e-forum e-Forum September 2006 There's a sense of anticipation…

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 e-Forum September 2006

 There's a sense of anticipation within the Forum's offices on Albert Street these days. It goes beyond the usual prick-up-your-
 ears spirit you feel in Ottawa every fall as members of Parliament return to the Hill. At the Forum, our hopes are high for the
 challenging new projects and events we're planning for the coming months.

 We will soon be announcing the launch of a major initiative on the future of the federal public service. We want to take a
 snapshot of the public service and to separate myth from reality in our understanding of what truly ails it. We want to consider
 the challenges the public service faces in remaining a vital and relevant Canadian institution. And we want to come up with
 practical choices - on a range of issues from policymaking to administration and governance - that senior public servants can use
 to navigate in the years ahead.

 Such an effort comes at an opportune time: on the heels of the sponsorship scandal and the Gomery inquiry, as well as of
 changes to the top ranks of the bureaucracy. Of equal timeliness is another project, our first stand-alone event in the province of
 Quebec. Watch for How Quebec Governs in the first week of November in Montreal. You can find conference details -
 speakers, schedules and registration information - as we confirm them, on our Web site at www.ppforum.ca.

 We continue our work into the Federal Accountability Act. Despite the legislation's goal to achieve complete transparency
 between government and the private sector, we believe the FAA could actually discourage honest, useful interaction between
 Ottawa and the outside world and reinforce an existing notion in various sectors that the government is isolated and
 untouchable.

 Finally, a note about a project on which the Forum and the Privy Council Office are collaborating. It is a project aimed at
 bringing senior civil servants together with regional experts across the country, an outreach directed squarely at creating public
 policy that is sensitive to front-line interests. Expect to hear more from us on this issue in the weeks ahead. Meanwhile, enjoy
 what promises to be a busy fall schedule.

 Jodi White, President, Public Policy Forum

 Coming Events

 PPF Power Hour: How to be Heard in Ottawa
 September 20, 2006 (Toronto)
 The players have changed, the accountability concerns are high, priorities have shifted, and agendas are moving quickly: in this
 environment how are businesses, governments and not-for-profits being heard by a whole new team in Ottawa.
 For more information, write to: kelly.cyr@ppforum.ca

 PPF Power Hour: Who's Responsible for Civic Education?
 November 22, 2006 (Toronto)
 Voting rates decline, levels of cynicism in political institutions increase, schools are working on educating the youth. Whose
 role is it to get the rest of the population engaged: adults, New Canadians, urban and rural, employed and unemployed?
 For more information, write to: kelly.cyr@ppforum.ca

 20th Annual Testimonial Dinner and Awards
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 April 26, 2007 (Toronto)
 For more information, write to: kelly.cyr@ppforum.ca - Registation form

 Publication

 Where Does the Buck Stop? Accountability and Joint Initiatives; A Discussion Paper
 By Graham Fox and Don Lenihan
 Does a more horizontal approach to policies, programs and services conflict with conventional practices of accountability?

 Speech

 The Push for Democratic Renewal
 A speech given by Jodi White
 Institute of Public Administration of Canada 2006 Annual Conference
 August 29, 2006

 New board members

 An interview with Janice Charette

 This fall, the Public Policy Forum welcomes two new members to its board of directors: Janice Charette, deputy minister of
 Human Resources and Social Development Canada, and Richard Dicerni, deputy minister at Industry Canada. Ms. Charette and
 Mr. Dicerni bring to the Forum a combined 58 years of private- and public-sector work experience, many spent as senior
 managers or executives.

 Mr. Dicerni began his career in 1969 as a special assistant to Trudeau cabinet minister Robert Andras. In 1992, after more than
 two decades in the federal public service, he became a deputy minister in the Ontario government. Later, he occupied senior
 positions with the Canadian Newspaper Association, Ontario Power Generation Inc. and, most recently, with the consulting firm
 Mercer Delta Canada.

 Ms. Charette was an officer with Finance Canada when she entered the federal public service in 1984. Since then she has
 worked in several government departments and in the office of the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (as
 chief of staff). She was also a deputy minister at the department of Citizenship and Immigration before moving to HRSDC in
 July.

 In its ongoing efforts to speak to deputy ministers about their work and the challenges the public service faces, the Forum
 caught up with Ms. Charette on Thursday, August 31. She spoke with Joe Paraskevas, the PPF's director of Communications.

 Joe Paraskevas: What about the importance of think tanks to federal departments? How much does a department like yours rely
 on think tanks?

 Janice Charette: I think that the reality is that the issues that face government both in the past and today - probably even more so
 today - are complicated issues. They require very difficult trade-offs. And nobody has all of the answers. And so I think the
 importance is to be able to have outsider voices, external voices with informed points of view who can both contribute to the
 debate with outside perspectives and outside expertise but also to help animate the debate. So, it's both the substance and the
 process of policymaking.

