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2. Vision 2001-Government service at the start of the new millennium
3. Strategic direction for the 90s
3.1 Renewing services and program delivery
3.1.1 Improving the service interface
3.1.2 Promoting innovation
3.1.3 Putting the client in control
3.1.4 Tailoring service to special needs
3.1.5 Exploiting and disseminating government information
3.2.1 Identifying projects for potential investment
3.2.2 Evaluating, selecting and funding information technology projects using the
business-case approach
3.2.3 Promoting sharing to avoid duplication
3.3.1 Improving service through cooperation with other departments or governments
3.3.2 Providing services through the use of private-sector resources
3.3.3 Outsourcing
3.4 Building an open architecture and core infrastructure
3.4.1 Establishing objectives for providing service electronically
3.4.2 Developing an open architecture for government information technology
3.4.3 Improving information management across the government
3.4.4 Protecting information, assets and intellectual property
3.4.5 Improving the quality of information systems
This statement of policy direction was developed by the Treasury Board Secretariat with support and advice from the TBSAC Information Management Subcommittee and the Advisory Committee on Information Management. It reflects wide consultation with government departments, interdepartmental committees, other levels of government and the private sector.
There are enormous opportunities for the government to improve its services and program delivery through innovative use of information and technology. Government by its very nature is an information-intensive service provider. Vast amounts of information are required to deliver benefits like family allowances, pensions and unemployment insurance, and services like health, safety and security. It requires complex information systems to support programs such as taxation, scientific research and statistics. Substantial improvements in government productivity, service quality and the cost of administration can be achieved by managing information and designing systems to take advantage of modern technology.
Recent technological advancements in information management systems have dramatically reduced the cost of applications while increasing their efficiency and effectiveness. Because of technology, information can be captured, stored, managed and distributed more effectively than ever before. Fast, accurate access to information provides the means to enhance service to clients and results in better decisions.
What will it be like to do business with, or to work for, the government in five or 10 years? This vision describes what could be possible if the government capitalizes on the initiatives outlined in this strategic direction document.
Information at your fingertips: Canadians will have access to government information from their homes. Employees will make on-the-spot decisions using systems to gain access to information and expertise.
Electronic service: Canadians will be able to conduct routine transactions electronically with the government seven days a week, 24 hours a day, through conveniently located service kiosks, automated bank teller machines or home computers. Routine transactions between the government and the private sector or between departments will be carried out electronically.
The computer will be just another appliance: By recognizing voice and handwriting, and communicating images, computers will be easier to use. Employees will be comfortable with computers and will use them widely in their work.
These changes flow from five key building blocks for progress:
People: People's attitude to technology is changing. Their knowledge, proficiency and confidence are improving and resistance is lessening. People are getting used to electronic service and are preferring to be served this way. New employees expect to use technology extensively in their jobs.
Applications: Knowledge is increasingly available through expert systems that answer queries as a specialist might. Packaged systems and new system-development products reduce the cost of applications, deliver them more quickly and are easily found.
Information: Text, graphics, data, sound, video and pictures can be managed in the same database or document and access to multiple databases is easier. Paper is being replaced by electronic documents.
Networks: Communicating large volumes of information is more feasible as costs decrease while capacity increases. Business television, small portable telephones, satellites and new services on the public telephone network suggest new ways to provide services.
Standards: Invisible to the user, non-proprietary standards allow hardware, applications and databases of many vendors to be "plugged" together, unrestricted by technical concerns.
Investment in these technologies will be driven largely by three needs: to improve the delivery of service to the public, to significantly increase productivity in the Public Service, and to increase Canada's international competitiveness in a global economy. Partnership with other departments, other levels of government and labour, and alliances with business will be an accepted and widely used model of cooperation. In an era of smaller, decentralized government functioning within the challenge of restraint, technological choice will be shrewdly analysed and will conform to this strategic direction.
The government's vision for information management is the orderly transition to a seamless technological environment, in the home or in the workplace, at the service of Canadians.
The government's strategic direction for enhancing services through the innovative use of information and technology encompasses five major objectives:
To support the achievement of each objective, key strategies are identified and government initiatives have been proposed for each strategy.
It is no longer enough to apply technology to do the same thing more efficiently. We have to seek opportunities to improve how we do business and even change the nature of the things we do. We have to build partnerships between information management practitioners and program managers to rethink how we deliver service in the light of opportunities made possible by new technologies. Departmental planning should address program goals and information needs concurrently with innovative technological solutions. Information technology can be a catalyst to the review of how programs are delivered, and a means to the enhancement of service using fewer resources.
The Public Service 2000 Service to the Public Task Force found a strong link between excellence of service and a client-service orientation. At the same time, deputy heads have been challenged to do more with less. Information technology provides a key to achieving these objectives concurrently.
Technology investments can dramatically improve access to service and enhance quality while increasing productivity. Renewal is achievable through the following strategies and initiatives:
There are many opportunities to improve government operations through investments in information technology. Some of these investment opportunities are new applications while others would replace older systems. Many cannot be funded from existing departmental budgets and thus would require new money. In the present climate of restraint, it is not possible to fund all proposed projects. We must, therefore, make the right investment choices to optimize opportunities to improve programs and services. A government-wide approach is required to evaluate and select major information technology projects based on the business-case approach and such criteria as:
This business-case approach for making decisions regarding these unfunded information technology investments from a government-wide perspective will incorporate the following strategies and related initiatives:
Just as forging partnerships between information technology experts and program managers will improve the way service is delivered, partnerships with other departments and other governments, and alliances with the private sector, can also be beneficial and profitable.
