Frequently Asked Questions

Partnership In Action, also known as PIA, is available to anyone to explore and learn about various Ottawa Police Service projects and initiatives. All project information is available publicly without the need to register. However, we ask participants to register before providing feedback, such as completing a survey or participating in an online discussion forum. This is a best-practice approach in online community engagement, which helps us create a respectful online community where everyone can feel comfortable participating. It also helps us verify that the input we are receiving is from Ottawa residents and stakeholders, and minimizes the skewing of results from repeat responses, etc.

Knowing a bit about who we hear from helps the Ottawa Police Service to understand what voices may be missing from the conversation, so that we can conduct more targeted outreach and work to reduce barriers to participation. The benefit for users is that you only have to answer the demographic questions once, instead of every time you fill out a survey! 

Registration also allows you to receive updates and stay informed, become part of the PIA online community, and easily provide your input on multiple projects. 

Even when you register, your comments remain anonymous to other site users - you are only identified by your chosen screen name. 

The Ottawa Police Service is committed to listening, and considering the feedback of residents and stakeholders in decision-making. The contributions you make on this site will be reviewed by the relevant project team, and a summary report of what we heard through the engagement - both through the PIA site and other engagement activities are shared in an annual report with the Ottawa Police Service Board and the community. We are also committed to reporting back how public input was used in the decision-making process and final outcomes.

Community input is one factor considered in decision-making, along with other important details such as guiding documents (plans, policies, etc.), constraints (financial, technical, etc.), legal requirements, and more. What project aspects are open for influence, and the level of public influence available, is different for each project or decision. 

Your input is appreciated and helps OPS leaders and decision-makers better understand the perspectives, opinions, concerns and aspirations of people potentially affected by OPS initiatives and decisions.  

All public comments within discussion forums, guest books, ideas forums, etc. are moderated 24 hours a day 7 days a week for inappropriate language, comments that disrespect other participants and comments that are off topic. 

Moderation is carried out by Bang the Table on behalf of the Ottawa Police Service. The moderators do not edit or alter any comments and will only remove comments deemed to be significantly off topic, offensive or malicious, in which case they are removed from the site immediately and the person who posted the comment is advised by email. For more details, please refer to the site etiquette and moderation guidelines in the footer of the site. 

There is a two-stage registration process for PIA - after you complete the registration form, you will receive an email from the site and you must respond to activate your account. 

If you are having trouble signing in, be sure to check that you have fully activated your account by completing this two-stage process. If you have not received the confirmation email, check your email's spam folder. You can also click "Sign In" on PIA and click on the "Didn't receive confirmation?" link under the Register button. 

Forgot your password? Click "Sign In" on the top right menu and click "Forgot password?" under the Register button. Enter your registered email address and click "Continue." You will receive a computer generated email to your registered email account with instructions on how to reset your password. Make sure to check your spam/junk folder as well to ensure you received the email. 

If you are still having technical issues, email support@engagementhq.com. 

For questions on the PIA platform, or the OPS public engagement practices, please email pia@ottawapolice.ca. 

If you have questions about a specific project on the site, please see the Project Contact information on the right-hand menu of the project page. For most projects, you can also enter your questions directly into the platform on the Questions tab under the project description.