DIGITALLY TRANSFORMING LIVES
FROM E-MAIL ROLLOUTS TO BIOMETRIC SCANNERS:
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TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION AT THE CALGARY DROP-IN CENTRE We talk to Helen Knight, Director of IT, and Paul Twigg of Sierra Systems/NTT DATA Services, exploring their technological transformation of the Calgary Drop-In Centre to better the lives of its staff, volunteers and the city’s homeless community WRIT TEN BY
HARRY MENE AR PRODUCED BY
ARRON R A MPLING
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H
elen Wetherley Knight, Director of Information Technology (IT) at the Calgary Drop-In Centre (The DI), has
always been excited by computers. “My parents met through computer dating,” she mentions, “so I’m the product of that technology from the early 70’s. I started programming when I was nine and I was very interested in technology, however, in high school, I learned that ‘tech was for boys’, so I backed away for a few years. Now, I am a pretty loud advocate for keeping women engaged in technology.” Knight has worked in IT for over 20 years, spending 12 of those years at Suncor 04
Energy while also running her own consulting business, Helen Knight Consulting Inc. During that time, she was also a regular volunteer at the Calgary Drop-In Centre in the city’s downtown. Serving over 10,000 people a year, the DI provides essential care, health services, employment training and housing support to those in need. In 2018, the DI provided Calgary’s homeless population with over 100,000 pieces of clothing, served over 400,000 meals in its dining hall, and provided 420,000 individual nights of shelter. When, in 2016, the DI began searching for a new IT Director, Knight’s volunteering record put her at the top of the list. “There was a focus on having someone with non-profit experience. I was lucky to be considered because I had been a volunteer.” She explains: “That speaks to one of
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the opportunities at non-profits: there’s
profits, her current and future plans to
so much emphasis placed on non-profit
use cutting-edge biometric technology
expertise, and there are so few people
to increase efficiency and security, as
that have technical backgrounds with
well as putting confidential personal
non-profit experience, that the
data back into the hands of Calgary’s
technical needs of non-profits have
homeless population. In addition, Paul
gone underserved for years.”
Twigg, VP of Technology at Sierra
With the support of the DI Board,
Systems, an NTT DATA Services
Knight is effecting a four-year complete
company, serves as the centre’s
technology transformation at the
strategic partner and plays a large
Calgary Drop-In. She was keen to
role in helping Knight implement her
discuss how her team is approaching
ambitious technology transformation.
organizational change management
“I’m lucky that I walked in with years
across one of Calgary’s largest non-
of experience and a Master’s Degree in
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘FUELLED BY KINDNESS’ 07
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IT strategy, because there was a lot of
they liked and trusted.”
low hanging fruit,” explains Knight,
Knight admits: “I had a lot to learn
acknowledging that in the non-profit
about appropriately engaging this
sector, technology is difficult to invest
compassionate, service-focused
in without donor support. When she
audience with technology.” However, the
arrived at the DI only 70 of 270 staff
first steps of her technology transfor-
had email addresses, so the first task
mation quickly yielded fruit. By
was to roll out Office365 across the
calculating the opportunity cost of
organization. She notes, “I made a mis-
wasted time due to the DI using
take by just sending out videos on how
multiple free and donated tools and
to use the new tools – it took me about
databases, Knight was able to prove a
four months to realize that I would be
return on investment of US$1.5mn per
more successful supporting this user
year, and return 20 hours per week
group in a room with a human being
per person that could be spent manag-
“ IT’S A LABOR OF LOVE, BECAUSE I BELIEVE THESE TOOLS WILL EFFECTIVELY IMPROVE EVERY ASPECT OF THE STAFF’S LIVES” — Helen Knight CIO/Director of Technology Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre
ing relationships. “We went from our volunteer and donor department using five different calendars, answering the phone full-time and carrying the burden of disparate systems, to having a push system where the donors and volunteers engage directly by registering on a website, being onboarded by a system, and signing up for the shifts that they wanted, so the staff were able to focus on relationship building,” she recounts. “There was significant change management and it was a really careful process, but it’s a labor
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Helen Wetherley Knight, MBA Fighting poverty with technology, Helen is the Director of IT for the Calgary Drop-In Centre, the most effective Homeless Shelter in Canada. Leading an IT Transformation that will deliver annual savings of $1.5 Million USD, Helen is driving meaningful change for vulnerable Calgarians. Helen is also a passionate advocate for increasing gender diversity in IT, serves on two non-profit boards and was a Canadian CIO of the year finalist for 2018.