Partnerships are formed between organizations to overcome an inherent weakness or to overcome fiscal or resource limitations. They should be driven by needs and result in mutual benefit to both parties. They can be used to build on strengths or to fill gaps. There are many types of partnerships that can be considered, ranging from simple exchanges of personnel, through joint ventures, to outsourcing an entire operation. Information technology organizations can establish alliances with the private sector to obtain or supplement all or part of their function where these operations can be performed better or more economically by the private sector. This allows the organization to preserve and even develop areas of strength while correcting its weaknesses.
Alliances could also be used to build applications for the government. In this case, a private-sector company would develop the application or build the facility using its own capital in return for a service contract to operate it. Another use of partnerships is an agreement whereby a company would upgrade a facility in return for the difference between the old and new operating costs for a given period. In both of these cases, the financial risk is shared by the service provider. Departments should refer to the government Work Force Adjustment directive and consult with appropriate bargaining agents when considering outsourcing.
Building Canadian economic competitiveness is another objective that can be supported by the way the government invests in information technology. Many government programs have a direct effect on industrial competitiveness. Information technology can be used to reduce compliance costs, shorten delays, reduce paper burden and otherwise improve service to industry. In addition, government contracting can help to develop Canada's information technology capabilities. Much innovative technology is developed by small and medium enterprises that often struggle for existence because of the large risks they take. Departments should be prepared to share this risk. As a government contract may make the difference in the ability of these companies to survive, the benefit to the department and to Canada may be far greater than the contract's value.
Other departments and governments may also be planning to implement systems that provide similar services or serve the same clients. Opportunities to share applications and facilities and to adopt common standards can reduce costs to all parties as well as improve service to the public. When planning to share data with other organizations, departments must ensure that privacy and security requirements are respected.
The following strategies and related initiatives can achieve these objectives:
The strategies for renewing services and program delivery imply new applications and the redevelopment of existing ones. To contain the cost of this development, an infrastructure comprising technical strategies, standards, common systems and shared networks must be built. The objective of this infrastructure is a flexible, open-systems environment that facilitates change at minimum cost.
Several lead agencies and common-service organizations are mandated to provide departments with information management services and support. To prevent duplication and to ensure maximum overall efficiency, these organizations should coordinate their plans and strategies.
The government should move towards common and integrated administrative systems in finance, human resources, assets and materiel in order to take maximum advantage of limited resources, to support managers and to enhance electronic transfer of information. By the end of the decade, administrative systems should be paperless.
The increasing use of information technology and the interdependence of information systems means that all governments and businesses are increasingly vulnerable to security risks or problems of sensitive information being disclosed. With the concentration of information in government agencies, the risk of disasters as a result of such events as fires or power outages can also affect the availability of essential systems. For this reason, a critical part of this strategy is to protect the government's information assets. The government will have to increase its efforts to provide appropriate security measures and contingency plans in new systems and to balance expenditures on security against the need to make investments that are urgently required.
Retaining certain government information is essential for maintaining corporate memory and, in a broader sense, the country's national heritage. While procedures for preserving valuable paper records are well established, corresponding practices for electronic information are lagging behind the rapid growth in the use of microcomputers and networks.
The following strategies and related initiatives respond to these needs:
The decentralization of computing power to the desktop is shifting the knowledge about, responsibility for and control of computers and information from experts to managers and staff. The growing trend away from "technology push" towards "user pull" in the drive for change should be encouraged. The past emphasis on improving productivity through automation shifted much of the responsibility for designing business processes from the program manager to the information systems function. The current emphasis on improving service and program delivery allows program managers to re-assume prime responsibility. If senior managers are to lead these changes rather than react to them, they must be provided with and be willing to accept increased education and training in the use of enabling technology and in the management of information resources.
Similarly, line managers and their staff must also receive education and training so that they can fully manage their information resources and better apply the power of their computers to optimize the way they do their jobs. Furthermore, it must be realized that significant resources have to be allocated to support the extensive information, software, hardware and networks that will be implemented in government offices. Finally, employees should be able to use technology in the official language of their choice, including receiving training and documentation in that language.
One government objective is to use information technology to modernize the Public Service. The PS2000 White Paper states, "The Government believes that a professional, career Public Service, capable of attracting and retaining Canadians of talent, commitment and imagination, is essential to Canada's national well-being." The report identifies "broadly-based training and development" as one of the two measures to support this objective. When technology is provided to employees, they are often taught only the mechanics of its operation rather than how to apply it productively to their work. Enhancing employees' knowledge and skills will increase productivity, improve service and, at the same time, make the government a more attractive place to work. This will support the recruitment and retention of staff.
The employees of information management organizations need to be trained to work with managers in designing new ways to provide service. These employees must be convinced of the benefits of sharing with other organizations rather than having their own customized applications and facilities.
The following strategies and related initiatives will help achieve these objectives:
