I was graciously welcomed to the team at Information Services (IS) for my Office of the Legislative Assembly (OLA) branch placement. My interest in Information Services came from learning about their adaptive technology and analysis of legislative systems. The work of IS intersected with my passion for accessible governance and democratic processes.
My supervisor Dave is the manager for Accessibility, Records and Open Parliament, and he worked collaboratively with me to develop a research plan. Focusing on a qualitative overview of open government at the Assembly, I interviewed members of the IS team and learned about both internal and external communications and processes. Further, I researched open government in a broader context at the international, national, and sub-national levels which I hope to apply to my OLIP research paper. I have developed my research report to provide insight into standard practices and principles, as well as the status of open government within the Assembly. Information Services provided great insight into the inner workings of accessibility and open records at the Assembly, and I certainly plan on bringing these lessons forward in my upcoming placements.
My time with Information Services taught me how adaptive the OLA has been and how we can continue to integrate practices for accessibility and transparency within our democratic processes. Thank you Dave, Steven, and everyone at IS for being so welcoming!