Spotlight on Blueprint 2020

Editor’s Corner

October 2014 Issue 1

Editor’s Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 1

Spotlight on Public Service–Wide Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2

Spotlight on Departments and Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3

Welcome to the first edition of Spotlight on Blueprint 2020, an e-newsletter connecting public servants from coast to coast and showcasing progress in achieving the Blueprint 2020 vision. Launched in June 2013 by the Clerk of the Privy Council, Blueprint 2020 is a vision for a world-class public service equipped to serve Canadians now and into the future. What you have done to date to bring about change has been absolutely incredible. The first edition of Spotlight on Blueprint 2020 will feature updates on public service–wide initiatives, concrete actions undertaken within departments and agencies, and events taking place across the country that will help make the Blueprint 2020 vision a reality.

I recently joined Employment and Social Development Canada from Finance Canada and am seeing first-hand

how the work of public servants directly touches Canadians daily, across all regions of Canada.

Transforming how the Government of Canada does business for the 21st century is no small feat and will require doing things differently. We all have a role to play.

As we “change the channel” from consultation on our shared vision to implementation, think about how you can use the Blueprint 2020 vision as a platform for change. We hope you enjoy Spotlight on Blueprint 2020 and seeing what you have accomplished thus far.

Happy reading!

Louise LevonianChair, Board of Management and Public Service Renewal Sub-Committee on Public Service Engagement

In this issue

Read about how the new Clerk of the Privy Council Janice Charette supports the Blueprint 2020 vision.

Spotlight on Blueprint 2020

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October 2014 Issue 1

Modern Technology for a Modern Workplace

Shared Services Canada (SSC) is proud to contribute to the modernization of the public service. The delivery of its mandated services in the key areas of email, data centres and network infrastructure will lay the foundation for a more connected workplace. Within the Destination 2020 agenda, SSC is focusing on cross-cutting initiatives (see video) that include enhancing the Government of Canada’s electronic directory; enhancing desktop videoconferencing capabilities through a common portal and infrastructure; expanding the capabilities of GCconnex, GCpedia and other networking tools; establishing a shared intranet portal; and rolling out a secure Wi-Fi service to support a mobile workforce by the end of 2016–17.

Progress to dateSSC has already advanced some of these initiatives. You may have already seen the enhanced version of the Government Electronic

Spotlight on Public Service–Wide Initiatives

Directory Services (GEDS) that includes options for a detailed employee profile. SSC has redesigned GEDS to provide a more accurate, up-to-date listing of employees to improve Canadians’ access to services and resources. It is equipped with an improved search function, which helps public servants find, connect to and work with others.

A self-service videoconference service that enables employees to host video meetings from their desks or a videoconference room is available from the SSC Serving Government website. The service will be expanded to provide guidance to users on how to access training materials and find information on how to obtain a webcam and the required software.

SSC committed to rolling out a secure Wi-Fi service to approximately 40 percent of public servants by the end of 2016–17. Wi-Fi service is already available for

1,430 employees and activities are in progress to expand service to 30,000 workers across

29 organizations (partners and SSC) by the first quarter of 2015–16.

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October 2014 Issue 1

NRCan’s Blueprint 2020 Action Plan was released in February 2014, reflecting input from 30 sector, committee and network submissions and more than 100 engagement activities across Canada. The Action Plan introduced a new set of operating principles for the department and identified three Areas for Action, each containing a number of specific projects or initiatives:

• Talent Development

• Science, Policy and Program Entrepreneurship

• Enabling Environment

To support the department in this endeavour, NRCan’s Action Plan announced the creation of an Innovation Hub with an 18-month mandate to “serve as a learning hub, network enabler and experimental space for new ways of working, supporting sectors, committees and communities in advancing NRCan Action.”

NRCan’s Innovation Hub became operational in April 2014—the first initiative of its kind under Blueprint 2020. The Hub adopted the name IN•spire—a bilingual acronym referencing NRCan’s tag line “Inventive by Nature” and the team's focus: support, partnerships, ideas, research and experiments. IN•spire’s mission statement is “to inspire a critical mass of employees to explore and adopt new ways of working in order to measurably improve NRCan’s ability to innovate for the public good.”

IN•spire employs five staff in the National Capital Region as well as one person who teleworks one day a week from Denmark. Despite its relatively small size, IN•spire leverages partnerships both inside and outside the department to deliver on its many signature projects.

Details on projects can be found on IN•spire’s network of GCpedia pages, where the team hopes to illustrate new

ways of working interdepartmentally by making much of its content available government wide. A number of IN•spire projects are based on interdepartmental collaboration and interdepartmental colleagues are invited to attend all IN•spire learning events.

IN•spire is committed to helping NRCan succeed in a rapidly evolving, hyper-connected digital age, and it provides support to NRCan employees, divisions and sectors in navigating this complex terrain. IN•spire’s Performance Framework lays out three key value propositions for its 18-month mandate:

• Building Awareness and Capacity for New Ways of Working

• Leading and Supporting Solutions and Improvements

• Driving and Sustaining Change

For more information on IN•spire, including our Quarterly Report, Project Tracker and Performance Framework, please visit IN•spire’s site on GCpedia, which also contains an Innovation Lexicon, Sortable Database of Innovation Examples, Innovation Map and Innovation Toolkit. You can also find IN•spire on GCconnex, where the team shares blog posts, photos and discussions with the GC community.

