Gordon Ross explores digital transformation in government after a pandemic year

A year ago, OXD’s Vice President and Partner, Gordon Ross, explored what digital transformation in the public sector meant, through interviews with Canadian public service digital practitioners. The result was our research brief Images of Digital Transformation.

digital transformation in government research brief cover

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need for effective digital services and the speed at which they are designed, developed and launched. OXD has been on the frontlines of this work in Canada, supporting our provincial and federal partners. We watched first hand as digital service units adapted their practices to support emerging requests and political priorities in a dynamic and uncertain time. 

Our 2020 research brief, written a few months before COVID-19, acknowledged that the noise and confusion of what digital transformation means can impair our collective ability to do important work. Something was, and still is clearly happening; digital transformation is more than a buzzword, but the impressions are fleeting and our understanding of the phenomena is incomplete. 

We set out to better understand the lived experience of digital transformation in government, from the point of view of our partners in government, the people living the change. Our research brief synthesized the common themes that public servants shared when describing their experience of the large-scale systemic change—frequently known as “digital transformation”—underway in government. 

The research resonated with those we work with, but the project was unfinished thanks to the rapid response and pressing needs placed on the public service by the pandemic. And so now, one year later,  we’re looking to talk to people who can share their experiences after this big year of change. What’s changed? What’s the same? How has the digital context of government changed in the last year? 

Do you work in government, either at the municipal, provincial, or federal level and are you interested in contributing your thoughts and reflections around digital transformation with your peers? We’d love to hear from you. Contact us here or email Gord at gordonr@oxd.com.