 JP: And can you be specific about where the greatest influence in the policymaking process comes, from think tanks. I guess
 that's a pretty general question but maybe I can specify, given the work of the Forum.

 JC: You mean in the subject matter area?
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 JP: Yes, or in the whole process. When I talk to members they wonder not only how policymaking is done or how it strings
 itself together but where the Forum fits in that chain of events.

 JC: Well, I think that makes it unfortunately sound like there is a cookbook for how policymaking happens and that there's a
 series of steps and I think that the reality is that sometimes policy is made in reaction to an event - either a positive or a negative
 event - and sometimes policymaking happens over many, many years. And it's hard to say. There's no cookbook approach.

 I'll give you two examples. In terms of the issue of how do we integrate new arrivals, new immigrants, into labour markets more
 effectively, that's an issue that's been around for some time. And the work of the Forum helped both in terms of substance and
 process to help to bring a variety of perspectives - and I think the Forum's particularly valuable in terms of the public-private
 sector interface here - different levels of government and different players in the private sector. This is a complex challenge and
 how do all these players kind of come around a table to figure out and avoid the stovepipes in terms of, okay it's a complex
 problem, we all have a piece of it, how do we work together to try and solve the problem? So, it's both the substance of the
 solution and the process of bringing the people together that I think is one way of trying to answer your question of how do they
 fit into the policy making process.

 JP: In which areas would you like to see more research done, or more dialogue?

 JC: Well, I think there's probably many areas that I can give as examples. Probably the one that is uppermost in my mind right
 now is, as I think about the capacity to generate wealth and maintain and enhance the standard of living of Canadians. Given the
 situation in terms of the changing demographics of the country and the labour-market realities, there's no question that there's a
 challenge facing all players to try and maximize the capacity of Canadians, the kind of a skills advantage. And so whether some
 people call it a labour market strategy, some people call it a human capital strategy, for me, it's all about how do we make sure
 that we're investing in people so that we can make sure that everyone who wants to make a contribution can and has the capacity
 to be able do that, kind of optimize their contribution.

 So, I think that's a challenge which is not about governments, not about institutions, it's not about the private sector, it's not
 about labour unions, it's about all of us. And since it is such a kind of a broad-based challenge, it requires different kinds of
 solutions. And I think that's probably an area where I'd see a real need, a real crying-out need, both for, as I said, a contribution
 in terms of an engagement process as well as just sheer ideas.

 JP: How well positioned and well-trained is the labour force to ensure Canadian prosperity into this century?

 JC: I think that given the competitive challenges we face that we can't be complacent. Too many people in the labour market
 today don't have the literacy and the numeracy skills to be able to compete. We aren't necessarily as a society investing enough
 in adult learning. We're good but are we good enough to compete with competition which is coming from other parts of the
 world? I don't think we should be resting on our laurels. I think we've got to make sure that we position ourselves as the spot for
 talent. It's a global competition for talent out there. We've got to be recruiting the best and we've got to be retaining our folks
 and we've got to give them the tools to be the best.

 JP: What's government's role in that?

 JC: I think that's a fascinating discussion that we really need to have.

 JP: How can think tanks help you have that discussion, and the Forum specifically?

 JC: The Forum in specific because it is really, I think, an organization which bridges so effectively between the public and
 private sector and between different levels of government, it can be an organization which helps us engage in this kind of
 discussion and debate.

 JP: How do you see the Forum's work in the context of the challenges the public service in general has?

 JC: I actually am really pleased that the Forum is interested in playing a role in helping the discussion about public service
 renewal and making a contribution in terms of the renewal of the public service. Public service is an institution in this country
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 and having a world-class public service is part of our economic and social advantage as a country. And so, recognizing the need
 to look at how do we deal with demographic change, how do we make sure that we're skilled and competent and that we can
 make sure that the public service attracts the same kind of talent as private-sector opportunities. I think that's a really important
 challenge and I'm glad the Forum's interested in playing a role in that.

 JP: Is the public service recruiting the best possible people right now?

 JC: I'm trying to balance my answer here. I think actually we're getting great people into the public service. I don't think we've
 adjusted our recruitment strategies to be able to deal with the fact that the public service, like any other employer out there, has
 to deal with the fact that it is a seller's market. And so, how do we position ourselves to be competitive in that marketplace? And
 I don't think we've adjusted our recruitment strategies to that yet.

 JP: What would you have to do? That's a pretty broad question because the PS is so big but what changes might have to be
 made?

 JC: I don't know the answer to that. We're slow. We have to do a better job of explaining the exciting opportunity of working in
 the public service. It's not necessarily obvious. So there's a little bit of marketing, some branding, (to be done). And I think we
 have to be more aggressive across the country. We have to be reaching out to regions in the country and populations in the
 country which are underrepresented right now.