IN•spire: Making Good on NRCan’s Blueprint 2020 Commitment to Create an Innovation Hub

Spotlight on Departments and Agencies

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October 2014 Issue 1

On June 17, 2014, Canada Economic Development for Quebec regions (CED) held its very first edition of CED Dragons’ Den! The activity, organized by the Destination 2020 Committee for National Public Service Week, was a resounding success. Seven new initiatives were presented by intra- and inter-directorate teams to a panel of four enthusiastic Dragons as an audience enraptured by the originality of the ideas looked on.

All ideas were aimed at improving the workplace and reflected the different pillars of the Blueprint 2020 vision. In the end, the Dragons—who were members of the CED Executive Committee or their representatives—opted to sponsor four of the projects, noting that the three other proposals already have mechanisms in place for initiation.

The chosen ideas were:

1. ”Healthy CED,” a project that promotes health in the workplace.

2. “Management Exploration Program,” a program aimed at demystifying the role of the manager and learning about what is needed to perform optimally as a manager in the public service.

3. “Move to Motivate—The P.M. Beats,” an activity that encourages employees to move to music for a few minutes in the afternoon in order to maintain energy levels.

4. “Bright Ideas,” a program that enables the exchange of innovative ideas and support between colleagues from different directorates.

The sponsored teams are now conducting a feasibility study for the implementation of their projects.

Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions’ Dragons’ Den!

If this Dragons’ Den event piqued your interest, check out these links to read about other similar events!

Justice Canada

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada

Blueprint 2020 has shown the power of public servants working together. The 2014 Charitable Campaign is our campaign—and it provides another opportunity to demonstrate our support for our local communities. Follow the charitable campaign on Twitter @PSGives_SPDonne and GCconnex, or learn why your fellow public sector employees give to their favourite charities by following the #iGive or #jeDonne photo, text and video testimonials.

Photo: Andrew Treusch, 2014 Charitable Campaign National Chair

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October 2014 Issue 1

An Undercover Operation with Service CanadaWhat happens when an Acting Assistant Deputy Minister goes undercover in her own organization?

Well, according to Anne Milne, a few things happen in rapid succession. “First, you get some pretty funny video and photos, and then you realize that you are getting incredibly thoughtful feedback and you start to wonder why you didn’t try this sooner.”

As Acting Assistant Deputy Minister in Service Canada’s Western Canada and Territories Region in early 2014, Anne was touring the Region conducting town halls and having face-to-face discussions with staff about Blueprint 2020 and Service Canada’s Vision 2020.

“The town halls were great from a scheduling perspective,” said Anne. “ I was able to hear lots of opinions at once and walk away with a list of ideas, but I wasn’t getting the whole story—I wasn’t giving folks the opportunity to be honest and direct. It wasn’t untilI started sitting down one-on-one with folks that I started to connect and understand the ideas and perspectives I was hearing.”

It was simple; make the time to genuinely connect and everyone benefits. Anne wanted to share this “ah-ha moment” with her management and leadership teams in a creative way that highlighted the importance of “putting yourself out there” and stepping outside your comfort zone.

Armed only with a wig and a camcorder, Anne committed to “not take herself so seriously” and jumped in feet first to make a short parody of the Undercover Boss television series. The results were remarkable.

For Jeremy Arbuthnot, one of the staff participants from Vancouver, BC, who appeared on camera, it was the effort that meant the most to him. “I thought the whole thing was encouraging,” said Jeremy. “It’s great for senior leaders to have informal discussions with staff when they are visiting an office. Making that connection is something that I really appreciate and if leaders get in the habit of doing it more often, then it becomes more natural.”

While Anne doesn’t expect anyone to dress up and infiltrate a working group, she wants leaders to know that trying new things can produce amazing results. “All our participants had great attitudes about the project,” said Anne. “I was impressed how every person embraced the opportunity to share their thoughts and tell me what they liked and didn’t like about our future, our culture and how we serve Canadians.”

For Service Canada staff in the Western Canada and Territories Region, Anne’s video highlighted that engagement doesn’t always require grand efforts or elaborate planning. Engaging staff can be as simple as making time to sit down and talk.

“Staff didn’t seem to care about the wig or the video camera,” said Anne. “They just wanted to share their concerns and ideas.”

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October 2014 Issue 1

What’s New

Blueprint 2020 in MotionIt’s been an exciting year in many departments and agencies since Blueprint 2020 was launched. In the spirit of innovation, some organizations have developed videos to showcase the work they’ve done. Of course, they are just getting started. The future looks promising (and fun).

Keep in TouchShare your thoughts on this newsletter with us by email,

GCconnex or Twitter!

Email: Blueprint 2020 National Secretariat

Website: GCconnex and GCpedia

Twitter handles: @BlueprintGC2020 and @ObjectifGC2020

Want to know more about what’s happening with Blueprint 2020?

In response to the tremendous interest in knowing more about Blueprint 2020, we’ve introduced a new “What’s New?” section of the Blueprint 2020 GCpedia page! Here you will find the most up-to-date information on innovative engagement activities and actions taking place from coast to coast to coast—updated weekly!

• Department of Fisheries and Oceans

• Employment and Social Development Canada

• Health Canada

• Public Works and Government Services Canada

• Videos on the Public Service–Wide Commitments in Destination 2020