Public Sector Podcast

In a world of perpetual change, navigating digital transformation parallels the phases of societal evolution. From galvanizing momentum to the sobering reality of implementation, each stage demands strategic adaptation. Yet, sustaining innovation requires more than initial enthusiasm; it necessitates a shift in mindset towards everyday creativity. Daphnée Nostrome, Director, Channel Strategy at the Canadian Digital Service discusses the Digital Stress Scale, and how leaders must foster divergent thinking, recognising that innovation thrives in collaboration, not isolation in this week’s episode. Daphnée Nostrome, Director, Channel Strategy, Canadian Digital Service For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

In the last 12 months Artificial Intelligence has gone from a topic relegated to tech functions to a focus of many company leaders. In fact AI, and specifically Gen AI (yes ChatGPT, we're talking about you) has become a dinner table conversation topic for people from all walks of life. With the jump from Science Fiction films to the boardroom, knowing how to strategically, ethically and responsibly experiment with AI tools to pilot initiatives is crucial. Michael Rowell and Fawad Abro of the Australian Taxation Office discuss practical steps to build an AI-ready culture. Michael Rowell, Deputy Commissioner, Data, Integration & Service Management & Fawad Abro, Assistant Commissioner, Enterprise Data & Analytics, Australian Taxation Office For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

Globally 48% of public sector professionals agree that talent attraction and retention is their top challenge. While government can rarely compete with private sector peers monetarily, government offers its own unique value proposition - namely by appealing to talent seeking a greater sense of purpose and belonging. By harnessing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives and by fostering environments that prioritising well-being, government stands to attract a new generation of talent eager to contribute meaningfully. Achieving DE&I though can't be done in isolation and is definitely not a 'HR Initiative.' Tracy Jones-Grant, Managing Director, Diversity & Inclusion at Halifax Regional Municipality chats to us about how to make equity, diversity and inclusion a part of your organisational transformation. Tracy Jones-Grant, Managing Director, Diversity & Inclusion, Halifax Regional Municipality For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

Most citizens are excited by the prospect of greater digital government services and the convenience, speed and ease of self-serve platforms. However questions around government's ability to keep data safe and to use technology, like AI, in ethical ways threaten progress. How then can government build and maintain citizen confidence as we move towards automation and self service? Daniel Ramos, GM Digital Identity at the ACCC discusses the five elements of success in this week's Public Sector Podcast. Daniel Ramos, General Manager, Digital Identity, ACCC For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

Companies throughout the world have prioritised Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in recent years, aiming to make a good impact on society and the environment. B Corp accreditation, a globally recognised benchmark for organisations that prioritise both purpose and profit, is one effective approach to demonstrate a commitment to these principles. Recently Public Sector Network, or PSN, was again recertified as a B Corp so we sat down with the business' Global Head of People and Purpose, Gemma Mills to chat all things social responsibility, living and practicing the B Corp ethos and how PSN is working to reduce waste in the events industry - the second biggest waste production industry ourside of construction. Gemma Mills, Global Head of People & Purpose, Public Sector Network For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

Community safety is the cornerstone of social cohesion, fostering trust and unity among residents. When people feel secure in their environment, they are more likely to engage positively with one another, leading to stronger bonds and collaborative efforts that enhance overall well-being, resilience, and shared prosperity within the community. In this week's epsidoe of the Public Sector Podcast Mayor Mike Savage discusses the importance of developing specific community safety units - outside of emergency service units - and the outcomes of incorporating a Municipality-wide public safety strategy on crime rates. Mayor Mike Savage, Halifax Regional Municipality.

International Women's Day isn't country or organisation specific. It's a day of collective global activism and celebration that belongs to all those committed to forging women's equality. In recent years the narrative around international women’s day has changed though, with some arguing that it’s become ‘corporatised’ and ‘performative’ as to lose all meaning. Which is why in this week's episode of the Public Sector Podcast we've chosen to focus on the tangible – the strategies and transformations doing their part to drive action and change for women in the workforce. Isabeau Korpel, Melissa Martino and Sue-Ann Charlton discuss strategies to breakdown class ceilings and accelerate womens' opportunities in the workplace in a special edition of the Public Sector Podcast. Isabeau Korpel, Exec Director People and Culture, Department of Transport WA Sue-Ann Charlton, Exec Director People and Performance, Department of Human Services SA Melissa Martino, Exec Director People and Innovation, Magistrates Court of Victoria For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

International Women's Day is a day to recognise how far we’ve come towards gender equality, and also how far we have left to go. Don't get us wrong - a little over a hundred years ago only a handful of countries allowed women to vote and equal pay for equal work was unheard of. We're making strides in the right direction, but there's still more work to be done. In recognition of IWD we've bought together a panel of women leaders making considerable contributions to their respective organizations in the pursuit of women's empowerment, belonging and relevance. Dr Jessica Jones, Michaela Doelman and Silvia Fraser discuss the importance of investing in women and accelerating progress in this week's episode of the Public Sector Podcast. Michaela Doelman, Chief Human Resources Officer, State of Washington Silvia Fraser, Director, Transformation, Workplace Strategies, ModernTO, City of Toronto Dr Jessica Jones, State Director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, State of Louisiana For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

Without proactive project management you'll find yourself constantly firefighting, your team unengaged, and your business unit operating as a siloed lone ranger. All this leads to poor quality deliverables and damage to reputation. The City of Edmonton found themselves in the same boat. Projects faltered and the City operated reactively, without clear alignment or integration with broader City functions. With a four-pronged approach, focused on: 1. Direction 2. Transparency 3. People 4. Measures The City of Edmonton successfully realigned Project Management functions to deliver wide-spread business value. Nisreen Hussain shares the City's story in this week's episode of the Public Sector Podcast. Nisreen Hussain, Director - Corporate Technology, City of Edmonton For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

Travelling to a service centre, waiting in line, operating within standard 'business hours' to submit paper proof of identity documents; none of this aligns with the modern lives people live. Digital credentials however are emerging as a means to help citizens participate safely and conveniently in the digital economy. CJ Ritchie, Associate Deputy Minister and Government CIO with the Government of British Columbia discusses the benefits, opportunities and use cases for digital credentials in this week's Public Sector Podcast episode. CJ Ritchie, Associate Deputy Minister and Government CIO, Government of British Columbia For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

Significant cyber attacks and breaches are becoming more and more common. It's almost a guarantee now that at some point an attack vector will gain illegal unauthorised access to your computer systems and networks. The trick is to; 1. Not panic 2. Have solid security foundations 3. Limit the blast radius. Derek Robson, CIO at the New Zealand Parliament shares his three step strategy to simplify and streamline your cyber security response. For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

The influence of Generative AI on productivity has the potential to contribute trillions of dollars in value to the worldwide economy, with recent studies suggesting generative AI could result in a worldwide economic boost between $2.6 to $4.4 trillion. To unlock this productivity though teams need to be ready, willing and capable of confidently harnessing AI tech with the right frameworks and guidelines inplace to support innovation. Alicja Mosbauer, CDO at IP Australia discusses. Alicja Mosbauer, Chief Data Officer, IP Australia. For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

Software engineers, lawyers, even UX professionals - rarely are these a fair representation of every day people. But usually they're the ones tasked with designing the government services that millions need to use. Instead, as Shannon Salter points out, we shouldn't speculate about what 'the humans' want. We need to work and design with them. Only by empathising and co-designing can we create solutions that truly resonate and address genuine challenges. Learn more about empathy in design in this week's episode of the Public Sector Podcast. Shannon Salter, Deputy Minister to the Premier, Cabinet Secretary, and the Head of the Public Service, Office of the Premier For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

68% of the world will live in urban areas by 2050. With cities growing and climate change leading to hotter, wetter and drier weather intelligent green infrastructure is needed to ensure our cities are resilient. Jimmy Zammar discusses how local government is driving sustainable urbanisation with a dive into the confluence of technology, data and nature at the City of Vancouver. Catch Jimmy's full video presentation, which deep-dives into details and real world examples here: https://publicsectornetwork.com/insight/green-infrastructure-for-resilient-communities Jimmy Zammar, Director - Urban Watersheds, Sewers and Drainage For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

