'Twas the night before Christmas

A friend sent me the following "modernized" version of the old classic. I don't know who wrote it, but is very apropos given the economy, politics and the markets in the last little while....

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the House
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The MPs had scattered – some thrilled beyond doubt,
That vacation came early with the G-G's timeout.

In the halls of Finance, a few souls still did toil.
Christmas Eve? Bah – they will burn midnight oil!
All parties' ideas must get thrown in the mix,
There's a budget to write, an economy to fix.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang to the window to see what was the matter.
There were Layton & Harper, looking madder than spit,
And the PM was yelling, "You want what deficit?!?"

"GM got $4-billion (with the Chrysler boys, too),
And there'll be billions more before it's all through.
I'm paying the most – not that whining McGuinty,
So don't you accuse me of being too flinty."

And the bald man – who's quick with a zinger or two –
Said: "You've got all the vision of Mr. Magoo,
Your budget will flop, at the end of the day.
You'd better start packing for old Stornoway!"

On Bay Street that night, you could hear not a peep,
The bankers went home. (To rest? Or to weep?)
When out popped a man – this was no jolly fellow,
And at the top of his lungs, oh my, did he bellow!

"Forget Dasher & Dancer, & Prancer & Vixen,
I call Clark, & Waugh, & McCaughey & Nixon!
I demand you lend money, and nearly for free!"
Santa Claus? Nope – it was Gov'nor Carney.

Everyone's got a wish at this time of the year,
Especially now, when the gloom is severe.
For bankers worldwide, just one gift will suffice:
An end to declines in the average home price.

Sprott wants more gold, more commodities stuff,
But Santa says no: "I think you've got enough."
But here's the wee secret poor Eric doesn't know:
Saint Nick lost 10 grand on the Sprott IPO!

For Potash's Doyle, Christmas presents are moot,
For the elves just can't top all that stock-options loot.
Some gifts would require intervention from heaven,
Like Mike Z's request to avoid Chapter 11.

Some folks like carols – a-wassailing they'll go,
But not grumpy Balsillie – that'd be RIM's CEO.
Even after the crash, he still has lots of green,
But he never stops asking to have his own team.

EnCana's big cheese doesn't like Christmas tunes.
(Country & western is what Eresman croons.)
But since oil fell hard, the man can't shake the blues,
And he sings about how breaking up's hard to do.

For Conrad the jailbird, at least it's not cold,
But it burns him to see Radler out on parole.
And who's that poor man on the steps of BCE,
Who cries over & over: "But we have solvency!"

When he opens his stocking, Don Lindsay, from Teck,
Hopes not to see coal
(it's how he got in this wreck).
Dominic's list, to no one's surprise,
Has only one item: "Please make equities rise."
"Can't help you," said Santa. "Though I sure wish I could.

A turn in the markets would do all of us good.
When my journey is done, I look forward with dread,
To informing the elves their pension fund's in the red."
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

And I heard him exclaim, from beneath his white locks,
"Merry Christmas to all – & to all some good stocks!"

Politics Canadian Style

Well, what can I say? Whoever said that Canadian politics were dull must have been disabused of that notion over the last few weeks.

There are many more worthy commentators and pundits - from the whole of the political spectrum - who have weighed in on the "Rumble on the Rideau", so I will not try to go over any of that well trodden ground. What I want to comment upon, however, is what appears to be the lack of understanding by Canadians of how a Parliamentary Democracy functions. We are not the United States, where the President is directly elected by the people (albeit through the arcane Electoral College system - so maybe I should say "directly, sort of".

The failure to understand our system is attributable, I believe, to the lack of civics education in schools. I remember when I was growing up (lo those many years ago), that in elementary school, we learned all 50 states and their capitals before we were taught anything about Canada! I distinctly recall that some of the other kids in the class thought that there were 4 provinces in Canada, that the capital was either Toronto or Montreal (though one said Mexico City!), etc. I don't know if this is still going on, but one thing for sure is that there does not seem to be an understanding of our political system. I believe that we need to teach students how our political system works - at all orders of government. This is how we will engage Canadians in the process of nation building and maybe lessen the cynical view the public has of government.

Apart from that diatribe, I wanted to make one other comment about the last few weeks - that comment is contained in the video below from the Daily Show by Jon Stewart - yes Canada has made the Daily Show...enjoy!

Tribute to Ken Kernaghan

Tonight IPAC officially launched its latest book, "Professionalism and Public Service: Essays in Honour of Kenneth Kernaghan" at a reception in Ottawa.

This incredible book was co-edited by David Siegal of Brock University and Ken Rasmussen of the University of Regina. The book includes chapters on areas of public administration that are of interest to Ken Kernaghan and these are areas where Ken provided his incredible insight. What is outstanding is the breadth of this volume. The topics cover all major areas in public administration and is an indication of Ken's contribution to public administration in Canada and around the world. The chapters were written by some of the best in Canada ans is a must read for anyone interested or working in public administration. Get it now!!

Apart from some introductory remarks from yours truly, David Siegal spoke of Ken's incredible career in teaching, researching, writing about and thinking about public administration. Ken was always on the leading edge of innovations in public administration. Not only is he a thought leader, but he is also a gifted teacher and a person who has bridged the academic-practitioner divide.

Kudos to Ken!!

To see some pictures from this wonderful evening please click here

In the News

When I was up in Whitehorse, I was interviewed by the Whitehorse Star...here is the story....

Institute promotes public service excellence
By Stephanie Waddell on November 21, 2008



LEARNING CURVE APPRECIATED - Gabriel Sekaly, seen Wednesday in Whitehorse, says his trip north also gave him the opportunity to learn how the public service operates in the territory.

It should come as no surprise that Gabriel Sekaly ended up working in the public service.
The chief executive officer for the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC), who’s visiting the territory from Toronto this week, grew up in Ottawa, where his father had worked for the federal government.

Sekaly’s grandfather and great-grandfather were also civil servants.

These days, in his role with the IPAC, Sekaly’s job sees him working to improve public service at all levels of government across the country and, in some cases, internationally, with the IPAC’s mission being “to promote excellence in public service.“

Sekaly travelled to Whitehorse at the invitation of the IPAC’s Yukon chapter on Monday. He met with officials from the four orders of government in the territory and informed them of the services the organization offers to public servants.

“I could see a good opportunity to share information,“ Manon Moreau, chair of the IPAC’s Yukon chapter, said in an interview Wednesday following a noon meeting with city council and senior management.

The visit also meant raising the profile of the IPAC and letting the many government workers in the territory know of the services and programs the IPAC offers, she said.

That’s exactly what Sekaly did as he went over the IPAC’s initiatives with city officials.

With a membership of 3,100 public servants, academics and others interested in the world of public administration, the organization has conducted research, published books and papers and done projects overseas.

One of its more recent international programs has Ontario partnering with Uganda. Another has seen work done in Ghana to help develop a better decision-making process.

Many of the efforts have seen the Canadian contingent learn from the countries they are partnering with, Sekaly said.

New projects that will be happening on the home front are set to look at the value of the public service, stressing its importance and encouraging individuals to seek careers in the field.

Another project, he said, will look at developing a possible policy on what the ideal population might be for the country and how that can be achieved.
Coun. Jan Stick pointed out in many cases, that’s out of the hands of government officials.

