Public Service Culture, Risk Management and Governance: The Prerequisite of Effective Strategic Governance to Realizing Our Digital Ambition

All organizations, whether public or private sector, have an aggregate risk profile that can be measured between low to high. As the aggregate risk increases over time, eventually it will result in the loss of trust and confidence of an organization’s stakeholders, shareholders, or citizens. One of the important objectives for senior executives is to lower the organization’s aggregate risk profile to ensure that it continues to retain the trust and confidence of its stakeholders. To accomplish this objective innovation and opportunity are foundational. In the context of the Canadian government, realizing that digital technologies are instrumental in lowering the overall aggregate risk profile of the nation, the Government of Canada’s Chief Information Officer (GC CIO) published Digital Ambition 2022. Digital Ambition 2022 provides a roadmap for government to transition from a pre-2000s digital enterprise to a modern 21st century digital enterprise that leverages cloud, artificial intelligence/machine learning, new security solutions, and embraces new ways of working to deliver modern government services to Canadians. The implications of not realizing the Digital Ambition are significant. From a Canadian citizen’s perspective it will mean continued dependency on paper-based processes, poor data security, risks associated with 30-50 year old legacy platforms, inabilities to properly leverage digital solutions in defence and security, with real world implications, challenges recruiting government employees, including members of the Canadian Armed Forces and defaulting to using the phone for government services after your credentials are inexplicably revoked. From a public servant’s perspective, the adverse impact on their morale and productivity from not being able to leverage these technologies is equally as important. The observation by the former clerk of the Privy Council Janice Charette that “The public service is still working in what I would describe as analog ways and the world has moved on…” underscores the importance of successfully implementing the Digital Ambition. In 2023, an update on the progress implementing the Digital Ambition was published. In the update the GC CIO stated “I am encouraged by what we have accomplished as a community in the last year…” with recognition that “there is much more work to be done”. Specifically, the update declares that although Canada is one of the most connected countries in the world, it has the lowest usage frequency of digital government services in a recent survey of 36 countries. In addition, Canada continues to drop in the E-Government Development Index from 28th to 32nd according to the 2022 United Nation’s E-Government survey. With the government putting such a priority on digital, the question that begs to be asked is why are we not being successful? One of the reasons for the lack of progress is hinted at in the update. It notes the requirement for “driving a systemic shift in culture across government that continues to look at evolution of policy and programs through the service lens with a digital-first mindset”.