Canadian Government Executive - Volume 26 - Issue 04

September/October 2020 // Canadian Government Executive / 7 TECHNOLOGY C anada is home to over three million civil servants, many of whom have greatly contribut- ed to the country’s societal co- hesion and economic growth over the last 153 years. But in recent years, digital disruption stands to jeopardize the public sector’s ability to fulfill the core of its mandate: serving a population of near- ly 40 million people. COVID-19 has vastly shifted the role of government, right down to the way it func- tions. In the years prior to the pandemic, there has been widespread concern sur- rounding the delivery of government pro- grams, given budgetary resources have been consumed by simply ‘keeping the lights on’ rather than innovation or improv- ing the public’s experience. The current COVID-19 global pandemic is driving an experiment in remote work at a scale never seen before. For public sector technology, the COVID-19 crisis can be seen as a large beta test. The global pandemic did more than just send thousands of Canadian civil servants to work remotely within a matter of days. It also revealed a growing digital divide that persists within many federal, provincial, and municipal departments and agencies. Numerous public sector em- ployees faced immediate challenges when trying to work from home – from legacy IT infrastructures that lacked the necessary bandwidth to support entire departments online to insufficient access to necessary hardware – laptops, tablets, and software platforms to facilitate employee collabora- tion and business as usual productivity. Gartner estimates by 2023, over 80 per cent of government digital implementa- tions that don’t build on a technology plat- form will fail to meet objectives. Enabling a robust, digitally-driven Canadian public sector from coast to coast is not only nec- essary but highly advantageous. A digital- first approach to government operations provides cost-effective feedback through a variety of mechanisms. From personalized and customizable services that provide a positive, retail experience among stake- holders and citizens to modern information technology infrastructure that can facilitate growth and lend a hand in retaining top tal- ent, enabling a digital-first workforce will produce many tangible benefits. As the focus shifts towards recovery throughout much of the country, it has become even more important and timely for the Canadian public sector to embrace an information-driven foundation for its transformation that is grounded in new skills development for government work- ers and a citizen-focused model. This digi- tally-driven transformation will empower the Canadian civil service to enhance its productivity and build resilience through- out its operations during these uncertain times that lie ahead. Upskilling for the future The need to modernize information tech- nology is clear. Research in the UK reveals, 40 per cent of public sector organizations do not have the right skills in place to adapt to the digital transformation needed to meet their mission. The shift in remote work for many government employees has highlighted the importance of digital transformation in the public sector. In a recent report by the IDC on the Future of Work, workers require technologies that enable them to properly fulfill their mis- sion when faced with uncertain work en- vironments. Digital skills can no longer be viewed as a requirement for information technologists or engineers – it must be- come a standard required for all staff, es- pecially those at the leadership level. PwC estimates that approximately 35 per cent of public sector jobs globally could be at risk of being replaced by automation with- in the next decade. Upskilling opportuni- ties for Canadian public sector workers will help bridge the digital divide that will facilitate a workforce that is able to meet future challenges and remain accountable to the citizens and stakeholders it serves. From silo to citizen-facing Most government work is defined by or- ganizational department functions and processes that are highly reactive and cap- tured in nature. Agencies and departments need a coherent platform to optimize pro- cesses, share information and work with partners and stakeholders more effective- ly. A recent Accenture survey of 5,000 citi- zens from multiple countries worldwide revealed 67 per cent of respondents want governments to make it easier to interact with digital services. More than half of respondents (51 per cent) said they would increase their use of government digital services if offered a single portal to access multiple services. Using a digital platform provides gov- ernment staff with a single point of access to all relevant information and documen- tation. By utilizing an intelligently auto- mated, content-rich platform, government workers can connect processes and deliver new digital experiences without sacrific- ing information technology workload. In particular, this type of platform offers nu- merous opportunities to expand worker productivity, including: • Case Management: Giving workers ready access to the systems, content, and people that help them move cases for- ward. • Low-Code Development: Leveraging drag-and-drop modeling and pre-built building blocks to accelerate application development. • Process Intelligence: Providing visibility into operational status information and business insights for digital process au- tomation through dashboards and data exploration capabilities. • Enterprise Integrations: Integrating with other leading business applications and diverse systems to make informa- tion from all systems of record accessible to digital process applications. • Run anywhere on the cloud: Utilizing a cloud-native containerized platform that vastly simplifies updates and accelerates the introduction of new features to end- users. By implementing a digital platform infrastructure, departments and agencies at all three levels of government can work closely with partners to reduce the cost of innovation while accelerating the speed of delivery.