Column: With a Little Help From My Friends

Last week, the Web 2.0 Practitioner's (W2P) Community (of which I am a part) held its informal mixer as it does every 3 weeks. I happened to be on point for organizing the event this time, although truth be told I couldn't have done it without a little help from my friends.

Lend Me Your Ears and I'll Sing You a Song

Looking back I think the event was a huge success. There were approximately fifty people in attendance, a book exchange and the Clerk of the Privy Council, Wayne Wouters, came by, donned a nametag and introduced himself around. For those of you who don't know, the Clerk of the Privy Council is the most senior non-political official in the Government of Canada.

While I only managed to speak to him for a few minutes, it was a rewarding experience and firmed up what I had been hearing around town - that he has a keen interest in the confluence of the web and the public service. His interest, signaled by his attendance, is something we can all look to for encouragement and is coincidentally the reason I smiled the whole way home that night. Given what I have written previously about the risks of public servants innovating in the absence of leadership, the support of the most senior public servant moving forward is paramount. The Clerk's presence, coupled with some other moving and shaking that I have been privy to, make me feel as though we are turning an important corner.

Moving forward, I think one of the biggest wins out of the Clerk's appearance is leverage. If the Clerk can find time in his busy schedule to stop by and check in with the W2P community after hours, then surely other senior leaders can find time to discuss the use of Web 2.0 technologies during work hours, and when the time comes, make sure to try not to sing out of key.

Column: Risky Business: Deputy Minister or Bust

I cannot even recall the number of times I have been told that what I am doing on this blog, via twitter and other social media is incredibly "risky". I get the impression that many people assume that my risk tolerance is higher than the average public servant, and perhaps they are right. However if I am indeed more tolerant of risk, I would argue that it is because the way in which I frame risk is markedly different than how it is typically framed in the bureaucracy.

In the interview I linked to last week, the Clerk of the Privy Council, Wayne Wouters, expressed his concerns about risk aversion:

The concern I have is that we’ve become risk averse. One root cause has been some high profile management failures, including the so-called HRDC “billion dollar boondoggle” and the Sponsorship Scandal. Many think we overshot the mark with the multiple rules and processes that we put in place in response to these events, and that these have led to risk aversion and people not wanting to make a mistake. The result has been a step back from principles-based management to rules-based management.

As the Clerk explains, the concept of “risk” has become deeply connected with the concept of “action” and the “fear of making a mistake” has hamstrung our efforts at innovation. Furthermore, I think his points about principles-based management make good sense. We need to better frame our understanding of risk based on the circumstances within which we find ourselves. If we did so, we may find that inaction can actually be the highest-risk option and that mistakes are often made by those who do nothing when facing a tough decision.

To be honest I don't really understand the normative correlation between action and risk in the public service, it doesn't auger well with me. I'm sure it has something to do with hyper-connectivity, instant communication, unforgiving digitization and our learned fear of dissection at the hands of the media (the famed Globe and Mail test).

To that end, I think we have created a cultural safe haven for poor decision-making at all levels. A metaphorical space where public servants of every type can throw up their hands in resignation, claiming they didn't do it, like children standing over a broken cookie jar in the kitchen attempting to absolve themselves of their responsibilities. After all they didn't act, they didn't try to catch the jar as it fell to the ground, so how can they be responsible? In a very real sense, I consider this blog as one of many efforts to battle willful inaction, and perhaps that is why I view the risk associated with it in a very different way.

When it comes to my online activities – including this blog – the biggest risk I see is failing to soldier on. This blog keeps me engaged, provides me with an opportunity to think creatively, and serves as a searchable information repository (for more on the benefits of blogging, please read this excellent post). The fact that it is public means that, through a combination of serendipity and the web, others who share my interests can benefit from it in similar ways. Thus I think that its value proposition is high and outweighs any associated risks involved with the initiative. I consider my approach a deliberate move away from risk aversion and towards risk awareness, something that the Clerk also touched on in the aforementioned interview:

To counter the risk aversion that has taken root in some ways, we need to discuss how to reinvigorate the public service work environment and build trust. This by extension will lead to a public service that is risk aware but not risk adverse. Our objective is not to get rid of all the rules, but to build good risk management practices, where you can allow people more flexibility. We want to develop good practices in risk taking and innovation, and see progress.

