Canadian Government Executive - Volume 25 - Issue 03

22 / Canadian Government Executive // August/September 2019 DIGITAL By Heather Simpson of all levels of Canadian government How giving public servants the right tools can help foster greater innovation and improve the citizen experience Raising the digital IQ I n June of last year, I returned to my roots. After eight years in Toronto, consulting for private sector com- panies, I moved back to Ottawa and the public sector. As I re-acquaint myself with colleagues, clients and federal government priorities, I am struck by the unique headwinds my public sector cli- ents face. It takes a spark to ignite innovation but so much more to keep it burning. That’s certainly the case with Canada’s public sector. There’s no shortage of strong in- tentions and good ideas when it comes to innovation, but what’s often lacking is the capability, capacity and risk tolerance to foster and sustain it. Innovating within the machinery of gov- ernment has its unique challenges, but it’s far from impossible. Raising the digital IQ of public servants can drive innovations that better align with citizen expectations. But as our public sector leaders talk about agile adoption and a digital workforce, they can’t stop there. Innovating in a risk averse culture In other industries, the notion of “fail fast, learn fast” is lauded and applauded. But failing in a public environment can be just that: very, very public. Our recent Digital IQ report identified a clear “say-do” gap between what ex- ecutives in Canada say about skills gaps and what they are actually doing to close those gaps. On the one hand, 27% of Ca- nadian executives say the lack of suitably skilled teams is the top barrier to suc- cess in digital initiatives. On the other hand, they aren’t investing to upskill their teams, believing instead that they can hire their way out of the skills gap or that the educational pipeline will fill it in. Their global counterparts, by contrast, are more inclined to upskill existing tal- ent, according to the 22nd annual CEO Survey. These gaps, which are evident in the public sector as well, are only a few of the challenges facing senior managers in gov-