Globally trust in government is declining. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer Global Report 2023 in Australia, Canada, the USA and UK trust is sitting between 37-50% and is declining year-on-year. In New Zealand, in survey findings by the Public Service Commission, trust in the public sector brand is sitting at a positive 60%. In fact, New Zealand is one of the few regions bucking the trend with trust in government having increased from 49% in 2019. How are they doing this? There's no one answer, but a significant contributor is the nation's 7 Privacy by Design Foundations and the country-wide Privacy Maturity Assessment Framework which prioritise citizen trust and confidence in the way government manages their personal information. Katrine Evans, Government Chief Privacy Officer with the Department of Internal Affairs discusses the framework and the impact of standardisation and improved training on citizen trust in this week's podcast. Catch Katrine's entire video presentation on-demand: https://publicsectornetwork.com/insight/update-on-the-privacy-maturity-assessment-framework Katrine Evans, Government Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Internal Affairs NZ For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

When you're looking after 60,000 employees the future of work means considerably more than flexible hours and hybrid workplaces. For the Canada Revenue Agency, Canada's largest public sector employer it means being future ready and aligned with longterm organisational vision. To help achieve this the team have created a Workforce of Work Tool that enables: - Proactive workforce planning - Employee engagement and vision alignment - Current strategy and future need alignment - Innovative thinking Nathalie Kachulis, Director-General, Strategic Business Integration Directorate discusses the tool, how it works and the positive workforce planning impacts in this week's public Sector Podcast Episode. You can check out the CRA's Future of Work Framework in more detail in Nathalie's full video presentation here: https://publicsectornetwork.com/insight/preparing-organizations-for-the-future-of-work Nathalie Kachulis, Director-General, Strategic Business Integration Directorate, Canada Revenue Agency For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

As a former Australian Army Signals Officer Sam Mackay went from defending highly sensitive military systems in international war zones, to protecting information and data against the actions of cyber threat as CISO at the NSW Department of Customer Service. As it turns out the fundamentals of attack response aren't too dissimilar in either domain. In this episode of the Public Sector Podcast Sam shares his six lessons to help you optimise your security approach including: 1. Rapid containment and eradication 2. Be good at incidence response 3. You'll be judged on your response, not the incident 4. Follow the process methodically 5. Know the threat and their actions 6. Learn from history Sam MacKay, Chief Information Security Officer, NSW Department of Customer Service For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

40% of a clinicians time is currently spent on administrative tasks within Ontario Health. Buy axing the fax though there is a huge opportunity to reduce administrative burden - specially in relation to paperbased workflows - freeing up clinicians to focus on delivering care. Colleen McDuffe shares how the Patients Before Paperwork system is reinvigorating patient-clinician relationships and changing how providers communicate across the health ecosystem. Colleen McDuffe, VP Customer Experience and Business Integration, Ontario Health For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

"Trust meanders into town on a tricylce, and leaves in a Formula 1 Ferrari" Driven by a commitment to customer-centricity, Energy Queensland is undergoing a notable transformation. By engaging with local communities, collecting feedback from customers, and building that crucial trust, the organisation is making significant strides in addressing evolving customer needs for their diverse, vast and varied customer cohort of over 2.4 million. Michael Dart, GM of Customer shares how Energy Queensland is: Focusing on service accessibility and inclusivity for all customers Leveraging human centred design and cocreation in service design to better engage customers Building avenues to better understand their customers to build trust and optimise CX Michael Dart, General Manager, Customer, Energy Queensland. For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co

"Anyone can do this innovation stuff... anyone can do it, and indeed you must." 'Innovation' though has become an all encompassing buzzword that suddenly means everything and nothing at the same time. In this week's episode Elizabeth Mildwater shares her top tips to build an innovative public sector that focus not on technology, but on praise culture, finding a sweet spot and on proximity. Elizabeth Mildwater, Secretary, Department of Enterprise, Trade & Investment For more great insights head to www.PublicSectorNetwork.co