Being risk aware also means that I see and understand the risks associated with my online activities in a more traditional sense. With some exceptions, those who have openly blogged about the need for change have done so at a price. Doug's blog is now defunct, Etienne hadn't posted anything in months and his most recent entry seems, at least to me, to signal his retreat from the larger fray. Both of these public servants are highly intelligent and have undoubtedly acted in what they believe to be the best interests of the Crown and Canadians. Yet make no mistakes, both are casualties of an environment that tends to eat its innovators while they are young when it should be trusting them.

According to the Clerk:

Trust is a critical value. Trust in her staff is what allowed Deputy Minister Cassie Doyle at Natural Resources Canada to create one of the first wikis in government and to maximize the use of web 2.0 tools. Trust is the antidote to risk aversion and fear of mistakes. And clearly, trust needs to be there in the relationship between Ministers and their Departments. Public servants need to trust that they can speak truth to power.

I have always been a proponent of trust, and I am quick to trust others. Many people have pointed to this as one of my biggest weaknesses. But I truly believe in the public service as a gift economy. It is the reason I trust others and agree to help them. That, in turn, is the reason they trust and help me. This approach undoubtedly exposes me to risk at the hands of those who would take advantage, but I understand and am willing to bear that risk. Such is the burden of someone who wants to help build trust across the larger community.

In my experience, the first to move are always the most vulnerable, but those who make it through are also those who are looked to for leadership once on the other side because they have shown that they can be proactive where others have shown that they are reactive. I cannot say for certain what will happen or how I will fare in my endeavours, but while in Vancouver I asked my friend David Eaves for his thoughts on what I was doing and how it all would end, to which he simply replied: “Deputy Minister or bust”.

Column: Trust From Above

The Clerk of the Privy Council Wayne Wouters did an interview with Canadian Government Executive Magazine. In it he articulates the need for trust and the value of web 2.0 technologies in the renewing workplace.

I would suggest you read it.

Cheers.

Weekly Column: The Opportunity for Enterprise

I was fortunate enough to have been invited to participate on a "one person task team" run by the President of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Mme Monique Collette (who btw is an absolutely wonderful woman). Essentially, Mme Collette was asked by the soon to retire Clerk of the Privy Council, Kevin Lynch, to travel across the country collecting best practices in three areas: diversity, official languages, and communication.

As you might expect, I was invited to participate explicitly because of this blog. The session was very well run, with some pleasant surprises, unexpected fun, and most importantly, great ideas being exchanged.

Early in our conversation, someone raised a fair point: the conversations we were having about fostering bilingualism, capturing diversity, and opening up communications had already happened, a number of times, in a number of places. So how do we move beyond them? Ironically, her point was one that had also been raised repeatedly.

Being the “blogger/social media evangelist/new collaboration preacher” in the room, I’m not sure if Mme Collette was just keenly aware of who was in the room, or if it was just ridiculously apparent by my face that I wanted to jump into the conversation. Either way (though it was probably a bit of both), she quickly gave me the floor.

Naturally, I brought up GCPEDIA and its enormous collaborative potential, and made a couple of points worth sharing.

First, I pleaded (begged really) for Mme Collette to make the findings of her task team available in GCPEDIA, and even volunteered to put them there myself (to which they were quick to oblige).

Second, I drew attention to a statement made by the Clerk in his latest report. Specifically, when he states that:

The business of government has become markedly more complex than in the past. Today, almost every department and agency must deal with global challenges, using new tools and asking people to work in new ways - in integrated teams, often across organizational boundaries.

