How can civic tech help improve government service delivery?
For over two decades, civic tech communities across Canada and internationally have been a home for people who want to use digital tools to make government services more accessible, efficient and effective.
While the Government of Canada is working to improve digital services, it is also suffering from a tech skills shortage. In 2022, it was reported that there were at least 7,000 unfilled tech positions, and in 2024 the government launched a Digital Talent Strategy to help deliver on its commitment to better serve all people in Canada in a digital age. But skilled tech workers are in high demand across Canada and internationally and the government faces stiff competition, as well as systemic challenges, when it comes to attracting and retaining these folks.
As the Government of Canada grapples with the challenge of hiring and retaining tech talent, some people are asking: should the government be working with more community-led initiatives to help improve digital service delivery?
This is part of what prompted a research report released by the Canadian Digital Service (CDS) today: How can civic tech help improve government service delivery?
In this report, I look at five real examples of collaborations between Canadian governments and civic tech volunteers. These case studies show that accepting help from volunteers is far from “free”–but in the right context, working with civic tech communities can sometimes lead to big benefits for governments and citizens.
Civic technology (or civic tech) is the use of technology, data, and design for the public good.
Civic tech projects generally:
- see technology not as an end in itself, but as a means to enhance the public good
- are often volunteer-led
- involve intentional collaboration between people with diverse skill sets
- include a strong focus on building “with, not for” the community that the project aims to serve
- seek to apply skills and ways of working typically found in technology and design sectors
More than anything, I wanted this research to be practical. As a federal public servant working on digital initiatives, I know how frustrating it can be to run into roadblocks when trying to bring in the tech talent we need to get the work done. Collaborating with civic tech volunteers can be an attractive option for public servants looking for creative ways to access digital expertise, but working with community groups is neither a straight path, nor a good match for every project.
So, how do we know if a government initiative might be a good fit for a partnership with civic tech? Based on the research, I recommend starting with two questions:
1. Is the initiative critical to operations?
If the answer is yes, it’s probably not a good candidate for a partnership with civic tech. Most civic tech communities operate on a volunteer basis, and since volunteer work is often done in addition to people’s other work and life responsibilities, it’s usually one of the first things to be deprioritized. So, many civic tech projects experience high turnover and delays or missed deadlines. That could cause serious issues for a mission-critical initiative.
But an initiative doesn’t need to be critical to operations to have a big impact. For example, Civic Tech Fredericton created River Watch Mobile: an open source, mobile-friendly web app that made it easier to use a mobile phone to access government-provided flood forecast data. Since its release in 2018, River Watch Mobile has been widely used by communities impacted by flooding along the Saint John River. The app was so useful that in 2020, the Government of New Brunswick took over operations to make it an official government tool.
2. Is the initiative appropriate for volunteer contributions?
Inviting civic tech volunteers to contribute to a government initiative should not be done in an attempt to save money. Working with volunteers still requires significant resources to do effectively.
For example, the Government of Canada’s Web Experience Toolkit (WET) benefitted hugely from working in the open and investing in building a vibrant contributor community. External volunteers made significant, rapid improvements to accessibility and helped the government get ahead of the curve on responsive design for mobile devices.
But the community that grew around the initiative only existed because it was nurtured by a core team of federal public servants. “It felt like a full time job… trying to be the grease that enables the collaboration,” said a former WET project lead, “It was a constant effort but a worthwhile effort.”
In addition to the resources needed to effectively manage a volunteer team, it’s also important to think about the nature of the work. For example, is your problem solvable by people outside the government? Does it require specialized internal knowledge or access to sensitive information? Also, civic tech volunteers are often most motivated to work on issues that directly impact them or their communities: is your initiative relevant to their daily lives?
These two questions are just a starting point. Even if your initiative isn’t critical to operations and is appropriate for volunteers, there’s much more to consider. As a next step, I recommend checking out the 20 Questions for Public Servants Thinking of Partnering With a Civic Tech Group section of the report, as well as the case studies.
Hearing Canadians call out gaps in government services, and seeing volunteers build tools to fill those gaps in short periods of time, can be frustrating for public servants who know first-hand about the complexities and challenges behind the scenes. We know it’s not that simple–and that sometimes, working with civic tech volunteers can help move our work forward.
The stories, tips, and questions in How can civic tech help improve government service delivery? are intended to help public servants determine if and when it might make sense to collaborate with civic tech.
We want to know: what story, tip, or question from the report resonates the most with you? Is there anything you would add to the 20 Questions for Public Servants Thinking of Partnering With a Civic Tech Group? Let us know!