Each year, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Commissioner's Awards program provides an opportunity for peers to honor the exceptional accomplishments of fellow DNR staff at all levels, and across all disciplines. These awards recognize the efforts that stand above all others and acknowledge employees whose performance and behavior on the job reflects the DNR's mission and values. 

The MNIT Service Delivery team, led by Leah Kemp, received the Operational Excellence award for their work on a public webinar in 2019. The Line 3 Webinar Team provided a new opportunity for the DNR to share information and engage with the public about the Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline Replacement Project. The MNIT service delivery team, along with IT conferencing subject matter expert, Alicia Mathews, planned and provided critical setup and troubleshooting for the webinars including managing the tool, coordinating network access, and organizing satellite sites with A/V and network access. The MNIT staff were the behind-the-scenes team that contributed to the webinars’ success. The extended MNIT service delivery team includes Jason Larsen, Mike Lauer, James Rust, Liz Samuel, David Schardin, and Sang Xiong. 

Q&A with Leah Kemp

As one of the award recipients, we caught up with Leah Kemp for her thoughts on the recognition.

Is there anything you do differently when helping the DNR prepare for an internal event versus public engagement?

Kemp: For public events, we need to make sure that all Minnesotans are able to participate, especially when we are sharing information and permit processes on something as important as a pipeline project. Since the live webinar could have more than 1,000 participants, this was the first time we used WebEx3000.

How important is technology in helping our state agencies connect with the public?  

Kemp: Technology played a key role in allowing the DNR to educate people and obtain their comments/concerns/questions about this project. For this project, we managed satellite locations connectivity, so Minnesota residents were able to participate in the process in areas around the state that didn’t have the best connectivity. 

What are some tips you would give to help people be more prepared for conducting live events?

Kemp: My best advice is:

• Have a project plan
• Make sure everyone is aware of what their role is
• Understand your audio equipment and connectivity
• Manage distractions – cell phones, surroundings, etc.
• Test, test, test
• Practice, practice, practice

What were some of the challenges the team encountered? How did you overcome them?

Kemp: The biggest challenge was making sure the satellite sites were set up properly to allow citizens to participate. To make that happen, we ensured there was network access, A/V, and the ability for them to ask questions during the event. We collaborated with the sites, ran cable, and tested the setup. 

Another challenge was making sure the subject matter experts (SMEs) were able to add their answers to questions in real-time, allowing everyone to see who was answering which question. We landed on using OneNote, which worked very well. 

There was good participation from citizens, and the project SMEs were able to provide answers and relay them to our leaders to respond in a seamless fashion. 

Anything else you would like to share regarding this experience?

Kemp: This experience really highlights MNIT's focus, as noted in our Strategic Plan, on promoting people-centered digital government services. We improved the citizen experience by leveraging emerging technology with intention. Putting on a live webinar event was a large production event that involved the skills of so many different people. 

This team is a noteworthy, and now award-winning, example of how MNIT partners with state agencies to deliver value and critical services to all Minnesotans.