
- Statistics Canada
- Transport Canada
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Western Economic Diversification Canada
- Women and Gender Equality Canada