FWD50 Regional Digital Government Summit: the next generation of public service
Editor’s note: The Ontario Digital Service is excited to share that we’re co-organizing this year’s Regional Digital Government Summit (RDGS) at FWD50, which will run virtually next week. ICYMI, we also co-hosted the first-ever RDGS at FWD50 last year. Both the RDGS and FWD50 will feature an array of diverse speakers from across the digital and data ecosystem, including past and present members of the Ontario Digital Service. Here’s what this week has in store:
Hold up, what is FWD50?
FWD50 is an annual global digital government conference that brings together technologists, executives and industry for a week of content and discussion, focused on steering progress and innovation towards our better selves.
Here are the details:
Date: November 3–9, 2020
Location: Virtual — those who have tickets will receive an email from FWD50 organizers linking them to the conference platform.
Tickets: Free tickets are available to the first two applications from any municipal, territorial, provincial or state government! Learn more here.
Ontario in action
Members of the Ontario Public Service and Ontario’s broader digital government community will participate as keynote speakers, panelists and workshop facilitators, sharing their ideas of what will shape the future of public service.
Delivering at the speed of need
Led by the Ontario Digital Service’s Director Katy Lalonde, Director of the Canada School of Public Service’s Digital Academy Honey Dacanay and the New York City Mayor’s Office of the CTO’s Deputy Chief Technology Officer Katherine Benjamin — both Ontario Digital Service alumnae — this workshop will share cross-jurisdictional lenses on how public servants can set up their organization to deliver agile, responsive and user-focused products at the speed of need in crisis.
What can I do? Authentic leadership to create inclusive spaces for BIPOCQ
This discussion will bring together an all-BIPOCQ panel including Ontario’s Chief Digital and Data Officer Hillary Hartley, Dean of OCAD’s Faculty of Design Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall, as well as folks from Canada’s Energy Regulator and PLATO Testing Group of Companies, for an honest talk about first-hand experiences and what it takes to bring positive and progressive change within your organizations.
Check out the full lineup of speakers, panels and workshops on the FWD50 agenda.
Cool! And the Regional Digital Government Summit?
Back for its second year, regional government leaders will gather for an afternoon at FWD50 to tackle the unique challenges of municipal, provincial and state-level public service.
This year’s theme, RDGS: The Next Generation of Public Service, will feature digital leaders from Ontario, the State of California, the State of Georgia and more, in partnership with non-profit Code for Canada.
The Regional Digital Government Summit is co-hosted by two regional digital government teams, by design.
Tamara Srzentić (Deputy Director, Office of Innovation, California Health and Human Services)
Skaidra Puodziunas (Senior Engagement Advisor, Ontario Digital Service)
Here are the details of the summit:
Date: November 6, 2020
Time: 13:30–17:00 EST
Location: Virtual — those who have tickets will receive an email from FWD50 organizers linking them to the conference platform.
Tickets: As mentioned above, free tickets are available to the first two applications from any municipal, territorial, provincial or state government — don’t miss your chance to represent your region!
Ontario’s spotlights
Folks from across Ontario’s digital government ecosystem will be involved in all four discussions throughout the afternoon, which focus on:
Creating product-driven organizations
This up-close fireside chat with Chief Digital Officers, including Ontario’s Chief Digital and Data Officer Hillary Hartley as well as CDOs from the states of California and Georgia, will discuss how government leaders can actively create the conditions for public service teams to embed user-centered methodologies and iterative approaches to deliver government services at the speed of need. Moderated by Emily Tamfo, Senior Product Manager, Ontario Digital Service.
The future of learning in the public service
Inspired by a conversation earlier this year at the 2020 Code for Canada Summit, Code for Canada’s Fellowship and Education Program Manager Meha Shah will bring together a group of capacity builders in government to share how they’re equipping public servants with the skills they need to succeed in the digital era. The panel will host the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Director Anna Wong, as well as folks from the U.S. Digital Response, the Office of Innovation at California Health and Human Services and global learning platform for government Apolitical.
Digital delivery in the COVID era
Shining a spotlight on how the public sector has answered the call to deliver user-centred products that meet unique and unpredictable needs of people during a global pandemic, this panel features people working behind the scenes of some of the most visible digital and data tools launched in 2020. Along with Senior Product Manager at the Ontario Digital Service Spencer Daniels, we’ll hear practitioner stories from the California Department of Public Health, State of Georgia, New Jersey Office of Innovation and NYC[x] Innovation Fellows at USDR.
Storytelling as a means of knowledge sharing
If you can’t change what’s not measured, you definitely can’t change what isn’t even known. This panel aims to inspire public servants to think about why storytelling is important, and how they can profile the work of government teams in the open. This conversation will bring together government storytellers with unique perspectives, including the Head of IDO Digital and Digital Communications Lead at Ontario’s Inclusion and Diversity Office Ikenna Agu-Amaechi, digital storytelling fellow from the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation and the city of Denver’s chief storyteller. This session will also be moderated by Ontario Digital Service, Team Engagement members, Meghna Bajpai and Diana Stepczuk (me!).
You can see the full agenda here.
#OneTeamGov
And as a bonus, OneTeamGov Canada will host two free sessions at FWD50 on November 10, open to all public servants anywhere. OneTeamGov Canada is part of the global #OneTeamGov community, working together to radically reform the public sector through practical action. Its workshops will focus on collaboration and belonging.
We hope you’ll join us!
We’re excited to connect with digitally-enthusiastic public servants from regions across the world and come together for an honest discussion about our challenges and goals heading towards the future of public service.
You can learn more about the event by subscribing to the FWD50 newsletter, or by following them on Twitter — and check out this recap of last year’s inaugural RDGS.
Stay in touch
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