Field notes: what we’re learning so far in IPAC’s National Year of Dialogue

- by Catherine MacQuarrie, IPAC Senior Executive in Residence on Indigenous Government

When IPAC decided to undertake a National Year of Dialogue for Reconciliation and Renewed Relationships with Indigenous Peoples, who knew it would be a time when honest, respectful cross-cultural conversation and learning not to fear “the other” was going to be such a big issue for the human race? 

Eight weeks in, I’m pleased to say that we’ve had some very positive conversations, forged some new friendships and are starting to take away a number of concrete lessons for government organizations and individuals on how to advance reconciliation and develop better, more effective working relationships with partners in First Nation, Metis and Inuit governments and communities.

The first session of the year on a drizzly night in Ottawa, attracted a diverse audience of 137 people. It was called Building Understanding of Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

IPAC Ottawa-NCR event

Two federal assistant deputy ministers, a senior policy advisor with the Assembly of First Nations and a Metis scholar discussed the capacity building needed within public services to understand reconciliation, and engaged in a lively dialogue with the audience. A large contingent of young public servants and university students brought a lot of passion and hope to the discussion.

We recorded the whole event for you here: Reconciliation.ipac.ca Tumbler

This was quickly followed with a Leaders Dialogue Circle on January 23, with twenty-five senior leaders from Indigenous organizations, federal and provincial governments, from academia, and from civil society. Building on a recent essay for IRPP by David Newhouse of Trent University entitled “Indigenous Peoples, Canada and the Possibility of Reconciliation” this non-partisan, non-political discussion focused on the opportunities and challenges public services face in supporting Canadian governments achieve what Professor Newhouse described as “the most important nation-building project since the railway”.  The significant need for public service education - about Indigenous peoples and history, and the legal and intellectual foundations for reconciliation - was a major topic for the group. So too was the importance of planning and measuring reconciliation commitments, but without losing sight of the need for action.

Read the summary of discussion here: Reconciliation.ipac.ca Tumbler

An important and timely day-long discussion called Child Welfare and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was hosted by IPAC Manitoba on February 2 in Winnipeg. Manitoba is unique in Canada for having specific First Nations (southern and northern), Metis, and general child authorities. It also has some of the greatest challenges.  Manitoba has approximately 11,000 children in care - the most per capita in Canada - and about 90% of these children are Indigenous.

IPAC Manitoba Event

(Pictured left:
Brian Hart, First Nations of Northern Manitoba Child and Family Service Authority; Billie Schibler, Métis Child and Family Services Authority; Patricia Cox, General Child and Family Services Authority; Sandra (Sandie) Stoker, All Nations Coordinated Network of Care; Tara Petti, Southern First Nation Network of Care ; Cora Morgan, First Nations Child Advocate)

Key conclusions from the day included:

• Communities should have greater control over how things are designed and delivered (they have ideas on solutions; government needs to allow those solutions);

• Flexibility is needed to respond to different community realities;

• Current government institutional and program barriers are preventing communities from achieving success; and

• The need to shift resources away from funding reactionary measures to focus on prevention.

The event debrief is also available here: Reconciliation.ipac.ca Tumbler

Then it was off to Toronto and IPAC’s annual Leadership Conference.  This sold-out event featured a keynote presentation by Roberta Jamieson, whose distinguished accomplishments have earned her national renown. Roberta is currently dedicating her considerable energies to education, through Indspire, a foundation to support education of Indigenous youth.  Roberta urged the public service audience to be part of Canada's most profound public policy opportunity, “but the public service needs new tools for this new Canada, new knowledge. Learn about Indigenous peoples, learn about successes. Learn to partner.” 

A conference workshop called:
“Leaders: our role in reconciliation” featured practical tips for

Roberta Jamieson

building new working relationships with Indigenous peoples in the spirit of reconciliation. Manitoba deputy minister Angie Bryce, Chief Stacey LaForme of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, Parks Canada Vice President Rob Prosper, and 2 Spirit/Queer-Indigenous advocate and artist Teddy Syrrette, had lots of practical advice and day-to-day tips for how public services can re-frame their approaches to policy development and service delivery for better results. It’s a positive sign of the times when the entire panel, including the senior government officials, is made up of Indigenous people.

In spite of the challenging social context and the tough issues still to tackle, I’ve been struck by several constants in the range of our dialogue events so far:  the level of interest and openness to dialogue, the generosity of Indigenous participants, and the consistency of the messages we are receiving from everyone:

• Public servants need a lot more education to break down stereotypes and fear
• Reconciliation opportunities are everywhere. All government organizations have a responsibility to build meaningful relationships – don’t just kick it over to your Indigenous Affairs ministry
• Practice ReconciliACTION: make a plan, stick to it, keep yourself honest to your intentions
• Practice institutional integrity: work to build trusting relationships; starting with listening openly to Indigenous partners about what works for them, and helping implement that.

A warm thank you to the partners who have joined us on this journey so far:  AFOA Canada, the Assembly of First Nations, Canadians for a New Partnership, the Canadian Association of Programs of Public Administration and Indigenous Works. Your support means a lot.

Keep current on past and coming events at http://reconciliation.ipac.ca/ 

[Catherine MacQuarrie joined IPAC as Senior Executive in Residence, Indigenous Government Programs, on a two-year assignment from the Government of Canada to help IPAC extend its practice to include Indigenous governments, and to work with IPAC members on the education of public servants at all levels of government about Indigenous peoples, as recommended in the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Catherine has 25 years of executive experience in the Government of Canada, most recently as Vice-president, Strategic Directions and Service Excellence at the Canada School of Public Service. 

Catherine MacQuarrie

Catherine first joined the federal Public Service in 1994 with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, working in aboriginal land claims negotiations and self-government policy.  Prior to joining government she worked in Aboriginal media for over a decade.
 
A Metis born in Alberta, Catherine grew up in the Northwest Territories where she launched her first career as a reporter, newspaper editor and a senior manager in Aboriginal media. She holds a BA in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson University and an MA in Public Administration (Public Policy) from the University of Ottawa. Event and workshop attendees have responded overwhelmingly well to Catherine's call to action, so we encourage everyone not to pass up the opportunity to walk part of their professional journey with her.]

ANALYTICS IN ACTION - Kimberly Nevala from SAS Canada

ANALYTICS IN ACTION

By: Kimberly Nevala Director of Business Strategies for SAS Best Practices 

I recently had the opportunity to moderate a session examining the rewards and realities of the analytics journey in public sector. The executive panel was overwhelming positive about the opportunity for data and analytics in both the government of Alberta and the public sector in general. In fact, most agreed that Alberta has some of the best data in the world, particularly in the health, energy and natural resource sectors. They were equally frank about the real and perceived barriers to making the most of this rich resource.

Here are some of the key considerations and cautions they shared about what it will take to create a culture of evidence and make analytics a core decision-making tool in government.

Start With WHY (in their terms)

Why analytics? Too often, we answer this question generically, without explicitly identifying the need, pain or problem to be solved.

Why analytics or an integrated data ecosystem? Not because the data is in siloes, duplicated, hard to access and understand. The real why comes from the application of information to improve the business. In the case of health and human services, it’s literally to save lives.  For policy makers, analytics arms deputy ministers with tangible, tactical evidence to drive good policy decisions while also establishing a body of evidence and record of why key decisions were made. 

Of course, the why isn’t the same for every constituent. Making the case requires linking analytics to the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and outcomes which define their success. 

Begin with the end in mind

Although the public sector still largely operates top-down, panelists suggested an organic, bottom-up approach is required for analytical innovation. Front-line staff understand the micro-climate in which they operate. In the case of health delivery, this involves the clinicians who are intimately aware of the pain points and opportunities in the incumbent care delivery process.  They are also the people who ultimately must change clinical pathways and models to incorporate new insights.

That said, the panel cautioned against over-engineering data-driven improvement programs. There can be a tendency to try predetermine the system from soup to nuts: here’s what we’ll measure, here’s what you will do to change the process based on the data, here what we’ll…ad infinitum. A better approach is to expose the evidence and engage those in the know to determine how to respond. In fact, the earlier the engagement the better. Build a solution without your customers’ involvement and not only will they not come, they may actively oppose the solution on principle.

Go to the Light

Rather than worrying about universal acceptance, educate audiences on the art of the possible. Engage with those who see the potential and have a problem they are willing and ready to solve. Finding them is easy: they will raise their hands. Focusing on early adopters and small, tangible problems allows for early wins making the case with less enthusiastic constituents.

Worried people won’t engage? Evidence to the contrary abounds. Clinicians exposed to departmental quality measures have proactively asked for data on their own performance.  One large US-based health-care provider reports that quality improved – without any systematic program intervention – after key metrics were routinely published.

Evidence is the START of the Story

With the advent of digital everything and always-on communication channels, the decision-making cycle has sped up exponentially. Have answer, will act? Not so fast. Buckets of data do not evidence make. Nor do buckets of evidence create knowledge. 

