Project
Governance in the Digital Age
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About the project
In 2016–2017, the Public Policy Forum dedicated its annual Prime Ministers of Canada Fellowship to the idea of “governance in the digital age.” Prime Ministers of Canada Fellow Kent Aitken‘s goal was to explore and explain how the world is changing and how governments are responding.
The resulting report is intended as a resource to practitioners and a conversation starter for those who are thinking about the pressures of change on our governance systems. It discusses the concepts of open government, digital government, public sector innovation and how governments are trying to manage rapidly changing technological and societal trends.
After a year of research, the hypothesis that government is not set up for digital-era governance appears to hold up. Success stories for digital governance, while they exist, are not the norm. Initiatives to transform to digital governance across jurisdictions rely on a web of workarounds, fast tracks, exemptions and executive air cover.
Methodology
Kent spent a year at PPF researching, surveying and interviewing more than 300 leaders, stakeholders and practitioners in Canada and around the world.
Timeline
The executive summary and full report were launched Oct. 1, and the author discussed his findings at a launch event.
Partners
The Prime Ministers of Canada Fellowship is supported by the RBC Foundation.
Contact
To inquire about the project or to request a copy of the report as soon as it’s released, please contact Tomek Sysak.
Events
Past Event
Governance in the Digital Age
On Oct. 1 PPF held a breakfast and a panel discussion with Kent Aitken, Bianca Wylie and Amanda Clarke to launch Kent’s study of Governance in the Digital Age. The report explores the challenges, opportunities, and cultures of the digital era, and distinguishes between what's simply "changing the channel" to digital and what's fundamentally different for governments and stakeholders.
Reports
Governance in the Digital Age
The digital transformation that governments are seeking and citizens are expecting is more than just 'a challenge,' says PPF's Prime Ministers of Canada Fellow Kent Aitken in this new report. After conducting almost 300 interviews over the course of a year, he concludes that governments are currently not set up for the complexities of the digital age and suggests four areas that they need to fundamentally change.
Articles
Four strategies governments can adopt to manage change in the digital age
In 2017, the Public Policy Forum dedicated its annual Prime Ministers of Canada Fellowship to the idea of governance in the digital age. The goal was to explore and explain how the world is changing and how governments are responding. Kent Aitken won that Fellowship and wrote a report that practitioners can use as a resource as they contemplate the pressures of change on governance systems. Governance in the Digital Age is the result of a year of research, surveys and interviews with about 300 government practitioners and stakeholders in Canada and around the world.