Great statement, right? Anyone looking to build a business case for the adoption of new tools (e.g. social media tools) should be quoting the Clerk on the first page. That being said, I think the Clerk could have been a bit more specific, something like this perhaps:

The business of government has become markedly more complex than in the past. Today, almost every department and agency must deal with global challenges, using new tools and asking people to work in new ways - in integrated teams, often across organizational boundaries. That is why a tool like GCPEDIA is so important. GCPEDIA is the first of a series of small but deliberate steps to address enterprise-wide problems in a more systematic way.

Those extra two sentences would have been a boon to the project; I need not even explain why. The more I reflect on public service renewal the more I feel like enterprise-wide (i.e. federal government-wide) technical solutions are necessary. They are important because they do something that has thus far seemed to elude the public service for too long: they show us the need to think about our business as an integrated whole, and more importantly, give us a proven and tangible means to act as an integrated whole.

Quite often I run into people who say they are frustrated by “the bureaucracy”, but what they are really frustrated by is people’s unwillingness to share, their unwillingness to adapt or embrace change, and their unwillingness to let go of what they think is theirs. They are not frustrated by some abstract or amorphous entity, but by a lack of vision around what it means to be, and act as a single enterprise, while creating tremendous value by sharing, trusting and challenging within it.

I will be honest, I have a whole lot more to say about this and leadership under these circumstances(things that I have been reflecting on a lot lately), but for now I bite my tongue.

Maybe next time, but until then your thoughts?

Round Up: Opportunity to Participate, Leadership, Survey Data, News and More

Opportunity to Participate

PPX (Public Policy Forum's new program that aims tackle issues of the future in an intergenerational world) is holding a quarterly social seeking to stimulate big-picture thinking.

May 21, 2009
5:30 to 8pm
Ottawa
ARC Lounge
140 Slater Street

Dubbed the SILOBUSTER, this quarterly social that brings together young professionals from public service, business, and not-for-profit sectors to network, share ideas, build bridges, and talk about a hot public issue, including:

• The economic downturn of course;
• Petro-Canada and Suncor merged;
• GM and Chrysler have been "nationalized";
• Ontario became a have-not province;
• first blue and white - now "green collar" jobs;
• talk of a possible Fall election...

This is a good opportunity to meet other professionals; I have made arrangements to attend, let me know if you are coming so we can share a pint and a great convo.


Leadership

If you don't have time to read Seth Godin's Tribes, you can get pretty much all of it via this talk at TED.


Survey Data

By now you should have been advised via the official channels that the 2008 Public Service Employee Survey Results are now available. I am poking around a little bit seeing if we could open up the data in this survey so we could do some analysis of our own. Let me know if you think you'd be interested and I will keep you informed as to my progress (or lack thereof).


In the News

Apparently the Federal government language tests may have been leaked, and as a result the government is recreating brand new tests and a federal watchdog is homing in on temporary government workers.

Meanwhile, a the Government of Canada has a new Chief Information Officer. You can find a little more info here.

There are a couple of articles worth reading in this month's Canadian Government Executive Magazine, one about the Clerk's campaign for cultural change and an interview with the Deputy Minister of NRCan, Cassie Doyle.

Things Coming Out of PCO

Public Service Renewal Action Plan 2008-2009 is now online. I haven't read it yet but it is on my radar...


Blogs we Like

Peter Cowan blogged about the use of blogs at NRCan on the GTEC blog. This quick read is well worth it. In fact, at the request of a colleague who also read it, I turned his post into a two page deck to illustrate viable business functions of blogs within my department.

Out in Vancouver, David Eaves has been doing some great work to help move the City of Vancouver into an era of open. Read about it on his blog, here and here.

Update: Lack of Round-Ups

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to apologize about the lack of round ups recently but I am suffering from a bit of information overload and just haven't had the time given some of the other things on my plate.

That being said, if for some reason you don't know, Clerk of the Privy Council Kevin Lynch is retiring and being replaced by current Secretary of the Treasury Board Wayne Wouters.