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Rooted in Community
We are proud to support The Calgary Drop-In Centre with innovative technology solutions that help make a positive emotional impact in the community, and in people’s lives.
sierrasystems.com
of love,” Knight insists, “because I
thing to do,” she reflects. “I fully accept
believe that all of these tools will
that my skill-set ends at the technology,
effectively improve the staff’s lives.”
and that the front-line workers are the
Knight stresses that the essence of her technological transformation at the
experts in client care” Twigg, who has been working along-
Drop-In is the empowerment of its staff
side Knight and her team to bring
and volunteers. “I’m not here to replace
Sierra Systems’ expertise to bear on
anybody,” she insists. “I’m here to take
the challenges of technological trans-
away busy work and pain. I think tech-
formation at the Drop-In, agrees. “It’s
nologists get into a lot of trouble when
not about cool tech. It’s about giving
they feel so confident that they reach
a person experiencing homelessness
past their level of expertise and start
a bed, a sandwich, a laundry service
making policy decisions, or feel that
and everything else that comes with it,”
just because they can prove something
he emphasizes. “All non-profits require
with data, that it’s the right and humane
technology. They just haven’t been
“ IT’S NOT ABOUT COOL TECH. IT’S ABOUT GIVING A HOMELESS PERSON A BED, A SANDWICH, A LAUNDRY SERVICE AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT COMES WITH IT” — Paul Twigg VP of Technology Sierra Systems/NTT DATA Services
able to invest in it because the charity funding model makes it difficult to put money into technology even though it will save money down the line.”: Sierra Systems, an NTT DATA Services company, specializes in IT consulting in order to provide its clients with innovative, forward-thinking solutions. The process of choosing a strategic partner was fairly unconventional. “We spent six months figuring out what the exact problems were that we wanted to solve instead of running to a bunch 11
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Paul Twigg Paul Twigg is the National VP of Technology for Sierra Systems an NTT DATA Services Company. He is an award winning IT business leader with executive and hands-on experience in delivering leading edge cloud, data and innovation services. He is a recognized speaker and thought leader in the technology field driving innovation and digital transformation ideas. Paul is security cleared (Canadian Secret Level) and has vast experience creating technology strategy to develop creative and innovative data centric services tailored towards increasing efficiencies and reducing costs within an organization. He is a motivational leader who enjoys building successful and productive teams.
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of vendors and doing multiple demonstrations,” Knight explains. “It’s the opposite of how teams engage vendors normally.” This approach helped Knight choose a company that would offer a complete service. “We were really looking at solving the entire problem,” she says. “The finance, the HR, the IT, the client relationship, the client service; the entire problem, instead of discrete solutions.” This is where Sierra Systems, a company already involved in donating and 12
volunteering at the DI, came into play. After identifying Microsoft Dynamics as a customer relationship management system that could cater to the Drop-In’s needs, Knight considered two companies. “One brought me standard pricing, and Sierra, with evidence of being donors and volunteers, brought me their proposal at half price,” says Knight. “I knew they were in it with us. Sierra had the imagination that we needed.” Since then, the relationship has evolved from client-vendor to much more. In addition to back office initiatives to improve efficiency and foster digital engagement within the DI’s staff, Twigg
1.2mn Meals served in total
100,000+ Items of clothing distributed
420,000+ Individual nights of shelter provided
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and his team have worked with Knight to bring one of their more cutting-edge initiatives towards maturity. For 10 years, the Calgary Drop-In has used fingerprint scanners in order to identify and admit its clients. “It took anywhere from about seven to 30 seconds to let an individual in,” says Twigg. “Considering that, since 2 February, it’s been about -30ºF every day here in Calgary, when you’ve got several hundred
“ GLOBALLY, ONE BILLION PEOPLE ARE WITHOUT ID, INCLUDING PEOPLE WHO NEED EMERGENCY SERVICES” — Helen Knight, CIO/Director of Technology Calgary Drop-in & Rehab Centre
people coming and going every day, upgrading the intake systems will make 14
entering the facility much more efficient.” To solve this problem, Knight is turning
unique needs.” At the heart of the new
to more modern forms of biometric
biometric identification system the DI is
technology with higher accuracy rates,
trialing is the desire to not only improve
reducing admission times to around
the quality of patient care, but also to
three seconds.
“put the client in charge of their data”.
In addition, the nature of the DI’s
“There are 43 conflicting legislations
work requires it to keep client records.
and ethical agreements governing
“One billion people in the world don’t
client data,” Knight explains. “I’m
have ID, including people who need
a co-chair of a collaborative work group
emergency services, are victims of
trying to improve communication
crime, have been evicted, are human
between homeless-serving agencies
trafficking victims - maybe they’re
in the City of Calgary, and when we
using drugs or have mental health
tried to create a decision guide to
issues. Regardless of the client’s
navigate them, there was no way to
history, we need to know who they are
figure it out; they all conflict and there’s
so we can ensure we are meeting their
no way to prioritize the disparate
15 agreements.” By putting the decision
a solution. “We are designing an arch-
to share personal data back into the
itecture that implements blockchain to
hands of Calgary’s homeless popula-
allow a client’s health information to
tion, Twigg and Knight believe that
remain encrypted and afford the client
agencies serving vulnerable people
the ability to share that information as
across the city can improve communi-
they move between agencies, or
cation and build a shared database to
decide what can and can’t be shared.”
better serve their community.
