In its role as a management board for Canada, responsible for advising the government on resource management, the Treasury Board includes in its mandate the "affordable and responsive delivery of government services through the strategic use of information management and information technology." Lucienne Robillard, who succeeded Massé as president of the board, has continued to link e-government initiatives with a more basic effort to reinvent or reform government for a new age. "As societies and economies evolve, largely due to the influence of globalization, changing demographics and the rise of the digital economy, governments are reinventing themselves to meet new expectations and the priorities of citizens and businesses," she said. "These dynamics are compelling the federal government to create a new vision for its relationship with Canadians."
Citizen-Centered Government
Robillard characterizes this new vision as citizen-centered government. In particular, she recognized that people interact with their government in different ways:
- As taxpayers who expect value and results;
- As clients who expect accessible, quality services; and
- As citizens who participate in the democratic process.
"The government's challenge is to enable Canadians to explore all three elements of their citizenship," Robillard added. "Government is meeting this challenge by reassessing the substantial resources it has in public servants and IM/IT assets and levering these investments to make government more responsive and affordable."
Pushing forward with e-government has become one of the federal government's top priorities. In October last year, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien reiterated the continuing need to reinvent Canadian government. "In the new, global, knowledge-based economy of the 21st century, the role of government is not what it was in the past," he said. "The role of a national government today is to represent the future to the present. It is to focus on those areas where it can make a real difference. Its role is sometimes to act directly; sometimes to work in partnership; sometimes to create a framework for the private sector; sometimes simply to lead by example."
Chrétien also views e-government as a critical ingredient of reform that must be pushed forward as rapidly as possible. "Governments can, and should, be at the leading edge of the information revolution, a model user of the new technologies to improve services to Canadians," said Chrétien. "By 2004, our goal is to be the most electronically connected government in the world to its citizens."
When the Canadian government talks about using new technologies to connect citizens to government, however, it is not simply thinking of electronic service delivery.
"E-government is more than simply putting information and services online," wrote Mel Cappe, clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to the Cabinet, in a report to the Prime Minister. "It means using new technologies, including the Internet, to improve administration of programs and services. It involves people and the sharing of ideas, know-how and expertise in a secure environment that protects the privacy of Canadians.
"E-government also requires collaboration across departments. As we put programs and services online, we must maximize their value by grouping them around citizens' needs and priorities. E-government means building partnerships with other levels of government and with private and not-for-profit sectors. We must mutually align our programs and services, whenever this makes sense. Above all, e-government is about enhancing the effectiveness and relevance of government for citizens."
Substance to Vision
In September, Michelle d'Auray was appointed as the new CIO of Canada. As well as being responsible for leading, coordinating and providing direction in the use of information management and information technology, d'Auray's top priority is implementing the Government On-Line initiative - the plan to provide Canadians with electronic access to all federal programs and services by 2004.
"Government On-Line is an ambitious plan that involves much more than technology," said d'Auray. "At its heart, the initiative is about transforming the business of government to make services and programs more accessible and responsive to Canadians."
One vital part of the Canadian plan is the development of an e-platform service, what they more commonly refer to as the "secure channel" project. Security is a top priority and they believe that the infrastructure needs to support a wide range of security requirements. For more sensitive transactions, the government is implementing a public key infrastructure - an integrated structure of technology and privacy policy that protects confidentiality, data integrity and the identity of users.
To implement the technological component of the project, the government is taking a consortium approach that encourages companies with different areas of expertise to bid as a group, with one company assigned lead responsibility. "By making a single entity responsible and accountable, from technical design through implementation and operation, we reduce risk and still have access to the range of expertise and innovation required for a large and complex contract of this type," explained Alfonso Gagliano, minister of Public Works and Government Services.
Listening to Citizens
Like many other countries, overall design of e-government access takes a one-portal approach . What is significant is the degree to which citizen input is being sought to create and improve the look and feel of services, as well as to determine priorities.
"Too often in the past, government services were designed from the inside out; they reflected the structures of government organizations more than the needs and priorities of citizens," said Cappe in his report to the prime minister. "This is changing, and it will continue to change in the coming years. We need to keep building on this momentum."
Based on citizen input, federal departments are determining which services should be given the highest priority for online development. They are also determining how best to organize information and services online, testing these concepts with the people who use them and incorporating their feedback. This research includes focus group testing to determine how best to organize information online according to themes and types of activity. Users of individual online services are also being asked for input, and increasingly, online products will include an automatic feedback mechanism. An external advisory panel of users is also planned to help guide the Government On-Line initiative.
"As we continue to renew and modernize the institution of public service, it is increasingly the voice of Canadians that will guide us," said Peter Harder, secretary of the Treasury Board. "Technology is providing us with one of the greatest tools to hear that voice more clearly, and putting in our hands a better means to respond."
