Hear what people are saying: Examples of Ideas to Achieve the Vision

1. Innovative Practices and Networking

Staff at the Department of Finance Canada, Transport Canada and many other organizations hope to foster a culture where support for risk taking, experimentation and innovation are encouraged, and even rewarded. Many public servants have expressed an interest in innovation labs, idea competitions, and other forums.

“The Public Service needs to create a space that is our sandbox, where we get to try new things out, see what works and adopt whatever sticks at little to no risk.”
– Scott McNaughton, GCconnex

Contributors to GCconnex, as well as many others, would like access to a government-wide database of searchable information that allows employees to learn from and build upon work done by colleagues. At the Canadian Human Rights Commission for example, people raised the idea of creating a shared inventory of government-wide human rights initiatives.

“ (…) the key to a world class Public Service requires more efficient and effective collaboration within organizations and between departments. It requires the sharing of best practices, the sharing of resources, the use of relevant technology, and support from senior leaders.”
– Saskatchewan Federal Council Interim Report

“GC2020 Report: ‘Open and networked should be just as much about culture as it is technology.”
– James Gilbert
@wirecrats, Twitter

“The Public Service functions most effectively in an open and horizontally networked environment where best practices are broadly shared.”
– Pacific Federal Council Interim Report

Opportunities to work more closely with external contributors and use various public feedback tools were also highlighted. The Canada Border Services Agency is strengthening its relationships with academic and international partners as part of its Border Modernization Initiative. Employees at the Canadian Transportation Agency suggest holding joint consultations with other departments as a way of increasing engagement and improving transparency with clients and stakeholders. Regional Federal Councils have emphasized the important role that regional offices play in disseminating information, engaging the Canadian public, and implementing programs.

“The Blueprint 2020 vision is an opportunity to grow public interest in our projects and to open new channels for public servants to produce bigger and better results.”
– Health Canada Interim Report

“We need a new mindset if Blueprint 2020 is to be brought to life—we need a change management process that is as audacious as the vision.”
– Treasury Board Secretariat Interim Report

Neil Armstrong, Jean Boisvert, Steve Faught and
Lachet Lepage from Canada Border Services Agency at
GTEC 2013, a Government of Canada technology
conference.

2. Processes and Empowerment

A number of contributors to GCconnex as well as a broad range of organizations from large departments to small agencies such as the Military Grievances External Review Committee want to streamline central agency reporting requirements.

“Employees need to feel empowered to make decisions and take actions to do their jobs.”
– Western Economic Diversification Interim Report

”Make strong connections between leadership and operational employees. This takes a significant effort, but the payback is a culture shift that is built on trust, innovation and inspiration.”
– Tracy Hayden, GCconnex

Many employees in organizations such as Public Works and Government Services Canada are suggesting ways to help make the workplace more efficient, e.g., reducing the number of steps in internal approval processes. They also propose to build on their horizontal services by centralizing systems, processes and, potentially, support personnel to address common solutions in human resources, finance, pay and other administrative support functions.

Employees of Employment and Social Development Canada, the Financial Transactions and Report Analysis Centre of Canada, and others suggest there is potential in creating a single Government of Canada account or portal for clients to access all federal services. Public Safety Canada staff also had many ideas about streamlining approval processes and increasing use of social media, as well as some unique ideas for their portfolio such as simplifying procedures for government-wide security clearance and passes for employees to access federal buildings.

“Build a single government portal for businesses, supported by a mobile application.”
– Industry Canada Interim Report

Public servants at Canadian Heritage and Environment Canada would like to explore participatory management approaches. This would allow employees to be more involved in decision making, and promote motivation, a sense of pride, and a better understanding of priorities and the broader context.

“The vision is both a way out of burdensome administration procedures such as paper signatures, and a way into new ways of doing business (…) that encourage mobility and serve both Headquarters and regional offices’ needs.”
– Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada Interim Report

3. Technology

Many employees at Infrastructure Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Statistics Canada and others are looking for common systems across the Public Service, including collaborative document management tools such as GCdocs and SharePoint.

“Provide connective technology (e.g. tablets, Blackberries, etc.) to all employees to enable connection to a universal information management cloud, accessible from everywhere.”
– Public Works and Government Services Canada Interim Report

Feedback from the Federal Youth Network shows that many want to remove barriers to social media tools to help build trust and employee engagement, and support an open and networked environment.

Statistics Canada and GCconnex participants have raised the idea of a government-wide app store to enable employees to more rapidly access technologies to meet their needs.

