The Innovation Salon

What Is The Innovation Salon?

The Innovation Salon is a regular discussion group focused on public sector policy, program, process, and administrative (including human resources, finance, informatics and administration) innovation. It encourages debate, openness and exploration of all facets of public sector roles, change, and good government, addressing both current government change initiatives and experiences and the theory and proactive management of change.

The structure is interactive, with an ideal group size of twelve to eighteen, meeting in an informal setting. Participants are not expected to attend every meeting, but only those of special interest to them. A typical meeting involves dinner at a restaurant, with a speaker and extended discussion of the innovation-related topic. Activity is conversational, with one person speaking at a time. The participants are a wide range of people of all ages interested in public sector change and innovation, drawn in particular from the federal, provincial and municipal public services, the Crown corporation sector, the private sector, academia and the media. Many of the public service participants are drawn from the executive category. Participants change from meeting to meeting, depending on the topic, and are encouraged to bring their own guests if they would be interested in the topic.

Each meeting covers one topic of conversation concerning innovation and extends well beyond the subject at hand. Discussion leaders take responsibility for a twenty minute lead-in to those discussions. The convenor (Eleanor Glor) or a committee makes sure that topics are prepared for each meeting, and someone moderates the meetings. Polite interchange is a requirement, and only one conversation at a time is requested. Because participants are welcome to use the Innovation Salon as a testing ground for new ideas, confidentiality is requested.

The Salon has been meeting since 1995. Cost is $10.

 

Innovation Salon schedules and notes are on Internet at: http://www.innovation.cc/salon/salon-ottawa.htm

Eleanor Glor, Convenor
eglor@magma.ca

 

 

 

The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 7(1), 2002, article 7.

 

1996 Innovation Salon Schedule

January 18, 1996:

Best Practice on Indian Land Claims: Adel Shalaby, Innovation and Quality Exchange,
Treasury Board Home Page on Internet

The New Capacity-Building
Roles of DIAND and Health Canada with Aboriginal People: Ian Potter, DIAND and Janice
Hopkins, Health Canada

 

February 15:

Using electronic tools to facilitate innovation among virtual teams: Peter Turner

Ontario Health Innovation Fund — The Results Were….? Steven
Dibert, Glaxo, Inc.

 

March 21:

Best Practices in Public/Private Sector Partnerships: Allan Gratias, Agriculture and
Agrifood Canada

Innovations in Public Service Management in New Zealand, Australia
and the United Kingdom: Norman Moyer, ADM, Treasury Board

 

April 18:

Alternate Dispute Resolution: Richard Jackman, Indian Affairs

Social Inventions versus Social Innovations: D. Stuart Conger,
former Director-General of the Workers’s Support Services Branch of HRDC and Executive
Director, Canadian Guidance and Counselling Foundation.

 

May 16:


Courage and Complacency: Robert Czerny, private consultant and former public service
manager and Ron Bell, Psychologist, Royal Ottawa Hospital

Creating Innovation: the Processes: Eleanor Glor, Health Canada

 

June 20:

Government as an Enterprise: a Model: Pat Griffith, Treasury Board

An Innovative Society and the Role of Government: Otto Brodtrick,
Consultant to Auditor-General on Innovation

 

September 19, 1996:

Innovation and Creativity: Concepts and Techniques: Diane Houle-Rutherford, President, DHR
and Associates Consulting.

 

October17:

Strategies for Creating a Climate to Support Innovation in the Federal Government: Ruth
Hubbard, President, Public Service Commission

 

November21:

Encouraging Human Resource Innovation in Health Canada: Ann-Marie Gianetti (Français)

 

Published January 25, 2001

Revised November 2009

The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 7(1), 2002, article 7.

 

1997 Schedule for the Innovation Salon

 

June 19, 1997

Innovation in Service Delivery and the Ontario Public Service
Vic Pakalnis, Ontario Ministry of Labour

 

May 15, 1997

Innovation and Public-private Partnerships
Alti Rodel, Consulting and Audit Canada

Canada as a Corrections Innovator
Bram Deurloo, Correctional Service of Canada

 

April 17, 1997

A Government-Wide Research Agenda: An Agenda for Innovation?
Francine Lirette-St. Jean, PCO

 

March 20, 1997

Resolved: Deregulation is innovative: A Debate

 

February 20, 1997

Chaos and Complexity Theory
Rachel Dupras, Information Management Advisor, CGI

Notes

Commentary by David Jones

 

January 16, 1997

Use of Market Incentives to Induce Responsible Behaviour
Mike Beale, Environment Canada

 

Published December 17, 2000

Revised November 2009

1998 Schedule for the Innovation Salon

January 15, 1998

Evaluability of Innovations: Evaluating Innovative Programs in Public Institutions: From
Hubris to Reality: Gerald Halpern, consultant

 

February 19, 1998

A Panel
– What is the role of innovation awards? How well do they perform their role?
– Participation of an IPAC Award judge (Robert Giroux), a recent IPAC Innovation Award
winner from the federal government: DFO fish quality program ( Vance McEachern, Food
Agency) and a federal government quality award winner (Roy Sage, CANMET, Natural Resources
Canada)

 

March 19, 1998

A Government-Wide Research Agenda: An Agenda for Innovation? Laura Chapman, Executive
Director, Policy Research Secretariat, Government of Canada

Policy Research Network

The Policy Research Initiative was launched in July 1996 by the
Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet of the Government of Canada. The
purpose was to examine the public policy pressure points Canadian society is likely to
experience over the coming years, identify knowledge gaps and develop a research plan to
fill those gaps. The ultimate objective is to build a solid foundation of research that
will inform future public policy decisions.

THE CONTEXT

Strengthening policy capacity has become a central issue in the
management of Canada’s Federal Public Service and a number of initiatives have been
undertaken with this goal in mind.

Two such initiatives, the Task Forces on Strengthening the Policy
Capacity of the Federal Government and on Managing Horizontal Issues, reached similar
conclusions. The policy environment is becoming increasingly complex, requiring greater
co-operation and horizontality. And, in recent years, policy development has become more
reactive than proactive resulting in a weakened capacity to deal with longer-term
strategic and horizontal issues.

The creation of the PRI recognises the need to look beyond the
immediate and to work together to prepare today for tomorrow’s decisions.

THE PRI PROCESS

Over thirty federal departments and agencies now participate in the
PRI.

In Phase I of the project, departments identified issues most likely
to create future policy challenges. They also assessed the current state of knowledge
about these issues and pinpointed research gaps that will need to be filled to support
policy development. In October 1996, the first PRI report was released. The title,
“Growth, Human Development, Social Cohesion”, reflects the emergence of three
key areas of policy challenges.

Four interdepartmental networks each co-chaired by two Assistant
Deputy Ministers were established in Phase II. Networks created around Growth, Human
Development and Social Cohesion were tasked with developing research workplans that would
begin to address knowledge gaps. A fourth network, Global Challenges and Opportunities,
was formed to assess the growing linkages between international developments and the
domestic agenda and the implications for Canada over the next decade. In addition, a
working group with representation from each of the four networks was established to look
at adjustment and transition issues as Canada moves to a knowledge-based economy and
society.

In June 1997, a Secretariat was created to:

  • help integrate the work of the networks;
  • find innovative ways to share policy research information;
  • build knowledge partnerships with the broader Canadian policy
    research community; and,
  • create linkages with policy researchers in other countries and with
    international organisations.

EARLY FINDINGS & RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

Six major forces of change in Canada over the coming decade are
highlighted in the first reports of the PRI. These are:

  • globalisation and North American integration;
  • technological change and the information revolution;
  • environmental pressures;
  • demographics: the changing face of Canada;
  • the fiscal context; and
  • multiple centres of power.

Research in the area of Economic Growth is examining such issues as
the role of non-market activities, regional economic development and macro-economic
policies, the determinants of productivity growth, and the implications of an ageing
population on economic performance.

Human Development research priorities include life path and time
allocation patterns of Canadians, characteristics of successful life transitions, factors
driving income and earnings inequality and pressures on the health care system.

Social Cohesion, an emerging area of study, has a diverse range of
research areas revolving around three themes: societal fault lines; axes of community;
and, the implications of changes in social cohesion.

The Global Challenges and Opportunities network has identified
international governance and the changing roles and expectations of the federal government
as its priority areas for research.

A thematic outline, implementation strategy and research proposals
have been developed for the Knowledge Based Economy and Society (KBES) pilot project. The
focus is on the evidence regarding the emergence, dynamics and requirements of a
knowledge-based economy and society, and on the adjustment and transitions required at all
levels from the individual to society as a whole.

REACHING OUT TO THE BROADER COMMUNITY

The first phases of the PRI occurred largely within the federal
government at the national level. In the current phase Policy Research, work is focusing
on building existing relationships and forging new knowledge partnerships with the
regions, other orders of government and non-state players, including researchers in other
countries and international organisations. The objective is to strengthen our policy and
research capacity by engaging the broader policy research community in the PRI,
facilitating information exchange and encouraging the sharing of best practices among
those facing similar issues.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

To learn more about the Policy Research Initiative please contact:
The Policy Research Secretariat
3rd Floor, Section B
373 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada, K1N 8V4

Phone: (613) 992-9356
Fax: (613) 995-6006

 

Updated

November 02, 1998

 

 

Published December 17, 2000

Revised November 2009


1999 Innovation Salon Schedule

Thursday, November 18:
Sandy Borins: Public
Management Innovation: A Global Perspective

Speaker: Sandford Borins is Professor,
University of Toronto; co-author with the Hon. Allan Blakeney of Political Management in
Canada, and author of Innovating with Integrity: How Local Heroes are Transforming
American Government.

Professor Borins has been studying public management innovation by
analyzing the best applications to innovation award programs in Canada (the IPAC awards),
the US (the Ford Foundation-Kennedy School of Government Innovations in American
Government Awards), and the Commonwealth (the CAPAM award). Based on these diverse data
bases, he will draw conclusions regarding:

i) the characteristics of public management innovations
ii) where in the public service innovations originate
iii) whether innovation is driven by crises
iv) whether innovation is the result of a process of planning or a process of incremental
groping.

When:Thursday November 18

Location: Mama Theresa’s
Restaurant, 300 Somerset West, 236-3023
5:30 to 9:00pm

Cost: $10 for expenses, plus dinner
Please feel to come even if you do not have dinner.

For more information and RSVP please
contact Eleanor Glor,
phone 1-613-954-8575; fax 1-613-946-5686; email: Eleanor_Glor@hc-sc.gc.ca

The Innovation Salon schedule is posted in The
Innovation Journal
: http://www.innovation.cc
under Salon.

Published November 1999 & new pdf May 30 2016

 

Sandford Borins did his undergraduate and graduate education at Harvard in economics
and public administration. He is Professor of Public Management and the Rotman School of
Management at the University of Toronto. He is also Chair of the Division of Management at
the University of Toronto at Scarborough.

He is the author of numerous articles on public management, as well as four books, the
most recent being Political Management in Canada, co-authored with the Hon. Allan
Blakeney, former premier of Saskatchewan, published in a second edition in 1998 by
University of Toronto Press, and Innovating with Integrity: How Local Heroes are
Transforming American Government
, published by Georgetown University Press in 1998.

He was a member of the selection panel for the Amethyst Award for excellence in the
Ontario Public Service in 1994 and 1995 and chair of the panel from 1996 to 1998, and was
a member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Transportation Capital Corporation
(Highway 407) from 1995 to 1998.

His current research deals with public management innovation.

Thursday, October 28:
Brian Marsen: Citizen-Centred
Service Delivery Network: Winner

Brian will summarize Canadians’ views about public sector service as
contained in the award-winning Citizens First Report. In August 1999 this ground-breaking
work won the 1999 Gold Award for Innovative Management from the Institute of Public
Administration of Canada. Brian will also discuss the federal government’s new
citizen-centred service strategy which is based on the findings in the Citizens First
Report.

