Directions for Change

Section 2:
What will guide LAC?

2.6 Strengthened leadership and strategic focus

During a consultation in 2003, a participant observed that the former National Library and National Archives had been too inwardly and operationally focused, and that as a consequence they had "left a smaller footprint than other institutions with 'national' in their name."

Library and Archives Canada must exert effective influence within government and Canadian society if it is to contribute to the social, economic and cultural development of Canada and to our country's participation in the global knowledge economy. It must influence nationally and play its role internationally. In broad policy areas such as learning, literacy, equitable access to information, intellectual property, culture policy, and heritage policy, LAC must be a credible and effective player at the table. In some areas, such as digital content and access, metadata standards development, preservation, and government information management, LAC should provide leadership.

Strengthened policy capacity

LAC has been largely absent as a policy voice, even in highly specialized areas within its mandate. LAC must become known as an institution that knows how to use its capacity strategically to effect positive change on a national scale. We must build strategic capacity that will define the areas in which we must influence, the directions toward which we will influence, and the means through which we will influence. High quality policy capacity will allow LAC to meet its and the government's broader objectives pertaining to knowledge, culture and information management.

Environmental awareness

Being aware of what is going on around us-with our users, our partners, the private sector, our international counterparts, or on the technology front-is vital to our capacity to be a policy player and be innovative within our own programs. It is important that staff go out to learn (and sometimes teach) within their broader professional environments, so that they stay informed, up-to-date and motivated to bring the best ideas back to LAC. We must also undertake a concerted effort to ensure continuous environmental scanning and information sharing in areas of particular importance to the organization.

R & D

As a national institution, a modest investment in research and development will help us to innovate, to provide the required leadership to government, and to guide our professional communities' evolution in the changing information environment. Our R&D; scope will be grounded in our core functions such as digital information management and preservation.

We aim to be a confident institution-one that is clear as to its vision and purpose; that knows its desired outcomes and how to measure them; that understands how to contribute to government policy goals such as social cohesion, quality of life and prosperity for Canadian society; that engages in purposeful partnerships; and that takes measured risks and openly shares its successes and failures as part of its learning.

Increased strategic capacity at LAC will pay off in a highly relevant and vital Canadian knowledge institution.

Previous | Table of Contents | Next