3:00 – 4:00 PM
Bringing together digital transformation leaders across all levels of government, this session will explore what it means to be a truly digital government and how some public sector organizations are adopting new digital approaches to be more innovative, user-centred and agile. This session will also explore opportunities, challenges, as well as successes and failures around public sector digital transformation, and highlight the key ingredients beyond technology that are essential for adopting a digital-first mindset.
Speakers:
Alex Benay, Digital and Infrastructure, Government and Healthcare partner at KPMG
Honey Dacanay, Digital Academy with the Canada School of Public Service, Government of Canada
Jean-Noé Landry, OpenNorth
Skaidra Puodziunas, Ontario Digital Service (moderator)
As a Partner in Digital and Infrastructure, Government and Healthcare (IGH), Alex Benay brings a wealth of experience in helping public sector organizations unite the impact of the digital economy with their organization’s need for change. Alex brings a deep knowledge of the evolving digital needs of Canadians from his time spent in the public sector, previously serving as the Chief Information Officer of Canada and the Deputy Minister at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
An author of two books and a board member of multiple organizations focused on the arts and sciences, Alex’s multifaceted background can help navigate the challenges and opportunities facing Canada’s public sector.
Honey Dacaney is a digital strategist who specializes in machinery of government reform and leading large scale digital government transformation. She is the Director, Digital Academy with the Canada School of Public Service, Government of Canada, charged with introducing the culture, practices and technologies of the digital era to federal public servants. Previously, Honey was a founding member and Executive Lead, Digital Standards and Governance at the Ontario Digital Service, where she led developed training and guidance to meet the province’s Digital Service Standard and enshrined principles in the standard in the province’s landmark legislation, the Simpler, Faster, Better Services Act.
In 2019, Honey was named one of the most influential young leaders on Apolitical’s “World’s 100 Most Influential People in Digital Government”.
Jean-Noé Landry is Executive Director of OpenNorth, Canada’s leading not-for-profit organization specialized in open data, open smart cities, and applied research. Through its one-to-one advisory service, OpenNorth provides capacity building support to cities and communities of all sizes to develop their efficient, open, and ethical use of data and technology. Through its multidisciplinary Applied Research Lab, OpenNorth works with governments at all levels in Canada and globally in support of their digital transformation and collaborative data sharing initiatives through a citizen-centered, principles-based, and social science approach to complex multi-stakeholder data related challenges.
With 20 years of international experience and a leadership role in the open data community, Jean-Noé has led OpenNorth to collaborate with national and global practitioners networks such as the Open Government Partnership (OGP), the CIO Strategy Council, the International Open Data Charter, the Observatoire international sur les impacts sociétaux de l’IA et du numérique (OBVIA), and the International Open Data Conference. OpenNorth’s research interests range from data governance and management models, to data-driven public consultation and open governance performance evaluation framework, as well as the value added of open data to frame and tackle urban resilience challenges.
Skaidra (think hydra, say skydra) is a public relations professional with a passion for storytelling and community organizing. She is currently a communication advisor at the Ontario Digital Service and managing editor of #OntarioDigital – a blog on digital, the Ontario Government and all things in between. She is focused on elevating the voices of teams working to make government simpler, faster and better for all. Skaidra is also a civic tech champion, an active member of the global Lithuanian community and a big believer in tech for good. Find her on Twitter at @SkaidraP.