Bio

Brian Marson was raised in Vancouver and attended the University of
British Columbia, where he received Bachelors and Masters degrees in International Studies
and Political Science, Following MPA and Doctoral studies at Harvard University,
Mr. Marson served as a Research Associate at Harvard’s Center for International
Affairs.

A co-founder of Canadian University Service Overseas, he served as
Associate Director of CUSO for several years. After serving as a policy advisor to the
Federal Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, he subsequently held a number of
senior management positions with the federal Treasury Board Secretariat. Before returning
to British Columbia in 1979, he helped establish the new Ministry of State for Economic
Development, as a Deputy Secretary of the Ministry.

Mr. Marson held senior positions with the Ministry of Finance of the
Province of British Columbia, culminating in his appointment as Comptroller General in
1982. In this capacity he led the transformation of British Columbia’s Office of the
Comptroller General, and the modernization of B.C.’s system of Financial
Administration.

In 1988, Brian Marson co-authored a Canadian textbook entitled
Public Financial Management. He is also co-author of The Well-Performing Government
Organization, and a forthcoming book The New Public Organization.. Before returning to the
federal public service in 1994, Mr. Marson taught for many years as Adjunct Professor of
Public Administration at the University of Victoria where he developed a series of
innovative courses in Excellence in Public Management. As a result of his teaching,
writing and consulting, Brian Marson has become well known across the public sector in
Canada and the United States for his advocacy of excellence in service to the public.

In 1988-89, Mr. Marson served as National President of the Institute
of Public Administration of Canada. In September 1990, Mr. Marson was appointed to chair
Service Quality B.C., an initiative of the British Columbia Government to build a
customer/client service focus throughout government.

In 1994, Brian Marson returned to the federal Public Service as
Vice-Principal of the Canadian Centre for Management Development, with responsibility for
Executive Development Programs, and Public Service Renewal. He subsequently led
CCMD’s research programs in leadership and citizen-centred service before being
appointed to his current position as Senior Advisor, Service and Innovation, Treasury
Board of Canada Secretariat.

Notes biographiques–D. Brian Marson

Brian Marson a grandi à Vancouver et a fréquenté
l’Université de la Colombie-Britannique où il a poursuivi ses études de
baccalauréat et de maîtrise en études internationales et en sciences politiques. Après
avoir obtenu une maîtrise en administration publique (MPA) et un doctorat de
l’Université Harvard, M. Marson a occupé un poste d’agrégé de recherche au
Centre Harvard des affaires internationales.

Co-fondateur du Service universitaire canadien outre-mer (SUCO), il
s’est acquitté des fonctions de directeur adjoint de l’organisme pendant
plusieurs années. Après avoir été conseiller en matière de politiques au ministère
fédéral de la Consommation et des Corporations, il a occupé un certain nombre de postes
de gestion supérieure au Secrétariat du Conseil du Trésor. Avant de retourner en
Colombie-Britannique en 1979, il a collaboré, en tant que sous-secrétaire, à la mise
sur pied du ministère d’État au Développement économique.

Depuis 1979, M. Marson a occupé des postes supérieurs au
ministère des Finances de la Colombie-Britannique pour finalement être nommé
Contrôleur général en 1982. À ce poste, il a mené à bien la restructuration du
Bureau du contrôleur général de la C.-B. et a procédé à la modernisation du système
d’administration financière de la province qui est reconnu comme l’un des
meilleurs au pays.

En 1988, il a rédigé en collaboration un manuel intitulé
« Public Financial Management » publié par Nelson, qui est maintenant
utilisé dans les universités et collèges canadiens. Il est également co-auteur
d’un ouvrage récent (1991). « The Well-Performing Government
Organization ». En outre, M. Marson est professeur adjoint en administration
publique à l’Université Victoria où il donne un séminaire sur la gestion de
l’excellence dans le secteur public.

En 1988-1989, M. Marson a été nommé président national de
l’Institut d’administration publique du Canada. De plus, Brian Marson s’est
taillé une réputation, tant au Canada qu’aux États-Unis, pour ses interventions en
matière de promotion de l’excellence en gestion publique et de l’excellence
quant au service au public. En septembre 1990, M. Marson a été nommé président de
l’organisme Service Quality B.C., projet du gouvernement provincial visant à
promouvoir le service à la clientèle dans l’ensemble du gouvernement.

En février 1994, Brian Marson est revenu à l’administration
fédérale à titre de directeur au Centre canadien de gestion, responsable des Programmes
de formation des cadres de direction, et du Renouvellement de la fonction publique.

 

Canada Foundation for Innovation (Innovation Fund). Who? Rqtd at web
site Sept 2, 1999 http://www.innovation.ca/english/feedback/index.html

Thursday, June 17, 1999 (third Thursday)
Pat Griffith: Innovation in Not For Profits and Government

 

Patrick Griffith retired from the federal government in mid-1997 after a
career in the Communications Security Establishment and Treasury Board Secretariat. In the
latter organization he was most recently a Director in the Chief Information Office,
looking at such concepts as business process re-engineering for government, single window
service, federal presence, paper burden reduction for small business, and developing the
federal government’s Year 2000 strategy.

In retirement, in addition to winemaking, cabinetmaking and some
small amount of consulting, Patrick has become re-involved with Opera Lyra Ottawa, where
he is Vice Chairman and Chair of the Nominating Committee. He will be going to Algonquin
College fulltime in Fall 1999 to pursue a two year program in heritage cabinetmaking.

Mr. Griffith will address what the notion of innovation means to an
arts organization in the not for profit sector, with some retrospection about how this
compares to his experience in government.

 

Monday, May 10, 1999
Ruben Nelson, An Alliance for Capitalizing on Change

Ruben Nelson

The Alliance is an answer to this question:

“If we truly had our wits about us, what infrastructure would we create for
ourselves if we were committed to making it as easy as possible for both
persons and organizations in every sector of our society to explore and
understand profound societal change and to shape (co-create) the future,
throughout the 21st Century?”

Bio

Ruben Nelson is the Executive Director of a two-year project
–Capitalizing on Change– which has involved several hundred persons and fifty
organizations in exploring, thinking through and answering this question. The new
Alliance, to be launched May 1, 1999, is a unique and innovative institutional
infrastructure.

Ruben is one of the pioneers of serious futures research in Canada.
He was a founding member and later President of the Canadian Association for Futures
Studies.

He has written on paradigms, leadership, societal change, the future
of work, 21st century social policy, the emerging information society and the societal
implications of micro-electronic technologies.

Ruben studied at Queen’s University, lived in India and worked in
Ottawa. Along the way he organized the first futures conference in Canada (1960),
undertook the first formal research into cultural paradigm change (1975) and directed the
largest Canadian study into the emergence of a Post-Industrial society (1986-88).

He also has a strong background in public policy and was an advisor
to both elected officials and bureaucrats.

Ruben is active in the community. In 1989 he conceived of Calgary as
an Information Port and chaired the initial InfoPort initiative. For eight years he
facilitated the Prosperity South process. He has served as a Governor of the Calgary
Economic Development Authority.

Today, Ruben is a fellow of the World Business Academy, the World
Academy of Art and Science and the Meridian Institute for Leadership, Governance and
Change. He is also the Executive Director of the Capitalizing on Change Project and
President of Square One Management Ltd.

He now lives in the Alberta Rockies with Heather, his wife of 37
years, and their three cats.

 

Thursday, April 22, 1999
Michael P. Wright: Canada
Post: Revolution at Canada Post

Canada Post Corporation
is a leader in the development of innovative postal products and services. Innovation
could only happen in an environment where the business was ready to support and nurture
the new direction.
Since 1985, CPC has moved from an
organization barely able to fulfill its mandate for universal delivery to an organization
that is admired world-wide not only for its commitment to and achievement of physical mail
standards but also its leadership in the development of innovative services that bring the
post office into the electronic age.
The presentation will review the changes CPC had to undergo to gain
control of its traditional business and create a platform that encouraged innovative new
services.

Bio

Mike Wright is the
Director of Business Development for the Retail Business at CPC. He is responsible for the
identification, evaluation and development of a new range of services to supplement the
existing core products of CPC. He has also spent many years as Director of Corporate
Development, developing strategic alliances and outsourcings for the Corporation. Mike has
previously worked for Coopers & Lybrand and CMHC.
Mike has
a BA from Wilfred Laurier and an MA from the University of Iowa.

 

Thursday, March 25, 1999
Eleanor Glor: Change
Management: t

 

Thursday, February 25, 1999
David Jones: A
Reinterpretation of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War
Text of Sun Tzu’s Art of War, the Oldest Military Treatise in the World
available at: http://www.chinapage.com/sunzi-e.html

David Jones
Winning Engagements: A
Sun Tzu Retelling
(A book in final draft stages)

General Description

An icon in the world of management theory is a series of principles
developed 2500 years ago by the almost mythical Sun Tzu of China. These principles were
named Sun Tzu. Much later the appellation “The Art of War” was added.

Sun Tzu is a collection of 13 “books” of aphorisms. A long
sequence of translators and interpreters have deemed this a work on military strategy and
tactics. But there have been many other analyses and applications to the world of
business, industry and socio-political affairs. Invariably, the war metaphor has guided
both interpretation and application. Was this Master Sun’s intent?

Understanding Sun Tzu demands some knowledge of the religions and
philosophies of ancient China. For any degree of ease maneuvering through the obscure and
unfamiliar images one needs at least some exposure to, and comfort with the Tao Te Ching.
Previous works, for whatever reasons, have suffered from either too superficial an
analysis and application, or too tactical an interpretation. Master Sun speaks through
high level principles concerned with behavioral management in the wide variety of social
situations within which individuals and organizations find themselves.

Too often Western authors seem unable to escape the confines of
their heritage and perspective or to penetrate beyond what are clearly images and idioms.
Winning Engagements is an interpretation and organizational application of Sun Tzu that
draws on the author’s knowledge and experience with business, government, sociology and
Eastern philosophy. Approached from such perspectives Sun Tzu emerges as a guide for
beneficial human relationships, effective interaction within and between individuals and
organizations. Though intended to be neither a manual for conflict resolution nor a text
book on war it has applicability to these domains as well. But Master Sun would say that
if one is reading these books to find ways of successfully concluding open or armed
conflict, the engagement has already failed.

Themes and Conclusions

Sun Tzu is not easy to read or understand. The available
translations and interpretations are of two types:

a) the work of translators. They, with rare exceptions, are literal
interpretations that tend to be low level and tactical.

b) the work of management analysts. In limited cases this work has
been carefully researched and applied. Others have not been well done. Some have tried to
generalize what is already very general; still others have consolidated unrelated
principles and misapplied others. These efforts usually force meaning when time and study
would have allowed penetration to Master Sun’s real intent. Assuming the text refers only
to conflict and war will cause one to miss the work’s subtleties.

When looking at the emerging global economy contemporary management
theorists have made clear that success will demand change. Westerners need to shred and
shed mediaeval notions of organization, process and relations. They need an organizational
style that transcends tradition and hierarchy and focuses on the future instead of the
past. In this future other cultures and traditions must be considered than our own
Greco-Roman one.

In the main the Sun Tzu work to date will not give impetus and
material advantage in our economic and social initiatives along the Pacific Rim. In fact,
they may be causing potentially irreparable harm as they perpetuate notions of Eastern
obscurity and mystery…..the “inscrutable Orient”, as it were.

Winning Engagements seeks to do several things. It strives to
provide a readable and understandable interpretation of Sun Tzu, clause by clause. This
component is preceded by an analysis supporting the argument that this is not a textbook
on war, but rather a guideline on engagements in general. The work concludes with some
illustrations of how one can move Master Sun’s principles closer to the personal and
professional environments. These are written as a series of “memos” to those who
lead and participate in engagements. They could serve as useful “discussion
points” on the principles of Master Sun in functional areas, such as training for
collective bargaining, or in reviewing corporate communications plans.

