The Municipal Website Venture: Elevating Nova Scotia's Digital Presence
The Municipal Website Venture was created to address significant challenges facing municipal websites across Nova Scotia. Our mandate focuses on substantially improving website standards, reducing development and operational costs, and empowering non-technical staff to confidently manage their community's online presence.
Becoming a Partner
For information about joining the Municipal Website Venture or details on membership fees, contact:
Les Coleman
Municipal Website Coordinator
(902) 221-0627
1 Kingswood Drive, Suite 211
Hammonds Plains, NS B4B 0P4
Our Learning Approach
We've developed an environment where website content management becomes as routine as familiar office tasks—word processing, sending emails, or managing electronic calendars.
Truly elevating municipal web sophistication cannot happen in a traditional buyer/seller relationship. The Venture's success depends on creating active learning opportunities with engaged municipal partners. While partners invest financially to join, they must also commit their energy to develop practical skills. Fortunately, anyone comfortable with basic office technology stands just steps away from mastering website content management.
Partners across the Venture all learn the same Content Management System — Joomla! This has fostered a growing community of users who collectively build a valuable knowledge base. This shared expertise naturally leads to productive interdependence, positioning our communities to discover and share emerging web opportunities as they arise.
Why We've Succeeded
The Municipal Website Venture has exceeded the expectations of its founders, thriving due to several key factors. Nova Scotia offers the perfect environment—geographically compact yet diverse enough to achieve critical mass. The initiative built upon years of groundwork and widespread recognition that municipal websites needed improvement through collaborative effort. With strong municipal buy-in from communities believing in the concept, the Venture found fertile ground to flourish.
Economic Opportunities
A municipal website often provides the first impression of a community—a window showcasing what it has to offer visitors, residents and businesses. As effective marketing tools, these sites play crucial roles in shaping economic outcomes.
The Municipality of Argyle is an excellent example: after launching their redesigned website, producers from NBC's television program, "Dimestore Fisherman," selected Argyle as a filming location based specifically on their impression of the community's digital presence. This example underscores how an enhanced municipal website can create tangible economic opportunities beyond simply providing information.
