When Worlds Collide: My Work as a GCE at Environment and Climate Change Canada
So what are you doing these days?
Over the holidays I got to catch up with friends and family who live in different corners of North America. Inevitably, when chatting with people I’d tell them about what I’m up to professionally, so in the last few weeks I have talked A LOT about what I do as Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) GC Entrepreneur (GCE). My best de-jargoned, de-acronymed explanation:
I explore and experiment with new tech and new approaches to core government operations to find ways to make the public service more effective and efficient.
[You can find a more detailed explanation here.]
Almost always, this was followed by the question ‘what does that have to do with the environment/ Environment and Climate Change Canada?’ It’s a good question and one I’ve also gotten from colleagues and public servant friends. So to help clear up any confusion, here’s my answer:
I help people work smarter, not harder.
Since I work on a variety of projects with colleagues from across the federal family, I’m an effective bridge between the Department and other work happening in different parts of the public service. I am able to connect ECCC colleagues with ideas, information, and people that can help them transform how they work.
Want to see if a challenge prize can work for you? I know a gal.
Want to find out who’s using AI in the government? I’ve got a guy and a report.
Need to hire someone with fresh ideas or a special skill set temporarily? I have a hook-up.
Want to find out what was talked about at the last DM Task Force on Public Sector Innovation meeting? I’m your woman.
This lets my colleagues focus on delivering on things that matter to Canadians, like developing Canada’s low carbon economy, forecasting weather, and stopping wildlife poachers instead of spending hours playing “find the policy analyst in the GEDS haystack”, and days sifting through intranet sites only to find out the information is woefully out of date.
But wait, there’s more!
But that’s not all I do at ECCC. Something that most people don’t know about the GCE program is that all GCEs formally split their time between being a GCE and another role in their home department. Everyone’s home department role is different; some of us have jobs that closely relate to our work as GCEs, while others do things that have no direct link to GCE work.
For me, there’s a lot of overlap since my home department job is with ECCC’s Innovation and Youth Engagement Division. Here, I have been helping articulate a vision for an ECCC innovation ecosystem, and pursuing new and innovative partnerships for the Department. It would be harder for me to do this if I wasn’t also working as a GCE. By working with colleagues from across the government, I am able to see what other departments are doing and learn from their experiences. This helps me imagine all that is possible for my own department and to have the evidence to make the case with ECCC executives.
Working in two jobs at the same time has its challenges. I’m constantly thinking about whether I’m bringing enough value to ECCC since the Department is paying my whole salary but only getting part of my time, managing two sets of priorities, deadlines, and senior managers is a daily balancing act, and I often feel like I’m not doing enough at either job since neither of them gets 100% of my focus. Yet, I recognize that I am better at both of my jobs because of the network and experiences the other gives me and, as an avowed policy generalist, I thrive on all of the variety the situation offers.
The Secret Lives of GCEs — A Twitter Thread
All of my GCE colleagues strive to find the balance between contributing to interdepartmental initiatives and creating value for their home departments. To help highlight the cool work we are all doing in addition to be being a GCE, we’re launching a twitter thread called The Secret Lives of GCEs. Starting today, we’ll be sharing stories about the work we do in our home departments on a regular basis. I hope you follow along.