This publication is an academic and applied exercise. It is academic
in its ambition to add to our understanding and dialogue about Eastern philosophy. It is
applied in that it brings plain English to a text that is challenging for the newcomer.
Indeed, much of Sun Tzu is illegible to someone who is completely unversed in Eastern
religion and philosophy. Having said that, the book is not a religious tract nor is it
filled with the jargon of either philosophy or business.

Continuing study and analysis of “basic texts” from the
Oriental milieu can help us immeasurably as our global relations increase in scope and
speed. Failure to take the time to develop a better understanding can have grave
consequences as North American trade shifts from a European focus to an Asia-Pacific one.
This work may also be considered an argument for better cultural understanding in business
and social relations.

Bio

David G. Jones is a
graduate of the University of King’s College (B.A.) and Dalhousie University (M.A.) both
located in Nova Scotia, Canada. A senior manager with the federal Treasury Board
Secretariat, he is an expert in Information and Knowledge Management and a frequent writer
and speaker on these subjects.

Mr. Jones has taught management
and social policy at a number of higher institutions across Canada. He lectures on a
variety of subjects before international audiences as diverse as the International
Association of Landscape Architects, Electronic Commerce Canada and the World
Oceanographic Conference. In 1998 he was awarded an Honourary Fellowship by his alma
mater
for his continuing service to the academic community. His special personal
interest is Japanese gardening. He has been studying its discipline for many years,
applying what he is learning to his fifteen acre woodland garden.

 

 

Thursday, January 28, 1999
Peter Gunther: The Knowledge-based Economy

by Peter Gunther

Summary

The new theory of demand presents the micro-foundations for establishing the complex
dimensions of growth as they reflect on the ability of individuals to exercise their
freedom in the market places. What GDP, and even disposable income measure as growth is
quite different and only partially reflects growth in individual freedom or, in Canada,
its possible decline during the 1990s. Inadequate though the measurements are, Canadians
have experienced a decline in personal disposable income per capita relative to Americans
from $2,885 in 1992 to close to $9,555 per capita in 1998. A recent survey of high-tech
workers underscores this point. In four of five of Canada’s largest centres, married
high-tech workers were deficit financing their households before making any discretionary
purchases (income after taxes and purchases of basics including health care), whereas in
five cities in the United States, discretionary income was 3.1 to 40 per cent of total
income. The resulting pressures of emigration to the United States are growing and
emphatic. Measurement issues with respect to capital productivity are compounded because
measurements of real growth in computers and peripherals take elements of the new theory
of demand into account while the output measures of the industries adopting these new
technologies do not encompass those same considerations. Growth measures need to be
revisited and the widening gap in real disposable income redressed if Canada is to
continue to participate viably in the knowledge economy.

“THE UNDEPINNINGS OF ACCELERATED DYNAMICS AND UTILITARIANISM:
SHIFTING ROLES FOR GOVERNMENT IN THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY”

I was struck by Andrew Ignative’s comments that the Tony Blair Government is trying to
intertwine the often divergent utilitarian and social-liberal philosophies into the
comprehensive strategic approach of the current British Government. Those who perceive the
current paradigm shift as one of several in a fairly regular series, may be missing the
fundamental and virtually irriversible nature of accelerated dynamics. As a world society
we have not only quickened change, we are continuing headlong into the future with our
foot on the accelerator as we fuel-up, on the fly, with higher-powered unembodied and
embodied intellectual capacity to perpetuate that acceleration. This presentation
delineates the forces for accelerated change and the entrenched nature of those forces. It
uses this backdrop to place these forces for acceleration into modern day utilitarianism
as embodied in modern demand theory, and to explore the future role of government in that
framework.

 

Biography

Peter E. Gunther is a student of economics who taught econometrics,
mathematical economics and North American Economic History at Mount Allison before
becoming Director of Research for the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council where he also
held joint appointments at Dalhousie, Acadia and Saint Mary’s Universities. He served his
country as Chief of Contentious Issues for the Task Force on Canadian Unity and Director
of Research for DREE, initially, in Western Canada and, subsequently, nationally.

His private sector experience includes being Chief of Major Projects at Informetrica
where he carried out impact analysis of most major projects. These projects included Dome
Mines in Yukon, oil and gas in the Tar Sands, Beaufort, Hibernia and the Scotian Shelf and
other energy projects from nuclear exports to pipelines. He was also Director of Research
for Public Policy for Northern Telecom Ltd., when he was also President of the Minto
Skating Club during its construction phase.

He started Smith Gunther Associates Ltd. in 1988. That company has grown to 25
associates with diverse interests in the knowledge economy, planning, competitiveness,
value-based management, health information systems, privatization of public property and
wastewater treatment.

More recently he has returned to academia at the University of Connecticut where he
guest lectures about once a term. His publications include strategic planning in the
knowledge economy, immigration policy, international trade, and competitive analysis. He
has published in the Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Policy Options, Canadian
Public Policy and Pravda. The last of these took the form of poetry translated by
Yevtushenko.

 

 

 

Published July 24, 2001

Revised November 2009

The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 7(1), 2002, article 7.

 

2000 Innovation Salon Schedule

 

Thursday November 16, 2000:

Jack Smith, Leader for Policy and Strategy,
National Research Council of Canada & Member, Editorial Board, The Innovation
Journal
: Valuing and Building Knowledge Networks:
Leveraging Canada’s Intellectual Capital for Innovation Productivity

Subject:Valuing
and Building Knowledge Networks: Leveraging Canada’s Intellectual Capital for Innovation
Productivity

This presentation will examine how Canada may be able
to improve its longer term productivity through more focussed innovation strategies. More
specifically, Canada needs to intensify its innovation rates by creating new relationships
and knowledge networks to better leverage our intellectual and social capital
opportunities and potentials through the creative processes associated with technology
foresight, scenario planning, performance metrics and other knowledge management tools
which are currently undervalued in the development of Canadian science and innovation
policy. In the larger policy context of possible scenarios for the future of Canada as a
nation state and for the Canadian innovation community trying to create a knowledge based
society, such an approach would represent a more intentional and selective way of seeking
flexibility, value and advantageous positioning within the global economy.

Date:Thursday, November 16, 2000

Location: Mama Theresa’s Restaurant, 300
Somerset West, Ottawa, 236-3023

Time:5:30 to 9:00pm

Cost: Cost: $10 for expenses, plus dinner
For more information and RSVP to:
Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-954-8575; email: Glor.Eleanor@ic.gc.ca

 

Tuesday November 7, 2000:

Heather Munroe-Blum, Vice
President Research and International Relations, University of Toronto: Growing Ontario’s
Innovation System: The Strategic Role of University Research (http://www.library.utoronto.ca/rir/report/index.html)
[French
Version]

Professor Heather Munroe-Blum has served the University of Toronto
as Vice-President, Research & International Relations since 1994. She is also a member
of the University’s Governing Council.

As Vice-President, Professor Munroe-Blum holds overall
responsibility for the direction of research and international activities at the
University, as well as for related resources, personnel, relationships, policies and
practices. To these ends, the Vice-President’s priority activities include the
promotion of public support for research across all academic disciplines, domestic and
international relations with public and private sector organizations to foster research
and international activity, and support for the creation, dissemination and
commercialization of knowledge generated at the University of Toronto.

During Professor Munroe-Blum’s six years as Vice-President, the
University has established a wide variety of innovative research and international
initiatives, including the Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, the R. Samuel
McLaughlin Centre for health research and education, the Bahen Centre for Information
Technology, the DAAD Joint Program in German and European Studies, and the Bell University
Labs at the University of Toronto, among many others.

An epidemiologist, Professor Munroe-Blum specializes in psychiatric
epidemiology. She is a Professor in the University’s Faculty of Social Work, and in
the Faculty of Medicine’s Departments of Public Health Sciences and Psychiatry. She
also holds a part-time appointment in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural
Neurosciences and an associate appointment in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology at
McMaster University.

Professor Munroe-Blum’s research centres on epidemiological
investigations of the distribution, prevention, course and treatment of major psychiatric
disorders, and the development of effective mental health policies and practices. As a
principal investigator, she has received major support from the U.S. National Institute of
Mental Health, the Canadian National Health Research and Development Program, the Ontario
Mental Health Foundation, and the Ontario Ministry of Health. Professor Munroe-Blum is the
author or co-author of over 60 scholarly publications, including four books.

Over the past two years, Professor Munroe-Blum has been increasingly
active in the development of effective public policy in support of research and science.
In 1999 she was the principal author of a highly-regarded report on this subject, Growing
Ontario’s Innovation System: The Strategic Role of University Research
,
commissioned by the Government of Ontario.

Prior to her appointment as Vice-President, Research and
International Relations, Professor Munroe-Blum was, from 1989 to 1994, Dean of the
University of Toronto’s Faculty of Social Work. She previously served as a full-time
faculty member of York University and McMaster University.

Active in community affairs, Professor Munroe-Blum, is currently a
member of the University Health Network Board of Directors, Chair of its Joint
Hospital-University Relations Committee, and a member of its Oncology Committee; member of
the Research Advisory Committee of the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care and the Board of
the Institute for Work and Health; member of the Nestlé Canada Advisory Board; Chair,
Industry Canada University Advisory Group; Vice-Chair of the Board of Genome Canada;
member of the Board of the Ontario Premier’s Research Excellence Awards Program, the
Women’s Health Council (Ontario), and Executive Member of the Ontario Council on
University Research.

She has also been a member of: the Expert Panel on Canada’s
Role in International Science and Technology (1999-2000); the Board of Directors of the
Medical Research Council of Canada (now the Canadian Institutes of Health Research); the
Premier’s Council on Health, Well Being and Social Justice (Ontario), the Treatment
Assessment Review Committee of the National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.), and the
Executive Committee of the American Association for Clinical Psychosocial Research. In
1999, Professor Munroe-Blum served on the German Academic Exchange Service’s
international team reviewing the Max Weber Chair at New York University. In 2000, she was
a member of a National Institute of Mental Health Special Emphasis Panel.

Born in Montreal, Professor Munroe-Blum earned Bachelor of Arts and
Bachelor of Social Work degrees from McMaster University. She completed a Master of Social
Work degree in 1975 at Wilfrid Laurier University. In 1983, she graduated with
distinction, obtaining a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.

Professor Munroe-Blum and her husband, Leonard Solomon Blum, a
screenwriter, newspaper columnist and graduate of McMaster University, have a daughter,
Sydney Rebecca Munroe Blum.

Published 09/09/00

 

Thursday, September 21, 2000:

Gardner Church, Special Advisor to the Transition Team,
City of
Ottawa Amalgamation: Opportunities for Cities to Enhance
Economic,
Environmental and Social Goals

Subject:
Amalgamation: Opportunities for Cities to Enhance Economic, Environmental and Social Goals
(PDF)

Date: Thursday, September 21,2000

Location: Mama Theresa’s
Ristorante, 300 Somerset West, Ottawa 236-3023

Time: 5:30 to 9:00 pm

Cost: $10 for expenses, plus dinner
For more information and RSVP by Wednesday, April 19th to: Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-954-8575;
email: Glor.Eleanor@ic.gc.ca

The Innovation Salon schedule is posted on Internet under Salon
in the Innovation Journal at: http://www.innovation.cc

Gardner Church:

Gardner Church is the principal in Gardner Church Public Policy
Consultants, a firm specialising in strategic issues management and public policy
development. He in is an authority on local governance, urban public policy and
intergovernmental relations. Mr. Church, a former public servant, served as a Deputy
Minister in the Ontario Government for both the Office of the Greater Toronto Area and the
Ministry of Housing after a career in the Ministries of Municipal Affairs and Housing and
in Treasury, Economics and Intergovernmental Affairs. He also led a public land
development company as the President and CEO of the North Pickering Development
Corporation. Mr. Church was responsible for a number of legislative initiatives and the
restructuring of numerous local government systems across Ontario. He has also advised
governments internationally in France, Sweden, Spain Latvia, the United States and South
Africa on municipal governance and growth management.

