Let's Think Digital

We're back for Season 2! This week, we have Sean Boots, an open government manager and a veteran of digital transformation efforts in the Canadian federal government. In this conversation we talk about how we seem to be stuck in the mud on our digital transformation journey, and Sean's recent presentation at the FWD50 conference and open letter to the Clerk of the Privy Council that lays out his radical (but implementable) ideas that would make the public service better equipped to handle the challenges of today and tomorrow. Watch on YouTubehttps://youtu.be/9qI1R9Z2ouMRelated LinksTo the Clerk, and friends (Sean Boots' open letter)Revolution, not evolution, for federal public service delivery (Sean Boots FWD50 talk)Chief information officer Catherine Luelo resigns from job revamping federal tech (Policy Options)What Canada can learn from Ukraine about digital services for citizens (Aaron Snow / Ottawa Citizen)Customer service a new concept for Canada’s Immigration Department (Toronto Star)Byte-Sized Progress: Assessing Digital Transformation in the Government of Canada (The Dais)Overview of the Government’s Digital Service Transformation (Parliamentary Budget Office)00:05 Introduction and Season One Recap01:31 Ryan's Thoughts on the Current State of Digital Government06:23 Introducing this Week's Guest: Sean Boots07:46 Interview with Sean Boots24:00 Why Leaders Need to Have Digital Competency31:18 Sean's Wildest Ideas34:49 Reflections on the Canadian Digital Service43:23 Staying Optimistic45:09 Conclusion

On June 16, we had a special livestream to celebrate the conclusion of Season 1 of Let's Think Digital! Listen to the Think Digital team to talk about how social media has been changing our world, the future of work, and reflections on the previous episodes. We also took some audience Q&A.Thanks to Mike Kujawski, Rebecca Hollett, Mel Han, Aislinn Bornais, Meghan Hellstern, Jen Schellinck, Mike Gifford, Nilufer Erdebil, and Wayne Chu for appearing. Related LinksOpen source and accessibility: How we can make government digital services available to everyoneCatch-up on Season One of Let’s Think Digital!

This week, Meghan Hellstern, Trainer and Facilitator with Think Digital, co-hosts with Ryan and reflects on her time at the 2023 Code for America Summit in Washington, D.C! In this episode, we hear about how digital transformation is as much about people, as it is technology. Big thanks to Hillary Hartley, Dorothy Eng, Ariel Kennan, Amanda Renteria, Karina Rider, Natalie Talis, and Luke Simcoe for taking time out of their busy conference to sit and reflect with Meghan.Related LinksCode for America SummitWatch the Episode on YouTubehttps://youtu.be/pCdCmpYAamY

Over the past decade it seems like countless innovation labs have sprung up inside of government. But do they really work? Sometimes innovation and government can seem like a contradiction in terms. This week, Ryan co-hosts with Think Digital Associate, Nick Scott, to dig deep into not only the ways that governments themselves can become more innovative, but why government might actually be necessary for innovation to flourish.Joining Ryan and Nick to explore this topic is Alex Ryan, Co-founder and CEO of Synthetikos. Alex has a tremendous breadth of experience having previously ran innovation labs in the United States, Alberta, and most recently, serving as Vice President of the Solutions Lab at MaRS in Toronto. He talks about what he has learned during his years of experience helping government and the social sector harness innovation, his belief that government can in fact be innovative, and how government is the ultimate opportunity to do innovation at scale.If you ever have wanted to learn about what these things called innovation labs really are, what they are good for (and what they aren't), this is the episode for you!Related LinksWhat I learned from 5 years on MaRS - Blog post by Alex RyanObservatory of Public Sector Innovation - OECD websiteRegistration link for GovMaker Conference - June 14, 2023, Fredericton, NBRegistration link for Alex Ryan and Nick Scott workshop: Mission Possible: Mission-Oriented Innovation for 21st Century Challenges - June 15, 2023, Fredericton, NBThe GovMaker PodcastWatch the Episode on YouTubehttps://youtu.be/VTJ04otR-y0

This episode, we go deep and talk about everything you need to know about artificial intelligence, machine learning, large language models like ChatGPT, and big data in the government context.Our first guests are Jen Schellinck, Associate at Think Digital and CEO of Sysabee, and John Stroud, who runs an initiative with Jen called AI Guides. Jen and John will introduce you to AI basics and buzzwords.Next we look to the future with Cecilia Tham, CEO and Founder of Futurity Systems, to talk about where we could be heading as a society with AI in ways we can only start to imagine.Third, Shingai Manjengwa, Founder of Fireside Analytics, will join us to chat AI risks, mitigations, and frameworks to use AI in responsible and ethical ways.And finally, we have a preview of a research report that we are publishing next month that explores how governments around the world are approaching the governance of artificial intelligence. Jacob Danto-Clancy and Bryce Edwards from the Think Digital team join us to share some insights from their work on this project.Related LinksBuilding an interspecies economy via the Plantiverse (from Futurity Systems)Intense - a quarterly lifestyle magazine from 2030.  All the images were made by Midjourney and co-written with GPT. (from Futurity Systems)Futurity Science Tools, a data-driven platform for futures intelligence (from Futurity Systems)If ChatGPT was a colleague... - blog post by Shingai ManjengwaWatch the Episode on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et9UJsa6BeA

