4 Actionable Takeaways on Digital Transformation from a Government Leader
When it comes to tackling complicated government digital transformation projects, there are few incentives to do things differently.
In fact, there is significant pressure for leaders to double down on the status quo, continuing to work in project-based, waterfall methodologies that won’t deliver the modern digital services people in Canada deserve.
Brandon Lee, Director General, Grants & Contributions Transformation Initiative (GCTI) at Global Affairs Canada (GAC), is leading a first-of-its-kind digital transformation project — building a new digital platform to significantly reduce the processing time for Canadian foreign aid payments in partnership with Code for Canada.
Brandon sat down with our CEO Dorothy Eng at the FWD50 conference to discuss the project and share actionable takeaways for others working on large-scale public digital transformation projects.
Here are four pieces of advice he had to share.
#1 Get creative about procurement
Brandon knew he wanted to bring in outside technologists to collaborate with existing GAC staff, but it was challenging to find a procurement vehicle to make it happen.
He acknowledged that it can be difficult to work with existing procurement processes but said finding short- and long-term solutions is possible.
GAC was able to use interchange to bring in Code for Canada staff to work alongside their existing team. The GCTI is also working to establish its own procurement authority to speed the process of bringing digital talent in-house.
#2 Invest in the digital capacity of your existing talent
Brandon wanted to build digital capacity within the GCTI to ensure the project's long-term success.
Code for Canada staff has been working shoulder-to-shoulder with GAC staff to introduce agile ways of working within the team.
Brandon emphasized that this capacity building is essential to the long-term success of any major digital transformation process. He sees the partnership with Code for Canada as a knowledge exchange, with C4C staff learning more about the challenges facing their public servant colleagues while GAC staff builds their digital skills.
#3 Embrace slow-but-steady change management
Brandon shared that part of making progress on digital transformation in government is learning how to adjust digital ways of working to the realities of the public sector.
There are legitimate reasons why government operates differently than the private sector, and government teams may struggle to adopt private sector best practices overnight.
Instead, teams should embrace a slow but steady approach to change management, implementing agile processes where they can while accepting that some decision-makers will still be more comfortable with a waterfall framing.
External partners must also appreciate the constraints government teams are working with and adjust their approach accordingly.
#4 Remember the mission behind the work
As a final question to Brandon, our CEO Dorothy asked what she suspected many in the FWD50 audience might be thinking: Why should people in Brandon’s position champion large-scale digital transformation projects, despite the many barriers to their success?
Brandon shared that it is essential to remember the mission behind government work. The GCTI is a project that will have a real impact on the lives of people around the world, ensuring that aid agencies have the funds they need to help people in extremely vulnerable situations.
He said that this mission and mandate drove his work and asked that the audience try to remember their own mission and vision when they left the conference and returned to the challenges of their day-to-day reality.
Feeling inspired?
Code for Canada works with governments across the country to tackle a wide range of digital transformation projects. Interested in making a difference together? Book a call today.