“Although this is only the beginning of the dialogue, what is clear is that there is a strong demand for the use of IT and other tools to foster stronger collaboration both with stakeholders and within the Public Service itself.”
– Citizenship and Immigration Canada Interim Report  

Participants on GCconnex, in departments such as the Treasury Board Secretariat, and in communities like the National Managers Community also suggest there would be benefit in having a centralized search function for government information.

Employees at the Canada Revenue Agency and the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat recognize the link between technology and better internal collaboration, and would welcome tools such as a cloud work system, videoconferencing on laptops, open information databases, and collaboration software.

Staff from the Network for Aboriginal Peoples Champion Circle and the Veterans Review and Appeal Board note that the use of technology should be balanced. While support for new technologies should be provided where needed, public servants will still need face-to-face forums to engage with each other and the public.

“GoC [to be] seen as a leader in the use and successful implementation of technology solutions that reduce redundancy and deliver better value for money (now that is very government talk).....so we are using tech tools that work, are current/ leading and make sense.”
– Holly Grenier, GCconnex

4. People Management

Staff in organizations such as Health Canada, Correctional Services Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency, representatives of the Human Resources Community, as well as participants on GCconnex call for new approaches to managing talent through job rotations, training opportunities and other ways to build competencies and gain experience across different policy and program areas. They call for improvements to people management skills and suggest broader use of 360-degree feedback in the performance assessments of managers and leaders.

“HR processes must be modernized. (…) Too many processes are cancelled, or take much too long. Can more processes be run effectively and efficiently government-wide? Can departments open up their pools more? More uniform job descriptions are needed with focus on core competencies. Let’s think like a community, not as many individual departments.”
– Parole Board of Canada Interim Report

“We need new hybrid skills that will bridge the two solitudes of science and policy, and will broker knowledge for the use of all Canadians.
– Public Health Agency of Canada Interim Report

Beyond traditional training opportunities, employees in organizations such as the Public Service Commission, Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency are interested in mentorship, job shadowing or increased assignment opportunities, while Industry Canada staff and external stakeholders would like to explore options for interchange programs.

People at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Department of Finance Canada, Department of Justice Canada, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and many other organizations and communities are interested in exploring the use of tiger teams and matrix organizations to draw talent from across government to tackle special projects and provide short-term development opportunities.

“We all need to look at our career as employee[s] of the Public Service, not just an employee of our department.”
– Ontario Federal Council Interim Report

Employees of numerous organizations such as Public Works and Government Services Canada and Elections Canada are placing increased priority on the use of flexible work arrangements, such as remote work, to advance productivity and work-life balance.

External stakeholders, departments and communities alike are interested in recruitment and highlighting the Public Service as an employer of choice. Staff at Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada and the Aboriginal Executive Network would like enhanced programs dedicated to attracting Aboriginal students to the Public Service. Many in organizations such the Department of Canadian Heritage and the National Energy Board want staffing processes to be simplified and accelerated.

“We do a great job of telling employees that ‘you have to manage your own career’, but we don’t do a very good job of defining what that means or giving employees the tools to do it. For that reason (…) we should actively encourage people to assess their strengths, preferences, likes, etc. At a minimum, this should be done through the performance assessment/learning process.”
– GCconnex user

5. Fundamentals of Public Service

Members of the Persons with Disabilities Champions and Chairs Committee call for increased awareness of accessibility and accommodation issues and a centralized, enterprise-wide approach, especially when it comes to support tools and technology.

“Respect…professionalism, competency, expertise and their time. Give credit to people for doing a good job.”
– Yvette Fung, GCconnex

For representatives of the Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions, linguistic duality is an opportunity to drive excellence, leadership, respect, and inclusiveness, with a Public Service that is fully equipped to support Canadians in both official languages.

Employees at Infrastructure Canada, the National Energy Board, and many others feel strongly about taking pride in the Public Service, creating a stronger brand and sharing success stories, in order to better communicate the Public Service’s contribution to the public good and address poor perceptions often raised in the media.

“For the department, the Blueprint initiative is an opportunity to pursue an ongoing dialogue at all levels of our organization about our transformation and modernization agenda. It is also about how each of us as public servants – employees, managers and leaders – can continue to serve Canadians with distinction and excellence, now and in the future.”
– Citizenship and Immigration Canada Interim Report

“The best culture we can aspire to is one that actively promotes and practices fearless advice at all levels and at all intervals; a culture that relies less on establishing passive protocols and more on actively engaging people.”
– Nick Charney, GCconnex