Cheers,

Weekly Column: Online Namespaces, Twitter and #Swineflu

I was strapped for a good idea for a column this week so I put out the question on twitter:


To which I got this reply (and others):


In my presentation a couple of weeks ago I mentioned the need for government departments to at least lay claim to their departmental twitter accounts, even if they weren't ready to use them. Essentially, my argument at the time was that government departments need to circumvent the problem of cybersquatting (or in this case twitter squatting) and the potential for harm to one's brand that could arise there from.

Just how easy is it for someone to lay claim to your department or agency's online namespace? About this easy.

Point proven, right? (Hint, PCO doesn't own that twitter space ...)

Ok so let’s move on to a more in-depth conversation within the context of the twitter-fuelled swine flu panic, which will provide for a more interesting discussion.


A Case Study: Swine Flu Spread by Twitter

While it is obvious that you cannot catch swine flu from Twitter, what you can catch is a greater understanding of the importance of Twitter's ability to spread information quickly, and the subsequent need for government departments and agencies to use Twitter to help shape that spread.

As Evgeny Morozov, a fellow at the Open Society Institute in New York puts it:

Here is a tough question to communication experts out there: how do we reach the digital natives out there, especially those who are only accessible via Facebook and Twitter feeds? The problem is that while thousands of concerned and misinformed individuals took to Twitter to ventilate their fears, government and its agencies were still painfully missing from the social media space; the Twitter of account of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was posting updates once in a few hours -- and that was probably the only really trustworthy source people could turn to online.

Disclaimer

Before I proceed I want to be clear that what follows is by no means intended to be a criticism of PHAC or their handling of the Swine Flu situation. I am simply putting on a citizen engagement via social media observer hat and doing some preliminary and hypothetical analysis.

A Closer Look at PHAC on Twitter

Interestingly, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is already on Twitter. Even more interesting is that PHAC's Twitter account was actually created back in September 18, 2008:



Second, it would seem that their first tweet didn't occur until April 28th:

I can only speculate that the decision to start actively using twitter (rather then just idling the account) has something to do with the perceived demand/need to provide more reliable information on the swine flu via twitter.

Morozov again has some insight:

... In an ideal world, [government organizations] would have established ownership of most online conversations from the very beginning, posting updates as often as they can. Instead, they are now faced with the prospect of thousands of really fearful citizens, all armed with their own mini-platforms to broadcast their fears -- which may cost it dearly in the long term.

The question of whether we need to somehow alter our global information flows during global pandemics is not a trivial one. A recent New York Times piece highlighted how a growing number of corporations like Starbucks, Dell, and Whole Foods are turning to Twitter to monitor and partially shape conversation about particular brands or products. What the piece failed to mention was that conversations about more serious topics (like pandemics- and their tragic consequences) could be shaped as well.

I think that there are three interrelated things worth discussing within the context of PHAC's use of Twitter to disseminate information about Swine Flu, they are (1) frequency, (2) conversation, and (3) trending.


Frequency

PHAC's timeline at the time of writing this column contains seven (7) tweets - all linking to their website. My assumption is that PHAC is only using (or has only approved the use of) Twitter to drive people to press releases. Yet, given the amount of the discussion on Twitter about Swine Flu, a low number of tweets severely limits the agency's exposure and reduces their overall ability to shape the conversation.


Conversation

While writing this column I started to wonder if they would respond to someone who tweeted at them (e.g. engage in two way communication), so I threw them a softy:

4 hours later I have yet to receive a response. In fact they have not responded to any of the tweets directed at them or referencing them.

Truth is that I wasn't expecting a response, because I know how difficult it is to know how to respond to an inquiry via Twitter "as a government organization".

But the truth of the matter is this: the proliferation and expectation of instant communication as facilitated by services such as Twitter and the multi-layered communication approval hierarchies of government just don't mix. One of these things is going to collapse, and my guess is that it will be the latter. Until then, rigid communication policies will ultimately hamstring departments and agencies looking to engage citizens via social media.


