David Nicholl, CIO and CTO, Government of Ontario, Canada

Q: Ontario is considered a leader in e-government. Can you give some examples of why?

A: "

Seventy percent of our services are now available at ServiceOntario. Address changes for multiple government programs from a single interface, birth, death and marriage certificate applications, and vehicle registration renewal are all available online, with more services planned.

Web 2.0 represents important changes for the future of government interaction with citizens. Many governments are evaluating these technologies, but few, if any, use the range of tools we do. We use wikis, blogs, microblogs, audio and video podcasts, mashups, social networking, social bookmarking, tag clouds, RSS and virtual worlds.

For instance, our Youth and New Professionals Secretariat conducts a Job Fair in Second Life; the Ministry of Citizenship and Innovation used a Facebook group to recruit young people for its ChangeTheWorld: Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge; and BizPal, a partnership between the federal government and municipalities, lets business owners quickly compile a customized list of the permits and licenses they need. We're committed to giving our clients and citizens simple, accessible, transparent and accountable services, and providing better value to Ontario taxpayers.

More Thought Leaders