Canadian Government Executive - Volume 23 - Issue 1

Our mission is to contribute to excellence in public service management Editorial Editor-in-Chief: Patrice Dutil patrice@promotivemedia.ca www.patricedutil.com Associate Editor: Marcello Sukhdeo marcello@promotivemedia.ca Editorial Advisory Board Vic Pakalnis, Mirarco, Laurentian University; Denise Amyot, CEO, ACCC; Guy Gordon, Manitoba; Peter Jones, OCADU; Murray Kronick, BDO-Interis Consulting; Michael Eastman, Government Internal Auditors Council of Canada; Peter Stoyko sales VP Content & Business Strategy: Marcello Sukhdeo 905-727-3875 x4 marcello@promotivemedia.ca Vice President, Sales: Terri Pavelic 905-727-3875 x2 terri@promotivemedia.ca Events Director, Social Content & Events: Laskey S. Hart 905-727-3875 x5 laskey@promotivemedia.ca art & production Art Director: Elena Pankova elena@promotivemedia.ca Subscriptions and Address Changes Circulation Director: Mary Labao 905-841-7389 circulation@promotivemedia.ca General Inquiries 1-226 Edward Street, Aurora, ON, L4G 3S8 Phone 905-727-3875 Fax 905-727-4428 www.canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca corporate Group Publisher: John Jones john@promotivemedia.ca Publisher’s Mail Agreement: 40052410 ISSN 1203-7893 Canadian Government Executive magazine is published 10 times per year by Navatar Press. All opinions expressed herein are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or any person or organization associated with the magazine. Letters, submissions, comments and suggested topics are welcome, and should be sent to patrice@promotivemedia.ca Reprint Information: Reproduction or photocopying is prohibited without the publisher’s prior written consent. High quality reprints of articles and additional copies of the magazine are available through circulation@promotivemedia.ca. Privacy Policy: We do not sell our mailing list or share any confidential information on our subscribers. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. www.canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca 4 / Canadian Government Executive // January 2017 The Problem of “Culture” You don’t have to talk much about the public sector before the discussion turns to the state of its “culture.” It’s a topic as current in the hallways of academia as it is in the corridors of the public service. People complain about it, get angry about it, do very little about it. There are exceptions, of course. Now and again genuine leaders emerge; people with a generosity of spirit and energy to match. People with ideas and enough resolve to actually change procedures and maybe some minds. Inevitably, they move on and the work environment gets depressed again. CGE celebrates these champions in every issue, and this one is no exception. You can see it in my interview with Chrystia Chudczak. Her energy and ambitions for the In- novations Lab in the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) just shines through, and she’s tough on the culture of the public sector. Wayne MacDonald writes about how much time, energy and creativity goes into pro- gram evaluations, and asks why more is not done to carry through on their findings. The answer, in part, is money. It is also, in part, politics. Not least it is, in part, the fault of a culture of complacency. Like him, I see some progress, but I have to say I really like his bold idea of appointing an Evaluator General. Imagine that: an officer of parliament who would report on program evaluations carried out in the government and what has been done about them. That kind of idea can actually make a data-driven government a reality for our time. It would change the culture and expose those who block change. Bob Lahey knows this stuff, and has long chronicled the evolution of RBM in Ottawa and elsewhere. You remember Results-based Management? It’s been put on steroids and labelled “Deliverology”. We like it, but we’re suspicious. Does it really have the legs to shape the culture in Canada’s capital and regional offices? Can it actually change things? Marcello Sukhdeo writes about a new venture, TeachOntario, the product of a new, revitalized partnership between teachers and the educational broadcaster in Ontario to help teachers improve their skills and knowledge. It raises optimism that things can change. Gilles Paquet, a vieux routier on these trails, is among the suspicious. He thinks that culture is at the heart of everything, but also that much of the civil service’s culture has to change. Like many experts, he considers that the best way to change a culture is to hire different kind of people, and here he has a bold idea (he calls it a modest proposal!): to get outsiders to participate in making employment decisions. He would favour involving stakeholders, suppliers, collaborators to have a say in who gets hired. For Paquet, there would be no more efficient way to get the capital to change its ways. I like the idea, too. It’s worth a try. Otherwise, any change will be temporary, and there has to be a deep cultural change in the halls of the public service in order to make it more responsive to the changes of the world. Nenad Reva brings to light the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that were adopted by Heads of States and Governments at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015. These cannot be achieved without a new collaborative partnership … and a change of culture. We introduce a new department this month: Peter Stoyko’s Eye Cues. He presents a new sort of graphic messaging that combines policy and communications expertise, one I know our readers will appreciate. editor’s note Patrice Dutil web