Leading Questions

On this episode of Leading Questions LIVE, Siobhan Benita speaks to Dominic Rochon, chief information officer for Canada. They discuss Dominic’s broad mandate, which includes service delivery, security and privacy, as well as his current priorities such as improving digital services, enhancing cybersecurity, and modernising legacy systems. Dominic touches upon Canada’s past technological failures and controversies, and stresses the role of collaboration, both within government and with provincial governments and the private sector, to bring public services into a new era of human-centred service design. The conversation also covers how to professionalise the digital workforce and implement more agile procurement practices to keep pace with technological advancements. “In the financial world…chief financial officers have to get certifications and have to keep those certifications up to date,” Rochon said. “In the federal government, that is not the case for the digital world. I'd like to explore how we get to that, particularly given how fast technology is evolving.” He highlights how such an approach is particularly needed if government is to make the most of artificial intelligence, for example. This episode also previews AccelerateGOV, Global Government Forum’s annual conference held in Ottawa, where digital leaders from around the world gather to discuss how governments can overcome challenges to realise the opportunities of digital transformation. Listen to the podcast in full to hear about how Dominic is leading the way to making digital transformation happen. Public servants can register free to attend  AccelerateGOV,  taking place at the Shaw Centre on 21 October.

In this episode of Leading Question, recorded with a live online audience, a panel of Global Government Forum experts delve into the findings of its research into the key characteristics needed for a modern public service. The Making Government Work report identifies five key pillars of a modern civil service, which are: ·       Strong leadership with mutual respect and alignment between ministers and senior officials ·       Building a highly skilled, inclusive and thriving public sector workforce. ·       Fostering an agile, digital, and risk-taking culture focused on delivery. ·       Implementing working structures that transcend organisational silos. ·       Cultivating a service trusted by its users and the public. The report is the culmination of interviews with 12 senior civil service leaders from around the world, and comes in response to requests from leaders at Global Government Forum’s annual Global Government Summit for a comprehensive “blueprint” for government that could consolidate and expand key knowledge shared over the past decade. In the conversation, report authors Richard Johnstone, Siobhan Benita and Lord Gus O’Donnell discuss the elements of each of these pillars, setting out the findings from this unique research. Listen now for an unprecedented primer on the key issues that governments around the world are facing. For civil servants looking to understand how to cultivate a service trusted by individual users and the public at large, this discussion is essential listening. Read our Making Government Work report here. Thank you to the leaders who took part in this study: ·       Glyn Davis, secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Australia ·       Donna Cadogan, head, public service, Barbados ·       John Hannaford, clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to the Cabinet, Canada ·       Taimar Peterkop, state secretary, Estonia ·       Henrik Haapajärvi, former state secretary to the prime minister, Finland ·       Claire Landais, secretary general of the government, France ·       Haryomo Dwi Putranto, acting chair, Indonesian National Civil Service Agency, Indonesia ·       John Callinan, secretary general of Department of Taoiseach and Government, Ireland ·       Folasade Yemi-Esan, head of the civil service of the Federation, Nigeria (retired 14 August) ·       Leo Yip, head of civil service and permanent secretary (Prime Minister’s Office), Singapore ·       Simon Case, cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, United Kingdom ·       Dustin Brown, deputy assistant director for Management, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President, United States (at time of interview).

In this special edition of Global Government Forum’s Leading Questions podcast, which is based on a GGF webinar held in September, we look at the key issues in the upcoming United States presidential election. Join Siobhan Benita as she discuss the key issues of the campaign with Dr Thomas Gift, the associate professor of political science and director of the Centre on US Politics (CUSP) at UCL, and Kevin R. Kosar, a resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Listen to this podcast to find out: The key issues shaping the campaign. The policy priorities being set out by the parties. The early actions that the next president will likely take.

In a new episode of Leading Questions, Richard Johnstone, the executive editor of Global Government Forum, interviews Dr Dan Honig, professor of public policy at University College London and Georgetown University, about his new book, Mission Driven Bureaucrats. Subtitled Empowering People To Help Government Do Better, Honig’s book explores how civil servants can be empowered to drive better government performance. Honig argues that many public sector organisations are too focused on compliance – what he describes as an attempt to keep those who might want to do ill from doing it. Such an approach wears down public servants, leaving those who are driven to make a difference frustrated by the obstacles and compliance rules they face. This highly topical interview comes as the new UK government aims to focus on five key missions. Honig provides insight on how to realise progress on what he calls these grand missions, as well as using missions as a means to clearly state public service purposes – be that fighting fires, providing care or being the best internal auditor. Honig says that empowering civil servants is vital to achieving all these missions, giving civil servants both autonomy and support as a team to deliver. Listen in full to hear about how to make mission delivery happen in government – from strategies to drive change like implementing ‘green tape rules’ to the role of leadership. And if you have questions about how to make mission-driven change happen in government, please contact [email protected] – and we will ask Dan for his tips on adopting a mission approach in government. Mentioned in this conversation: Find out more about Dan’s book: Mission Driven Bureaucrats: Empowering People To Help Government Do Better Making Government Work: Exclusive Global Government Forum research reveals five pillars of a modern civil service History has been made, paving the way for major public service reform in South Africa