Trending

The last thing I think we can learn from PHAC has to do with trending. Let's again examine PHAC's timeline. Looking at PHAC's 7 tweets we see that:

• 4 mention "Swine Influenza"
• 2 mention "swine flu"
• 1 fails to mention swine flu in any variant

These slight variations are important because the majority of people on Twitter are not talking about "Swine Influenza" - they are talking about "swine flu" and "#swineflu" (the latter are both trending topics, while the former is not). The result is that 70% of their tweets are left out of the larger conversation, thus impeding their ability to contribute and shape it.


Conclusion

You may be asking yourself: when my department or agency is facing a communications crisis of pandemic proportions, will it be able to wield social tools with confidence and efficiency in order to engage citizens and shape the conversation?

I think the better question is: Why wait for a crisis to find out?

If you are interested in further reading, Chris Brogan has some great tips for businesses looking to use Twitter, I am confident that they apply to government departments and agencies as well.

And please, at the very least secure your organization's online namespaces before someone less forgiving/honest than I do it for you.

Cheers,

Round Up: Information from the Inside, Blogs We Like, and We Need Your Input

Information from the Inside

Neat info on the Innovation Challenge c/o CISTI Lab. You can view some of the entries' presentations on slideshare, I would encourage you to check out the winning entry at the very least. Well done!

This report, entitled Profile of the Information Specialist is a great resource for anyone interested in Information Management/Information Technology inside the Government of Canada (c/o Library and Archives Canada with a h/t to @pdesrochers for the link.

Blogs We Like

Peter Smith sums it up nicely with his post, This is What You Are Up Against. I really love Peter's ability to just parse out the information in the exact amount that is needed, there is never any fluff, just solid material.

While David Eaves wrote: What the post-bureaucratic era will mean for the public service.

And Etienne Laliberte (now on Twitter) responded to last week's column (make sure you read the comments), you can read his thoughts here.


We Need Your Input

Have you ever wanted to contribute a task team set up by the Clerk of the Privy Council? Here is your chance. I have been invited to sit on a task team being chaired by a Deputy Minister (at the request of the Clerk). Click here to see more details and how to contribute.

Also, Douglas Bastien would like you to hit up GCPEDIA and fill in some information on how your department is blocking your access to the internet.


Cheers, (and thanks to everyone who posts a comment here or gets me via twitter. Your input is appreciated.)

Round Up: Kick Start Your Engagement Engine, Info on the Public Service, Blogs and Blogging, and more!

Looking for a way to jump "kick start your weekly engagement engine" @Cedgell found a way... (!)

... and now on with the show.


On the Public Service

1. PS union files suit against government over 'regressive measures' in budget (or check this podcast c/o CBC Ottawa Morning)
2. MPs focus attention on turnover within PS Committee zeroes in on churn, costly 'classification creep
3. The Honor in Bureaucracy
4. Remarks by Kevin G. Lynch Clerk of the Privy Council to McGill Institute

Finally here is an podcast of a piece on CBC Ottawa Morning on Public Service Leadership Grads.


Blogs and Blogging

1. Public servants have permission to blog, sort of, maybe?
2. Transparency and Finding Information on Government Web Sites and Food for Thought on public servants using social media c/o Peter Smith. Peter finally has his own URL).
3. Congrats Etienne on your 100th blog post.
4. Interested in deep packet inspection? Read this post c/o @canuckflack.

On Social Media

1. The Facebook Generation vs. the Fortune 500
2. Facebook, YouTube at work make better employees: study

Lesson from the Private Sector

1. Top employers let grads experiment

Thanks for stopping by. I still plan on writing a brief weekly column this week even though it's Easter.

Cheers!

Round Up: The Clerk's Report, a New Community of Practice, Social Media, and more!

First, if the the column two weeks ago on the use of Twitter interested you, you may want to read this post about Governments Experimenting with Twitter c/o @davefleet. I also wanted to thank everyone who commented on it, Mike and I had an email exchange regarding the post and the comments but it was hardly rant worthy so I am not sure if sharing it will provide any value to the discussion. Let me know if you want me to post it and I will.