Fort McMurray, Alta. serves as a prime example, she continued. While government officials have tried to do what they can to help control the population, it’s been out of their control, given the number of jobs in the community. “It took them over,“ she said.

Sekaly said countries like Australia and New Zealand have policies in place around population. Some countries facing uncertain futures around climate change now may consider it the right time to look at it, he added.

The organization is also continuing its efforts in building leadership through a number of programs.
After meeting with Yukon government, municipal and Council of Yukon First Nations officials, Sekaly noted the public service plays quite a different role in the Yukon compared with southern Ontario.
Recalling his years working in Ontario’s Department of Finance, Sekaly noted few people he talked to understood what he did or would recognize him if he saw them in the street.

That’s not the same in Whitehorse, where individuals run into bureaucrats around town regularly, he said.
Along with giving him a chance to let Yukoners know what the IPAC does, Sekaly noted the three-day trip also gave him the opportunity to learn how the public service operates in the territory.

Pictures of Whitehorse

In my last blog entry I lamented about how I had forgotten to bring my camera with me. Well, thanks to Manon Moreau for sending me wonderful pictures taken by Tony Gonda. Check them out by clicking here.

Gabriel Goes to Whitehorse

In my Ying and Yang of travel I have been to Barbados and now the Yukon in the space of a month – slight differences in temperature and topology. This was my first ever visit to the Yukon – or the “Great White North”. I left Toronto on Monday night at 18:15 on an Air Canada flight to Vancouver and then I was supposed to board a 22:00 flight to Whitehorse that was supposed to land at 00:30 (local time or 03:00 Toronto time). Well, the flight was delayed and we left at 00:45 and landed in Whitehorse at 03:00 local time (or 06:00 Toronto time). Manon Moreau the Chair of the Yukon Regional Group was there to pick me up.

Apart from that, the rest of my time here has been fabulous. I have had a number of meetings with the Yukon First Nation Groups; with the Government of the Yukon Deputy Ministers and ADMs; with the City of Whitehorse; with the Yukon Government policy community; as well as a meet & greet with IPAC members. I learned much about the realities of the Yukon and Northern life. Did you know that the Yukon has 4 orders of government – the federal government; the Yukon government; municipal governments; and 15 First Nation Governments (11 of which have signed self-government agreements). All this with a population of over 32,000 people, 75% of whom live in Whitehorse. The biggest First Nation Government serves a population of just over 1,000 people. All these First Nation governments are responsible for the delivery of provincial/territorial type services to their community. With all these orders of government, the need for co-operation and collaboration is the key to success. What a challenge!

Apart from talking about IPAC, our mission and our programming, I also was invited to speak to a group of policy folks on “Evidence-based Policy”. It was a lively discussion of the issues around the development of the full range of policy issues based upon reliable evidence. (My presentation is posted on the IPAC website under Research). I also spoke about our international program and our two new initiatives – the Value of Public Service project and the Canada Population Policy project.

I had the opportunity of walking around Whitehorse and seeing a little bit of the town. It is nestled along the Yukon River and there are mountains all around. The trees were all white as they we sprinkled with snow and ice – I should have brought my camera!! There are a number of very nice coffee shops (went to Baked – great coffee and scones!) and some nice shops as well. I was told that the Yukon has more artists per capita than anywhere else and you can tell by the paintings, photos, sculptures, etc. that you find in the stores.

The public administration and public policy challenges of the North – with vast regions and small dispersed populations – are not unique to the Yukon but are similar for the two other territories as well as the northern part of every other province in Canada, save the Maritimes. In these smaller communities you are closer to the people – if you work for the Government of the Yukon, everyone knows you in town and are likely to ask you about a problem at the grocery store or the hairdresser or at the restaurant. For those who work in larger governments, think about that for a second.

I want to thank Manon Moreau and Julie Haywood for organizing this trip to the Yukon and I also want to thank all the dedicated public servants that I met for their warmth and hospitality during my short sojourn in the Yukon. I will be back (with my camera)!!!

Policy Execution

The process of moving a policy idea from its concept stage to its implementation stage is fraught with peril. A recent survey by Deloitte helps explain why.

Deloitte, with the assistance of IPAC, CGE and APEX, conducted a survey of senior government officials across Canada. The same type of survey was also conducted in the US with their senior government officials. The good news is that we are slightly better than the US. But, then again, this is not a contest. There is lots of food for thought for public servants in all orders of government across Canada in this survey.

Some selected results:

41% of respondents deem governments less capable of successfully implementing large projects than 10 years ago, mainly due to increased complexity (28%); lack of focus (20%) and lack of effective leadership (17%);

In terms of policy design, the majority (51%) thought that the government is moderately successful, but there is a high level of disconnect between those that design policy and those that implement it, with 67% of respondents saying that there is little or no input from the front-line and/or those the policy is meant to serve; and

Lack of clear goals or guidance on implementation is cited as one of the issues that face government, with 42% saying they rarely receive this guidance and 42% indicating that they sometimes receive it.

The survey also asked respondents to list the barriers to successful implementation - the top 4 are: poor timing; partisan politics; unrealistic costs and complexity of coordination.

Leadership was seen to be key to the successful implementation of policy. The top leadership traits that respondents listed were all "soft" skills: good communicator, visionary, and consensus builder.

On of the most shocking response was the one to the question on the confidence of the present leaders with the next generation of leaders ability to address future challenges - only 4% are highly confident! 42% are not or moderately not confident. Isn't it the job of the present leadership cadre to ensure that the next generation is able to address these future challenges. I think that the answer to this question says a lot more about the present leadership!

You can get a copy of the powerpoint presentation by clicking www.ipac.ca/policyexecution

Climate Change Conference

WOW!! What a great conference. On October 28 and 29, 2008 we held our climate change conference and it was a resounding success.

Over 160 delegates attended this 2-day conference that focused on adapting to climate change. Whether we like it or not, the fact is that even if we eliminated all GHG producing activities today, the GHGs already in the atmosphere will mean that the world's median temperature will still increase by approximately 2 degrees. And we know that GHGs will not be eliminated tomorrow. So as governments around the world and in Canada come to grips with "mitigation" (ie: reducing levels of GHGs), they must also plan for how we will adapt as a society to climate change. From what I heard at the conference, from the experts, we are 10-15 years behind in developing adaptation measures and policies.

We have posted the speakers' presentations on the conference website. You will also find there the speech from the Ontario Minister of the Environment, John Gerretsen, who addressed the conference on Wednesday morning. We have also added a copy of our Globe & Mail insert on climate change that appeared on October 27, 2008. To see the presentations click here.

In this post I won't go into all the details of the conference (will write some more later), but I did want to underscore my admiration for what the Government of British Columbia is doing on this complex issue. They have taken a holistic approach to climate change are have implemented legislated GHG reduction targets as well as concrete actions to achieve these targets. Graham Whitmarsh from BC presented their action plan at the conference.

We heard from a number of extraordinary speakers throughout the two days. I want to especially thank David Pearson for moderating the two days. Over the next short while we will be developing a report on the conference that will also include recommendations for governments at all levels across Canada. Once the report is finalized we will post it on our site and also send it to governments.

Canadian governments have a key role to play in ensuring that we, as a society, are ready to deal with the impacts of climate change - from health impacts to agricultural changes; from water availability impacts to impacts on our infrastructure; and so on.

