Canadian Government Executive - Volume 24 - Issue 06

December 2018/January 2019 // Canadian Government Executive / 19 DIGITAL GOVERNMENT there’s much to share; for example, Digi- tal 9 member Estonia has fully embraced digital, establishing a secure national digi- tal identity and e-services for important government operations. 2. Shifting the Focus to the Citizen Experience To deliver fundamental change, Canada must take an outside-in perspective, put- ting the citizen (i.e. their behaviours and their preferences) at the heart of digital transformation. This is easier said than done, if you con- sider that the government isn’t really or- ganized to deal with the citizen as a single person: one agency may deal with them as a taxpayer, another department as an individual that requires income security benefits, another as someone who needs a passport, etc. Again, there’s a lot underway to make operations more citizen-centric. Blueprint 2020 sets the vision for world class public service and is intended to get rid of silos and take a whole government approach that enhances service delivery to clients. And internally, it creates a modern work- place and workforce. As another example, the federal govern- ment’s Benefits Finder tool helps citizens get a customized list of federal or provin- cial/territorial benefits they’re eligible for, without them having to know which de- partment offers the benefit. Internally, the government launched GC Workplace to create a work environment that supports the way employees want to work regard- less of their roles, rank or demographics, with a focus on flexibility and mobility. Being agile is critical. Rather than wait- ing for perfection, it’s important to “learn fast and fail faster,” making ideas and po- tential solutions useable by getting them in front of people quickly to see how they react. The best insights and ideas come from observation; solutions can be opti- mized and refined with every iteration. This agile framework is the methodology that our global network of firms has used with municipal, provincial and federal public sector organizations in our PwC Ex- perience Centres. 3. Collaborate through Partnerships Government, like the private sector, should leverage the power of partnerships because it’s not efficient or effective to do otherwise. Today, there are many initia- tives in the works to harness expertise, tal- ent and technologies to transform govern- ment services. For instance, the federal government has earmarked up to $950 million for the Innovation Superclusters Initiative that incentivizes large-scale collaboration and focuses on enhancing labour force talent and technology leadership, including digi- tal skills. Also, PwC Canada is working with Bay- view Yards and the Information Technol- ogy Association of Canada to establish a Canadian ‘govtech’ innovation hub. This would accelerate the development and adoption of digital solutions and innova- tive technology across the public service. Start-ups and small businesses, as well as multinational technology firms, will ben- efit from and develop new ‘govtech’ busi- ness. Associated export opportunities and talent development could be significant for the Canadian economy. 4. Protect Citizen Data Keeping citizens at the centre of digital transformation means consistently deliv- ering secure services that instill a sense of confidence among Canadians. Whether they’re paying their taxes or applying for a license online, Canadians want to know they can trust their government to keep their information private and secure. To deliver on this, governments need to be transparent about how they use and safeguard personal information and help guide the market on cybersecurity mea- sures. Ensuring trust is also of critical im- portance as emerging technologies like ar- tificial intelligence and machine learning consume citizen data. Looking Ahead Digital government done right is within our grasp. While technology is critical, it’s much more than that. Digital transforma- tion is about the experience we create for people – experiences that generate new, enduring and evolving value. It’s about fo- cusing on the citizen experience, building partnerships, embracing more agile prac- tices, and instilling confidence and trust among Canadians. L ori W atson is PwC Canada’s Federal Government Leader in Ottawa. H eather M eek is a PwC Director focused on Government Service Transformation. Keeping citizens at the centre of digital transformation means consistently delivering secure services that instill a sense of confidence among Canadians.