Canadian Government Executive - Volume 26 - Issue 05

12 / Canadian Government Executive // November/December 2020 TECHNOLOGY By Brian Chidester Emerging trends in government tech following COVID-19 I n Canada, and across the globe, efficient governments have tradi- tionally been characterized by bal- anced budgets, rational spending, and transparency. As we adapt to our “new normal,” we see ourselves shift- ing into a digital transformation at the speed of light across all industries. But what does this mean for the public sector? What then is next for a series of institu- tions at the federal, provincial, and munic- ipal levels that have historically struggled with advancing technological practices? Earlier in January of this year, I made some predictions about what would hap- pen in government tech this year. That was before the massive worldwide im- pact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we emerge into a new world, we can marvel at the progress public sector organizations across the globe are making. Technology has played a pivotal role in government response, so what trends can we expect to see as we look towards the future? Digital transformation is accelerating The COVID-19 response has highlighted both the best and worst in government. While many achievements have been re- markable, there are plenty of instances where legacy technologies within many agencies have hampered the ability to deliver new, digital services that citizens require. Understanding this, the Canadian gov- ernment has narrowed in on digital growth plans, even before the pandemic. In 2018, the Treasury Board Canada Secretariat launched a Digital Operations Strategic Plan, a series of digital government innova- tions with the goal to utilize “modern and emerging technologies to deliver better digital services to Canadians.” The plan is setting the stage across the federal public service by implementing digital standards with the Canadian people, the ‘users,’ at the center of its approach. However, COVID-19 has accelerated this transformation across the entire country. For instance, Accenture recently noted, “The Canadian Government’s IT service organization, Shared Services Canada, has moved forward with an en- terprise approach. This initiative is fo- cused on helping federal employees to embrace digital tools that are designed to enhance their productivity and enable better collaboration across departments to deliver the essential services Canadi- ans need.” In the United States, the country is ex- periencing the same digital renaissance. In a recent podcast, Suzette Kent, the former U.S. Federal CIO, conveyed to me, “COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of digital transformation. But this isn’t a short-term thing. Government CIOs have seen what we can achieve, in areas such as teleworking, cybersecurity, and digital services. A lot of folks that were resistant saying ‘we can’t do this this way’ are now asking: ‘why didn’t we do this before?” What next for the public sector?