Serving under six Premiers from three parties, Mr. Church regularly
acted successfully as a facilitator, mediator or negotiator to resolve inter-municipal
issues, often involving cities, regions and their neighbouring municipalities. Mr. Church
served as the Provincial facilitator in several local government restructuring activities
from 1973 to 1995 including recently in Hamilton, Ottawa and Kingston, Ontario. Upon
retirement from the public service, he managed the transition of the new City of Kingston
and acted as its first chief administrative officer. Since completing that assignment, Mr.
Church and his firm have assisted several municipalities to consider alternative
governance models including recently in Ottawa-Carleton, York and Muskoka. He has also
assisted Transition Boards in Chatham, Toronto and Ottawa in the past few years.

Between 1990 and 1995, Mr. Church was appointed Professor and
Associate Professor researching and teaching local governance and urban growth management
at the graduate level at The University of Waterloo and York University respectively. He
was twice awarded the Pragma Chair in Planning at The University of Waterloo.

Making his home in Kingston, Mr. Church holds a BA in political
science and an MBA in public administration.

 

Thursday April 27, 2000:


Eleanor Glor, Editor (The Innovation
Journal) and Convenor (The Innovation Salon): Innovation Patterns: A Tool for
Understanding Innovations
. Participants are asked to identify and briefly write up an
innovation to analyze.

Subject:
Innovation Patterns, A Tool for Undertanding

This Innovation Salon will be devoted to exploration of the patterns
of innovation. Before the meeting participants will choose an innovation and prepare a 1-3
page case study of it which will be provided to the facilitator a minimum of five days
before the Salon. The analysis will describe and provide evidence for:

  • the innovation,
  • whether the individual participants in it were intrinsically or
    extrinsically motivated,
  • the organizational culture and management style, according to whether
    it was top-down or bottom-up,
  • the challenge presented by the innovation. Did the change involved
    present participants with a minor or a major challenge?
  • the impacts of the innovation,
  • the fate of the innovation. Did it eventually disappear, just survive
    or flourish? Why?

A copy of a paper discussing these factors is available on request.

Each participant in the Salon will briefly present and the group
will discuss each case study. The group will assess whether the three
dimensions–motivation, culture and challenge–are useful for assessing
innovation. Whether it is a good tool for predicting the impact and fate of innovations
will also be addressed.

Only persons preparing case studies will be permitted to participate
in this Salon. No late registrations will be possible this time.

Date: Thursday April 24, 2000

Location: Mama
Theresa’s Ristorante, 300 Somerset West, Ottawa 236-3023

Time: 5:30 to 9:00 pm

Cost: $10 for expenses, plus dinner
For more information and RSVP by Wednesday, April 19th to: Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-954-8575;
email: Glor.Eleanor@ic.gc.ca

The Innovation Salon schedule is posted on Internet under Salon
in the Innovation Journal at: http://www.innovation.cc

Next Meeting:

Thursday, September 21:
Gardner Church, Special Advisor to the Transition Team, City of
Ottawa Amalgamation: Innovation in Transition

 

 

 

Thursday, March 23, 2000:

Dr. David Strangway, President and CEO (The Canada
Foundation for Innovation): How can governments
encourage innovation?

Subject:
How can governments encourage innovation?

The Government of Canada has established an Innovation Fund
to support innovation in universities, colleges and hospitals by funding infrastructures. Infrastructure is defined as equipment, specimens, scientific
collections, computer software, information databases, communication linkages, and other
intangible properties used or to be used primarily for carrying on research, including
housing and installations essential for the use and servicing of those things. Dr. David
W. Strangway, the Innovation Fund?s President and CEO, will discuss his perspective on
government strategies for encouraging innovation.

For related information on the Australian situation go to
http://www.csiro.au/page.asp?type=mediaRelease&id=Change

Date: Thursday March 23, 2000

Location: Mama Theresa’s Restaurant, 300
Somerset West, Ottawa, 236-3023

Time:5:30 to 9:00pm

Cost: Cost: $10 for expenses, plus dinner
For more information and RSVP by Monday, March 20th to:
Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-954-8575; email: Glor.Eleanor@ic.gc.ca

The Innovation Salon schedule is posted on Internet under Salon in
the
Innovation Journal at: http://www.innovation.cc

Published (January – April 2000) new pdf (Nov 21 2013)

 

 

President, Canada Foundation for Innovation; Past-President and
Vice-Chancellor Emeritus of University of British Columbia, Canada. Appointed November
1985.

Currently : member, board of directors of : BC Gas
Ltd; MacMillan Bloedel Ltd; Rayrock Resources; Corporate-Higher Education Forum;
Development Workshop.

Previous posts : research geophysicist, Kennecott Copper
Corporation, Denver, Colorado 1960-61; assistant professor of geology, University of
Colorado 1961-64; assistant professor of geophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1965-68; associate professor of physics, University of Toronto 1968-71 (professor of
physics 1971-85; chairman, department of geology 1972-80; professor, department of geology
1972-85; vice-president and provost 1980-83; president 1983-84); chief, geophysics branch,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Johnson Space Centre (Houston)
1970-72 (chief, physics branch 1972-73; acting chief, planetary and earth science division
1973); visiting professor, department of geology, University of Houston 1971-73.
Chairman/president/member of numerous councils/committees.

Education and qualifications : University of Toronto
(BA, MA, PhD). Professional engineer. Fellow of : Royal Astronomical Society; Royal
Society of Canada; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) medal for
exceptional scientific achievement; Virgil Kauffman gold medal, Society of Exploration
Geophysicists; Izaak Walton Killam memorial scholarship; Logan gold medal, Geological
Association of Canada; J. Tuzo Wilson medal, Canadian Geophysical Union; Korean
Government; First Order of Civil Merit; Order of Canada; Vancouver Board of Trade;
Community Leadership Award.

Honorary degrees/honorary fellowships, etc : DSc
Memorial University of Newfoundland, DSc McGill University, DSc Ritsumeiken University
(Japan), DSc University of Toronto; DLittS Victoria University, Toronto; DAgSc Tokyo
University of Agriculture; LLD Wilfrid Laurier University; LLD University of British
Columbia. Honorary Professor of : Changchun College of Geology, Jilin Province
(China); Guilin College of Geology (China).

Publications : author or co-author of 165 scientific
papers and one book.

Address : Canada Foundation for Innovation, 350 Albert
Street, Suite 1510, P.O. Box 77,

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1R 1A4 Telephone : (613)
947-7260 Fax : (613) 943-0227

 

DR. DAVID STRANGWAY APPOINTED
PRESIDENT OF THE CANADA FOUNDATION FOR INNOVATION

OTTAWA, April 16, 1998…Dr. John Evans, Chair of the
Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. David
W. Strangway as President and CEO of the Foundation. Dr. Strangway succeeds the CFI’s
founding President, the late Dr. J. Keith Brimacombe.

“Dr. Strangway is widely recognized for his leadership, his
commitment to excellence, and his contributions to Canadian innovation,” said Dr.
Evans. “He brings to the position an impressive track record in scientific research
and as president of a leading research university. His vision will no doubt help ensure
that the CFI contributes to building Canada’s capacity for innovation. Dr.
Strangway’s first priority will be to lead the strategy aimed at strengthening
partnership support for our research institutions from the private and voluntary sectors,
as well as from governments.”

Dr. Strangway is past President and Vice-chancellor of the
University of British Columbia, where he is credited with developing the
institution’s worldwide reputation for research excellence. He previously worked as a
geophysical specialist for the United Nations, the National Aeronautic and Space
Administration (NASA), and for a number of leading world companies. Dr. Strangway has
served as Chair of the Geology Department at the University of Toronto from 1973 to 1980.
He also served as Vice-president and acting President of the University of Toronto from
1980 to 1985, when he accepted the position of President at UBC.

“Dr. Strangway’s vast research experience and his deep
understanding of the workings of government and the private sector have made him the best
candidate to build the partnerships needed to successfully fulfill the CFI mandate,”
said Dr. David Pink, Professor of Physics at St. Francis Xavier University, and a member
of the Governance and Nominating Committee of the CFI’s Board of Directors.

.

Updated

January 25, 2001

 

Monday, February 21, 2000:

Brian Marson and Terry Hunt: Strategies for Building an Innovative Public Service

Services d’innovation et de qualité/Innovation and Quality Services, Treasury Board
Secretariat, Canada Strategies for Building an Innovative Public Service.

In their forthcoming book The New Public Organization (IPAC, Summer
2000) Ken Kernaghan, Brian Marson and Sanford Borins describe the features of the
more-innovative, more-entrepreneurial public sector organization that has begun to
supersede the traditional bureaucratic model of public organizations.

Brian Marson will outline the features of “The New Public
Organization” and will discuss more specifically the culture and management systems
that appear to be needed for innovation to flourish within public organizations.

Based on the presentation, participants will be invited to reflect on
what role and strategies the Treasury Board Secretariat might employ to promote innovation
within the Public Service of Canada. This discussion will be led by Terry Hunt of the
Innovation and Quality Services Division of TBS.

Date: Monday February 21, 2000

Location: Mama Theresa’s Restaurant, 300
Somerset West, Ottawa, 236-3023

Time:5:30 to 9:00pm

Cost: $10 for expenses, plus dinner.
Please feel to come even if you do not have dinner.

For more information and RSVP by Friday February 18th to:
Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-954-8575; email: Glor.Eleanor@ic.gc.ca

The Innovation Salon schedule is posted on Internet under Salon in
the Innovation Journal at: http://www.innovation.cc

Updated

January 24, 2001

 

Thursday, January 27, 2000:

Majid Khoury: Market
Explorers: An Innovative Small Business

Subject:
Market Explorers: An Innovative Small Business

Majid Khoury will talk about innovative internal management
practices that allowed a small business to grow with minimal growing pains. Market
Explorers flex hours/flex pay system, team culture, internal feedback processes, including
monthly salons with employees, and its extensive training program allowed the company to
keep a zero turn-over level with full time staff, promote from within, and allow two new
parents to work from home on a part-time basis until daycare was arranged. The talk will
also present how Market Explorers incorporated a systemized quality control process in a
small business environment.

When:Thursday, January 27,
2000

Location: Mama Theresa’s
Restaurant, 300 Somerset West, 236-3023

Time: 5:30 to 9:00pm

Cost: $10 for expenses, plus dinner
Please feel to come even if you do not have dinner.

For more information and RSVP please
contact Eleanor Glor, phone 1-613-954-8575; fax 1-613-946-5686;
email: Eleanor_Glor@hc-sc.gc.ca

The Innovation Salon schedule is posted in The
Innovation Journal
: http://www.innovation.cc under Salon.

Updated

January 24, 2001

 

Majid Khoury, President of Market Explorers, has been working in market research for
the past 14 years holding both managerial and consultant positions. Majid was the National
Field Director of Tandemar Research of Toronto for three years, Vice President of Farrell
Research Group of Vancouver for four years and set up Market Explorers in 1996. Majid
holds an MBA from Concordia University, a Certificate in Advertising from University of
Montreal, and is currently enrolled in a Certificate of Public Relations at Langara
College and a Graduate Certificate in Quality Management with City University.

