City of Kitchener honoured with municipal innovation award for groundbreaking city hall service centre

The Peter J. Marshall Innovation Award Jury has presented its highest award to the City of Kitchener for its nationally acclaimed City Hall Service Centre. The award was presented to Mayor Berry Vrbanovic and Chief Administrative Officer Dan Chapman at the 2025 AMO Conference in Ottawa. 

Kitchener’s City Hall Service Centre has transformed municipal customer service across Canada by combining innovation, inclusion, and a personal touch. Based on extensive resident feedback and customer journey mapping, the centre consolidates all in-person City Hall services into one welcoming, fully accessible location at the front entrance of City Hall. 

Built with and for the community, the 7,500-square-foot centre merges advanced digital tools, such as self-check-in kiosks and multilingual video interpretation, with warm, human service led by greeters and a team of up to 30 service experts rotating from 10 departments. This “no wrong door” approach makes sure residents get what they need, quickly and comfortably, without being shuffled from floor to floor. 

Since opening, the Service Centre has transformed service delivery and culture at the City. In its first year, it served over 30,000 customers through in-person interactions and achieved satisfaction scores of over 90% for ease, friendliness, and overall experience in every quarter. 

“Together with members of our Council & staff team present today, I was thrilled to receive the PJ Marshall award on behalf of Team Kitchener. It reflects the dedication, creativity and community-first mindset that drives our work in serving the residents and businesses of Kitchener,” said Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. “Today’s recognition demonstrates that when we design with purpose and listen to our residents, we build a stronger, more connected city.” 

More than 70 municipalities have toured or studied Kitchener’s model to inform their service transformation efforts. The project has already garnered national recognition for its innovation and excellence in customer service. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Brian Lambie, AMO Media Contact 
416-729-5425