Globe Insert

Wow - today (October 27, 2008) IPAC had an insert in the Globe & Mail - a first for us!

The insert was on adapting to climate change and was entitled "A Climate for Action". The insert was 6 pages and includes an article by yours truly (and also my picture - thanks to Dylan for taking my picture) as well as a number of interesting articles. Check it out.

Tomorrow we start our 2 day conference on climate change in Toronto. We have a great lineup of speakers. Look for an update on the conference later on.

CAPAM

Video Blog from the 2008 biennial conference of the Commonwealth Association of Public Administration & Management (CAPAM) in Barbados that took place from October 19-22, 2008. Over 400 delegates from the 53 Commonwealth countries attended the conference whose theme was Achieving Public Sector Excellence.

POLITICS – The Ugly Side

I've been watching the election campaign in the USA with a growing sense of disgust. Disgust at the tone and the ugliness on display. This from a country that espouses democracy and pretends to be morally superior to other countries.

What I am talking about is the vitriolic language used by the McCain-Palin camp and their followers against Barack Obama. There have been numerous episodes where Republican spokespersons have used Senator Obama's middle name (Hussein) to imply that he is not a real American, and to imply that he is Muslim. The other day at a rally in Minnesota, a McCain supporter said that she understood that Senator Obama was “Arab”.

I guess being “accused” of being Muslim or Arab is a negative in American politics. Why is it that in this and age it is still OK to vilify a whole religion and a whole people? I came across a press release by Dr. James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, who has said “Enough is Enough” to this bigotry (read his post here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-zogby/john-mccain-i-am-an-arab_b_133884.html ). Bravo Dr. Zogby.

With all the complaints about the increase of negative advertising in Canadian election campaigns, at least we can be thankful that we do not have this kind of disgusting behaviour in Canada.

Still Alive

It has been a long time since my last blog. Sorry about the delay in posting.....It has been a little hectic since I got back from our very successful 2008 Annual Conference in Quebec City.

While we were away at the conference, our offices were repainted and re-carpeted. So everything was in boxes, even the phone was in a plastic bag. IPAC staff who were not at the conference had the "pleasure" of dealing with the paint, the boxes, etc. It all looks great now! I think the carpets were over 10 years old and so was the paint job...so this "refresh" was long overdue. Drop by and see us anytime you are in the 'hood!

Will post some more in the next few days.

African Adventures - Part 1

Here is the first part of my "movie" on my trip to Tanzania in Dec 2006 to attend the AAPAM annual conference

African Adventures - Part 2

Final Blog from Quebec City

My final video blog from Quebec City - site of IPAC's 60th Annual Conference

Dernier blogue video de Quebec

Mon dernier blogue video du congres 2008 de l'IAPC

Day 2 of IPAC 2008 Annual Conference

Bilingual Blog (it's an experiment) on the events of the second day of the IPAC Annual conference in Quebec City.

Day 1 of IPAC 2008 Annual Conference

Video blog recapping first full day of IPAC 2008 Annual Conference in Quebec City - August 25, 2008....

Blogging from Quebec - another video blog

My second video blog from the 60th annual IPAC conference in Quebec City....

On a roll...

Here's what you missed today (August 24th) at the 60th IPAC annual conference in wonderful Quebec City.

60e congres annuel de l'IAPC - 2eme blogue video

Mon bloque video parlant des evenements au congres de l'IAPC - le 24 aout 2008

Beautiful Quebec

The City is in full celebration mode... Yesterday was a gorgeous day in Quebec City. The sun was shining, the temperature was in the mid-20's and there were lots of tourists wandering around behind the old walls.

Dylan and I walked around the old city and saw the excavation near the Chateau Frontenac were they have found very old fortifications. Last time I was here (3 years ago) the dig was not there. You can walk around in the excavation site and imagine how people lived back then. There are useful signs to tell you the use of the space you are walking through and when it was built, including a latrine from the 1700's. Funny, the wall did not look any different than the rest of the site - wonder how they knew it was a latrine?

There are concerts by military bands from different countries just next to the statue of Samuel de Champlain. We listened to a band from Belgium.

In front of the entrance to the Chateau there were TV cameras and lots of people waiting. We couldn't figure out what was going on. Later on the news I saw that Celine Dion had received an honourary doctorate from Laval and that she was staying at the Chateau. She is performing tonight in a free concert on the Pleins d'Abraham along with some other singers such as Ginette Reno. They are expecting close to 200,000 people for that concert.

Near the Chateau is the Quebec Ministry of Finance Building. What an incredible location...near the Rue du Tresor! Just walk out the door and you have the choice of incredible restaurants. I contrast this with the Ontario Ministry of Finance building - the closest food was the hot dog cart! Vive le Quebec!

Had an incredible meal with the Prez, his wife and past Prez at one of Quebec's best restaurants in the old city...le St Amour. It was out of this world...I tried something I have never had before - Cerf, which on the English menu is Red Deer. Wow! I picked up a copy of the menu that they served Paul McCartney when he dined there on July 19th. Needless to say, he did not have Cerf as he is a vegatarian!

And of course, worked in between the tourist meanderings at finalizing some speeches, dealing with last minute conference details and all that office stuff.

It looks like another beautiful day today...the sun is shining on the old town. Stay tuned - I hope to do a video blog in the next couple of days.

My first Video Blog...

Blogue Video de Quebec

Beautiful Quebec

Yesterday was a gorgeous day in Quebec City. The sun was shining, the temperature was in the mid-20's and there were lots of tourists wandering around behind the old walls.

Dylan and I walked around the old city and saw the excavation near the Chateau Frontenac were they have found very old fortifications. Last time I was here (3 years ago) the dig was not there. You can walk around in the excavation site and imagine how people lived back then. There are useful signs to tell you the use of the space you are walking through and when it was built, including a latrine from the 1700's. Funny, the wall did not look any different than the rest of the site - wonder how they knew it was a latrine?

There are concerts by military bands from different countries just next to the statue of Samuel de Champlain. We listened to a band from Belgium.

In front of the entrance to the Chateau there were TV cameras and lots of people waiting. We couldn't figure out what was going on. Later on the news I saw that Celine Dion had received an honourary doctorate from Laval and that she was staying at the Chateau. She is performing tonight in a free concert on the Pleins d'Abraham along with some other singers such as Ginette Reno. They are expecting close to 200,000 people for that concert.

Near the Chateau is the Quebec Ministry of Finance Building. What an incredible location...near the Rue du Tresor! Just walk out the door and you have the choice of incredible restaurants. I contrast this with the Ontario Ministry of Finance building - the closest food was the hot dog cart! Vive le Quebec!

Had an incredible meal with the Prez, his wife and past Prez at one of Quebec's best restaurants in the old city...le St Amour. It was out of this world...I tried something I have never had before - Cerf, which on the English menu is Red Deer. Wow! I picked up a copy of the menu that they served Paul McCartney when he dined there on July 19th. Needless to say, he did not have Cerf as he is a vegatarian!

And of course, worked in between the tourist meanderings at finalizing some speeches, dealing with last minute conference details and all that office stuff.

It looks like another beautiful day today...the sun is shining on the old town. Stay tuned - I hope to do a video blog in the next couple of days.

