Joint Municipal Services Committee Agenda Preview — April 16, 2026

4.a CAOR-JMS-10-26 Single Source Purchase of Digital Engagement Platform With Social Pinpoint demo from Mike McInerny Whereas Grey County and its member municipalities increasingly use a variety of engagement tools to inform service delivery, support decision making and to provide information to their Councils; and, Whereas striving to increase equitable access to information and opportunities to influence public services is essential in providing open and transparent governance; and, Whereas emerging technology provides innovative means of engaging with residents and communities in enhanced ways that reduce barriers and increase opportunities; and, Whereas the Joint Municipal Services Committee has sought to identify opportunities, aligned with the Strategic Plan, Working Better Together, to maximize effective shared use of resources and that Social Point has extended beneficial rates for a potential enterprise engagement solution; it is therefore recommended, That report CAOR-JMS-10-26 regarding the single source purchase of the Social Point engagement platform be received; and That Grey County move forward with the purchase of the Social Point digital engagement platform in-year in 2026; and That the purchase be funded from the one-time general reserve and the annual renewal be included in the 2027 communications operating budget.

Grey County proposes an immediate, single-source purchase of the Social Point digital platform for $36,500 to dismantle systemic barriers in public participation and reduce taxpayer costs. Unlike fragmented current tools that force residents to navigate disconnected services and pay municipal fees separately, this platform offers a shared regional enterprise license. This arrangement negotiates a 13-15% discount for all nine member municipalities, consolidating administrative expenses under one system. The initiative aims to replace expensive, disjointed software with a unified 24/7 accessible network that includes multi-language support and mobile compatibility, ensuring equitable access for underrepresented residents across the County's vast geography. Funded initially from a one-time general reserve, the project shifts renewal costs to the 2027 budget while establishing a collaborative foundation. By centralizing engagement, Grey County eliminates marketing battles between towns and ensures citizens can interact with county and local services without confusion over jurisdictional boundaries. This distributist approach leverages collective purchasing power to maximize shared resources, intending to expand the regional network as more towns join, ultimately reducing individual license costs and fostering a transparent, integrated civic environment.

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Committee Report
To:

Warden Matrosovs and Members of the Joint Municipal
Services Committee

Committee Date:

April 16, 2026

Subject / Report No:

CAOR-JMS-10-26

Title:

Single Source Purchase of Digital Engagement Platform

Prepared by:

Rob Hatten, Communications Manager

Reviewed by:

Randy Scherzer, CAO

Lower Tier(s) Affected:

Recommendation
1. Whereas Grey County and its member municipalities increasingly use a variety of
engagement tools to inform service delivery, support decision making and to
provide information to their Councils; and,
2. Whereas striving to increase equitable access to information and opportunities to
influence public services is essential in providing open and transparent
governance; and,
3. Whereas emerging technology provides innovative means of engaging with
residents and communities in enhanced ways that reduce barriers and increase
opportunities; and,
4. Whereas the Joint Municipal Services Committee has sought to identify
opportunities, aligned with the Strategic Plan, Working Better Together, to
maximize effective shared use of resources and that Social Point has extended
beneficial rates for a potential enterprise engagement solution; it is therefore
recommended,
5. That report CAOR-JMS-10-26 regarding the single source purchase of the Social
Point engagement platform be received; and
6. That Grey County move forward with the purchase of the Social Point digital
engagement platform in-year in 2026; and
7. That the purchase be funded from the one-time general reserve and the annual
renewal be included in the 2027 communications operating budget.

Executive Summary
During the 2026 budget deliberations, Grey County staff recommended the single-source
purchase of the Social Pinpoint digital engagement platform (now branded as Social Point) to
support the objectives of the Grey County Communications Strategy and strengthen the
County’s public engagement capacity. At the December 5th Budget meeting, Council deferred a

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motion to remove this item from the 2026 Budget to the December 12th Budget meeting pending
further information. Given time constraints between the two budget meetings, staff were not
able to provide any additional information or to arrange a demonstration of the platform for the
December 12th meeting. Therefore, staff recommended that Council proceed with a decision on
the deferred motion and that staff would bring forward a staff report with further information in
2026 along with a demo of the platform which Council supported. Given the potential for this
platform to be a shared collaborative platform and service with member municipalities, staff are
bringing this initial report forward to the Joint Municipal Services Committee, including a
platform demonstration.
Public engagement is a core component of effective municipal decision-making, helping ensure
decisions reflect community needs, build trust and transparency, and improve outcomes. Digital
engagement platforms complement traditional methods by providing accessible, online tools
that expand participation, reduce barriers related to time, location, and accessibility, and support
greater inclusion—particularly important given Grey County’s large geographic area. These
platforms also improve transparency by making it easier to share engagement results and
demonstrate how public input informed decisions.
In discussions with a number of vendors in undertaking research and background into
engagement platforms, Social Point has provided opportunities to explore potential enterprise
agreements that could support County-wide roll out of a single system that could be deployed at
both the county and member municipal level. This would have distinct advantages in reducing
barriers between tiers of government and would come with reduced costs. While Social Point
offers an enterprise solution for Grey and its member municipalities, it is also available as a
stand-alone Grey County solution.
Staff recommend proceeding with the purchase of Social Point to enhance current engagement
practices and lay the groundwork to grow into a regional engagement platform.

