For government innovation to take off, it needs to break out of the lab
A single team or lab could never create the volume of ideas needed to make hundreds of small improvements in all aspects of a complex organisation. That became obvious to me while working for the New Zealand Post. I was in the Total Quality Service team, which had a year to develop comprehensive strategies to...
Why government disaster recovery shouldn’t be daunting
I was hosting a meeting recently when I received an urgent call. “Mr. Kratz, this is ADT Security. An alarm has been triggered at your home and we are dispatching the fire department immediately.” Luckily, I knew there were contractors working at the house and after quickly confirming that the house wasn’t ablaze, I thanked...
Digital Reinvention addresses citizens expectation
Citizens are embracing technology as it rapidly changes. The experience that they are receiving from this adoption has created an expectation that they are looking for their government to meet. This demand from citizens is pushing governments to create personalized experiences for services similar to what citizens are getting through traditional means like shopping online....
Cultivating more intelligent government has long been a hallmark of public sector reform, as more agile and learning-based forms of governance are essential to innovation. The rise of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is an extension of this logic – albeit with one important difference. In place of human ingenuity, the machines take charge. Well, perhaps not...
Public sector innovation buzzwords: translating jargon into plain English
Innovation labs and units have become so fashionable in the public sector that the question “Have we reached peak lab?” has become a cliché. From MindLab’s ideation pod to Louisville’s digital badges , the culture of innovation is spreading. But despite their popularity, innovators have to admit one failing: they are simply not good at defining what it is...
Today’s global and local environments require public servants at all levels of government to explore and undertake innovative and even transformative changes. The desire and in some cases the demand for innovation is prevalent in the discourse of duly elected politicians, their senior public sector leaders and in many cases from citizens themselves. The desire...
Stepping up to the smart cities challenge
Welcome to the era of Smart Cities where connectivity will drive your daily commute, where internet infrastructure will be as critical as any bridge, hospital or highway in guaranteeing a safe, accessible, healthy and prosperous community for you and your family. Technology and data will be the new tools for urban planners to improve the...
Skills Development and Digital Literacy
As the world grows more digital – and increasingly mobile – workforce development inside of government and digital literacy across all of society are interrelated challenges facing all countries. Government’s threefold task is to: first, nurture new skill sets for its own employee base (comprising multiple and distinct demographic segments); second, innovate and incentivize the...
Federal efforts to increase the use of data to inform and improve services may soon cross paths with parallel efforts at the municipal level. Smart City strategies have been gaining momentum worldwide. A Smart City uses information and communication technology to manage a city’s assets, such as public transportation or power systems. Using sensors and...
Better service to Canadians, the mindset of government
Transforming the way services are provided by governments to match the extent people are interacting with technology is a top priority for any government. Citizens have come to expect and demand that their governments change with the rapid advancement of technology to equal the digital methods they are accustomed to in their everyday lives. This...