Arrived in Quebec City

Drove up to Quebec City with Dylan - one of our new staff. He had to put up with my driving and choice of music. I recently bought myself a new contraption that allows you to listen to your iPod on your car radio by finding a free frequency on the dial. Since I have over 650 songs on the thing, had different music all the way.

We arrived late last night (at about 21h00) after an 8 hour trip (including hitting late evening traffic jam in Montreal).

It's Dylan's first time in Quebec City, so we went out to dinner in the old town - wanted to go to Aux Anciens Canadiens but they don't serve after 22h00 for some reason....WTF? That's not that late to eat. Anyway, found another nice restaurant right next door.

It is early in the morning as I write this entry (06h30), the sun is starting to shine and it looks like another beautiful day.

That's it for now - nothing profound about Public Admin - haven't had enough coffee for that yet!

Almost forgot - Sandy Borins has a new blog site - check out the home page of this site under "Blogs" to go to the site.

Countdown.......

Only a few days to go before the 60th annual IPAC conference in Quebec City...I'm driving up to Quebec City tomorrow to get ready for our Board meeting and the annual conference. We have our Board committee meetings on Saturday morning and the Board meeting is Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

Also on Saturday & Sunday we are holding our international workshop with both Canadian and international delegates. It should be a good meeting. Saturday from 17h00 to 19h00 (that's 5:00 to 7:00pm folks) we will have a reception for the 60 or so international delegates and our Board members.

On Sunday at 15h00 the IPAC AGM takes place. And like last year, we have produced an annual report that we will post on the website. Last year's tag line was "Status Quon't" and this year's tag line is "Moving Forward Together". At the AGM, Louis Borgeat, our president and Syd Baxter, our National Secretary will be giving a "State of the Nation" speech.

After the AGM, there will be a reception for New Professionals who are registered at the conference. And the evening will culminate in a reception for all delegates at the Musee des Beaux-Arts. I understand that there is an exhibit from the Louvre at the museum. It should be a great exhibit & I plan to visit it & if I can take pictures, I will upload them on the IPAC facebook page.

Well that's all for now....I will be blogging from the conference, so stay tuned for further updates.

Survey Says......

A little while ago we sent a survey to IPAC practitioner members asking you similar questions that we asked DMs/Municipal CAOs last year.....

Well the response was amazing - over 540 of you responded (which is a participation rate of over 30% of our practitioner members). We are busy compiling the responses and comparing them to the responses from last year's survey of Deputy Ministers and Municipal CAO. The data is very rich and what is even more interesting are the comments that you added to the various questions.

Stay tuned we will be releasing the results and analysis shortly.

Thanks to all who participated

Count down to 60th Annual Conference

On August 24th we kick off IPAC's 60th annual conference in wonderful Quebec City. As you all know it is the 400th anniversary of Quebec City this year and the city will be hopping with all sorts of wonderful shows. For those who don't know, IPAC 1st Annual Conference was held in Quebec City in 1948. So 60 years later, we are back in Quebec City for our 60th annual conference.

The conference kicks-off on Sunday August 24th with our AGM, followed by a special new professionals get together and later that evening the opening reception at the Musee des beaux-arts de Quebec. If you haven't already done so, join us in Quebec City.

The next three days will be jam packed with interesting plenary sessions and workshops. Like I did last year in Wnnipeg, I will be blogging every day from Quebec City. Stay tuned.

Various Meanderings

The weather in Toronto (the centre of the Universe!) has been rather strange lately. We have gotten lots of rain, much of it in sudden downpours. I think the same has been true across the country. Is this the impact of climate change? I don't know.

I've been playing with my new toy - my Apple MacBook Pro. I got it last Friday and have tried a few of its funky functions. I sat in front of the computer and made a couple of videos. Haven't posted anything yet, but I hope to create a video blog as soon as I figure out how to do it. What just came to mind as I wrote this is my first computer - a Commodore 64! You had to program those things, not at all like computers nowadays. Actually a little while ago I was speaking to one of our new young employees and I was recounting my first computer course in University. It was Fortran and we had to use punch cards to write the program, put the cards through the card reader and come back a few hours later to pick up your batch job, only to discover that it did not work because you punched something wrong. He looked at me and asked me what a punch card was. Felt a little old! Well, guess I'm hip (or whatever the term is) - I now have a Mac!!

Speaking of being hip, we are testing out some discussion boards for the IPAC website. I hope to have them up and running in time for our August annual conference in Québec City. If all goes well (don't discount Murphy's law) as an IPAC member you will be able to partake in discussions with public servants, academics, etc across the country and around the world. I'll be looking for board moderators on the topics we put up, so think about that.

One last thing before I go back to my desk piled with paper - have you registered for the annual conference in Québec City yet? What are you waiting for? Even though Paul McCartney won't be there, if you come I might even be persuaded to sing on the pleins d'Abraham!! :)

New Computer - New Ideas - New Features

Just got my new home computer to replace my 5 year old IBM ThinkPad....I decided to get an Apple MacBook Pro. So far, so good. I got it because I want to do more multi-media stuff. Look here for my first video blog in the next little while. Not only will you get to read my meanderings, but soon you will be able to see and listen to me as well!

IPAC Page on Facebook

Yes, IPAC now has its very own facebook page. We have decided to join this social networking phenom. I started out by joining facebook last August and have connected with a few friends. A couple of weeks ago I created an IPAC facebook page and just today we added the facebook "button" (thanks Jess!!) to the website - it is on your right at the bottom of the column. If you are not a facebook member you can still see the page by clicking on the button. But if you want to see the pictures and and network and participate in the discussions, you must join facebook.

This is just another method of connecting across the country and around the world.

The Power of Public Information

A friend recently sent me a link to a very interesting website, from where else, but the UK.

The UK government has embarked upon an engagement process with its citizenry to make the reams of information that is produced by government more useful and relevant to users. This means developing better performance metrics as well as some simple things such as making relevant data more accessible and not hidden on some obscure website or some inaccessible publication. On this website they have created a wiki to engage with citizens and create a mechanism for idea generation and discussion. And they have created a contest, with a prize pool of £20,000 for the best ideas. Want to see more? Go to the “Show Us a Better Way” website

I think this is a great idea. We could probably use the same type of citizen engagement mechanism here is Canada given the plethora of information from the 3 orders of government, from educational institutions (school boards, colleges, universities), from health care providers (hospitals, regional health authorities, nursing homes, etc) and from many other public sector bodies. Would it be nirvana to think that we could develop measures that are comparable across the country? Would it be nirvana to provide citizens with the information they need in a clear, concise and easily understandable form? I’m giving some thought on how we can emulate the work in the UK here in Canada. You got any ideas on this, either comment below or you can e-mail me at gsekaly@ipac.ca or you can join the discussion on new IPAC facebook site! (Yes I have created an IPAC facebook site – will be publicising it more broadly shortly).

I want to thank my friend Peter MacLeod from MASS LBP for drawing this to my attention.

Nova Scotia AGM – “Excellence in Public Administration”

I recently attended (June 18th) the Annual General Meeting of the Nova Scotia Regional Group. In addition to the normal AGM business, the meeting featured a panel on “Excellence in Public Administration” that included senior representatives from the three orders of government, namely, Robert Fowler, DM to the Premier and Clerk and Secretary of the Executive Council; Deborah Windsor, VP of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; and Dan English, CAO of the Halifax Regional Municipality. The panel discussion was ably chaired by Rodger Gregg the New Professionals rep on the NS Regional Group. And I had the pleasure of saying a few words in introducing the topic of excellence in public administration.

