The Path to Digital Governance

The initiative seeks to provide a conceptual, behavioural and institutional framework for innovation in the Canadian federal public service; one that positions our public institutions to take full advantage of the digital age and the opportunities it provides to government as we seek to evolve Westminster in the Canadian context. [...] The guiding question the project seeks to answer is: given the opportunities afforded by the digital age, how do we encourage innovation and responsible risk-taking on the part of public institutions, to ensure that governments meet the challenges imposed by an informed public that increasingly expects engagement in the development of policies and programs, and tangible, visible results within eve [...] And so long as the processes and tools to establish trust and authenticity are robust, the outcomes of such consultative processes The Path to Digital Government: An Agenda for Public Service Innovation and Excellence 9 should be faster, more legitimate and more efficient in terms of revising policy and making decisions. [...] Rather, it is imperative that elected officials and public servants work together to develop a vision for how digital technology is connected to and embedded in a broader, long-term public sector reform agenda and a strategy to transform how the government operates and delivers the services that citizens and businesses need. [...] And as the Internet’s influence permeates other aspects of society, it is beginning to profoundly transform virtually all institutions, from education, healthcare and science, to the way we produce and consume energy, to the very nature of government and democracy.