From ‘what is’ to ‘what if?’
Editor’s Note: David Nicholl, Ontario’s Corporate Chief Information Officer, has been part of the digital transformation of the Ontario Public Service for the past decade. We asked him to share his thoughts on digital government and the IT organization in the province.
Ever since the Ontario Digital Government Action Plan was announced in the 2016 Budget, I’ve heard the same question from a number of colleagues: “David, what does digital government mean for IT?”
The answer I give usually goes something like this: digital government is an exciting approach to transformation — one that builds on work we’ve done with our partners across government and the digital team in Cabinet Office, and one that opens up incredible opportunities for IT to continue supporting citizen-centric program and service delivery.
But sometimes I think it might be simpler to respond with another question for my colleagues: “what does digital government mean for you?”
The fact is, digital government is not just about technology — it’s about putting citizens at the centre of program and service design and delivery. Of course, IT has a huge role to play in this transformation, but to think of digital government just in terms of technology is to miss the point.
At its core, the digital government vision aims to enhance the way citizens connect with their government. Developments in social media, online retail, or user experience design suggest new and more relevant ways of engaging and serving citizens today. But it’s not the technology that’s driving the digital vision: technology is just facilitating major change.
If we’re serious about this transformation, then we can’t just simply digitize existing government processes.
Thinking only in terms of “what is” will seriously limit our ability to innovate. Instead, we need to completely shift our perspective and start asking ourselves “what if?”
That, to me, is what digital is all about: re-imagining what’s possible for government. It’s an entirely new way of looking at our work — one that requires us to break down siloes, habits and assumptions so we can best fulfill our mission of serving Ontarians.
We’ve been doing a lot of thinking in IT about how we can drive digital further, and we’re working on some ideas that will help move us forward. To really make a go of this, every area of government will have to think long and hard about how their organizations can adopt a digital lens.
I’ve worked in technology for a long time now, and I’ve been through a lot of major technological breakthroughs and transitions. But what we’re doing with digital right now goes so far beyond technological change: it’s truly a fundamental shift in how we design and deliver services.
Digital government is going to do some great things for Ontario, and I can’t wait to see where it takes us.