The AGM was well attended and was run with upmost efficiency by the Jeannine Lagassé, chair of the Nova Scotia Regional Group. The panel discussion took place following the end of the “formal” AGM business.

Deborah Windsor spoke about leadership and the need to create an innovative environment for staff; where staff is committed to the organization’s objectives and its values and ethics. She also spoke about the need to take risks and learning from our mistakes. On the learning front, Deborah mentioned the requirement from the Clerk of the Privy Council that 90% of staff across the federal public service have a learning plan and the ACOA learning account for each employee of $2000.

Robert Fowler emphasized that the public service provides a “sense of purpose”. He recounted that he is an accidental public servant – started over 30 years ago with a plan to only stay a couple of years in the public service. He spoke about being proud of being a public servant and how to bring out the best in people. He recounted how he had received an e-mail from a young public servant who had been involved in the evacuation of residents outside Halifax as a result of the recent fire and how he described his sense of purpose as a public servant.

Dan English spoke about the need to implement a culture of continuous improvement and citizen centered delivery; and of the challenges of managing and recruiting staff within the generational diversity that organizations are now facing. The development of outcome focused indicators and performance reports that are understandable by citizens were also another theme of his talk.

All three spoke about the pride of working in the public service and contributing to the development of Canadian society.

It was a great session and I was very happy to be back in Nova Scotia.

Social Networking

On June 16/17thIPAC held its Governance Dialogue Knowledge Network. The theme for this meeting was “Virtually Yours: Leveraging Social Media and Building Relationships with Citizens”.

I unfortunately could only attend part of the session as I was flying out to Halifax to participate in the Nova Scotia Regional Group’s AGM (subject of my next post). But what I did hear about social networking and the increased use of web enabled technologies confirmed that governments in Canada still have a long road ahead of them.

On Monday evening, Brent Bernie, President of comScore Canada gave us an overview of the penetration of the internet into everyday life in Canada and around the world. From its start in the mid-1990’s the number of people now online has reached 815 million and is projected to hit 1 billion by March 2010! That’s a lot of people interacting in cyberspace. And the connection to the internet is a worldwide phenomenon – in 1996 66% of users were US citizen; in 2007 US citizens accounted for 20% of the 815 million users. In Canada, nearly 24 million Canadians are on-line – an astounding 72% of the population. This surpasses the US (60%), the UK (54%), Japan (42%), etc. And, Canadians spend the most time on-line at 45 hours per visitor per month (and you are doing it right now while you read this blog!!). What is even more interesting is that this “addiction” to the net is in all age and demographic groups – 77% of 2 to 17 year olds are on-line; 89% of 18 to 34 year olds; 87% of 35 to 54 year olds and 49% of those over 55 years of age. Canadians are not only addicted to the web in general terms, they also top usage of Social Networking sites like facebook, MySpace, etc. An astounding 84% of Canadian web users are using social networking sites. This same trend is evident for sites such as YouTube and for blogs. This means that Canadian citizens are using the internet to connect to government information and services and that government may be better able to connect with citizens using these networking sites.

On Tuesday morning, Joe Thornley, CEO of Thornley Fallis spoke about how governments can utilize the social networking explosion. He pointed to some examples where public organization have used the web – such as the Privacy Commissioner of Canada who has established a blog that pulls no punches, a video on YouTube and a youth site – go to http://www.privcom.gc.ca/index_e.asp and have a look.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is using YouTube as a “Question Period” from the public. Citizens have been encouraged to send in (via YouTube) questions for the PM and he will be answering the top-voter user questions. Check it out here - http://www.youtube.com/10DowningStreet . This may become an ongoing QP for the PM. The UK is also using the web for e-petitions. Basically, citizens can send in their petitions via the website and then one response is posted (see http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ for information). Imagine the time savings if you only have to post a response to a petition rather than sending out individual letters to every person who has sent in the same form letter!! And here’s a helpful tip for those in the communication business – the UK uses Twitter to send out short updates to journalists and others interested in the news from No. 10 (http://twitter.com/downingstreet).

It is not only No. 10 that is using the web – the Foreign Office is as well. The Foreign Secretary, members of different embassies, and a new professional each have blogs on the site (https://blogs.fco.gov.uk/roller/ ). As I write this today, there are blog posts from embassy staff in Zimbabwe.

So what does this all mean? According to Joe, this social networking phenomenon means that we are returning to the direct participation of citizens in government given the ease by which groups can be formed and people can come together. It also means that the government can no longer control the conversation – rather it can only play a part in it. The ease at which people can gain access to information (the democratization of information) means that no one has a monopoly on knowledge. Government is a source of authoritative information, but it is no longer the only source! Whereas in the past, governments may have focussed on a “campaign” to get their message out, we have now moved to a time when governments must develop a relationship with citizens.

Public Service Renewal & Branding

In the last few days a couple of articles on the public service have appeared in the paper. The first is not really news to those of in the public sector. The headline in the Globe & Mail (June 10, 2008) read “Bureaucracy aging, says top civil servant”. The article is about remarks by Kevin Lynch where he not only talked about demographics but also (more importantly) talked about increased public expectations for greater accountability by public servants.

The second article appeared in the on-line version of the Globe & Mail (June 10th as well) and was by Michael Cotey Morgan a doctoral candidate at Yale. In this article, Mr. Morgan argued that the public service should take a page out of the military handbook in terms of recruitment. In the ROTC program, the Canadian Forces pay for a person’s postsecondary education in exchange for a set number of years of service after graduation. This is an interesting idea, as it would also include summer employment with government during the participant’s time at University.

A car that runs on AIR!!!

Have you heard about the car that runs on Air?

Yes, that's right....your eyes are not betraying you - AIR. This car runs on AIR. Here is the BBC report from February of this year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/news/world/video/151000/bb/151932_16x9_bb.asx?ad=1&ct=50

If this works, is it bye-bye internal combustion engine that uses petroleum? Does this help solve our climate change problems? Is it good bye tar sands and OPEC?

Robert F. Kennedy

Forty years ago, on June 5, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles, just a few hours after winning the California primary. His campaign for the Democratic nomination for President of the USA galvanized the younger population in 1968. Listening to his speeches, 40 years later, one wonders how much better the world would have been had he not died that night. His speeches still resonate today.

This speech on the “Mindless Menace of Violence” by Robert F. Kennedy was given on April 5, 1968 at the City Club of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio. Listen to the words and think about recent events around the world. The soundtrack is from the movie "Bobby", if you haven't watched it, rent it today, it is a wonderful production.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Vll-t0H6A

Kennedy's campaign was one of hope and of a better future for all Americans and for all citizens of the world. Looking back at the videos from 40 years ago you see the incredible enthusiasm of the crowds. Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ReAG6jNVs4

It’s called Question Period not “Answer Period”

I just got the latest issue of Policy Dialogue from the Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy. Among the many interesting articles was one by Heather MacIvor entitled “Question Period – More sound than substance?”