In addition, the biometric data record-
Ensuring the potential for privacy
ed by the DI’s new systems, Knight
and control remains in the hands of the
explains, is anonymous by design.
client, however, is a top priority for the
Another place where Knight wants to
venture. “There’s a lot of personal
deploy biometrics down the line is in
identifiable information that can’t be
the way clients at the shelter supply
shared between agencies,” says Twigg,
personal information, as well as book
whose team has been collaborating
medical and other appointments. “I’m
with Knight and the working group on
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“THE CLIENT OWNS THE KEY, AND THE DATA IS ANONYMOUS WITHOUT THEM BEING THERE” 16
— Helen Knight CIO/Director of Technology Calgary Drop-in and Rehab Centre
a system than a person,” she admits. “On 3 January, we put a client selfserve kiosk in the dining hall of the Calgary Drop-In Centre. The feedback from the clients has been very positive. Wedesigned this kiosk with our wood shop, where our clients learn woodworking skills, added a touchscreen monitor, and a donated PC. We built it so that you could use a wheelchair or a chair, so we didn’t have to move the screens around to account for height differences. All it does right now is two things: it plays a video on data sharing, why we want your data, and that it is safe and secure; and it presents a form where you can tell us what your barriers are to finding housing.” The form asks questions used to identify the client’s barriers to housing: “For example, are you comfortable talking to a landlord?” says Knight. “Some people can be afraid of authority and may not be comfortable speaking to a landlord. If we identify that is a barrier, we’ll go with them.” Knight notes that a client’s mistrust for human authority may result in a reluctance to reveal the information that would result in them receiving help – but the kiosk
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ROOTED IN COMMUNITY, SUPPORTED IN THE CLOUD - CALGARY DROP-IN CENTER AND SIERRA SYSTEMS’ 17
has built in anonymity and lacks a human
biometrics in the kiosks, so clients can
element. “Through a touchscreen com-
choose to opt in and receive personal-
puter, we’re reaching a vulnerable
ized services: book things like laundry
clientele and are serving them in a new
and medical appointments, find out
way,” she says. Knight has now ordered
when they’re meeting a landlord - they
two more kiosks based on this success.
would have a portal to their lives.”
“We are fulfilling an unmet need for some
Clients would also be able to opt out of
clients and finding new ways to build
the biometric customization. “We put in
relationships,” she adds.
this fabric flap,” she says, “so clients
Knight and Sierra Systems’ plan to
know for a fact that they’re not being
use biometric identification in the DI
recorded, and still have access to
also extends to the kiosks. “Once we
helpful information, opening hours,
finish a comprehensive privacy impact
times and maps.”
assessment,” Knight says, “we can put
Knight’s plans for the DI are extenw w w.c a l ga r ydrop in . ca
I N F O R M AT I O N
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The Calgary Drop-In Centre (the DI) is more than an emergency shelter. They provide essential care as well as health services, employment training, and housing supports to people who need help. Their programs and services connect people to permanent housing that meets their individual needs. To donate to support this project please visit calgarydropin.ca/tech
sive and ambitious, but she and Twigg are eager, excited and optimistic. Knight is working with the University of Calgary and the University of Taiwan to test biometrics with the potential to detect sepsis and necrotic wounds, as well as planning on using the proposed transformation of the DI’s HR system, in conjunction with weather and environmental data, to predict workload. “Helen’s a fantastic advocate, not just for the Calgary Drop-In Centre, but for the homeless community across
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Canada,” says Twigg. “It would be our
over other agencies in Canada. “Non-
dream if Helen was at the Calgary DI
profit, especially the homeless-serving
for the next 10 years, because we
sector, is ripe for disruption, transfor-
believe we could solve amazing
mation and return-on-investment,” she
problems together. She understands
says. “I see nothing but opportunity.”
how to solve big problems, and we believe we can match those ideas with the technology and the thought leaders that we have at Sierra Systems and NTT DATA Services.” Knight makes it clear that the technology transformation she’s bringing to the DI isn’t about giving the DI ‘competitive advantage’ w w w.c a l ga r ydrop in . ca
Calgary Drop-In Centre 1 Dermot Baldwin Way Calgary Canada AB T2G 0P8 T +1 403-263-5707 www.calgarydropin.ca