On this episode we talk about the human factors that can prevent and enable digital government innovation. We start with Alistair Croll, Founder and Content Chair of FWD50, and the results of their 2023 Digital Government Content Survey. There's some really interesting results about what digital government practitioners are seeing as priorities, and the challenges they face in pushing through innovation within their organizations. We then talk with Nilufer Erdebil, Founder and CEO of Spring2 Innovation and an Associate at Think Digital, who talks about her new book, "Future Proofing by Design". She talks about the importance of design thinking, not just as a methodology, but as a way of approaching problem solving in government that can make your life, the lives of citizens, and even your boss' life, easier.Related LinksFWD50 2023 Digital Government Content Survey ResultsFuture Proofing by Design, by Nilufer ErdebilWatch the Video Version of the Episodehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXVsrNi_al8

This week on Let's Think Digital we tackle the idea that government organizations are slow and resistant to change, and explore the idea that digital innovation is a necessary skill set for public servants to learn. Joining Ryan is Robyn Scott, the CEO and Co-founder of Apolitical, a global learning platform dedicated to supporting public servants in building 21st century governments that work for people and the planet. Robyn shares her insights on the types of skill sets public servants need to learn, the challenges of transformation in government, and the importance of connecting with peers from around the world.Visit Apolitical and learn about their training and learning community supports.Watch the Video Version of the Episodehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCJnylmJn_Y

Unlike in the private sector, governments don't choose their users. That's why even more important in the public sector to make sure that technology and digital transformation efforts work for everyone. It doesn’t matter how innovative or efficient digital technology can be for public institutions if the implementation of those actively exclude people from accessing and benefiting from public services and assets. That’s why principles like accessibility, sustainability and openness are so important when we think about digital transformation.Joining Ryan to talk about this is Mike Gifford, an Associate with Think Digital, and a Senior Strategist at CivicActions, a technology consultancy that helps government deliver better public services through modern technology and design.Watch the Video Version of the Episodehttps://youtu.be/rmO5T7zQtU4

Government procurement. For some, you might think of scandals, like the recent controversy about the amount of money spent on developing the ArriveCan app, or the sponsorship scandal in the early 2000s. For others procurement is that boring, sometimes frustrating process when contracting for services. But the reality is that how governments procure is fundamental to its ability to undertake digital transformation projects.To talk about this, we are so happy to have joining us Dr. Amanda Clarke, Associate Professor of Public Administration, Digital Government, Data Governance, and Civic Technology at Carleton University. Learn more about the research that Dr. Clarke and her team have been undertaking about federal government procurement in Canada at: https://govcanadacontracts.caWatch the Video Version of the Episodehttps://youtu.be/zvIrRl-SBHQ

Ryan travels to Dubai for the World Government Summit, an annual event that brings together leaders in government and industry from around the world, looking at issues related to digital transformation, futurism, sustainable development and other topics that are of interest to policy makers around the world.Appearing on this episode as part of hallway conversations during the Summit are some amazing guests:Pooja Warier Hamilton - Chief Partnerships Officer, ApoliticalGiulio Quaggiotto - Innovation Advisor, Prime Minister’s Office, UAEAaron Snow - Fellow, Georgetown University Beeck Center for Social Impact and InnovationBarbara Ubaldi - Head of Digital Government and Data Unit, OECDSimonida Subotic - Former Deputy Secretary for Economic Development, State of New YorkWatch the Video Version of the Episodehttps://youtu.be/aLYT-F5CQPM

Everyone is talking about the metaverse, but what is it actually, and what does it mean for digital government and the public sphere? How is it different from the promises of virtual reality made in the 1990s? In this episode, host Ryan Androsoff talks to Jen Schellinck, an expert in data science and artificial intelligence, and Meghan Hellstern, a user experience and human-centered design specialist to break through the hype.Read more about how Ryan, Meghan, and Jen have been using Virtual Reality in the Digital Executive Leadership Program that they run with the Institute on Governance.Cold Open Source: ABC News Primetime LiveWatch the Video Version of the Episodehttps://youtu.be/bCobtVf_7yw

Over the last 30 years, technology has been promised to transform government and public services. But the reality hasn't always matched the promise. Why is that? On our very first episode of Let's Think Digital, we unpack what is going on, and how we might use the "Pac-Man" model to drive digital transformation.Joining host Ryan Androsoff, are Dorothy Eng, Executive Director of Code for Canada, Winter Fedyk, CEO of Silo Strategy, and Luke Simcoe, a change management and communications expert.Read more about Think Digital's "Pac-Man" model of digital transformation.Cold Open Source: Clinton LibraryWatch the Video Version of the Episodehttps://youtu.be/5DKrSokfA5s

Let’s Think Digital is a new podcast about what it takes to use digital technologies to transform our world to improve peoples’ lives. Hosted by Ryan Androsoff, Founder of Think Digital, and an incredible community of digital innovators from all walks of life, this podcast goes beyond the hype of founder culture. Our focus isn’t just user counts, funding rounds and quarterly profits. Instead we’re going to talk about why systems resist change, and how transformation is just as much about people and culture as it is about tech stacks.You’ll hear a wide range of topics, from the link between procurement and digital government, to the impact of new technologies like the metaverse. From equity, inclusion and ethical responsibilities for tech, to why governments can’t be run like businesses, particularly when it comes to providing digital services to citizens. We’re eager to talk about the political and philosophical ramifications of technology and what it means for the future of government. Our goal is to help you to learn about how digital is impacting our world, to ask better questions, and to be able to call bullshit when you need to! Learn more at https://www.letsthinkdigital.ca!