Non-Competitive Contract with Toronto Metropolitan University for Partnerships to Address the Digital Divide

This research examines the current state of digital access in Toronto and the ongoing barriers contributing to the gap between those who have internet access and the skills, and support to effectively engage online, and those who do not, often referred to as the "digital divide". Following City Council's adoption of EX20.8 in 2021, which directed the City to examine barriers to affordable high‑speed internet access for vulnerable and underserved residents and to enter into agreements with public entities as needed, the City began regularly commissioning digital equity research to better understand Toronto's digital divide. To date, the City has partnered with Toronto Metropolitan University to develop a consistent, Toronto‑specific evidence base on digital access, affordability, and inclusion. The City has spent $115,616 in total with Toronto Metropolitan University for digital access research, resulting in three public reports: - Mapping Toronto's Digital Divide (January 2021), - Dimensions of Digital Inclusion (May 2021), and - Toronto's Digital Divide (May 2024). Collectively, this research has provided periodic snapshots of digital access barriers over the past five years, informing City decision‑making and updates to Council. The most recent report found that approximately 2 percent of Torontonians, about 58,000 residents, lack affordable in‑home internet access, underscoring the need for continued research to better understand residents' access barriers and experiences. ConnectTO is a program approved by City Council in 2021 to work towards improving the digital connectivity of all Torontonians. As the ConnectTO program advances, the City is seeking to leverage this continued research to more closely assess whether, and how, ConnectTO investments are contributing to measurable progress toward closing the digital divide. Regular Digital Divide research findings over the next 6 years will inform the City's digital equity planning, strengthen service design and connectivity modernization efforts, and support consistent advice on digital access considerations within broader City service planning and delivery. A non-competitive procurement may be undertaken where both the proposed procurement and supplier can be justified in good faith based on an exception set out in Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 195, Procurement. This procurement will be proceeding under the exception related to Compatibility, where Toronto Metropolitan University and the City have determined in good faith that both the proposed procurement and the selected supplier, along with the terms and conditions of the contract, are beneficial to the City (Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 195, Procurement, Section 7.1.E). City Council approval is required in accordance with Municipal Code Chapter 195, Procurement, where the current request exceeds the Chief Procurement Officer's authority of the cumulative five-year (5) commitment for each supplier, under Article 7, Section 195-7.3 (D) of the Procurement By-Law or exceeds the threshold of $500,000 net of Harmonized Sales Tax allowed under staff authority as per the Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 71 Financial Control, Section 71-11A.