How we drafted DOT’s recommendations to Canada’s pre-budget consultations
Even if it doesn’t feel like it with the warm weather we’ve been having, fall has arrived in Ottawa and Parliament of Canada is back in session! My colleague at Digital Opportunity Trust, Glennys Egan, and I are excited about that because it means the government will soon get a chance to review the recommendations we submitted to the Pre-Budget Consultations last month.
The pre-budget consultation process that takes place each summer offers a chance for Canadian civil society to voice their opinions about what the Canadian government should prioritize in the following year’s budget.
Glennys and I were honoured to be the lead writers of DOT’s submission. We are part of the business development team at DOT, where we manage the organization’s robust cross-sectoral partnership ecosystem and support our engagement in global convenings, such as the World Economic Forum. That means we also do a lot of research and sharing of best practices, which we drew upon to develop our pre-budget consultation submission.
We provided three recommendations that support DOT’s vision of inclusive growth for 2018:
- Honouring our commitment to the UN aid target of 0.7 percent of GNI would be an investment in inclusive growth, stability and sustainability both in Canada and abroad.
- As the generation that will inherit the global challenges of today, Canada should support youth to build the skills and opportunities they need to create innovative and dynamic solutions.
- Canada should dedicate significant resources to facilitating multi-stakeholder collaboration supported by innovative partnership models and emerging digital technologies.
How did we arrive at these priorities?
Each year the government provides a framework for pre-budget submissions to help organizations and individuals guide the development of their recommendations. This year, they offered the following two questions as prompts:
“What federal measures would help Canadians to be more productive?” and “what federal measures would help Canadian businesses to be more productive and competitive?”
As an international organization, the link between DOT’s work and these questions might not be immediately apparent. But at DOT, we know that Canadians (and Canadian businesses) will benefit most from growth that is inclusive, innovative, and sustainable — and that means looking beyond our borders and thinking beyond ourselves.
Glennys and I know from our work with youth that investing in young people — particularly young women — and positioning them as leaders is an excellent way to drive innovation and inclusivity. And we also know that these things can’t be achieved in silos, but must be pursued collaboratively.
We began the process of crafting our recommendations by reflecting on the current global context; in particular, the insular turn that has been so prominent in many countries. We believe that an isolationist view is counter to Canadian values — and in fact, dangerous — and that now is the time to re-assert Canada’s global leadership in the spirit of inclusiveness. That led us to DOT’s first recommendation: that Canada should honour the bold commitments it has made towards international assistance.
Canada has fallen behind our peers on this issue, with several OECD countries consistently meeting the UN target of 0.7 per cent GNI, while we lag behind at 0.26 per cent. International assistance is not only about charity — it is about investing in global stability, mutually-beneficial relationships, and upholding Canadian values towards building a safer, more prosperous, and inclusive world — which is good for Canadians (and their businesses!). Global Affairs Canada recently released its Feminist International Assistance Policy, which sets out a framework for investing in women and girls as drivers of economic growth and peaceful cooperation. We are excited about that vision of women and girls as leaders of change in communities — we see that potential in our work every day — but we also want to recognize that it will be difficult to realize without adequate investment.
At DOT, we have also seen the expansive wealth of innovation that exists in emerging economies, where people are developing creative solutions to their enormous daily challenges. We have learned so much from the young social entrepreneurs that we work with, like Ange in Rwanda, who developed a sustainable agricultural solution for her community. Glennys had the pleasure of meeting Ange at the DOT Youth Unconference earlier this year, and was inspired by her passion and creativity. Canadian businesses can learn and benefit from the innovation in these economies too, as well as use those relationships to break into new markets. It’s a win-win!
The transformative power of youth like Ange is what inspired DOT’s second recommendation: that Canada should invest in skills development and leadership opportunities for young people at home and abroad.
With 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 alive today, investing in youth is not just a smart idea — it’s imperative. Young people will inherit the grand challenges of today, like climate change or adapting to the digital economy, that are affecting Canadians and Canadian businesses. Canada should invest in equipping youth with the 21st century skills to succeed in the face of those challenges.
Young people are also notably absent from many of the decision-making processes and leadership roles where the ways forward to address those challenges are determined. We’re calling upon the government to invest in spaces for them to contribute meaningfully to the design of our social and economic agenda. This is particularly true for young women, who face particular barriers to inclusion, but who also have outstanding results when given the opportunity to lead.
Finally, our third recommendation was born from our years of practical experience at DOT in getting things done: you can’t achieve big things alone! As partnership management professionals, Glennys and I know this well. We’re calling on the Government of Canada to invest in multi-stakeholder collaboration across governments, the private sector, and civil society in order to foster inclusive growth.
Collaboration is recognized as imperative for overcoming shared challenges faced by Canadians and Canadian businesses — in fact, “Partnerships for the Goals” is #17 of the Sustainable Development Goals, seen as a goal we must achieve in order to realize all other sixteen goals. But as we also know given our work, productive partnerships require investment. The Canadian government has a chance to assert its leadership as a convener of successful collaboration in budget 2018.
Of course, DOT also recognizes the importance of digital technology as a tool for collaboration and inclusivity. We know how impactful the connections we forge online can be. But Canada ranks low on the Global Connectivity Index compared to its peers. Investing in universal access in Canada and abroad is an important step in reaching civil society and building an inclusive digital economy. Take this young Canadian, for example, who is bringing Internet access to his remote First Nation community, leading to improved health services, access to cultural resources and education, a wider pool of jobs, and, for those who may feel isolated, a way to expand their social network.
At DOT, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the pre-budget consultations to see where this government’s priorities align with ours. Glennys and I see young people working together and leveraging the power of technology to improve communities across the globe every day, doing their part to contribute to a more peaceful, sustainable, and prosperous world. Budget 2018 is an opportunity for the Government of Canada to support them in Canada and abroad, and in turn breathe new life into Canadian innovation and inclusive growth.
You can read DOT’s full recommendations for budget 2018 here.