 

Published January 25, 2001

Revised November 2009

 

Winter Schedule, 2001

January 18, 2001:

Paul Crookall, Public
Service Innovation: The Law of the Farm.
The authors of The Three Pillars of Public Management: Secrets of Sustained Success,
Paul Crookall and Ole Ingstrop, share their understanding of the innovation process.
Salon Notes

Subject:
Public Service Innovation: the law of the farm

Many public service organizations, trying to take a page from the
private sector, have focused on innovation. In their study of excellence in public
service, Ingstrup and Crookall found that innovation was the result of paying attention to
the three pillars of aim, character, and execution. On the farm, you must follow the
principles of preparing the soil, planting the seed, caring for it, harvesting, then
renewing the process. You can’t focus on harvesting alone and expect success. Similarly,
public service organizations wanting to innovate successfully must pay attention to
several other factors first. Crookall and Ingstrup’s research identifies those factors,
and some interesting innovations among the 40 successful public service organizations they
studied.

Date: Thursday, January 18, 2001

Location:Mama Theresa’s Ristorante, 300
Somerset West, Ottawa 236-3023

Time: 5:30 to 9:00 pm

Cost: $10 to cover expenses, plus dinner
For more information and RSVP by Tuesday, January 16th to:
Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-954-8575; email: Glor.Eleanor@ic.gc.ca
Additional information is posted in the Innovation Salon Schedule on Internet in the
Innovation Journal under Salon at: http://www.innovation.cc

Next Meeting:

February 15, 2001:
Ian Wilson, National Archivist: Information Management and Communication Across Time

Updated

January 24, 2001

Bio

Dr. Crookall is a
seasoned professional with a remarkable range of skills and accomplishments. Specializing
in excellence in the public service, leadership, and the criminal justice system, he draws
on his experience as a senior executive, researcher, teacher, and writer. His work is
known for its innovation, integrity, and customer-focus.

  • Ph.D., Business Administration, the Ivey School of Management,
    University of Western Ontario
  • MBA, University of Western Ontario (Dean’s List)
  • B.Sc., Psychology, Trent University (Dean’s List)
  • Certified Health Care Executive, Canadian College of Health Service
    Executives
  • Mediator, graduate of the International Institute of Alternative
    Dispute Resolution
  • Member: Academy of Management; Commonwealth Association for Public
    Administration and Management; International Corrections and Prisons Association

Senior Executive

  • Chief Executive Officer, Regional Treatment Centre (a major forensic
    psychiatric hospital);
  • Positions within the Correctional Service of Canada, including prison
    warden, Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of Corrections, Director Standards and
    Accreditation; Director Information Technology, Senior Researcher, Manager Evaluation and
    Audit.
  • Member, the Board of Governors, University of Western Ontario, Trent
    University, and Bible Art Ministries.

Author and Researcher

  • The Three Pillars of Public Management, McGill-Queen’s
    University Press, 1998, (co-authored with Ole Ingstrup), a study of 40 of the most
    effective public service agencies in 14 countries. Three Pillars has been well
    received by the United Nations, the International Institute for Public Administration, the
    American Society for Public Administration, The Commonwealth Association for Public
    Administration and Management, and the public. (third printing March 2000)
  • Leadership in Prison Industry, a study of the impact on
    subordinates of training foremen in transformational leadership (1989)
  • “Reinventing Corrections: The Three Pillars of Public
    Management” (with Ole Ingstrup). Corrections Management Quarterly, Spring 1998
  • Contributing editor, responsible for “For Your Bookshelf”
    column in Corrections Management Quarterly. Contributing editor, Canadian
    Government Executive Magazine.
  • Strategies for Public Service Reform (New Zealand, 1997),
    report of the Commonwealth Advanced Seminar on public management
  • Speech writer for the Solicitor General and the Commissioner,
    Correctional Service of Canada
  • Reports and publications on: employee assistance programs; suicide
    prevention; crisis response and hostage negotiation; standards and accreditation;
    correctional programs; poorly performing work units and institutions
  • Numerous refereed publications and speeches to international
    gatherings

Consultant

  • Advised the Treasury Board of
    Canada on citizen-centred service, and authored the guidebook “Client Satisfaction, a
    how-to guide”.
  • Advised the Integrated Justice Initiative of the Solicitor General,
    preparing a communications strategy, speeches, and promotional articles
  • Consultant to the Prison Service of Trinidad and Tobago, the Federal
    Bureau of Prisons, the correctional services of the states of Massachusetts, New York,
    Illinois, and Michigan, and the American Correctional Association
  • Certified consultant with the Commonwealth Secretariat
  • Consultant to a Canadian clothing manufacturer, a Canadian winery,
    anon-profit social service agency, and major Canadian banking and manufacturing
    organizations

Teacher and Educator

  • Designed and delivered in-house courses for the Correctional Service
    of Canada on crisis management, hostage negotiations, suicide prevention, inmate
    management, counselling, management of criminal gangs and organized crime, organizational
    change, and leadership
  • Taught organizational design at Queen’s University
  • Taught human resource management at Algonquin College
  • Taught leadership within the Government of Canada

Health Care

  • Executive Director, Regional Treatment Centre
  • Executive Director, Dorchester Health Services
  • Member, CCHFA standards development committee

Achievements

  • Researched and co-authored The Three Pillars of Public Management,
    which has been well received by practitioners and academics around the world.
  • Developed and implemented a strategic business plan and marketing
    plan for a small Canadian clothing manufacturer, that has resulted in a dramatic increase
    in sales, and appearances on Success Inc. the Women’s Television Network, Venture
    on CBC TV, and coverage by The Robb Report as the world’s best sock.
  • Researched, designed, and delivered a course on crisis management and
    negotiation during crises, that has helped the Correctional Service of Canada reduce the
    number of crises and better handle those that do occur. Police and correctional agencies
    in Canada, the United States, and Trinidad and Tobago have adopted the course.
  • As Chief Executive Officer, took over a poorly performing forensic
    psychiatric hospital in an outdated 150-year-old facility, known for its poisoned work
    environment, and poor client relations. Spearheaded a total physical renovation and
    organizational redesign. Revitalized therapeutic programs, established a credible Board,
    achieved a 30% increase in service delivery, a rise in customer satisfaction, and
    externally validated accreditation by the Canadian Council on Health Facility
    Accreditation, all while achieving the lowest per bed cost for any tertiary psychiatric
    facility in Canada.
  • Awarded the Exemplary Service Medal by the Governor General of
    Canada for distinguished contributions to management in corrections.

Monday, January 29, 2001:

Graham Lowe, University of Alberta: Employer
of Choice? Workplace Innovation in Government

– author The Quality of Work: A People-Centred Agenda, speaking on the future of
work and Canadian Policy Research Network (CPRN)’s Human Resources in Government
Study examining the future of work in the public service, to be published in January 2001.
http://www.cprn.com/cprn.html

by Graham Lowe, University of Alberta

Subject:
Employer of Choice? Workplace Innovation in Government

Dr. Lowe, author of The Quality of Work: A
People-Centred Agenda
, is the Canadian Policy Research Network’s Director, Work
Network. He will speak on the future of work and CPRN’s Human Resources in Government
Study that lends its title to the Salon, to be published in January 2001.The study
examines the impact of extensive downsizing and restructuring in the public service during
the 1990s in five jurisdictions, the federal government and the provinces of Alberta,
Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia. It argues that Canada’s governments want to become
“employers of choice.” Many are striving to be more flexible,
knowledge-intensive and learning-based. Reaching these goals will require nothing short of
a bold new human resource strategy that can promote change within each government
workplace – a strategy that encourages innovative ways of organizing, managing,
supporting and rewarding people. How a government meets these challenges will determine
its success in providing citizens with the high quality services they need and want.

Date: Monday, January 29, 2001

Location: Courtyard Restaurant, 21
George (in the Byward Market, in the first block East of Sussex) 241-1516

Time: 5:30 to 9:00 pm

Cost: Cost: $10 to cover expenses,
plus dinner. Persons cancelling less than 24 hours before the meeting will be charged the
registration fee.

For more information and RSVP by Thursday, January 25th to:
Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-954-8575; email: Glor.Eleanor@ic.gc.ca

Additional information is posted on Internet in The Innovation
Journal
under Salon at: http://www.innovation.cc

Next Meeting:

Thursday, February 15, 2001:
Ian Wilson, National Archivist: Information Management and Communication Across Time
(dinner compliments of the Archives)

 

Updated

January 25, 2001

bio

Canadian Policy Research Networks Inc. (CPRN)
600 – 250 Albert Street Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6M1
Tel: (613) 567-7500 Fax: (613) 567-7640
Website: http://www.cprn.org

Biosketch – Graham S. Lowe

Graham S. Lowe is Director of the Work Network at
Canadian Policy Research Networks Inc. (www.cprn.org).
CPRN is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating new knowledge and leading public
debate on social and economic issues important to the well being of Canadians.

He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the
University of Toronto in 1979. Since then he has been a faculty member at the University
of Alberta, where he held a McCalla Research Professorship during 1997-98 academic year
and currently is a Professor of Sociology. He has been visiting professor, lecturer and
researcher at numerous universities in Canada, Europe, and Asia. As well, he has extensive
consulting experience in the public and non-profit sectors.

Dr. Lowe’s speciality is the study of work. His
research and publications examine issues such as school-work transitions, human resource
development, new technologies, labour market trends, job stress, unionization, and
employment-related public policy. He is principal co-investigator of the on-going
School-Work Transitions Project (www.ualberta.ca/~glowe/transition), which has been
tracking the life courses of samples of 1985 high school and university graduates in
Edmonton. Recently, findings from this study have been published in international journals
such as The British Journal of Industrial Relations and Work, Employment and
Society
.

His latest book, The Quality of Work: A
People-Centered Agenda
, was published in April 2000 by Oxford University Press. The
fourth edition of Work, Industry and Canadian Society, a widely-used textbook he
co-authored with H. Krahn, will be published in 2002.

Updated

January 22, 2001

 

 

 

February 15, 2001: “Archives: communication in the fourth dimension” Ian Wilson

Ian Wilson, National Archivist, Information Management and Communication Across Time
(dinner compliments of the Archives)

Innovation is a word more closely allied with the fields of
information technology or the biosciences than with the world of archives. Innovation
suggests ideas that carry us into the future, not records that link us to our past.
Innovation, derived from the latin, literally means “to make new.”
“Archives” is related to the Greek family of words with the root
“arkhe” meaning first, beginning, or original and commonly refers to records
which are no longer in operational use. What then does innovation have in common with an
institution devoted to preserving the documents which make up the collective memory of the
nation? And how is the National Archives of Canada using innovative techniques and
strategies to communicate across time, bringing the stories of the past ever more
meaningfully into the present to help better inform decision-making, protect our rights as
citizens, and shape our identity/identities as a nation?

Bio

Ian E. Wilson was appointed National Archivist of Canada in July
1999 following a distinguished career in archives, university teaching and government.
Most recently, he served as Archivist of Ontario and as a member of the Ontario
Government’s Information and Information Technology Management Committee. He is also
Adjunct Professor in the Faculties of Information Studies and of Graduate Studies at the
University of Toronto and President of the Champlain Society.

Career highlights include management and administrative renewal at
the Archives of Ontario; repositioning archives within the public sector to assume a
leadership role in information management issues; and the development of proactive
programs as Archivist of Queen’s University (1970-76), Saskatchewan’s Provincial
Archivist (1976-86) and as Archivist of Ontario (1986-99). He has placed special emphasis
on client service, staff development and on integrity of the record. He has spoken and
published extensively on archives, information management and history.

Mr. Wilson was born in Montreal and graduated in History from
Queen’s University.

French Version

Ian E. Wilson a été nommé archiviste national du Canada en
juillet 1999, après une carrière distinguée dans les archives, l’enseignement
universitaire et la fonction publique. Il était tout dernièrement archiviste de
l’Ontario et membre du Comité de gestion de l’information et de la technologie
de l’information du gouvernement de l’Ontario. Il est également professeur
associé aux facultés des études sur l’information et des cycles supérieurs de
l’Université de Toronto, et président de la Société Champlain.