Time and space are required to not only cultivate but appropriately consider the evidence. The onus here is largely on the senior tier to slow down the decision-making cascade enough to allow for such deliberation. Management must also be trained to demand and appropriately interpret information once found.  One panelist recounted how a new perspective introduced at the eleventh hour led to a heated, last-minute rethink of a proposed policy. In the end, the right answer, rather than the convenient one, emerged.

Evaluate, Implement, Adapt

The best analytics will only create expensive trivia if the organization isn’t prepared to act on found information. That requires a disciplined approach to analytic discovery and information delivery. This starts with asking not just what are we looking for, but what we will we do with the information once we find it. Followed by a systematic process that allows hypotheses to be tested and interventions to be implemented, monitored and adapted based on discovered results.

Organizations must also mindfully architect and design future systems based on found insights. This includes proactively identifying information requirements during business process and system design. Thereby ensuring data required to monitor performance and adapt is created and captured from the start, as opposed to considering data a happy byproduct or derivative of running the business.

Practice Open Data

While data access is often cited as a primary barrier to analytic progress, some suggest this is really a cultural and managerial issue, not a legislative one. It is based on a historical legacy that errs on the side of not sharing data, for fear of what someone might do with it once it leaves the nest.

Panelists suggested the onus must shift from measuring data producers on creation and access, to how effectively information is shared; judging data consumers not on access but on usage. What do they do with the information available to them?

Such a shift would make data producers obligated and accountable for sharing data while holding consumers accountable for appropriate use, thereby governing value and risk based on information use, not the mere presence of data. 

Make the Facts Known

The points above make a simple assumption: that evidence is published. While this sounds a bit tongue-in-cheek, panelists pointed to a common reticence to share not just raw assets, but found insights. Perhaps that’s from fear of being proven wrong or provoking strong opposition, particularly when the evidence belies standard beliefs or operating practices.

However, the alternate is arguing on shifting ground, rather than using information to support a particular position or counter an argument of those armed with fervently held beliefs, but few facts.

Exposing the data comes with risk. But often practitioners view evidence and facts as a means to persuade or change another’s mind, rather than using those facts as a basis to engage others in a substantive discussion-- even when the discussion turns to the basis of the evidence.

Facts alone may not change the opinion of a dedicated naysayer. Facts do, however, provide a common basis for discussion. And isn’t that the real point? 

Great Artists Steal – Let Them

When it comes to cultivating a shared purpose, cross-pollinating key skills and spawning new perspectives on the importance of communities of practices for analytics was top of mind. It need not be over-architected. Creativity spawns creativity. While innovation can’t be mandated, the right environment can encourage out-of-the-box thinking. 

Creating time and a safe space for analysts from different departments within and among ministries has multiple benefits. Companies that have adopted this approach have reported increased returns on analytic investments and more engaged and motivated analysts, not a small victory given the current premium on core data science resources.

Such collaborative teaming models become particularly important as new business and service models transcend historical departmental or ministry boundaries. Simple examples include the integration of different episodes of care to account for a holistic patient experience and treatment and the interplay of adult, child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

Partner Up  

Of course, the need for partnership isn’t limited to the data science or analytic community. To maximize shared assets it will be imperative for like-minded ministries to work together on common problems rather than reinventing the wheel each time. Areas such a fraud and risk are often great starting groups for this type of initiative, which are most effective with broad data sets culled from across ministry boundaries. 

And while communities of interest help maximize incumbent analytic/data science skill sets, third-party partners can also play a role. Universities in particular are fertile grounds for collaboration. Engaging aspiring data scientists to work on projects with live data provides two-fold benefits. Students gain real-world experience and more interesting projects while helping bridge the talent gap (be it lack of available resources or specific skill sets required). Not to mention, it’s never too early to plant seeds with the up-and-coming generation of leaders and data scientists about the power of using data for good in public service. 

Conclusion 

This broad-ranging and thought-provoking discussion also touched on the need for a collaborative information governance model, cultivation of analytical not just statistical literacy, creation of a shared data infrastructure and analytic lab environments, and the need to incorporate data and analytic competencies into the GOA’s workforce development models. 

While the challenges appear daunting, participants unanimously agreed that the opportunity far outweighs these impediments. The GOA in particular and the public sector in general are well-positioned to create a rich data resource that is properly governed and available for public good. But as Zig Ziegler once opined: “the key to getting ahead is getting started”. Why not now?

As the Director of Business Strategies for SAS Best Practices Kimberly Nevala balances forward-thinking with real-world perspectives in business analytics, data governance, analytic cultures and change management. 