In this article she traces back the history of Question Period. Did you know that the first recoded question by a British parliamentarian was in 1721 in the House of Lords? Around the 1850’s the practice of setting aside time for MP questions was established with Standing Orders established in 1902 that prescribed oral responses to written questions. That’s right, questions had to be submitted in writing. In the UK, questions to the PM were limited to two 15 minute periods a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) as a “concession to Winston Churchill’s declining health.” In 1997, Tony Blair changed this to one 30 minute session per week. Ms. MacIvor notes that “until recently, British MPs had to provide written notice of oral questions.” That is not a lot of time to ask questions of the PM, especially as compared to the practice in Canada.

I remember a Minster saying to me once that this was called “question period” not “answer period”. It seems that though QP can be a significant accountability mechanism in Canada, QP has devolved into something more akin to a verbal sumo match. Each side is trying to score political points. The questions are really statements to the effect that the government is either incompetent or corrupt, with a “don’t you agree?” at the end to make it a question. Similarly, responses are usually about what the opposition did when they were in power however many years ago (though that starts to get stale after a while). No one really answers questions. It is not really a forum for a civilized debate that could possibly change public policy. Was it better before the advent of television? I guess, both questioners and respondents did not have to worry about the 20 second sound bite. There was probably more mingling between the political parties in those days than there is now. Have we devolved in extreme partisanship and polarization, where real debate and consensus cannot be achieved? I hope not. The best ideas are generated through civilized discourse and where a consensus is reached.

Arthur Kroeger - the passing of a dedicated public servant

Yesterday we received an e-mail from Alix Kroeger, informing us of the death of her father, Arthur Kroeger. For those involved in public administration in Canada and around the world, this news brings great sadness. Mr. Kroeger was a dedicated public servant, who served in many capacities. Among many memories, I remember him as my father's Deputy Minister at Transport Canada. He exemplified the best of public service in Canada, he was a legend and will be truly missed Below is the e-mail from his daughter, Alix.

This is to let you know that Arthur Kroeger died last night, Friday 9 May. He had been ill with cancer. Until a short time ago, we were all hoping he would be able to regain enough strength to begin chemotherapy at the National Institutes of Health in the United States, where he had been accepted into a clinical trial. However, his condition deteriorated rapidly over the past 10 days, and on Thursday we moved him to the palliative-care unit at the Centre Elisabeth-Bruyere in Ottawa.

We were all at his bedside when he died: his partner, Huguette Labelle; his two daughters, Kate and myself; and his stepdaughter, Chantal Labelle.

The funeral will take place in Ottawa in the next week or so. Please watch the papers for an announcement of the arrangements. My father had expressed a wish in his will that a scholarship should be set up in his name at Carleton University. In lieu of flowers, we are asking people if they would be willing to make a donation. Cheques should be made payable to Carleton University, in envelopes marked for the attention of Denise Mayer, 510 Robertson Hall, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K15 5B6. People can also give online atwww.carleton.ca, under "Giving to Carleton", and earmark their donation for the scholarship fund.

He will be much missed, by those who were lucky enough to know him, but also by the many Canadians who benefited from his life`s work and his sense of public service.

Alix Kroeger

Greetings from Edmonton

I’m back in Edmonton to participate in the kick-off of our 2nd “Building Pyramids in the Valleys” program with the Commonwealth Secretariat.

This program is an international job shadowing and practical program coordinated through the Commonwealth Secretariat. The purpose of the program is to provide practical experience for Finance/Budget executives from Commonwealth countries with counterparts from Canada. The Government of Alberta, the City of Edmonton and the IPAC Edmonton Regional Group have all actively participated to put together a fantastic program for the next two weeks for our international colleagues. Participants are mainly from Caribbean countries, though there are a couple from Africa. The first of these “Thematic Fellowship Programme on Public Expenditure Management” took place in April 2007 in Ontario.

The program includes presentations from Canadian participants – for example on the Alberta Fiscal and Budget Framework, on the Alberta and the City of Edmonton Business Planning Process, on the Capital Planning Process, on the role of the Auditor General, etc – as well as job shadowing. The participants will also be writing a report on their experience and their learning to take back to their home jurisdictions.

Kudos to the volunteers from the Government of Alberta, the City of Edmonton and the IPAC Edmonton Regional Group for all their hard work in putting together what I am sure will be an unforgettable program for our international guests.

This program is just one example of IPAC’s distinctive role in exporting Canadian public sector expertise around the world. It is a testament to the public service in Canada that countries around the world seek out our knowledge and experience. If you are interested in participating in other IPAC international activities, drop us a line!

"The Best Laid Plans" wins Leacock Award for Humour

Wow! A book that I have blogged about, by Terry Fallis, a first time author, has won the prestigious Leacock award for Humour!! If you have not already gone out and bought this book, what are you waiting for!

Here is the press release announcing Terry's win!


Terry Fallis Wins 2008 Stephen Leacock Medal For Humour

ORILLIA, ON, April 30 /CNW/ - The suspense felt by five finalists for the 2008 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour came to an exciting conclusion today for Terry Fallis and his novel The Best Laid Plans. The announcement was made at a celebratory luncheon on the grounds of the historical Stephen Leacock Memorial Museum in Orillia, Ontario. Fallis will receive a $10,000 prize courtesy of TD Bank Financial Group for his winning entry.

"It is somehow appropriate that this year's winner be an author with an interest in the foibles of federal politics as Leacock himself had more than a passing interest in the subject. He'd be delighted with the comic antics described by Fallis," said Wayne Scott, President of the Leacock Association.

The Best Laid Plans, Mr. Fallis's first book, centres on a cranky and reluctant political candidate who consents to run in a federal election based on the fact that he is "certain-to-lose." He accepts the task with the proviso that he won't campaign, give media interviews, canvass door-to-door, attend all-candidate meetings, use lawn signs, have contact with campaign workers or even be in the country during the election campaign! As the reader can well
imagine, things do not turn out as anticipated - the key to successful comedy.

The other books nominated for this year's award were The Gum Thief by former nominee Douglas Coupland; Spanish Fly by former two-time Leacock medalist Will Ferguson; And God Created Manyberries by Ron Wood; and King John of Canada by Scott Gardiner.

The Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour has been awarded since 1947 as a means to honour the dean of Canadian humourists and to perpetuate humorous writing in Canada. Some of Canada's finest authors - Pierre Berton, W.O. Mitchell, Mordecai Richler and Robertson Davies - have all been recipients of the award over the past six decades. Last year's winner was CBC
broadcaster and author Stuart McLean for Secrets of the Vinyl Cafe. The award is presented each year to the most humourous English-language book written by
a Canadian and in addition to being presented with the silver medal, the winner also receives a $10,000 prize from TD Bank Financial Group. The Leacock
Association is also grateful to its other generous sponsors: Osprey media, Lakehead University and Orillia's Thor Motors.

Both the medal and the cheque will be presented to Mr. Fallis at the annual Leacock dinner to be held June 7, 2008 at Geneva Park near Orillia, Ontario.

Ethanol, Green House Gases and the Food Crisis

By now, you may all have read about or experienced the increase in the price of basic foods. In some parts of the world, mostly very poor countries, riots have broken out in reaction to the significant increase in the price of staples such as bread and rice. And this is all linked to the unintended consequences of government “clean energy” policies in the western world. Some may disagree with my analysis, but what the “H-E-double hockey sticks”, that is what public debate and discourse is all about!

