(Photo: Shaun Penner / EverythingGP staff)

By Shane Clausing

access gp

Access GP hoping to make it easier for citizens to connect with city

Nov 3, 2021 | 12:33 PM

The City of Grande Prairie officially launched Access GP on November 1, with the hope it will help enhance connections for citizens to the city.

The new service, which builds on the citizen contact centre, will allow citizens to contact the city using a variety of different methods.

The service builds on the 3-1-1 centralized contact number established in April. Now, a text line (780-538-0425) has been added, people can email (info@cityofgp.com), visit the Access GP portal, chat with a customer service bot or send a message through the City of Grande Prairie Facebook page to get in touch with the city for a variety of non-emergency issues.

Doug McGuire, Corporate Citizen Experience Supervisor for the city, feels the launch of Access GP will be successful in the community.

“We’ve really taken our time to make sure that we’re bringing about processes that are consistent (and) enduring,” he said. “Really that outside-in approach, where we are looking at the citizens’ experience first and then working backwards into the city processes to make sure we are delivering out there.”

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McGuire says it took about two years for the city to develop this system, which is hoped to make it easier for residents to get their questions answered.

“What we’ve been able to do now is follow that request from the time the citizen submits it, right to the department and then back to the citizen,” said McGuire.

“It’s really about the ability to follow the flow of information and how the request gets managed.”

While the Access GP system is fully up and running, McGuire explains they will continue to work hard to identify other ways for citizens to get in contact with them.

“We continue to look at ways to bring service connection closer to the citizen. All of the channels are now captured inside one technology solution, so we are able to manage with them. Regardless of how the citizen reaches out, they get a consistent level of service.”

The City of Grande Prairie reminds citizens Access GP is not to be used for emergencies of any kind. If you require emergency help, call 911.