 JP: And how do you motivate existing public servants? Is the public service doing enough to keep its ranks motivated and eager
 to stick around?

 JC: People who work in the public service love their work. They love the opportunity to be able to make a contribution. And I
 think that's probably what motivates people. That's the best motivator that we have. Can we do more of it? Sure. That's the job
 of leaders in the public service.

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 e-Forum Septembre 2006

 Il y a de l'excitation dans l'air en ce moment dans les bureaux de Forum des politiques publiques. Il ne s'agit pas seulement du
 regain d'intérêt que suscite chaque automne, à Ottawa, le retour des députés sur la colline parlementaire. Nous avons, au Forum,
 de grands espoirs pour les nouveaux projets et activités ambitieux que nous préparons pour les mois qui viennent.

 Nous annoncerons bientôt le lancement d'une initiative d'envergure sur l'avenir de la fonction publique fédérale. Nous voulons
 faire le point sur la fonction publique et séparer le mythe de la réalité afin de mieux comprendre quels sont les véritables
 problèmes. Nous voulons nous pencher sur ce qui fait que la fonction publique à du mal à conserver son dynamisme et sa
 pertinence en tant qu'institution canadienne. Et nous voulons proposer des solutions pratiques qui serviront aux cadres
 supérieurs de la fonction publique pour faire front au cours des années à venir, qu'il s'agisse de questions d'élaboration des
 politiques, d'administration ou de gouvernance.

 Le moment ne pourrait être mieux choisi pour une initiative de ce type, au lendemain du scandale des commandites, de l'enquête
 de la Commission Gomery et des changements qui ont eu lieu dans les échelons supérieurs de la bureaucratie. Autre projet qui
 tombe aussi à point nommé : notre première rencontre organisée au Québec sans que cela fasse partie d'une série de réunions.
 Début novembre, marquez votre calendrier, notre colloque Comment le Québec gouverne aura lieu à Montréal. Plus de
 renseignements sur le colloque, les présentateurs, le programme et les inscriptions seront affichés sur notre site Web à
 www.forumpp.ca au cours des prochaines semaines.

 Nous continuons nos travaux sur la Loi fédérale sur l'imputabilité. L'objectif de cette loi est de parvenir à une transparence
 complète entre le gouvernement et le secteur privé. Nous estimons cependant qu'elle pourrait décourager des rapports honnêtes
 et productifs entre Ottawa et le monde extérieur et renforcer le sentiment que l'on a déjà dans certains secteurs que le
 gouvernement est isolé et intouchable.

 J'aimerais pour finir mentionner un projet mené en collaboration par le Forum et le Bureau du Conseil privé. Il s'agit d'un projet
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 visant à réunir des hauts fonctionnaires et des experts régionaux de tout le pays dans le but exprès de concevoir des politiques
 publiques tenant compte des intérêts du public desservi. Nous aurons plus de détails sur ce projet dans les semaines qui
 viennent. En attendant, j'espère que vous apprécierez notre programme qui s'avère bien rempli pour cet automne.

 Jodi White

 Activités

 L'heure de pointe : Comment se faire entendre à Ottawa
 20 septembre 2006 (Toronto)
 Les protagonistes sont différents, les gens sont de plus en plus inquiets au sujet de la responsabilité, les priorités
 gouvernementales ont changé et les ordres du jour se suivent de près. Dans cet environnement, on se demande comment le
 monde des affaires, les gouvernements provinciaux et municipaux et les sociétés à but non lucratif peuvent se faire entendre par
 une équipe complètement nouvelle à Ottawa.
 Pour plus de renseignements, veuillez communiquer avec kelly.cyr@ppforum.ca

 L'heure de pointe : Qui est responsable pour la formation civique ?
 Le 22 novembre 2006 (Toronto)
 Le niveau de participation électorale décline, le niveau de cynisme envers les institutions politiques augmente. Les écoles
 s'occupent de la formation civique des jeunes, mais à qui revient le rôle de mobiliser l'engagement civique du reste de la
 population : les adultes, les nouveaux arrivants, les régions urbaines et rurales, les travailleurs et les chômeurs? Pour des plus
 amples renseignements, veuillez contacter kelly.cyr@ppforum.ca.

 Vingtième banquet et prix d'honneur annuel
 26 avril 2007 (Toronto)
 Pour plus de renseignements, veuillez communiquer avec kelly.cyr@ppforum.ca. - formulaire d'inscription

 Discours

 L'effort pour le renouveau democratique (anglais seulement)
 Un discours présenté par Jodi White
 Colloque annuel 2006 de l'Institut d'administration publique du Canada
 29 août 2006


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