2 Important Reports, and a Video

The Clerk of the Privy Council released his 16th Annual Report to the PM. While I am reserving comment, others have not so feel free to check out some of the MSM coverage. I will say that I think that the best snippet is:

The business of government has become markedly more complex than in the past. Today, almost every department and agency must deal with global challenges, using new tools and asking people to work in new ways – in integrated teams, often across organizational boundaries.

Oh an while you are doing all of this reading, you mine as well also take in the Third Report of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Committee on the Public Service; or some newly minted Reports on Plans and Priorities to learn more about your department (or other departments).

I would also encourage you to watch this video that Doug found on the PCO website and head over to his blog to find some context, again I am reserving comment, but perhaps it has something to do with the hiring spree that I have heard so much about.


New Community of Practice

If you are interested in joining the new GoC Web Analytics Community of Practice there is some must read information here.


Social Media

This is a really neat piece on Social Media and History, maybe that is why the new UK primary curriculum requires children to master Twitter and Wikipedia.

Meanwhile, just to the south, the US Federal Government Signs Deal With YouTube, Flickr and Other Social Sites, and apparently are also rolling a Digg clone.


On Equity in the Public Service:

There are a couple of different sources saying that visible minorities making gains in public service and that the number of minorities in PS higher than reported. While others are reporting that there is something fishy with the data.


Letters

Here is a letter arguing that retired public servants have wisdom to offer and another arguing that Public servants should represent the ideals of a nation.

Cheers!

Round-Up: November 24th

Things inside the GoC

1. PCO put up a power point presentation from a PS Recruitment fair.
2. The fall edition of Its my day is up and running.
3. You probably want to read the speech from the throne if you haven't already. Here is the relevant snippet on Public Service Renewal:

The Public Service of Canada is a key national institution. Public servants inspect our food and police our borders. They deliver programs and services to millions of Canadians in every region of this country, from our largest cities to the most remote Arctic communities. Drawing on the recommendations of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Committee on the Public Service, our Government is committed to the continued renewal of the Public Service.

News

1. Don't ignore value of digital generation
2. PS faces forced wage controls
3. Ottawa public servants face stagnant wages, fewer colleagues
4. Unions need to wake up to the reality of today's economy
5. How clerk's job moved to the centre of power
6. Federal public service faces challenge of renewal
7. Civil service hiring outlook remains healthy

Blogs

1. What's the Fuss Over Leadership? c/o Etienne
2. On-the-Spot Job Offers: Real Solution or Quick Fix? (c/o Etienne - we really like this one!)
3. For What it's Worth c/o Paul Crookall @ CGEM. (I was also @ the Osbaldeston Lecture, I hope to provide my reaction in the future, but in the interim you can get the flavour of the lecture from Paul's blog posting.)

Interesting Armchairs being offered @ CSPS

1. Depression Was Not Part of my Career plan (EN/FR)
2. Bottom Up Change: It Starts with an Individual (EN/FR) (by our Friend Etienne Laliberté)
3. Government Blogging - Best Practices and Tips for Success (by our friend Mike Kujawski)

Other things of interest

1. 10 Ways to Make Office Slacker Pull His Weight

Round-Up October 6

Here is a small editorial from the Sault Star entitled, No need to clam up.

Jessica McDonald, BC's Premier Gordon Campbell's deputy minister and head of the public service gave an interview to the Vancouver Sun. Here is a great excerpt:

"The new generation of workers is less interested in a career with one organization for their whole career than they have been in the past," she said.

"We need to grab hold of these employees in their first year and let them design their career path, rather than just assuming -- the way it was in the past -- that where they started is where they want to be out into the long term."

To really change, she said, the public service needs to shift its attitude from within.

"We want people to feel like their jobs are rewarding, like they actually have some influence over their own work environment and how they can do their job the best," she said.

Frustrated federal prosecutors across Canada are quitting over poor pay coupled with increased work loads.

The National Post came out in favour of less government regulation citing the recent listeriosis outbreak while referencing the CFIA employee who sent a classified document to his union.