Parmi les faits saillants de sa carrière professionnelle,
mentionnons la gestion et le renouvellement administratif des archives de l’Ontario,
la refonte du rôle des archives dans le secteur public afin de leur donner un rôle
important dans les questions liées à la gestion de l’information, et
l’élaboration de programmes proactifs tels que celui d’archiviste de
l’Université Queen’s (1970-1976), d’archiviste provincial de la
Saskatchewan (1976-1986) et d’archiviste de l’Ontario (1986-1999). Il met
l’accent sur le service à la clientèle, le perfectionnement du personnel et la
préservation des dossiers. Il est l’auteur de nombreuses allocutions et publications
sur des questions liées aux archives, à la gestion de l’information et à
l’histoire.

Né à Montréal, M. Wilson est diplômé d’histoire de
l’Université Queen’s.

 

Updated

January 25, 2001

 

 

Thursday, March 15, 2001:

Dr. Robert McMurtry, Assistant Deputy Minister, Health
Canada:
From Health Care to Health

Dr. Robert McMurtry, Assistant Deputy Minister, Population and
Public Health Branch, Health Canada

Subject:
From Health Care to Health

The health system faces many challenges within a continuum of
services that includes the health care system, prevention programs, health promotion and
population health interventions. Innovation will play an important role in addressing
these challenges.

Dr. Robert McMurtry is the Visiting Assistant Deputy Minister of the
Population and Public Health Branch, Health Canada. Prior to joining Health Canada in
1999, Dr. McMurtry was a scientist, surgeon, administrator, and advisor to government.

Date: Thursday, March 15, 2001

Location: The Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George,
241-1516 is in the Byward Market, in the first block East of Sussex, behind The Bay and
Chapters, in a courtyard on the North side of George.

Time: 5:30 to 9:00 pm

Cost: $10 to cover expenses. Persons
cancelling less than 24 hours before the meeting will be charged the registration fee.

Registration: For more information
and RSVP by Monday, March 12th to:Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-954-8575; email: Glor.Eleanor@ic.gc.ca

Additional information is posted in the Innovation Salon Schedule on
Internet in the Innovation Journal under Salon at: http://www.innovation.cc

Next Meeting:Thursday, April 19, 2001:

A Panel on Innovations in Human Resources

Chaired by Tom Stewart, Director General, ADM Corporate Secretariat,
The Leadership Network, replacing Mary Gusella, Deputy Minister, The Leadership Network

Ray Springer, Treasury Board Secretariat: Benchmarking Study, A
Comparative Analysis of Human Resources Management Regimes in Canada. The only one of its
kind in the world. A tool for the newest recruit or the most seasoned decision-maker in
HR.

Robert Chartrand, Executive Director, Sector Renewal, Industry
Canada: Innovative means for Recruiting Internal Staff (Re-Recruiting) and Retaining
Employees

 

Updated

May 29, 2001

bio

Dr. Robert McMurtry is the Visiting Assistant Deputy Minister of the
Population and Public Health Branch, Health Canada. Dr. McMurtry joined Health Canada in
1999 as the first G.D.W. Cameron Visiting Chair. In this capacity, he provided advice to
the Deputy Minister on issues of a scientific nature, and acted as a liaison between the
department and the scientific community at large. Prior to joining Health Canada, Dr.
McMurtry gained considerable experience in several areas of the health care field. He
specialized in orthopaedic and hand surgery, and founded and directed Sunnybrook Medical
Centre’s trauma unit. Dr. McMurtry was a Professor and Head of Surgery at the
University of Calgary. He also held the position of Head of Surgery for Foothills Hospital
until he was appointed, in 1992, to the position of Dean of the Faculty of Medicine (now
the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry) at the University of Western Ontario. Dr. McMurtry
has published widely and served on many advisory boards and committees, including the
Medical Research Council and the Interim Governing Council for the Canadian Institutes of
Health Research.

Thursday, April 19, 2001:


A Panel on Innovations in Human Resources

Chaired by Tom Stewart, Director General, ADM Corporate
Secretariat, The Leadership Network, replacing Mary Gusella, Deputy Minister, The
Leadership Network

    • Ray Springer, Treasury Board
      Secretariat: Benchmarking Study, A Comparative
      Analysis of Human Resources Management Regimes in Canada. The only one of its kind in
      the world. A tool for the newest recruit or the most seasoned decision-maker in HR.
    • Robert Chartrand, Executive
      Director, Sector Renewal, Industry Canada: Innovative
      means for Recruiting Internal Staff (Re-Recruiting) and Retaining Employees

Innovation Salon/ Salon de
l’innovation
Thursday, April 19, 2001
Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516
(Details of location below)
5:30 to 9:00 pm

Chaired by Tom Stewart, Director General, ADM Corporate
Secretariat, The Leadership Network, replacing the Deputy Minister, The Leadership Network

Ray Springer, Treasury Board
Secretariat: A Benchmarking Study Comparing Human Resources
Management Regimes in Canada. The only one of its kind in the world. A tool for the
newest recruit or the most seasoned decision-maker in HR.

Robert Chartrand, Executive
Director, Sector Renewal, Industry Canada: Innovative
means for Re-Recruiting Internal Staff and for Retaining Employees.

Cost: $10 to cover expenses. Persons cancelling less
than 24 hours before the meeting will be charged the registration fee.

Registration: For more information and RSVP by
Tuesday, April 17th to:
Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-954-8575; email: Glor.Eleanor@ic.gc.ca

Location: The Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George,
241-1516 is in the Byward Market, in the first block East of Sussex, behind The Bay and
Chapters, in a courtyard on the North side of George.

Additional information is posted in the Innovation Salon Schedule on
Internet in the Innovation Journal under Salon at: http://www.innovation.cc

Next Meeting: Tuesday, May 15, 2001:
Gordon Diamond, General Manager of OC Transpo: Violence in the Workplace
–Innovations OC Transpo employed to resolve problems of workplace violence and to
recover from a major tragedy in the workplace.
Courtyard Restaurant

Updated

April 07, 2001

Challenges
In Innovation:
Recruitment and Retention

Recruitment and retention of talent is quickly emerging as a major
priority in the Public Sector. The presentation describes how Industry Canada is adopting
innovative approaches to address this issue. Three specific human resources initiatives
are described :

  • A “Bridging Program” designed to grow talent from within,
  • An Intranet-based “HR Development Toolkit” to facilitate
    employee development, and
  • A “Career Advisory Panel” initiative to support the
    longer-term career aspirations of senior professionals.

The presentation focuses on the challenge of adopting creative
solutions to human resource issues and what has been learned in this respect.

Comparative
Analysis of Modern Human Resources Management Regimes in Canada

In 1998, to assist organizations in adjusting to post-Program Review
operating realities, the Treasury Board Secretariat initiated focussed action to learn
from organizations recognized as leaders in Human Resources Management. The premise was
simple, organizations that had adapted and modernized their human resources management
strategies and programs could provide valuable insights into how the Public Service could
adjust following significant workforce reductions. What started as a simple premise –
learning before moving into action – turned into an incredible journey of challenges,
discovery, innovation and partnerships. The TB has created a tool that is as valuable to
the newest recruit to the Public Service as it is to Heads of HR or the most seasoned
decision-makers. This tool has been shared broadly in the HR community, within departments
and central agencies and with other Public Services around the world. The information
obtained from our partners has been ‘mined’ to extract best practices, management
approaches and lessons learned. To complete the picture, a case study of the Public
Service of Canada was also developed. The case study provides a holistic description of
the Public Service Regime, unique insights into the Regime, positioning opportunities and
an historical baseline against which progress can be measured.

bio

Tom Stewart is Director General, ADM Corporate Secretariat at The Leadership
Network. He has also worked with the Public Service Commission as the Director General,
Assistant Deputy Minister Prequalification Process and as Director General, Executive
Programs. He has extensive experience in executive assessment, selection,
coaching and leadership development. During his career, he has held a variety of senior human resources
positions in a number of government departments. In addition, he has previously worked as
a labour economist and with the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada. He holds a B.A. (Economics) from the former Sir George William
University in Montreal and a B. Ed. with the University of Ottawa and has recently been
certified as a professional coach through his studies with New Ventures West in San
Francisco.

bio

Robert Chartrand is the Executive Director of Renewal for the
Spectrum, Information Technologies and Telecommunications sector of Industry Canada. He
has had extensive experience leading change management initiatives and has more recently
spearheaded a number of highly innovative organization development programs. Mr. Chartrand
holds degrees in engineering as well as business administration and has a background which
includes management consulting in both the private and public sectors. He can be reached
via chartrand.robert@ic.gc.ca or by calling
613 991-3510.

bio

Ray Springer is a Senior Policy Analyst with the Human Resources
Branch of the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS). He has been involved in a number of major
Human Resources files in his 12 years at TBS. Most recently, he completed a Comparative
Analysis Study of the federal Human Resources Management Regime. The study is now
available on Compact Disk and contains many best practices and lessons learned for HR
professionals. Under Program Review Ray was responsible for developing a new Management
and Accountability framework and tools (including new audit guide, manager’s guide, a
measure called payback) and regular monitoring and reporting activities. As Head of the
government’s Personnel Security Screening Program Ray, working with the security
community, eliminated significant security screening backlogs and significantly reduced
the turnaround time to complete screening checks through the use of technology. He is a
founding member of the executive of the Federal Association of Security Officials. Prior
to this, Ray was responsible for flexible working arrangements policies, including
Self-Funded Leave, a program that he conceived and implemented across the Public Service.

Prior to working with the Treasury Board Secretariat, Ray was:

  • Head of Human Resources for the Public Service Commission,
  • Head of HR Policy, Planning and Statistics for the Canada Employment
    and Insurance Commission,
  • Customer Service Manager for a major retail organization and
  • Teacher of English in Paris.

 

Tuesday, May 15, 2001:

Gordon Diamond, the General manager of OC Transpo.
Violence in the Workplace — Innovations OC Transpo
employed to resolve problems of workplace violence and to recover from a major tragedy in
the workplace.

Innovation Salon/ Salon de l’innovation
Tuesday, May 15, 2001
Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516
(Details of location below)
5:30 to 9:00 pm

Violence in the Workplace
Gordon Diamond, General Manager of OC Transpo

On April 6, 1999, a former employee of Ottawa’s Transit
Commission, OC
Transpo, returned to the garage and shot and killed four employees, wounded two others and
then took his own life. Mr. Diamond will address innovations OC Transpo employed to
resolve problems of workplace violence and to recover from a major tragedy in the
workplace. He will speak to strategies to recover from and to avoid future incidents. His
presentation includes the innovative approaches they had to take to change their
management approach while also managing an ongoing operation and public relations
nightmare. It covers relationship building, conflict resolution, privacy and information
sharing.

Cost: $10 to cover expenses.
Persons cancelling less than 24 hours before the meeting will be charged the registration
fee.
Registration: For more information and RSVP by Thursday, May
10th to:
Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-954-8575; email: Glor.Eleanor@ic.gc.ca
Location: The Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516 is in
the Byward Market, in the first block East of Sussex, behind The Bay and Chapters, in a
courtyard on the North side of George.

