How to reimagine government through the power of digital

A Q&A with PwC Canada’s Vision to Reality Awards judge, Aneeta Bains, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Digital Officer, Innovation, Science and Economic Development for the Government of Canada.

Today’s digital world demands new ways to deliver citizen experience. The public sector is facing pressure to transform the way it interacts with citizens, and expectations are being influenced by seamless, automated ways. Staying ahead of the innovation curve is more important than ever.

For that reason, the government of Canada is committed to reinventing the citizen experience by unlocking the power of digital — constantly embracing innovation and modern, forward-looking initiatives that focus on giving people the public sector they want.

How important is digital transformation in the public sector?

The term ‘digital transformation’ is often overused and seen as a buzzword. But for us, it’s something really meaningful. It’s the operating model that will help you achieve a digital government.

Modernizing and upping our game when it comes to technology is incredibly important, it’s our foundation. Pushing the cloud and our data capabilities — including governance — while at the same time, thinking about the digital engine. Always looking at what technologies we should use for analytics, get insights and actually deliver a product that allows Canadians to feel that they were understood. I really want to accelerate that journey.

How are you helping accelerate the digital government journey?

We’re starting to really put emphasis on what digital means to the government of Canada, and being the Chief Digital Officer gives me the opportunity to focus on that. We’re a large industry with around 300,000 employees, so part of our job is not only to support Canadians but be part of the transformation — be an employer devoted to the development of our society.

I’m constantly pushing my team to think about what digital means to government, and what does that mean to both the public and the employees inside government. What can we do to better deliver our services through digital? My role is to lead the charge and make that happen — inside the department and across government.

We’re not just adding tech to it or designing a really nice website, we’re actually changing the entire model of how we deliver services and experiences to our citizens.

What is your big picture vision for a digital government in Canada?

I want government to be an equal player in the society; I want us to be part of it. I want us to be able to provide meaningful modern solutions to Canadians. We have amazing people inside the government of Canada with great innovative ideas. So, in order to be the difference makers we want to be, we need to be in the game with our citizens — become one.

The change in technology is paramount to how employees in public service must work, and that goes back to digital and mobile experiences. You get in your car and talk to your family or friends on Bluetooth. Great, then what happens? Well, you order from Starbucks using your phone. Then you get home and order something from Amazon online. Catering to this demand for mobile services is critical. I’m a citizen in Canada and I’m demanding it, so we have to make that happen.

We need to gain the trust and be accepted as employees who can actually do that for our citizens when it comes to government services. Live, work and modernize our environment and experiences.

At the end of the day, our job is to make a really big difference for the society and for the economy, and we have to go digital to make that happen. That’s why I’m here.

How do you drive digital transformation from strategy through to execution in an organization like the government?

You drive it one step at a time. Every organization has that problem, I don’t think the government is really unique. We all have to tackle it with an operating model driven by a transformational approach.

We’ve tried a few things and I’m excited because I can bring my ideas forward, but I can also nurture and curate the conversations with others that have done it before. It’s not just one person that’s going to make all the difference.

So if you’re looking at three or four things that you want to do, go ahead and do them but do it right and learn from them. Get the right people involved to work on those problems and then scale it. This is somehow a common concept that many companies use but sometimes the government is cautious to implement. But we can pivot that mindset, and I’m confident we can get the job done.

What is the trend or technology that will make the biggest impact on the public sector over the next five years?

I think it’s obvious that artificial intelligence (AI) is gonna be the most important. It’s very disruptive, but we don’t understand it, we’re not there yet. We as a government have to wrap our heads around how we can leverage its full capabilities to help us from an economic growth perspective.

It has that underlying data, the data driven economy concept, it’s going to be pretty exciting. AI is a great opportunity for the government — whether it’s machine learning or just simpler ways to get insights that can bring better value as we deliver a service.

The pillar here is being able to exchange that information in a way that everyone is better served in a comfortable yet trusted way. We can grow industries out of this, we can do great things, we can really boost the economy. So I would say every industry, including government, needs to leverage AI.

Why is it important to recognize forward thinkers in any industry, including the public sector?

Because it gives us a bird’s eye view into what’s happening in the Canadian landscape. Sometimes you don’t have that full visibility outside of the programs that you’re trying to pull in. The recognition is really important, it rewards those courageous enough to try something really impressive, something innovative. They should all be recognized for it.

We have to encourage and invest more and more in people with great ideas. And they don’t have to be absolutely amazing. They have to be great, they have to be good, they have to be meaningful. I always try to make sure that, through my role with the government, I can help boost the innovation agenda in Canada.

We have to start thinking about it just like we think about large transformations, in bits and pieces at a time. And then just invest in that because it’s a fantastic opportunity.

PwC’s Vision to Reality Awards (V2R) program recognizes organizations whose vision has become a reality and everything it takes to make that happen.

The 2018 V2R Awards are judged by an independent panel of innovation experts. To learn more about the 2018 V2R Awards, visit our website.