Attracting the Best
In developing an IT strategy, the Canadian government recognized that the potential of technology and information ultimately depends on people to drive it forward. As government increasingly relies on IM/IT, its IM/IT workforce becomes all the more critical.
The government's mission to "serve Canadians better" includes the public servants who are essential to finding innovative ways to use government's IM/IT resources. Part of the overall strategy is working to make government an employer of choice that attracts and sustains a world-class IM/IT workforce.
In a strategy document entitled "Strategic Directions for Information Management and Information Technology," the government noted: "The highly dynamic IM/IT environment is breeding a unique kind of knowledge worker, one who is highly mobile, motivated by challenges and opportunities, one who thrives on change and adapts well to a constantly shifting scene.
"IM/IT professionals in government are motivated by many of the same dynamics as their colleagues in the private sector. Public servants are attracted to work environments that recognize their contributions, nurture diverse and expansive patterns of thinking and present continuous learning challenges. Creating this kind of workplace - a hallmark of learning organizations - is essential to attract and retain highly skilled employees."
To meet this challenge the government has initiated a number of programs to ensure its IM/IT workforce has the opportunity to acquire new skills on a continuing basis. To hire people with the needed skills, the government is offering competitive salary and benefits packages coupled with what it sees as a unique opportunity for personal accomplishment. "The challenge and scope of IM/IT work in government are unparalleled," outlines the document. "Government is tackling IT projects on a range and scale that is difficult to match anywhere, and in many areas it is charting new territory."
Impressive Array of Services
The Canada portal already serves as a gateway to all federal Web sites and currently receives more than seven million hits each month. In addition, a separate InfoCenter portal provides a single point of access to the government's most used products and services.
Of the many federal services up and running, a few are worthy of particular mention:
The Canadian Health Network brings together the resources of over 460 Canadian health-related organizations to provide a unified source of valid, Internet-based health information.
The National Job Bank, available through kiosks and through the Internet, is used by 10,000 people each day. More than 350,000 job opportunities are posted each year through the system. The Electronic Labor Exchange allows employers to use a checklist to create a profile for the position they need filled, and this is electronically matched to the profiles of those seeking employment.
CanLearn Interactive, developed in partnership with provincial and territorial governments, non-governmental and student organizations and the private sector, is Canada's one-stop resource for exploring education and training opportunities, career options, learning strategies and ways to finance learning goals.
Electronic filing of taxes is possible for tax professionals and over five million individual citizens. And by 2001, this will be expanded to allow all Canadians the chance to file over the Internet.
The National Film Board of Canada offers 800 of its films online and free of charge through CineRoute, a pilot project to make many of the films in its collection available by request over the Internet.
Canadian Business Service Centers offer one-stop access to a database of information on programs, services and regulations from the federal government, provinces and territories, as well as the best of private sector information of interest to the business community.
It is now possible to incorporate a business in Canada online, 24 hours a day, from anywhere in the world, pay online in a secure environment, and download a certificate of incorporation the same day.
Filing a patent used to require travel to the Canadian Patent Office or hiring a searcher. Now, through the Canadian Intellectual Property Office Web site, the entire patent filing process can be conducted online, including initial searching, filing an application, payment of fees and obtaining a granted patent. Every month, over 50,000 Canadians interested in export make use of the Canadian Trade Commissioner Web site for direct and easy access to the services of its 133 Canadian offices around the world.
The Near Future
The government has also slated a number of new features and services to go online in the near future.
Live support services will be integrated into the government portal, allowing users to initiate a conversation with a technical or subject matter expert who will provide assistance and take them through the desired activity without leaving the Web site or using conventional telephone services.
Health Canada is working with key stakeholders to make health records available electronically and to offer telehealth, including medical services delivered remotely to First Nations' communities.
Canadians will soon be able to apply for and conduct all transactions related to employment insurance benefits online, including direct deposit requests and inquiries about the status of a claim. Corporations and their accountants will be able to file their tax returns electronically.
The Canadian Passport Office is moving to a system where Canadians renewing their passports can submit applications, photos and fees electronically. Plans are under way to develop an environmental portal that would integrate online information from across the government of Canada and provide links to environmental information and services that exist on other Web sites of both Canadian and international origin.
Canada Business Service Centers (CBSC) are implementing Voice-to-Voice Web support. By clicking on a "Talk to Us!" button on the CBSC Web site, a client immediately talks to a business information officer at the CBSC, who will simultaneously search the Web site for the information needed.
Even a brief survey such as this highlights that the broad goal in Canada is not only to get all government service delivery online by 2004, but to do it in such a way that it makes government as accessible and helpful as possible.
There is a clear recognition in the Government On-Line plan that this is something that has to evolve based on continued consultation with all stakeholders. "The digital world is one in which no one has all the answers," states the plan. "We will learn together how to interact in it. Working together, we will make the government of Canada the government most connected to its citizens."
Autor: Blake Harris
Quelle: Government Technology, 05.07.2005
