In the space of a few decades, the digital revolution has transformed the way we work, the way we connect with friends and family, and the way we educate, inform and entertain ourselves. It has upended and reshaped countless industries, and is beginning to profoundly transform virtually all institutions, from education, healthcare and science, to the very nature of government and democracy. Governments need to keep up or risk becoming obsolete in the digital age, and this is especially true when it comes to supporting Canada’s entrepreneurs and innovators.
Digital technologies enable new modes of human connectivity and new ways of organizing our knowledge and ingenuity to create change. They not only foster low-cost connectivity across borders, but also provide an increasingly rich pallet of data, tools and techniques with which to transform the way governments deliver services to business, reduces administrative burdens and boosts Canada’s innovation performance with high quality, integrated programming to help innovators and entrepreneurs access the capital, advisory services and support they need to prosper in the digital economy. In fact, the opportunities for new innovations, new knowledge and new efficiencies will grow as digital technologies become more powerful and more pervasive.
Against the backdrop of accelerating change, the e-government strategies of the past are no longer good enough. Citizens want full-featured, personalized, mobile-friendly services delivered in a way that is comparable to how they buy goods and services from the private sector. They also expect more meaningful digital engagement in setting policy priorities, greater transparency from elected officials, and for public servants to collaborate and work seamlessly across departments and jurisdictions. In short, today’s citizens expect a smarter government; one that is agile, innovative and laser-focused on meeting their needs. As Canada’s Minister for Digital Government, Scott Brison, has said “…governments cannot be content providing Blockbuster service in a Netflix world.”
Given these heightened expectations, the current wave of digital innovation presents a historic opportunity for the Government of Canada to fundamentally rethink and redesign how it operates, how and what the government provides, and ultimately, how the public sector in Canada interacts and engages with its citizens and partners in business, government and society.
The DEEP Centre focuses its research on research on policies that can foster entrepreneurship, innovation and technology-enabled growth and prosperity. So how could the Government of Canada can harness digital transformation to better support its growing population of entrepreneurs and innovators? Here are a couple of key priorities:
• Deliver world class services for business by creating an increased ability to re-imagine and re-engineer traditional services in a way that delivers better outcomes and a better end-user experience;
• Enable better coordination across departments and sectors, improve information sharing, coordinate funding and engage more regularly with stakeholders to better understand their needs and challenges;
• Build a modern workforce that can leverage the latest advances in technology, whether that be big data analytics, blockchain or artificial intelligence; and
• Streamline processes and find new efficiencies to free up resources to focus on other areas where the public service can create added value for Canadian entrepreneurs, innovators, and business owners.
An investment in building world-class digital capabilities inside government will have generous payoffs. Canadian entrepreneurs and businesses will benefit from easier access to modern digital services tailored to their needs. It will also enable more convenient online or mobile engagement between the public and their elected officials on key economic policy issues. With a few clicks, policy makers will be able to tap the expertise of diverse participants and glean important insights from a growing accumulation of open data. Businesses will see dividends in digitally enabled business support programs, in streamlined administrative processes, and the use of less costly digital channels.
Digital transformation will yield softer benefits that are no less important. By closing the digital innovation gap with the private sector, for example, Canada can boost public confidence and rekindle citizen engagement. Creating a more innovative, tech-savvy work environment will help the public service attract and retain a highly skilled workforce. A more agile and effective public service is also a key differentiator in making Canada an attractive destination for business investment and the creation of jobs and prosperity.
Across each of these priorities, the Government of Canada’s digital journey will entail transforming business and organizational models, processes, and competencies to create a superior value proposition for businesses and other stakeholders of government. Digital transformation, after all, is not just about modernizing the department’s technology and tools. It is a journey of adopting appropriate digital technologies to change how we work to provide public value in the digital economy.
An important lesson from digital government leaders is that a vital part of the journey is the organizational commitment to change management — to fostering a departmental culture that puts users first, to collaborating across departmental silos, and to modernizing policies and governance structures to enable innovation and experimentation.
For this change to take root in Canada, government leaders in policy, HR, legal, technology and communications will all have come to the table and participate fully in making the digital agenda successful. Public service employees need to feel that they are on the same journey and to keep focused on being a high performing team. It is truly a time when either the Government of Canada plays an active and positive role in its own transformation, or change will happen to it. The transformation process is at the same time exhilarating and painful, but the price of inaction is a lost opportunity for Canada to redefine its role in economic leadership and help launch a new era of digital government.