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FMI
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IGF JOURNAL
VOLUME 25, NO. 1
Deputies across the Public Service have
embraced this strategy, and on June 7th,
the Clerk launched a Public Service-wide
dialogue aimed at refining the Blueprint
2020 vision and developing an action plan
to make it a reality. The launch of this
exercise was historic in many ways:
• Broadcast live via Webcast, it was the
first time a Clerk reached out live to
all public servants across the country –
connections from coast-to-coast allowed
thousands of employees to participate.
• Use of social media encouraged parti
cipation through Twitter, which elicited
over 1,400 tweets. For a time that day,
#GC2020 was the top trending hashtag
in Canada!
The dialogue on the Blueprint 2020
vision presents a unique opportunity, a
chance to shape a more agile, more effective
and more rewarding public service, for now
and the future. It will also build the shared
commitment needed to make that happen.
Blueprint 2020 engagement efforts
and organizational activities are rolling
out across the Public Service, in every
region. The plan is to draw on the input
contributed throughout the engagement
phase to develop a progress report in the
Fall. An action plan will follow in the
Spring, to formulate a blueprint to achieve
the collective vision of what the Public
Service should be, now and in the future.
Public servants at all levels want to
contribute to the vision of the future –
they need to make sure the space is there
for them to do just that. This is not a top-
down process but a call for everyone’s ideas
on how to make the vision a reality. To
ensure that the conversations around the
Blueprint 2020 vision are as inclusive as
possible, our public service-wide approach
to engagement on the Blueprint 2020
vision is based on four overlapping streams:
- The first is vertical engagement, with
deputy heads leading tailored engagement
activities within their departments and
agencies that best suit the operational
realities of each organization and the
individuals who work for them.
- Second, we are also engaging horizontally
across the Public Service with deputy-
level champions tapping into existing
groups and communities. This includes
the National Managers Community;
the Federal Youth Network; functional
communities like those working in
human resources, IT, communications
or financial management; and, repre
sentative communities like those for
Aboriginal employees, visible minorities
and employees with disabilities.
- Third, we are initiating targeted
external engagement to seek input from
academics, clients and stakeholders,
who are invited to share their views
through the Clerk’s website. As we
embarked on this journey, the Chief
Human Resources Officer reached out
to bargaining agents, and this outreach
will continue. Interested Canadians can
provide their input through the Clerk’s
website. We are using various avenues to
gather a wide variety of external input.
This article is also part of our external
outreach effort, and I’m very interested
in hearing what FMI members have to
say as public-sector financial managers.
- Fourth, we are modelling the tech-
enabled culture foreseen in the Blueprint
2020 vision by collecting input through
the web and social media. This makes
the Blueprint 2020 engagement process
different from anything we have done
before. For the first time we are using
social media to engage and seek advice
from public servants, engaging in a two-
way dialogue about our shared future.
The Blueprint 2020 engagement process
provides us with new opportunities to
strengthen our institution and to position
ourselves for continued excellence.
Engagement efforts and organizational
activities are rolling out across the Public
Service, in every region. As of the end
of August 2013, there have been over
92,800 views of the Blueprint 2020 vision
document that has been posted online.
Since June 2013, over 7,300 tweets have
included the #GC2020 hashtag on Twitter
and over 2,100 new members have joined
the Blueprint 2020 group on GCconnex,
the Government of Canada’s internal
social networking site, our main platform
for dialogue with public servants. About 60
discussion topics have been created, with
active posts received every day and new
topics posted on a regular basis.
I am encouraged by the level of
participation in the Blueprint 2020 process,
which has been enthusiastically received
by public servants across the country, in
every region. So far, participants have
shared over 1,500 submissions. This does
not include the many activities taking place
within organizations themselves. Examples
of the input being provided include:
• Many are pointing to the need for
improved information sharing and ways
to connect to each other, as well as to
others outside the Public Service. They
want to find ways to overcome barriers
to new and innovative ideas, including
ways to create a value added-role. Idea
labs or innovation labs, Dragon’s Den-
style project proposals and innovation
clusters are just some of the ideas being
explored.
• There are calls for improved practices,
technological tools and models that
allow public servants to eliminate red
tape and better focus on results. This
includes improvements to planning and
reporting processes, and crowd-sourcing
tools.
• Employees are also looking for more
flexible human resource tools and
systems, including learning opportunities
and ways to recognize performance. For
example, discussions have touched on
competencies for the future, and what
the ideal HR system would look like.
• We have also received many innovative
ideas for how to incorporate new
technologies in our day-to-day work, like
Wi-Fi and desktop videoconferencing,
as well as ways to improve information
and data sharing and management, such
as searchable data bases.
While we live in a dynamic and engaged
world where information and feedback is
received in real-time, not everything is,
nor should be, subject to change. At the
federal level, everything we do — now and
into the future — is anchored in our shared
values, articulated in the Values and Ethics
Code for the Public Sector. Our values are a
constant that we can rely on in our shifting
world — respect for democracy, respect for
people, honesty, integrity, stewardship and
excellence.
These shared values guide us andunderpin
public confidence in our institution, as
a professional and non-partisan public
service, working in the public interest.
This means providing elected officials
with fearless advice – not always easy, but
essential. And once decisions are taken, we
must implement them loyally. The way we
work may change, but as public servants,
we are, and must be, guided by our core
values in everything we do.
Good organizations plan and prepare for
the future. Great organizations engage their
employees to strive to reach their full poten-
tial. We know that employee engagement
leads to improved job satisfaction, lower
absenteeism and a high-performing work-
force. This is part of what the Blueprint
2020 engagement process seeks to achieve.
When it comes to employee engagement,
the journey is as important as the destina-
tion. This journey will help us build collec-
tive commitment to a shared vision for the
Public Service, as well as the momentum
necessary to achieve it.
BLUEPRINT 2020: SHAPING THE PUBLIC SERVICE OF THE FUTURE