IPAC invited Ms. Nevala as a guest blogger, in advance of her panel at the 68th IPAC Annual Conference in Toronto, June 26-29th. To find out more about the panel, please visit: http://www.ipac.ca/2016-Program 

If you are interested in learning more about SAS Canada's work in the Public Sector or to organize a similar Public Sector Breakfast Series panel in your city or province, please contact IPAC at manderson@ipac.ca

Indigenous Government Program at IPAC January, 2016

Indigenous Government Program at IPAC

January, 2016 - guest blog post by Catherine MacQuarrie, Executive in Residence on Aboriginal Governance

It’s an exciting time for First Nation, Inuit and Métis people in Canada.  As we prepare to mark Canada’s 150^th birthday, it feels as if there is at last a collective will to deal with - as Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett put it - “the unfinished business of Confederation”.  From the attention being paid by individuals, community groups and media to this country’s devastating history of Residential Schools, to the growing celebration of talented Indigenous artists and innovators, to the provincial premiers’ pledge to action and an unprecedented federal government commitment... well, there are lots of reasons to be hopeful.

But there is a lot of work ahead to realize these hopes and ensure that Indigenous peoples enjoy the same quality of life, living standards and opportunity as all other Canadians. Public servants in all orders of government, including Indigenous governments, will be deeply implicated in helping achieve these goals. It will mean we need to find ways to work together and to be prepared to try new things. For some, this will be the start of a brand new journey. Others may already be well along the road, but are now challenged by all the expectations and demands of citizens and political leaders. 

I am so pleased to be part of IPAC’s own efforts to support education, reconciliation and renewed relationships.  At the heart of IPAC’s mandate for almost 60 years is the belief that shared learning and dialogue around common challenges is the foundation of effective working relationships and of public service excellence. Now IPAC is bringing its unique strengths to support the development of new relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous governments: relationships built on respect, cooperation and partnership. As Canada’s leading network of municipal, provincial/territorial and federal public servants across the country, we are committed to strengthening the capacity of our current membership to work more effectively and in partnership with First Nation, Inuit and Métis institutions and governments. And we want to increase our Indigenous membership, programs and services so that we can learn together and from each other. 

Although I’ve just started as IPAC’s Senior Executive in Residence, there is already lots to build on. The particular challenges of Indigenous government administration have always had a place in our research, conferences and learning activities. The most recent issue of Canadian Public Administration for example, has two scholarly articles on two First Nations challenges: Improving Drinking Water Quality and Medical Relocation. In early March in Yellowknife, we feature a Northern Governance Conference – “Learning from One Another” being organized by IPAC- NWT in partnership with the GNWT, the Tlicho Government, the Johnson-Shoyama School of Public Policy, Indigenous and Northern Affairs, and many others.  Then, in late April as part of its innovative “Cafe Pracademique” policy-making series, IPAC Edmonton is hosting an exciting day-long workshop called “Connecting our Futures: Building Reconciliation Today”. 

This is a just the start of what I hope will become an important and essential pillar of IPAC’s great range of programs and services! If you want to be part of the effort to grow our Indigenous membership, programs and services, or just want to learn more, please get in touch: CMacQuarrie@ipac.ca; on twitter @camacq or by phone: 613-914-8598

Northern Governance Conference - Learning from One Another – March 1-3, 2016 – Yellowknife

(From guest blogger: Christian Bertelsen)

Greetings,

I’m writing to make you aware of the upcoming Northern Governance Conference (#NGC2016). The #NGC2016 is a partnership between the NWT Regional Group of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC-NWT), Government of Canada’s Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, Government of the Northwest Territories’ (GNWT) Departments of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations and Municipal and Community Affairs, TłĮchǫ Government, and Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.

The theme of the #NGC2016 is ‘Learning from One Another’ and it will help various officials, practitioners and academics share and showcase the innovative work being undertaken in the areas of capacity building, research, and policy throughout the North. As the North can both learn from and teach others, we are keen on inviting participants and potential registrants from across the country.

Naturally, the IPAC President Penny Ballantyne, Secretary to Cabinet of the GNWT, will be in attendance. We would also be pleased if you and your colleagues would attend as well. So please check out: www.ntgovernance.com to register for participation in person or via live webcasting online.

You can also follow the #NGC2016 on Twitter: @NTGovernance and retweet any updates.

Should you have questions about the event, you are invited to contact:

Lona Collins at lona_bottomline@theedge.ca            or         867-445-5306 

OR

Christian Bertelsen christian.bertelsen@cannor.gc.ca          or         867-446-2198

Thanking you in advance,

Christian Bertelsen

IPAC-NWT, Chair