There is considerable evidence that some forms of bio-fuels actually result in an increase in Green House Gases (GHGs). How you may ask? There are basically two major types of ethanol used as vehicle fuel in the world – one derived from sugar cane (mostly from Brazil) and the other from corn. Western governments are now mandating ethanol content in fuel. For example in the US, the Energy Policy Act (2005) required that 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel be used by 2012. In December 2007, a new bill was passed in the US Congress that will mandate the use of 36 billion gallons of bio-fuel by 2022. The act also includes substantial financial incentives. According to an article that I read in Time Magazine, in 2007 less than 2% of US gas stations provided ethanol and the subsidies provided to produce 7 billion gallons was $8 billion! The 3 remaining US presidential candidates are espousing increased usage of bio-fuels with Hilary Clinton calling for 60 billion gallons by 2030. In Iowa, according to a Time Magazine article I read (April 7, 2008 edition), there are “so many ethanol distilleries under construction that it’s [Iowa] poised to become a net importer of corn.”

In Canada, various governments have legislated that a certain percentage of gasoline be blended with ethanol. For example, in Ontario “beginning January 1, 2007, Ontario Regulation 535/05 will require that gasoline sold in Ontario contain an annual average of five per cent ethanol.”

The Government of Canada has “Regulations under development by Environment Canada will require 5% renewable content based on the gasoline pool by 2010 and 2% renewable content in diesel and heating oil by 2012, upon successful demonstration of renewable diesel fuel use under the range of Canadian conditions.” (http://ecoaction.gc.ca/ecoenergy-ecoenergie/renewablefuels-carburantsrenouvelables-eng.cfm )

So here we have government programs and subsidy programs that are diverting food crops to bio-fuels. These subsidies cause the normal reaction one would expect – farmers are changing their crops to corn to cash in on these government subsidies. A recent report from the US Department of Agriculture has shown a significant increase in US corn production with a falling or flat production of soybeans and wheat. In the Amazon, rain forest is being converted into cattle pastures and soybean fields. This “deforestation” of the Amazon – one of the “lungs” of our world, is directly linked to the bio-fuel craze.
Let’s address the question of how “green” are these bio-fuels. There are a number of studies that have cast doubt on the efficiency of corn derived ethanol. A UK study showing the carbon intensity of bio-ethanol and fossil fuels indicates that the US corn production method has a higher output of CO2 per mega-joule of energy than does natural gas or gasoline. (see Carbon and Sustainability Reporting Within the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation report - http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/environment/rtfo/govrecrfa.pdf


A recent report from BCStats from January 2008 (http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/pubs/es/es2008-1.pdf ) entitled “It Ain’t Easy Being Green: Why Biofuels May Not Be the Answer” casts “doubt about the validity of claims that ethanol and bio-fuels conserve energy, there is also evidence to suggest that they actually create more greenhouse gas emissions than they remove.” The reason for this was the underestimated impacts of the fertilizer used in the production of corn. If we layer the other consequences – such as the deforestation of the Amazon – then the GHG impact of corn-based bio-fuels is even more significant.
For those who are wondering about this last statement, here is the cycle of how the western world subsidy program for corn-based ethanol is contributing to deforestation in Brazil (from Time Magazine):

1. Food to Fuel: One-fifth of US corn production is diverted to more than 100 ethanol refineries. The increased demand boosts the price of corn to record levels.

2. Field Change: Eager to cash in, many US soybean growers switch to planting corn, which is pricier. Soybean prices rise as supplies shrink.

3. Ripple Effects: To meet global demand for soybean, farmers in Brazil are expanding into fields previously used as cattle pastureland. Displaced ranchers, in turn, clear new grazing lands in the Amazon rain forest or the Cerrado Savanna, releasing carbon.

Let’s now turn our attention to the recent food crisis that is reverberating around the world with riots in many poor countries. Canadian have been somewhat insulated from the increase in the price of food due to the appreciation of the Canadian dollar, but that will likely not last. Recent reports have mentioned that “Ethanol's popularity comes despite charges from environmentalists, livestock farmers, and opponents of subsidies that the move won't meet energy goals and may damage the environment as food prices soar” (http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1115/p02s02-uspo.html) .

So is there a link between increased corn-based ethanol production and food shortages/increased commodity prices for staples? Let’s follow a simple chain:

1. Governments develop policies to incent the production of corn-based ethanol as a green fuel;

2. Governments create financial incentive systems to move to this green technology;

3. Farmers respond to the incentives (who can blame them) and switch their production to corn, decreasing production of soybean, wheat and other crops;

4. The price of feed for cattle, poultry, etc increases as the supply of corn is no longer available;

5. The price of milk increases as it is more costly to feed the cows; the price of meat increases, and so on, and so on.

I am not saying that diversion of corn to bio-fuels is the major or only reason for the increase in the price of food. For example, rice production is not impacted by bio-fuel production. Other factors such as drought, flooding and increased transportation costs have impacted the price of these staples. As well, the growing middle class in China and India has meant that in these markets the demand for meat, poultry etc has increased. All that being said the diversion of corn to bio-fuel does have an impact on the recent food crisis let’s not pretend otherwise. Is it 10%, 20% or whatever % of the impact – I don’t know. Does anybody?

Governments, such as the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, are now funding research to use corn husks and stalks, rather than the corn kernels, to create ethanol. I think we need to accelerate this type of innovation.

I think that the story above illustrates the impact of unintended consequences of government policy, to put it kindly. There is much more that I could write about this, but then this blog post would be so long you might get bored! I will come back to this topic in the near future.

2nd Global Network of Government Innovators

Today was the first full day of the Global Network of Government Innovators conference here in Cambridge, Mass. In the morning Thomas Vilsack, former Governor of Iowa (1998 – 2006) spoke about the need for innovation to solve problems facing society.

Governor Vilsack spoke about the challenges facing the United States and the world from lack of health care coverage for 47 million Americans, to the 350 million malnourished children around the world to Climate Change. He then outlined the 4 barriers to innovation that need to be dealt with in order to innovate.

The first barrier is cultural. As any of you who have been involved in innovation know, most people are resistant to change. They prefer the status quo because that means that they don’t have to change how they do things. Governor Vilsack, not surprisingly, said that leadership is the key to overcoming the cultural barrier. “Leaders challenge the status quo”. To do that leaders must have/set out a clear vision and use that vision to highlight the problem with the status quo. This will create the creative tension needed to innovate. One example the Governor used was the decision to invest in Early Childhood Education. Using 3rd party experts, the Governor used non-traditional arguments to push for investments in ECE – these included the economic arguments that showed that a dollar invested in ECE had a much higher return than investing that dollar in primary/secondary or post secondary education.

The second barrier is the economic barrier. As we all know, change requires resources to accomplish. Therefore governments need a budgetary system that is tied to results. In Iowa under the Governor, the State established 5 key goals and required that all government programs tie to those goals. By focusing on results and gathering the appropriate data one can establish why a particular program is important to meeting the goals outlined. These goals are posted on the web and are updated every quarter. As well, a performance contract was developed between the Governor and the department heads that outlined expectations and included rewards for meeting/exceeding goals. These goals were not all monetary in nature but also include things such as the Governor addressing all the staff of that department.

