Canadian Government Executive - Volume 24 - Issue 06

December 2018/January 2019 // Canadian Government Executive / 23 DIGITAL GOVERNMENT I magine your favorite world class service pro- vider replacing the Board of Directors and key executives with people without any experi- ence in managed services. Then limit the pro- vider’s authorities to use their own funds or execute projects with the condition that key decisions for most routine business must go to another company, which has its own bureaucracy, priorities and little background in the provider’s industry. Then take cer- tain procurement authority and put it in yet another company. All the while, your organization is held to the same expectations as other world class providers for delivering its services. Obviously, our provider would go out of business. Unfortunately, this is the situation of IT in the Government of Canada. Howev- er, if we organize and operate more like world class providers, we would be a very innovative, effective and efficient environment while accommodating the accountabilities of government.