Partnering across jurisdictions to improve digital service delivery
“CDS is committed to working with provincial partners to drive forward a more connected and inclusive digital future for the nation outlined in Canada’s Digital Ambition 2023. Partnerships will also extend to collaborating with international governments and working with like-minded organizations that can help CDS deliver its mandate.”
CDS collaborates with many teams across all levels of government to share expertise and learn from each other about approaches to public service delivery in Canada. We also work with jurisdictions to advance the use, adoption, and interoperability of digital credentials and trust services. Particularly through Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) forums and governance tables, where the Institute for Citizen-Centred Service (ICCS) is an integral part of this collaboration. ICCS is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping to remove access barriers and improving service delivery experiences for people interacting with all levels of government in Canada.
CDS’s CEO Paul Wagner has recently joined the Board of Directors for the ICCS. This increases CDS’s awareness of public service initiatives and priorities across Canada, as well as opportunities for collaboration. The ICCS is uniquely positioned to convene all jurisdictions in Canada to build meaningful collaboration and initiatives to help improve public service experiences.
Read on to learn more about CDS and the ICCS’s relationship, and how we’re partnering across jurisdictions to improve digital service delivery.
What is the ICCS?
The ICCS is a non-partisan team of advisors, doers, and connectors focused on helping governments deliver integrated citizen-centred services that work for Canadians. Created by, and for, the public sector, they are a trusted pan-Canadian forum that fosters and facilitates the flow of information and the sharing of expertise and resources to support member objectives, The ICCS works with, convenes, and advises federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal colleagues and subject matter experts to remove barriers to access to services. They’ve done it for more than 20 years.
As a focal point for innovation, collaboration, and shared solutions that help advance integrated service delivery across Canada in the digital era, the ICCS connects FPT tables to more effectively deliver tools and activities in support of a people-centred approach in the public sector.
The ICCS has 4 main activities that support a people-centered approach in the public sector:
- Inter-jurisdictional collaboration: provides a neutral platform for inter-jurisdictional collaboration and shared learning for the public service delivery community in Canada;
- Secretariat syncs: provides strategic planning and secretariat services to senior public sector leadership teams focused on pan-Canadian collaboration;
- Researching progress: monitors and measure the progress of the Canadian public sector in improving satisfaction with service delivery; and,
- Info sharing within the ICCS network: promotes cost-effective public-sector service delivery through sharing of best practices, approaches, tools, and publications.
What is citizen-centred service?
From the ICCS: There are at least 6 reasons for the public sector to deliver their programs and services with a citizen-centred approach.
- Focus on needs, perspectives, improvement priorities, and satisfaction of Canadians.
Using a citizen-centred perspective means organizations must focus on service improvement priorities and needs from the individual’s perspective. In a citizen-centred approach, citizen satisfaction becomes the criterion for success, and the basis for results measurement in public sector service delivery. - A citizen-centred approach highlights access challenges.
Citizens must work through the maze of public sector organizations and services to get what they need. To truly meet citizens’ service needs, governments must work together across levels of government to provide seamless, integrated service to individuals and businesses. - Clients of government services are not simply clients.
They are more than consumers of government services and usually also taxpayers and citizens which have a personal interest in how they consume services. While clients of the government services in Canada are usually citizens of this country, they may also be potential citizens of Canada, or citizens of another country with a business, professional or personal interest in Canada. - Many of the clients of government are involuntary clients.
The involuntary client whose service relationship with government can stem from government requirements or citizen obligations. That is one reason why fairness is among the five top drivers of Canadians’ satisfaction with the quality of government service delivery. - Balance the distinct interests and needs of different categories of citizens, against the public interest.
Governments must balance the interests of immediate or direct clients with those of society as a whole. Public sector organizations must keep in mind that the quality of their service delivery experience contributes to building trust, strengthening client satisfaction, and supporting broader access for all individuals. - Canadians form an impression at each service interaction.
Creating an impression of an organization or service is about the effectiveness of the public institution and about the potential of democratic government. The service experience either increases or decreases Canadians’ confidence in public institutions. Each interaction—whether in person, online, or by telephone—is an opportunity to build trust and positive sentiment towards the public sector. Moments of truths are proactive and need to be tied to experiences that are important for the client.
How our collaboration with the ICCS helps us design and deliver better services
Collaborating with the ICCS helps us gain a better understanding of the digital service environment in Canada. It makes us able to be more strategic in our delivery and improve people’s experiences with CDS and the Government of Canada.
Examples:
- Advancing work and interoperability of digital trust and credentials
- Improving national cybersecurity prevention and detection
- Addressing shared gaps in digital talent recruitment, development, and retention
- Jurisdictional information sharing on best practices and lessons learned (collective knowledge)
Explore the ICCS and follow for updates on CDS’s work
To learn more about the Institute for Citizen-Centred Service (ICCS) and how they support public services in Canada, explore the ICCS website and follow the ICCS on LinkedIn for updates and information on their learning and research opportunities.
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