There's a lot that can be improved around GC policy as written & delivered today: how it is produced (co-developed given privilege); the language it uses (plain, folx, plain); the way it is communicated (if it's a system, show the system); standardization where possible... Critique of it is necessary & welcome from the ppl impacted by those policies as well as those who've set themselves the task of providing critiques - that's how policy can get better.

It's Saturday morning in Ottawa. Snow's a blowing and you're still in your comfies - looks cold outside.

Gather close to the fire for a story - a tale as old as time. Program gets the brief to transform & modernize its services to people, incl. digital infrastructure. Program does fish, cars, medical devices, parks, etc. but does not staff a change management nor communications function.

PSA: Avoid stakeholder engagement theatre, & instead use $ to add CRM functionality, the people who use your GC services will thank you because you will have removed a critical friction point [giving all y'all feedback on services delivered sub-optimally]. Also, don't sink $$ into investments that don't provide value add. That is not good stewardship of the public purse.

Push back against mgmt that asks you to do this, be the peoples in Canada representative. Advocate for them.

Digital transformation...oh boy do we go on about it (guilty!).

Someone said 'it's bigger than service design!'

Well, yes. But also no.

We are east to build services for peoples in Canada that are simple, easy-to-use, and trustworthy.

Also, open and transparent. Don't forget that we wish to demonstrate evidence-based decision-making, which means using data as a strategic asset. And making (most) of that data available for others to use.i

When we hire ECs to draft policy, those ppl have, typically, years of experience in policy &program settings. And they call on program experts for key input throughout the drafting process. Lots in int. and ext. engagement. Brief up & adjust down. Iterate, iterate, iterate. Such embedded training and capability development, over years.

Frankly, we can't say the same for digital transformation file. Most ppl fall into it, have the file 'dumped' on them, or lost the musical chairs game.