Background and Discussion
During the 2026 budget conversations, County staff recommended the single source purchase
of the Social Pinpoint digital engagement platform (recently renamed Social Point), in line with
the goals of the Grey Count Communications Strategy. This platform would be used to develop
an online public engagement website capable of expanding Grey County’s current engagement
capabilities by improving the quality, reach, equity, and scope of public engagement abilities.
Further, through collaboration with member municipalities, Social Point can build a regional
public engagement platform that can make it easier for residents to engage with their local
municipality, the County, and neighbouring municipalities, all through one centralized and
integrated platform.
During the budget deliberations it was suggested that staff prepare a report to further review the
platform and make a recommendation to Council. Further, Council requested a platform
demonstration be provided to see first-hand how it works and how it can effectively improve
engagement and participation. Given the potential for this platform to be a shared collaborative
platform and service with member municipalities, staff are bringing this initial report forward to
the Joint Municipal Services Committee.

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What is Public Engagement and Why is it Important?
Public engagement and public participation are important parts of effective government and can
play a valuable role in decision making at the municipal level. By involving the public in
decisions, municipalities can feel more confident that the decisions made reflect the desires of
those who are affected by the outcomes. This process not only has the potential to improve
outcomes, it helps build trust and understanding of the programs and services delivered at the
County level. Other benefits include:
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Identifying local insights and lived experiences.
Gathering a wide range of options for solving problems and improving service.
Helping the public to understand decisions, even if they may not agree with them.
Reducing conflict and making implementation of decisions smoother.
Opportunities to include underrepresented groups and communities.
Improving transparency and accountability.

Engagement can take many forms. One widely recognized and endorsed public engagement
framework designed by the International Association for Public Participation, better known as
IAP2, identifies five levels of engagement:
1. Inform: Providing the public with information. Example, a media release or an
advertisement.
2. Consult: Collecting feedback from the public to inform decisions. Example, a public
survey or a public meeting.
3. Involve: Have back and forth dialogue on needs and concerns. Example, a follow-up
survey, a public workshop or an open house.
4. Collaborate: Involving the public in the decision-making process. Example, an advisory
committee to Council.
5. Empower: Giving the public decision-making power. Example, a referendum item on an
election ballot.
When engaging the public, it is important to consider what level of engagement is most
appropriate for a decision and developing an engagement plan to match. Where public influence
is limited in a decision, the “inform” level may be most appropriate. Conversely, if a decision will
have a significant cost, a lasting impact, or affect many people, it may warrant an approach to
“involve” or collaborate” with the public for some elements of a project.
Public engagement will often take time, and this should be built into each project and
engagement plan. The amount of time needed will depend on the resources and tools available
to engage.

Digital Engagement Platforms
Digital engagement platforms are a centralized online platform with a suite of tools to help a
municipality or other organizations inform, consult, involve and empower residents. Some
common tools built into digital engagement platforms are surveys and polls, interactive maps,
special project pages, ideation boards, and feedback tools. Digital engagement platforms are
widely accessible as they are available to the public 24/7 and allow residents and affected
parties to engage at times when it is convenient for them.

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For example, it is common for Grey County to host public open houses or public meetings
during daytime hours and early evening hours. This timing may work for some, but not families
working through the day and caring for children in the evening. This timing is also difficult for
many careers involving shiftwork. Public meetings are not equitably accessible to all; they
demand access to transportation, rely on comfort with being in public discussions in English and
require ‘on the spot’ reactions and feedback. As a result, feedback received from these settings
will be skewed to the needs and opinions of the demographics that attend.
Digital engagement platforms are not meant to replace open houses and public meetings, but
rather to complement them. Traditional engagement methods will still play a role and be
required by legislation in many situations. However, having digital tools available to support
engagement on the topics extends participation beyond those who are available to attend a
meeting in person. These digital tools supplement and support in person engagement activities
and can help address equity issues. Digital tools can be used during in-person sessions and
can extend access to information and engagement to a broader number of residents.
Municipal case studies and testimonials show that digital tools reach larger and more diverse
audiences than traditional tactics. Having broader and more representative participation
provides better quality insights and data and enables better informed decision making.
There is also strong data showing they improve accessibility and inclusion, as the platforms
typically have mobile-friendly access, multi-language support, and meet web accessibility
standards (necessary for compliance with legislation in Ontario). Further, Grey County is one of
the largest municipalities geographically in Ontario. Expecting residents to travel large distances
to engage on topics creates a substantial barrier.
Most digital engagement platforms not only allow organizations to collect data and feedback, but
they also allow make it easy to share results and communicate to the community what was
heard, and what actions were taken. Most platforms feature detailed reporting features which
can help analyze responses and create clear, easy to understand summaries. These
summaries can be shared both externally with the community, and internally with decision
makers. Externally, this transparency helps build trust and understanding. It also encourages
future participation by showing participants that their time and input is valued.
Engagement platforms also provide value for internal operations. These platforms centralize
engagement tools into one place which improves workflows and reduces some of the
administrative burden of managing multiple fragmented software tools. In Grey County’s case,
the tools will allow us to do more with the time we are already spending managing engagement
on other platforms such as Survey Monkey or Microsoft Forms, or our website.