Meanwhile, a bureaucrat fighting the Public Service Commission has won the right to remain anonymous.

... and, PSAC has [an] opportunity to elect '[their] employer says Fitzpatrick (c/o Hill Times so a subscrption is required) [Aside: Given, how the party that assumes power will approach its relationship with the public service matters (to both public servants and Canadians in general) but union involvment in this issue makes me a bit uneasy. Does anyone else see this as a potential conflict of interest issue? I assume their is an official policy somewhere on this, if anyone could provide us with a link on we would be happy to share it.]

Government of Canada Offerings

Armchair discussions at the CSPS have resumed. Click here to see their Calendar.

PCO just released a great page on their website, The Role and Structure of the Privy Council Office 2008 -- one stop shop for understanding everything PCO does.


Finally - thanks for all your comments (on the blog) and your emails. It is great to hear from you, keep it up.

Round-Up: September 23

Blogs

Mike Kujawski reports back from Podcamp 2008 in Montreal. Here is the snippet relevant to Public Servants:

My main take away from my own presentation (based on the discussion) was that the government needs to get out of silos and start working together as one entity. There is a ton of existing internal support for better citizen engagement and there are high-level public service renewal initiatives currently underway that social media engagement can easily piggy back on. I have decided to organize something in Ottawa to address this. Stay tuned…

Looking forward to it Mike.

Also, Peter Smith makes a good case for repositioning GoC websites launch pads for content rather then as destinations.

News

Public pressure once again means lower then expected/promised pay increases for Civil Servants in British Columbia.

Events

The Conference Board of Canada is holding a conference in Ottawa in November. The opening address would be of interest but obviously the cost is prohibitive. Here is a snippet from the conference brochure:

Renewal and Change
in the Federal Public Service

Jim Lahey, Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Public Service
Renewal, Privy Council Office

Driven by the service and transparency expectations of citizens, changing demographics and the need to reinvigorate the public sector brand, change is now top of the agenda for leaders in all levels of government and the broader public sector. Kevin Lynch, Clerk of the Privy Council, believes there is a choice between renewal and government “becoming less relevant, less useful and less respected as the years go by.”

Jim Lahey will set the scene with his insights into Canadian Public Service renewal, and how change management is needed at the individual, team, department, and organizational levels.

Weekend Round-Up August 18th

Last week's column apparently turned some heads. Please check the comments (Thanks MC, patricecollin and Etienne Laliberté for your contributions).

FYI we are currently working on pulling together elements of the column and the comments in order to post a follow up weekly on Friday. If you have anything to contribute to that discussion please place a comment on the article and we will try to integrate it into our response.

News

Kathryn May penned an article entitled, PS ordered to hire more minorities. Here is an excerpt:

Each of the new 4,000 recruits must have a personal learning plan, including what training they need to master English or French early in their careers. Mr. Lynch's commitments revolve around planning, recruitment, employee development and enabling infrastructure, the centerpieces of his renewal strategy to ready the public service for the future.

[Update August 19: You can find letters responding to the above article, here, here, and here.]

Canadian Public Service Agency

Window on Values and Ethics is apparently back... and I didn't know they existed.

Round Up: 2008-09 Public Service Renewal Action Plan

[Note that PCO just released the 08-09 PSRAP - see below for details, text courtesy of PCO]

Renewal is a critical priority to ensure that the public service remains a non‑partisan, excellent, diverse and dynamic institution serving Canadians now and into the future. Our approach has been to set specific commitments and goals, year by year, in four priority areas and to assess our progress rigorously.

The Deputy Ministers’ Committee on Public Service Renewal develops an annual Public Service Renewal Action Plan which establishes specific commitments and benchmarks for performance. These actions will advance the four priorities identified by the Clerk of the Privy Council in his Annual Report to the Prime Minister: planning, recruitment, employee development and enabling infrastructure.

• 2008-09 Public Service Renewal Action Plan [ HTML ] [ PDF 51KB ]

• 2007-08 Public Service Renewal Action Plan [ HTML ] [ PDF 62KB ]