The third barrier is the scientific barrier. The Governor lamented the fact that the US has gotten away from funding basic research and that the private sector funds very specific research not basic research. He used the example of Climate Change as an area that requires a substantive investment in basic research to innovate. Where is the research into innovative ways to deal with the storage and sequestration of CO2?

The last barrier to innovation is the political/regulatory barrier. The Governor emphasized that most government processes and regulations discourage innovation. To encourage innovation in Iowa, the state under the Governors leadership established “Charter Agencies” in Iowa. At first, 6 such agencies were created in Iowa. In exchange for their commitment to produce measurable results and reduce expenditures, the agencies were given greater flexibility and authority.

Finally, the Governor spoke about the need to have a system that does not punish mistakes. He stated that “you cannot innovate if you are fearful of mistakes” and that “mistakes are OK as long as you learn from them”. He encouraged innovators to experiment and try new ideas in part of the system and see if it works.

Stay tuned for more on this very interesting conference, including what the UK is doing to increase citizen engagement.

Blogging from Beantown!

Actually, I’m in Cambridge, Mass across the Charles River from Boston. I’m here attending the 2nd Global Network of Government Innovators organized by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance & Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

This conference brings together innovators from around the world to discuss and share ideas. As well, this year marks the 20th anniversary of “The Innovations in American Government Awards”.

The conference officially kicked off this evening with a speech by Vicente Fox, former President of Mexico (2000-2006). Mr. Fox addressed the issues of immigration, economic development, good government and democratization in his remarks. You can find the Ash Institute website herehttp://ashinsttest.org.ezdeal.no/corporate_site

I spent the day yesterday walking along the Charles River and looking out at the sailboats on the river and the rowers in their skulls. I then went to Harvard Square (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Square) and visited the Harvard Co-op which is a wonderful bookstore. I had to hold myself back from buying too many books. After a dinner of Boston Clam Chowder (what else) and fresh tuna at Legal Sea Food, I then walked through the MIT campus and looked at the interesting architecture.

Today I took the “T” (that’s the subway) and went to the JFK Library (http://www.jfklibrary.org/). It was a moving experience walking through the exhibits.

Tomorrow will be a full day of conference workshops – with workshops on Ethics and Accountability in the Public Sector; Citizen Engagement in Deliberative Democracy; and New Approaches to Neglected Diseases.

As part of the 20th Anniversary of the Innovation Awards, a book on the award winners over the last twenty years was published. The editor of the “Innovation in Government: Research, Recognition, and Replication” book, Sandy Borins, IPAC member par excellence and professor at the University of Toronto will be signing the book. Congratulations Sandy!!

Stay tuned for more about this very interesting conference.

The Best Laid Plans nominated for Leacock Award

On November 3, 2007 I wrote about a wonderful book that I had read by Terry Fallis called "The Best Laid Plans". Well it's been nominated for a prestigious award!

The Best Laid Plans or TBLP for fans is on the shortlist for the Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, named after Stephen Leacock. Go to http://www.leacock.ca/NEWS.htm to read the press release.

Here's the synopsis of Terry's book from the press release:

"Terry Fallis’s The Best Laid Plans centres around a cranky and reluctant political candidate who consents to run in a federal election based on the fact that he is “certain-to-lose.” Daniel, a jaded and burned out former speech writer is eager to leave politics for the relative calm of academia. His final political assignment is to find a candidate – any candidate he can uncover – to run in a futile race against a wildly popular cabinet minister in the Ottawa area. Daniel finds a candidate in crusty Angus McLintock, who in mourning for his wife, reluctantly accepts the task with the proviso that he won’t campaign, give interviews, canvass door-to-door, attend all-candidate meetings, use lawn signs, contact with campaign workers or even be in the country during the election campaign! As the reader can well imagine, things do not turn out as anticipated – always a great source of humour."

For those of you who have not yet bought the book - what are you waiting for?!!! It is a fantastic novel on Canadian politics. I could not put it down & I am not the only one who says so. Go to Terry's website and read about the kudos he has gotten and where you can buy the book - here is the linkhttp://www.terryfallis.com/

Enjoy!!

Another Fine Mess!

I’ve been thinking about the subprime mortgage debacle in the USA and its impact not only there but around the world.

For those who have not heard about this latest financial “scandal” in the US, where have you been hiding??!! To sum up what has happened….in the US, as you may know, a certain portion of mortgage interest is tax deductable (the interest payable on up to $ 1 million of principle) for your primary residence and even for secondary residences. Unlike Canada, this means that there is no incentive to pay off your mortgage as this tax deduction can be quite substantive. In addition, this tax policy incents people to buy bigger and bigger homes. That is just one part of the back-drop. The next part was the unscrupulous mortgage brokers whose incentive structure was based purely on commissions not on the integrity of the mortgage. They peddled subprime mortgages that started at a low interest rate and then a few years later reset at a substantially higher rate to individuals who would not have qualified for a normal mortgage. This was all based on the presumption that housing prices would continue to increase and that the asset value of the property would increase. In many instances, there was little or no down payment required. In other cases, people who wanted to renovate their home or needed money for health care costs took out these subprime mortgages. I have heard these loans called NINJA loans, which stands for "No Income, No Job or Assets"!!

At the same time some of those smart Wall Street types (the same ones who have brought you the Savings & Loans scandal of the late 70’s/early 80’s and the Enron/Worldcom, etc fiasco) dreamed up a way of packaging this portfolio of mortgages and selling them on the market as grade A commercial paper. They basically bundled solid grade mortgages with these NINJA ones into Asset Backed Commercial Paper and solid them as investment vehicles to banks, pension funds, governments, etc. I guess no one looked under the hood and analyzed the precarious nature of some of these “assets”. Where were those guardians of fiscal probity – the credit rating agencies?? What’s the outcome of all this – record high foreclosures in the USA, a drop in the price of housing, a Wall Street investment firm sold at a fire sale price, housing prices dropping in the US and a recession in the US that is threatening not only Canada but other parts of the world as well.

Here is a video on the subprime mess http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ_qK4g6ntM .

I have also added a good PowerPoint presentation that explains this mess.....enjoy

Download the slideshow

CPA on-line and Google

IPAC’s prestigious peer-reviewed journal – Canadian Public Administration – is now fully on-line. That’s 50 years worth of content that is accessible on line!! And Google has recognized the significance of IPAC and CPA!!

That’s right – Google – that BIG search engine has recognized the value of our website. How you may ask. Well, just google “IPAC” and see what comes up. Our little institute is at the top of the page (there are other organizations that have the same acronym). In addition, there is a breakout of some of our features such as “Gabriel’s Blog” (this is not going to my head, really it isn’t!!), “Public Sector Magazine”, “CPA Journal”, and “CEPMA”. I am told that for that kind of detail to appear, someone at Google HQ had to put it in. And they only do that if they believe that there is a significant interest in the detail from the “googling” public.

As you also know, through our partnership with Wiley-Blackwell, our journal – Canadian Public Administration – is now fully on-line. All 50 years of articles can be found on line. It has been interesting going back in time to see what were the topics of interest 50, 40, and 30 years ago. IPAC members get full access to all 50 years and all future editions. If you are not a member (or even if you are)…go to Google Scholar and look up “Canadian Public Administration” and see what comes up! If you are a member and haven’t yet logged it to take a look at CPA on-line, I would urge you to do so – there is a wealth of information available – you can search by keyword for areas of interest. Enjoy!!