Why purchase a platform now?
Staff are observing an increasing amount of County projects that would greatly benefit from
more robust public engagement. Two recent examples would be the Municipal Road Exchanges
and the Regional Transit Study.
The tools on the market continue to evolve, becoming easier to use for both staff and the public.
One new feature of particular interest is the potential to build collaborative regional engagement
sites in collaboration with local municipalities. This makes it easy for residents from across the
county to engage with both levels of municipal government in one central location without

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necessarily understanding who is responsible for what specific service when they arrive at the
site. Having one central engagement site will also make it easier to promote the platform across
the County, reducing the overall marketing needs for participating municipalities. For example,
all municipalities could promote ConnectGreyCounty.ca (or similar) to build awareness instead
of each municipality and the County competing to promote individual sites.

Why Social Point
Social Point was the first digital engagement platform offering a regional engagement model for
municipalities. Grey County was approached by Social Point about the platform and its features
in late 2024. Seeing potential alignment with the Grey County Communication Strategy goal of
enhancing public engagement, as well as the Corporate Strategic Plan’s commitments to
collaboration and service delivery, staff began engaging with local municipalities to gauge
interest.
In the spring of 2025, an initial conversation was held at a meeting of the local CAOs. During
this discussion, the attending CAOs expressed interest in exploring the possibility of a regional
platform further. A demonstration was scheduled in the spring with many CAOs in attendance.
Following this second discussion, further direction was given to engage with local municipal staff
for further thoughts, feedback, and concerns. Meetings were held in the summer with more
demonstrations provided early in the fall of 2025.
During this period Grey County also began re-examining other platforms on the market.
Through this research staff learned there were many new platforms available with various
features, but the bulk of the market share was controlled by a platform known as Granicus, with
a growing number of municipalities launching Social Point or migrating to it from another
platform. Through this research, staff compared features and had discussions with a number of
municipal communications and engagement staff around Ontario to collect feedback on both
platforms, including from several current Social Point clients who chose to move off of another
platform. These clients reported higher public participation and better tools with the Social Point
platform. They also noted a better user experience on both the public facing side, and the staffmanaged back end of the tool.
Several of these existing tools are sold on a ‘per population’ basis, with pricing based on
thresholds of populations that municipalities serve. For example, municipalities with populations
up to 20,000 may pay one fee, those at 20,000 to 50,000 another and higher costs with more
population served. In a tiered system, this results in the upper tier price being based on the
county population, with member municipalities priced on their populations. This can lead to the
residents paying, through taxes, to access the same tool, twice.
Social Point acknowledges this challenge and, as a result, has offered to negotiate with Grey for
an enterprise solution where a single tool could be used by multiple municipalities for a reduced
cost. Social Point has indicated that a discounted rate of between 13% - 15% could be extended
to participating municipalities within such a group. It should be noted that this discount is
estimated at this time and would be subject to a formal quotation process.
Staff requested a proposal from Social Point as part of this report. The proposal for a sole Grey
County enterprise license is $30,000. For successful implementation and ongoing
administration, staff also recommend the purchase of additional administrator and general user

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licenses at a cost of $2,000. Additional general licenses may be added later as needed. Staff
note that should member municipalities be interested in purchasing services at the same time,
this license cost could be reduced.
Additional optional services are also available at further cost. These services include enhanced
implementation support with a project practice lead, additional licenses, project engagement
and building support, advanced report generation and specialized advanced training.
Standard training is included with purchase. Migration from other engagement platforms is also
included at no cost.

Developing a Regional Platform
Building a successful regional platform ideally involves the participation of all nine member
municipalities. Currently in Grey County there are three local municipalities using a digital
engagement platform. Georgian Bluffs and the City of Owen Sound are clients with Granicus,
and Grey Highlands is a client with Social Point.
Staff recognize that it will be challenging to coordinate the financial commitment from all nine
municipalities at the same time for seamless implementation. Given this challenge, it would be
recommended that Grey County move forward with Social Point initially, with the intention of
building towards a regional platform over time as more municipal partners choose to purchase
the platform.
Alternatively, Grey County Council may consider the merit of purchasing an enterprise license
for the platform on behalf of all nine member municipalities to support a one-time
implementation.

Legislated Requirements
None

Legal Considerations
None

Financial and Resource Implications
Staff recommend moving forward with the purchase of Social Point in-year through a transfer
from the one-time general reserve at a budget of $36,500.
The annual renewal item would be added into the Communications Operating budget beginning
in 2027 should Council support proceeding with the purchase of Social Point.

Relevant Consultation
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Internal: Senior Management Team, key internal staff, IT staff
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AODA Compliance

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☐
☒

Contribution to Climate Change Action Plan Targets (describe)

External: Grey County CAOs, key municipal staff

Appendices and Attachments
None

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