More information is available in The Innovation Salon Schedule, published
on Internet in the Innovation Journal under Salon at:
http://www.innovation.cc/salon.htm

bio

Gordon Diamond has been General Manager of OC Transpo, the
Transit Commission in Ottawa since November, 1999, and is now Director, Transit Services
in the new City of Ottawa. Mr. Diamond has an extensive background in transportation,
emergency preparedness and response, having served for many years in the Canadian Air
Force as a Rescue Squadron Commander an Air Transport Base Commander, and Commander of Air
Transport Group. His responsibilities have included numerous major airlifts, UN and relief
missions around the world, including Canada’s largest airlift during the Gulf War. Since
retiring from Air Command a few years ago as Chief of Operations and Deputy Commander, Mr.
Diamond has also served as an aviation and transportation consultant and as a Director in
the Defence Systems Division of Bombardier Services Group prior to joining OC Transpo
in 1999. OC Transpo’s 2200 employees serve a community of 785,000, providing
some 80 million public transit rides each year.

 

 

 

 

Published

May 29, 2001

Revised November 2009

The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 7(1), 2002, article 7.

 

Winter 2002 Schedule

Thursday, December 6, 2001:

Thomas Homer-Dixon: The Ingenuity Gap

University of Toronto Professor
Homer-Dixon discusses his best-seller, The Ingenuity Gap.

A joint meeting of the Innovation
Salon, the Futures and Strategies Network, and FORUM of Young
Professionals, sponsored by the Policy Research Network and IPAC.

National Press Club, 150 Wellington
(entry also on Sparks Street, West of O’Connor, second floor. 233-5641. 5:30 to
7:00 pm (confirmed)

 

Saturday, February 9, 2002:

Everett M.
Rogers
, the dean of innovation studies; author The Diffusion of Innovations;
Chairman, School of Communications Studies, University of New
Mexico: What I Have Learned in 40 Years of Research on Innovation
(confirmed)

 

Monday, March 18, 2002:

Doug Hull, inventor of SchoolNet, now
with Canarie: Reflections on Being an Innovator
(confirmed)

A sound recording of this presentation is available for your listening pleasure.

 

Monday, March 18, 2002
Mama Theresa’s Ristorante, 300 Somerset West, Ottawa 236-3023
5:30 to 9:00 pm

Doug Hull

Inventor of SchoolNet, now with Canarie,
Canadian Network for the Advancement of Research, Industry and Education/
Reseau Canadien pour l’Avancement de la Recherche, de l’Industrie et de
l’Enseignement

Reflections on Being an Innovator

Doug Hull is a true, blue Ottawa
inventor. His invention, SchoolNet, has made government surplus computers
available to school classrooms, and has created an Internet-based network
for schools. Doug brought computers Canadian classrooms more than anyone
else.

Cost: $10 to cover expenses. Persons cancelling less than 24
hours before the meeting will be charged the registration fee.

Registration: For more information and RSVP by Thursday,
March 14th to:

Eleanor Glor, ph.
1-613-954-8575

This information is also available in The Innovation Salon
Schedule, published on Internet in The Innovation Journal
under Salon

Next meeting: Monday, March 18, 2002.

The National Research Council and the Innovation Salon are
attempting to organize a joint, half-day session in April on Can
Government “Incent” Economic Innovation?
(tentative)

Engineering Innovation: Some Useful Techniques (PDF)

 

Presentation to the Innovation Salon
March 18, 2002

Doug Hull,
Canarie, Inc.
March, 2002

Innovation

What:
An idea generating a substantial improvement
A strategic tool for competitive advantage
A potentially disruptive and costly venture
A fun and motivating experience
Why:
Crucial to quality, productivity and competitiveness
Due to costs, needs to be engineered where needed

SchoolNet: An Innovative Experience

Context:
Drive learning performance for innovation & productivity
Limited success with various tools: eg., scholarships
Then came the Internet: powerful, magnetic and insidious
Small trials prove the SchoolNet concept; soft launch
Consensus built at working level across all stakeholders
Grew project goal to include “all schools by 2000”
Few schools connected by feds; worked to remove barriers
By 2001 Canada a world leader in internet skills/creativity

Steps to Engineered Innovation

A Clear Strategic Vision to Frame Hunt for Innovations
An Ever-Open Door to New Ideas; 5% Budget Reserve
Spot Your Partner’s Innovations and Promote Them
Select Innovations Generating Multiple Solutions
Harness Wisdom of Seniors and Energy of Youth
Fly Below the Radar Screen: Many Small Pilots
Market and Diffuse Innovations across the System
Reflect and Share the Glory on Partners/Champions
Recognize and Create Pride in Well-Implemented Ideas
Measure the Impact and Shut Down Old Innovations

Why Public Service Innovation is Declining

Accountability System is Unbalanced without an Explicit Risk Policy
Control Centres striving to Eliminate Failure; Innovation is Risky
Post HRDC, Control Centres are dominating Operating Managers
Few Career Gains for PS Innovators, only Risks
An Aging Hierarchy is Dampening Youthful Creativity
Constitutional Constipation: Action is at the Community Level

 

 

SchoolNet and Innovation

SchoolNet is an initiative to link school classrooms
throughout Canada to the Internet, and to create networks of information
creation.

Hello Eleanor,

Here are some rough thoughts re: SchoolNet and Innovation.

I consider myself to be a catalyst for SchoolNet, rather
than the “architect” or “inventor”, as it was a mix of
vision, being in the right place (in contact with Doug Hull and Industry
Canada), and the right time (just before the Internet really became
popular). All three conditions were crucial to the initiation of SchoolNet.

Keep in mind that at the time, there was no graphical or web
interface to the Internet _ there was e-mail, listservers, FTP, Telnet and
Gophers. (how many people remember what Gophers were?) But these were enough
to spark the idea that it could be an incredible learning resource for young
kids and teachers, if they were able to access it from their schools and
homes. At the time, I was actively involved in promoting science and
engineering to young kids, especially girls, and was convinced that the
mentoring process would be greatly facilitated with e-mail exchanges.

About the same time, there was a project being planned
within Industry Canada, whereby teachers could dial into a national 1-800
databank to access learning resources. While on a summer internship with IC,
I found out about this project, and suggested the idea of using the Internet
rather than a bank of dial in lines.

The first challenge was to provide Internet access to the
classroom. Not an easy feat, considering there were no commercial ISPs at
the time. There were also very few computers in the classroom. So, the
genesis of the first SchoolNet pilot project involved going deep into the
basement at Industry Canada, and pulling together 12 working computers from
a pile of old equipment that had been destined for the scrapheap. We worked
with 12 schools in the Ottawa-Carleton (Ontario, Canada) area to install the
systems, and to show the teachers how to use it. The pilot project was
crucial to how SchoolNet later evolved, as it uncovered a whole host of
other challenges that had not been considered. Issues such as:

  • relevant Canadian learning content
  • bilingual content
  • training
  • user manuals
  • cost of access
  • access from areas where there was no local dial up
  • concerns of teachers
  • safety and controls for children

I sometimes think that it was a good thing that we didn’t
know what we didn’t know when the pilot project ran – if we had, it might
have prevented the project from ever getting underway!

As the SchoolNet initiative got underway at a national
level, it was imperative to create a user base, or community of advocates,
to help get the issues resolved and to promote the program at a local level.

This was accomplished both on-line and in the traditional
sense, with a steering committee.

Ownership of the program needed to be handed to educators,
users and other key stakeholders. The speed at which this occurred was a
critical factor in the overall success of SchoolNet.

The ability of the program to “morph”, or to adapt
to the changing needs of the users and the environment (popularization of
the Internet, growth of commercial ISPs, advent of the World Wide Web etc),
is also a hallmark of SchoolNet’s success. Various spin-off programs ensured
that different needs were met – programs to help teachers and learners
create content (Digital Collections), organizing access for first nations
communities, developing and encouraging communities to establish local
networking facilities in rural, remote and urban areas (Community Access)
etc.

My role in getting SchoolNet started was to help organize
the pilot project, and to get a team

together to do the technical programming and support for the
launch of SchoolNet on-line. The team of dedicated people all shared in the
belief and vision that having access to the Internet would greatly enhance
the learning experience and opportunities for elementary and high school
students. We would convene weekly brain storming sessions to come up with
new ideas or ways to help make the vision a reality. We always had a ready
and willing ear for the ideas in Doug Hull at Industry Canada. He could
guide us with respect to what was achievable or realistic, and what was not.

On innovation in general: from my experience, the innovative
process requires a vision, willingness to accept risk in the form of trying
a pilot to determine if the idea is sound, dedicated teams of people who
share the vision, willingness to change or evolve the idea based on
feedback, and some luck. Two heads are better than one for brainstorming,
and three or more are even better!

Karen Dubeau

 

 

Engineering Innovation: Some Useful Techniques (PDF)

 

Presentation to the Innovation Salon
March 18, 2002

Doug Hull,
Canarie, Inc.
March, 2002

 

Innovation

  • What:
    • An idea generating a substantial improvement
    • A strategic tool for competitive advantage
    • A potentially disruptive and costly venture
    • A fun and motivating experience
  • Why:
    • Crucial to quality, productivity and competitiveness
    • Due to costs, needs to be engineered where needed

SchoolNet: An Innovative Experience

  • Context:
    • Drive learning performance for innovation & productivity
    • Limited success with various tools: eg., scholarships
    • Then came the Internet: powerful, magnetic and insidious
    • Small trials prove the SchoolNet concept; soft launch
    • Consensus built at working level across all stakeholders
    • Grew project goal to include “all schools by 2000”
    • Few schools connected by feds; worked to remove barriers
    • By 2001 Canada a world leader in internet skills/creativity

Steps to Engineered Innovation

  • A Clear Strategic Vision to Frame Hunt for Innovations
  • An Ever-Open Door to New Ideas; 5% Budget Reserve
  • Spot Your Partner’s Innovations and Promote Them
  • Select Innovations Generating Multiple Solutions
  • Harness Wisdom of Seniors and Energy of Youth
  • Fly Below the Radar Screen: Many Small Pilots
  • Market and Diffuse Innovations across the System
  • Reflect and Share the Glory on Partners/Champions
  • Recognize and Create Pride in Well-Implemented Ideas
  • Measure the Impact and Shut Down Old Innovations

Why Public Service Innovation is Declining

  • Accountability System is Unbalanced without an Explicit Risk Policy
  • Control Centres striving to Eliminate Failure; Innovation is Risky
  • Post HRDC, Control Centres are dominating Operating Managers
  • Few Career Gains for PS Innovators, only Risks
  • An Aging Hierarchy is Dampening Youthful Creativity
  • Constitutional Constipation: Action is at the Community Level

 

A sound recording of this presentation is available for your listening pleasure.

 

Published June 06 2004

 

 

 

Friday, September 6, 8:00am (breakfast):

Adam Holbrook, Innovation Systems
Research Network (ISRN), Centre for Policy Research on Science and
Technology (CPROST) at Simon Fraser University: The
Federal Government Role in the Canadian System of Innovation

Breakfast at Dunn’s Restaurant, Sparks and Bank Streets, Ottawa

Almost a decade ago, the OECD recognized that studies of systems of
innovation allowed governments to focus on systemic failures of science
and technology and innovation policy rather than simply addressing
market failures. The OECD researchers developed the concept of national
systems of innovation, where the system is made up of a network of
actors connected by several types of linkages. In the Canadian context,
we need to study both the national system and more particularly how
regional systems of innovation combine to produce a national system of
innovation. The federal government has various roles in the national
system of innovation, but also in the several regional systems that make
up the national system. As such, it has to devise policies that may
differ across the country, policies that affect economies and social
systems that are sometimes defined by provincial boundaries, and
sometimes not. Most innovation studies focus on the private sector. The
Innovation Systems Research Network (ISRN) study is looking at a number
of clusters across the country to determine similarities and differences
among the regions. We need, however to look at the public sector at the
same time. The federal government has a complex role: it is at the same
time a funder and a performer, a source and a consumer of intellectual
property and human capital: it has a major leadership role in defining
innovation in Canada. The federal government is innovative and innovates
for precisely the same reasons as private sector organizations. What are
the consequences of this complex role? How can the federal government
lead the economy in innovative behavior, rather than trying to drive it
with policy carrots and sticks? This is definitely a question for this
fall, as the Industry Canada Innovation Summits hopefully elicit a
consensus from stakeholders.

bio

Adam Holbrook is an adjunct professor and Associate Director of the
Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology (CPROST), at Simon
Fraser University in Vancouver, BC. Prof. Holbrook was trained as a
physicist and electrical engineer and is a registered professional
engineer in the province of Ontario. After starting his career at Telesat Canada, he joined the federal
government of Canada as the program analyst for science and technology
(S&T) programs at the Treasury Board Secretariat. He later moved to
the Ministry of State for Science and Technology (MOSST), and remained
involved in science policy activities for the federal government after
MOSST was absorbed into Industry Canada. In 1995 he moved to Simon
Fraser University to join CPROST. At CPROST his research activities have centred on innovation in both
the public sector and the private sector. He is the leader of InnoCom, a
network of researchers in innovation studies in western Canada, and a
member of the management committee of the national Innovation Systems
Research Network. He has been a guest editor for Science and Public
Policy
for special issues on S&T indicators and S&T issues
in Latin America. He has published extensively in academic journals and
has edited three books on regional innovation systems in Canada. Internationally he has carried out teaching and consulting activities
in S&T and innovation policy for several development agencies
including UNESCO, the Organization of American States and the Canadian
International Development Agency.

