Rebooting the Public Square: Digital Innovation for Urban and Rural Municipalities

Rebooting the Public Square: Digital Innovation for Urban and Rural Municipalities


Anthony D. WilliamsPresident and Co-founderDEEP Centre


A global explosion of world-class digital services


World-changing technologies foster disruption & innovation


The evolution of mobile computing


Billions of end points and Earth's central nervous system


Billions of dollars flowing into robots and artificial intelligence


Economic and technological change disrupting labour markets

Autonomous vehicles Artificial intelligence

• Labor market analysts and technologists are largely in agreement that robotics and artificial intelligence will permeate wide segments of daily life by 2025.

• Many experts envision a future in which robots and digital agents have displaced significant numbers of both blue- and white-collar workers.

• Others predict that human ingenuity will create new jobs, industries and ways to make a living, just as it has been doing since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.

Automated factories 3D Printing


Digital Innovation: How Leading Organizations are Harnessing the Digital Revolution to Further the

Public Good


Pediatricians in 120 countries advancing medical knowledge


1.1 million citizen scientists helping to map the universe


Global network of forest watchers monitoring the world’s forest


Rule #1

• Digital innovation is about transforming systems and processes – it’s less about shiny new technologies than about dismantling or traversing traditional silos that inhibit collaboration


• Digital innovation does not require a large budget, a huge team, or a complex governance structure – many leaders are operating on a shoe-string, but leverage enormous talent pools

Rule #2


• Digital innovation does require taking risks, fast failure and agile development processes that lead to continuous improvement in products and services

Rule #3


• Digital leaders design for participation – they build products and services that invite participation by end-users and they share their most valuable assets with key stakeholders

Rule #4


• Digital leaders give innovators permission to innovate – they encourage experimentation and create time, funding and space to pursue innovative projects

Rule #5


• Digital leaders have overcome organizational and disciplinary barriers – in each case significant cultural taboos were systematically challenged

Rule #6


• Digital innovation is constant and requires a strong organizational commitment – results are commensurate with the level of commitment dedicated to maximizing the benefits

Rule #7


Transforming Government: Opportunities and Next Steps for Municipalities


Opportunities to transform the functions of government

PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY

REGULATION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION

OPEN GOVERNMENT AND CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT

POLICY AND EVIDENCE-BASED DECISION-MAKING

Provider


Easier for Citizens• “One-window” to the information

citizens want through ontario.ca• Services designed around citizens;

simple, convenient, integrated access to online services “24/7, on any device”

• Secure access to the next generation of online services via a single digital identity

A 21st Century Workplace• More innovation, productivity and

workforce satisfaction• Equips workers with the technology

and training they need• Attracts new digital talent into

government

Better for Businesses, NGOs and Media• More useful, consistent

communications about what government is doing

• Helps reduce regulatory processes and red tape

• Single business account to provide an integrated view

Lower Cost, Higher Efficiency• Less manual processing and paper

shuffling• Shifts customers to lower-cost online

channels• Less reliance on external vendors

and expensive proprietary solutions• Creates new revenue opportunities

More Effective Government• Better data and data sharing to

support evidence-based decision-making

• More horizontal and agile I&IT systems

• Collaborating across silos and jurisdictions

Digital government unlocks many benefits

Digital dividends for citizens and stakeholders


Digital Leadership in New York City

Rachael Haot, CDO, New York City


Multi-faceted strategy accelerates digital inclusion


Local crowdsourcing helps NYC reinvent its interface to citizens


Thousands of “Made in NYC” tech start-ups


Participatory budgeting lets citizens direct spending decisions


Singapore’s eCitizen platform for citizen engagement


Return to Rural program uses technology to attract residents

“Technology is changing everything. Even in small town

Alberta. We used to be a place that young

people ran away from. Now we’re home to a new breed of techno cowboys and wired

entrepreneurs that are changing the landscape

for good.”


Farmlogs: digital tools & big data boost agricultural productivity


Food incubators foster economic opportunity in craft foods


Advanced manufacturing labs close the skills gap . . .


. . . and ignite a new generation of manufacturing start-ups


Transportation informatics and the art of big data analysis


Monitoring roads, intersections, transit and bicycle counts


Environmental sensors monitor roadside air quality


Child care services in your neighbourhood


Open crime data and community engagement


1. Prioritize digital innovation with an executive mandate

2. Invest in digital talent and create inter-disciplinary teams fusing policy, delivery and technology

3. Grant flexibility to rethink/alter current state and experiment

4. Focus first on “minimum viable products” not detailed specifications and seek early and frequent input from live customers

5. Develop agile sourcing capabilities for digital innovation through open data, crowdsourcing and labs for co-innovation

6. Work across government to streamline processes and remove barriers by making rules confirm to modern development practices

7. Collect and analyze performance data and maintain a commitment to continuous innovation & improvement

Modernizing your municipality’s approach to digital