Reloaded - CPSRENEWAL.CA Weekly: Tell Us How

[Update June 16 - We appreciate and welcome your comments.

The message we were trying to convey with this post is NOT that we should sit back and wait it out, but that is it insufficient to repeatedly deliver the renewal imperative without ever giving direction on how one can actually get involved.

The final statement of this column suggested that perhaps someone with the authority and the resources (i.e. the centre) should move to provide us with a public service wide Web 2.0 platform, as suggested in David Eaves Column (to which we linked).

We are already involved, in many of the informal renewal channels alluded to by the comments, however we have had to rally most of our efforts on our own accord, without the benefit of being pointed in the right direction. The simple example of the PS wide web 2.0 platform would be an easy way to draw in participation from people who want to participate but cannot find an avenue for their creative energy.

We hope this clarifies our column. Thanks for your feedback.]


Original Column Below:

Background

Kevin Lynch, the Clerk of the Privy Council, presented a deck on Public Service Renewal at the 2008 APEX Conference.

[Editorial Note: The Clerk’s deck is suggested pre-reading for what follows. The commentary below responds to his presentation. We would also recommend this deck presented by Max Valiquette, President of Youthography Inc. as it provides additional context.]

Column

The first half of the Clerk’s presentation was an explanation of why Public Service Renewal matters. It contained all of the latest demographic data and used it to hammer home the importance of the Renewal imperative.

Here’s the rub.

We here at CPSRenewal.ca (contributors and patrons alike) already know Public Service Renewal matters; we already know why it matters. Surely Public Service executives already know why Renewal matters. We’re fairly certain that those of us who are genuinely interested in Renewal want to hear less ‘why’ and more ‘how’. The commentary below is therefore aimed not Clerk’s “Demographic Imperative” but on the issue of communication and engagement.

The Clerk’s deck closes with a slide on Key Public Service Renewal Messages, only one of which we want to touch on here. Specifically, the Clerk’s final point (our questions there to in parenthesis):

Communications and your engagement are key to renewal:

• Get Involved! (How? When? During NPSW?)
• Speak up! (Where? Can we be critical, or does that contravene PS values & ethics?)
• Make suggestions! (To whom?)
• Become part of renewal! (We want to, tell us how?)
• Be proud...you make a difference! (It doesn't feel that way to us... not yet.)

If we have truly found the key for renewal then we must have some inclination of where the lock is?

Don’t we? No? Not yet?

The underlying question is a recurrent and imperative one – tell us how!?

Tell Us How to Participate in the Renewal Process

Should we step outside the Public Service and start a website dedicated to Public Service Renewal like others have? Only to eventually be brought back into it after proving your mettle? Are our contributions undermined because we have to preface them with disclaimers and tread lightly for fear of reprisal? While the above comments are somewhat tongue in cheek, the underlying point is that there are ways to get involved within the existing Public Service framework, but they are often informal undertakings, spread by word of mouth, and subject to sharp declines in interest due to the mobility of labour within the Public Service.

If the Public Service wants to engage youth in the renewal process it needs to provide opportunities to participate and provide feedback, and it should be done in a manner that allows for both the productive use of the latest technologies and face-to-face interactions. Moreover, these opportunities need to be easy to find, properly resourced, and actively championed by Senior Management. That being said, engagement at all levels and across all demographics is important.

We think there is an opportunity here for strong leadership from the centre on creating a mechanism that would facilitate both communication and engagement – the key to renewal.