Skills and Work in the Emerging Digital Public Service: summary of a knowledge synthesis project
The digital era offers many opportunities, yet presents new and growing challenges. Governments are focused on preparing their citizens and industries for the coming digital future. Yet are governments themselves---and the public service that supports them---prepared for the looming changes? As the initial impacts of the digital era are being felt, and governments and post-secondary education institutions are experimenting in how to respond, this Knowledge Synthesis project will identify and synthesize the state of knowledge surrounding the implications of the digital era for the public service of the future. This future is fast approaching, bringing emerging opportunities for the development of public policy and delivery of public services, while revealing evolving challenges of public governance as a consequence of the rapid adoption of digital technologies in broader society.
This project will draw on Canadian and international evidence, primarily focused on the public sector but also incorporating cross-sectoral insights, to identify how the digital era translates into specific skill and capacity requirements in the public sector. We will undertake an assessment of the rapidly emerging range of education, training, and career development offerings in digital tools and approaches for established and aspiring public servants in Canada, and how the higher education system, public sector employers, private firms, civil society organizations, students (as future public servants), and current public servants can best work together to build this capacity.
Public service leaders are grappling with the challenges of building a digital-ready public service, understanding that the traditional response of 'e-government' (i.e, the application of technology to the administration of government) is no longer sufficient. Rather, a digitally-ready public service must:
improve the performance of public administration and policy making functions using digital tools and methods;
strengthen understanding of the new landscape for public sector management, changing as a consequence of advancing technology and social disruption; and
respond to how the adoption of technology throughout society raises new regulatory, policy, and governance expectations on the part of citizens and stakeholders.
In building a model 21st century public service, some specific digital skills and literacies that may be required include undertaking data analytics, leading user-centric design, deploying and monitoring advanced technologies (such as artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, sensors, virtual and augmented reality, blockchain, Internet of Things devices, and 3D printing), engaging citizens and stakeholders through channels such as social media, providing digital citizen services, animating cross-organizational knowledge sharing and computer-supported collaboration, and ensuring cybersecurity and digital data privacy protection.
The outcomes will contribute to strategic insight for governments as to the public sector's future workforce needs, guidance for educators in training future public servants, a framework for supporting lifelong learning by public servants in the continual development of their competencies, and a platform for ongoing dialogue between the country's public sector employers and Canada's post-secondary institutions to ensure continual updating of the needs of government and an effective response from post-secondary education institutions in the digital era. Together, these outcomes will support a public service ready to face the challenges and embrace the opportunities of the digital future.