The Federal CIO's Strategic Priorities

by Paul Crookall

Jim Alexander is the acting Chief Information Officer for the Government of Canada. This is perhaps the most complex and demanding IT job in the country. We asked him why he took on this daunting challenge, and his approach to the job.


"I see the public service as a calling. I have a passionate belief in Canada and the role of the government in shaping what this country is. It gives me an incredible high to be in leadership in the public service. I think I have something to contribute. I have a passionate belief in accountability and stewardship, and that the quality of our work is fundamental to citizens' trust.

"Success depends on the quality of leaders in your organization and the broader community. One of my priorities is executive development. Leadership of the IT function in the public service cannot be done by a handful of people – it is too diverse and broad-based. It requires a large team. Fortunately, we are blessed with a good team at TBS and the departmental CIOs.

"For success, there must be a balance between making sure that we are well focused on the mission, on the vision of what we want to achieve in 3 to 5 years, and our focus on individual projects. Long expensive projects are often troubled, and I'm not convinced that 'gating' is the way to control them. People often run through the gates. Our challenge is to find smaller initiatives. A better solution is to have several projects, each building on the previous ones. That way, by the time you get to project six or seven you have a better, more useful version than if you had decided it all at the start. That's a massive cultural shift. We have the skills to design and pitch the big projects, but not a series of eight smaller ones."

Alexander's advice to general managers, who don't know a lot about IT, is: "Have conversations with your CIO. Reach agreement on the results to be delivered by your IT managers. If you are confused by the technical terms, puzzled by what is being said, get it explained so you get it. If you don't get it originally, it's not your fault, don't be embarrassed to ask. If you've got a project underway, talk with other general managers about what they've done, talk with CIOs outside your organization, ask your CIO how he/she is managing the risk. Think about what it is like to be a project sponsor. There are problems in projects and they aren't aware of the problems. I will be asking the Canada School to help in developing these skills. Don't fear IT as a mystery. If it is a mystery to you, demystify it. The transformation of your programs and their continued relevance depend on it."

His advice to IT and IM managers is: "Play a bigger role in the cultural change within your organizations. We are engaged in business transformation, not just IT projects. Build horizontal allegiances across the organization, not just vertically within the IM/IT function." He concedes, “Some of our community suffer from an inability to connect with the wider community. We speak a different language that is not always comprehensible to general managers.

"If you look at some professionals, such as economists, policy specialist and lawyers, you see them spreading out from their discipline into wider management. But you see few IT professionals crossing over into programs and policy. We need to prepare our IM and IT leaders to move into other areas."

Key Competencies
He says the key competencies needed in the IT function are threefold: "First, technical competence gives you value. Keep current. Second, look at our push on shared services and consolidation and acting as one. If you are not going to be running your own infrastructure, then how do you manage services? Third, speak with the business managers about business transformation, enhance your relationship-building skills, learn the language of your colleagues in policy and programs, learn how to manage business transformations, not just IT projects."

Great Expectations
Much has been accomplished through IM/IT. The Government of Canada has been ranked by the Accenture study as a global leader in e-government for the past five years. The Canada Site (www.canada.gc.ca) provides one point of entry to all departments and to the government’s 130 most commonly used services, which are online. A common look and feel is in use. There is an enhanced management framework for IT-enabled projects. Citizen satisfaction with government services continues to improve, with internet users most satisfied. And the requirements of privacy, access and transparency are being built in as part of service delivery.

But there is no time to relax and savour these accomplishments, as citizens continue to expect more and government seeks to realize even greater service gains and economies through shared services. Alexander set out his key plans and priorities at a recent meeting of the Canadian Information Processing Society. The full text is posted on their website (www.cips.ca/ottawa) under ‘Annual Government of Canada CIO Update’. Here is a summary:

Managing the largest IT function in the country involves consolidating past efforts and focusing on acting as one in the enterprise of government. Of the approximately five billion dollar IT budget, one third is for salaries and two thirds for software, hardware, and services. Shared services has the objectives of economies as well as service improvements. To make this business transformation more manageable, the CIO has established six strategic priorities.

Six Strategic Priorities

1. Consolidate and transform the IT infrastructure and applications services
o     Consolidate the corporate applications environment
o     IT services for identity management and cyber-security
o     IT shared services. Consolidate data centres. Build distributed computing services. Public Works and Government Services Canada is to lead a phased implementation that is business-case driven and based on the service management improvement plan.

2. Establish a robust and comprehensive Information Management program
o     Lead the IM program development through responsible stewardship of information assets
o     Development of Enterprise Information Architecture, focused on shared services and interoperability
o     Policy Renewal with clear accountabilities for DMs.

3. Lead the development of the IM and IT workplace and workforce
o     Build a Government-wide IM and IT HR plan
o     Develop IM, IT and Service Delivery communities (consider professional accreditation)
o     Lead the recruitment, development and selection of future leaders.

4. Enable transformation of programs and services
o     Service vision and implementation strategy
o     Common set of enterprise architecture tools
o     Promotion of the shared services model
o     External services transformation (Service Canada website, My Account, business storefront)
o     Internal services modernization (back office re-engineering, common solutions, standard processes, corporate admin services).

5. Improve outcomes from IM and IT investments
o     Develop the capacity for more consistent successes
o     New measures and oversight approaches
o     Implement outcome management to complement the enhanced management framework
o     Improve project management skills.

6. Renew management practices in privacy, access to information and security
o     Support legislative changes in ATI and Privacy
o     Duty to document
o     Govt security policy.

Ongoing Challenges
Alexander sees three key challenges. First, achieving a whole-of-government approach, acting as one – but not because of centralization. Second, responding to the faster change of pace and demands for information. For example, the Federal Accountability Act had to be prepared in just two months. Third, attracting, developing and retaining talented IM and IT staff.

The Federal Accountability Act
Alexander sees the Act as making everyone accountable, not just the public service. "It will help in rebuilding trust in government and make it easier for Canadians to hold government to account."

Lessons for Tomorrow
The best way to manage the broad, complex role of the IM/IT function, Alexander concludes, is to: "Do a few things well; focus on the six strategic priorities; take on manageable projects; make better use of existing investments through acting as one; meet commitments – harvest the benefits, achieve the business outcomes promised; and gauge the pace – evaluate the whole strategic framework quarterly." Fundamentally, he adds, "it is essential to adopt a whole of government approach, set a few priorities, and get them right. Even beyond whole of government, there is a need to partner with the vendor community and the various professional communities."

It is a challenging agenda. Our success depends on their success.