 

Monday, October 21 (dinner):

Karen Mosher, Canadian Institutes of
Health Research (CIHR): Innovation in
Organizations: From Vision to Implementation: the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research.

Former Executive Director,
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

Created on June 7, 2000, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
is the leading national organization funding the full spectrum of health
research: biomedical and clinical, health determinants, and health systems
and policy. With a budget of $620m, a staff of 150, and a suite of
thirteen “virtual” institutes, CIHR represents a transformative
approach to health research, linking research need to scientific
excellence and opportunity, encouraging multidisciplinary approaches to
complex health challenges, and forging a national health research agenda.

As Executive Director, Ms.
Mosher led a seamless transition for the staff and stakeholders of the
Medical Research Council as it was subsumed by the CIHR. This required
building the organization’s capacity to meet a new and more complex
mandate; promoting the agency’s profile and interests in a variety of
contexts, external and internal to government; doubling the organization’s
budget; creating new governance and administrative structures, and
recruiting candidates at the staff, science leadership, and Board levels;
broadening the organization’s research and program base; and developing
alliances and partnerships to meet the objectives of the new organization.
The challenge of leading and managing this transformation is ongoing.

Ms. Mosher has also worked with the Treasury Board Secretariat, the
Privy Council Office, Fisheries and Oceans, Foreign Affairs and
International Trade, and for ministers of the Crown.

Executive Director / Directeur exéécutif
Tel: (613) 954-1813
Fax: (613) 954-1802
www.cihr.ca / www.irsc.ca
KMosher@cihr.ca

 

Monday, November 18 (dinner):

Panel with Angela Bate, Fisheries
and Oceans Canada/Pêches et océans Canada, “Innovation and the New
Public Service Professional.” Chaired by Vic
Pakalnis, Eastern
Ontario Regional Director, Ontario Labour.

Monday, November 18, 2002

Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516

(Details of location below)

5:40 to 9:00 pm

Innovation and the New Public Service Professional

There is a new reality in public service to be reckoned with – the
new or young professional . Across this country in all jurisdictions ,
the demographic reality is that there is a coming shortage in the
leadership rank in federal,provincial and municipal public services .
Will the next generation be ready , will the public sector compete
successfully for the brightest and the best .Three new professionals
will speak to the theme of Innovation and the New Public Service
Professional moderated by public service veteran:

  • Angela Bate is the Chair of the
    Forum for Young Professionals in the Federal Public Service in 2002-03.
    A participant in the Government of Canada’s Management Trainee
    Program, she currently with the Atlantic Fisheries Policy Review and
    Fisheries Management Renewal team at Department of Fisheries and Oceans
    (DFO) in Ottawa. Her previous assignments have been with the Task Force
    on Modernizing Human Resource Management and the Privy Council Office.
  • Scott Barillaro received a Bachelor
    of Music in Jazz Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Honours History
    from McGill University in 1997 and a Master’s in Public Administration
    in 2002. Between degrees, he spent a year in Korea teaching English and
    earning his black belt in Hapkido. Scott’s public service career began
    in January of 2000 and has included: strategic and line human resources
    functions for the Government of B.C.; local economic development for the
    Township of Esquimalt; and climate change, energy policy, and
    sustainable development for Industry Canada. He sat on the board for the
    Institute of Public Administration in Canada’s (IPAC) in Victoria and
    has recently joined the IPAC group in the National Capital Region.
  • James d’Annunzio is currently an
    intern in the two year Ontario Internship Program (OIP) with the
    Government of Ontario working out of the Ottawa Court House as an
    Eastern Inter-Ministerial Council Liaison Officer. The internship
    program includes three separate placements with the Ontario government
    and James is currently in his second placement. His first placement was
    with the Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) working as a
    Financial Analyst in the city of Kingston. James is a graduate of the
    three year Business Administration program from Algonquin College,
    majoring in Finance.

Moderator: Vic Pakalnis, P.Eng,
M.Eng., MBA, Regional Director, Eastern Ontario, Ontario Ministry of
Labour .

Cost: $10 registration fee, $25 for dinner. Persons cancelling less
than 24 hours before the meeting will be charged the registration fee.

Registration: For more information and RSVP by Thursday, November 18th
to:

Diane Shane, Industry Canada, shane.diane@ic.gc.ca
or 946-6515

Location: The Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516 is in the
Byward Market, in the first block East of Sussex, North of The Bay and
Chapters, in a courtyard on the North side of George.

This information is also available in The
Innovation Salon Schedule
, published on Internet in The
Innovation Journal
under Salon.

Updated

02/11/02

 

Published May 11, 2003

Revised November 2009

The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 7(1), 2002, article 7.

Innovation Salon Schedule – 2003

Unless Noted Otherwise, The Salon is held over dinner at: The Courtyard Restaurant 5:40 to 9pm

Monday, January 20, 2003:

James Allan, Figment Innovation Technologies, Ottawa: DARE
to Innovate Process

Innovation Salon/ Salon de
l’innovation
Monday, January 20, 2003
Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516
(Details of location below)
5:40 to 9:00 pm

What is innovation? Why should we innovate? Where should we innovate?
Who
should innovate? When should we innovate? How do we innovate? This Salon
will address these questions. The ins and outs of innovation will
be
explained, and then the DARE to Innovate process will be detailed to
help
all employees be more innovative on a weekly basis.

James Allan is an innovation and productivity consultant living in
Ottawa.
James gives seminars and consults with local companies to come up with
processes to both aid innovation and to mitigate its risks. His
company,
Figment Innovation Technologies, has recently added Innovation Skills
Training to their list of training courses to help employees overcome
many
of the obstacles involved in sharing, generating and then experimenting
with
new ideas. James can be reached at 769-8050, or by e-mail at:
james@figmentinnovation.com


Cost:
$10 registration fee, $25 for dinner, plus taxes and tip. Persons cancelling less than 24 hours before the meeting will be charged the
registration fee.

Registration: For more information and RSVP by Thursday, January 16th
to:
Diane Shane, Industry Canada, shane.diane@ic.gc.ca
or 946-6515

Location: The Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516 is in the Byward
Market, in the first block East of Sussex, North of The Bay and
Chapters, in
a courtyard on the North side of George.

This information is also available in The Innovation Salon Schedule,
published on Internet in the Innovation Journal under Salon at:
http://www.innovation.cc/salon.htm


Next Salon:

Monday, February 17, 2003:
Brigadier-General Charles Lemieux, Special Advisor to the Chief of the
Defence Staff on Professional Development: Canadian Forces Executive
Development – the Strategic Leaders Program

 

Monday, February 24, 2003:

Brigadier-General Charles Lemieux, Special Advisor to the Chief of
the Defence Staff on Professional Development: Canadian Forces Executive
Development – the Strategic
Leaders Program

by
Brigadier-General Charles Lemieux,

 

Special Advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff on Professional Development

The
Innovation Salon – February 24th, 2003

In
a global environment where change is the only constant, successful
organizations ensure their leaders are adaptable, innovative and
knowledgeable. The breadth
and depth of our commitments, the complexity of demands placed upon us,
and the enormous consequences of failure make this especially true for
the Canadian Forces (CF).

To
identify competencies that reflect the CF vision, values, mission and
strategic imperatives, we consulted several communities for insights,
expertise and advice. Four
strategic objectives guided the competency development. They identify
the key attributes we believe our leaders should embody. We expect them
to be:

  • leaders
    of change;
  • credible
    and inspirational commanders;
  • intellectual
    leaders in the security and defence community; and,
  • stewards
    of military professionalism in Canada.

As a
consequence, we believe our professional development system needs to be
augmented to:

  • align
    with the identified leadership competencies;
  • accommodate
    different learning styles and individual needs;
  • provide
    alternate and less intrusive forms of delivery;
  • respond
    to changing requirements and conditions; and,
  • exploit
    existing informal learning processes.

In
brief the Canadian Forces Strategic Leaders Program identifies
competencies required by successful CF strategic leaders; links
competencies to existing mechanisms – i.e. career management,
succession planning, developmental opportunities, performance agreements
and performance evaluations; accommodates disparate learning styles;
provides individualized and flexible professional development;
acknowledges, integrates and exploits what we are doing right; provides
a framework for future professional development; and, fosters a
“life-long-learning” culture. The
program does not introduce new, time-consuming processes, does not take the learner out of the work environment, and does not cost
much in terms of resources or effort.

——————————————————————

Notes
about the speaker:

Brigadier-General
Charles Lemieux was assigned to the Office of the Special Advisor to the
Chief of the Defence Staff for Professional Development in January 2000. His principal focus was leading the CF leadership renewal
initiatives with the aim of defining the leadership attributes required
to meet the anticipated challenges of the future and to develop the
strategy to kick start implementation with activities that would have
the most impact early in the process. The first significant activity was the redesign of the CF
professional development governance structure with the creation of the
Canadian Defence Academy (CDA) in April 2002. The responsibilities of the Office of the Special Advisor are to
be absorbed by the CDA by the end of March 2003, at which time the
Office will close. Brigadier-General
Lemieux brings to the Office more than 35 years of experience
in a wide range of assignments in international and domestic operations;
training; strategic and operational level planning; defence policy;
public affairs; and human resources.

——————————————–

Logistics:

Cost: $10 registration fee, $25 for dinner, plus taxes and
tip. Persons cancelling less than 24 hours before the meeting will be
charged the registration fee.

Registration: For more information and RSVP by Thursday,
February 20th to:

Diane Shane, Industry Canada, shane.diane@ic.gc.ca or 946-6515

Location: The Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516 is in
the Byward Market, in the first block East of Sussex, North of The Bay
and Chapters, in a courtyard on the North side of George.

Updated


13/02/03

 

Monday, March 24, 2003:

Nancy Simmons-Wright, Transport Canada Recruitment Centre:
e-Recruitment: A New Approach to an Old Problem at Transport Canada (Français)

Biography

 

Nancy Simmons-Wright
has a self-confessed passion for Transport Canada. Having worked in many capacities and many areas of this department
for close to 20 years, Nancy has concentrated on human resources issues
over the past few years. With a healthy
disregard with the “this is the way we’ve always done things”
approach to bureaucratic life, coupled with a keen organizational sense,
Nancy has had significant experience in change management….as one might
expect in a department that has gone from 22,500 employees to one which
has 4,500 employees. As the sole pioneer
secretariat member for the Regulatory/Inspection functional community in
the federal government, Nancy was instrumental in raising the profile of
this community that is so vital to the safety and well being of Canadians. At the present time,
Nancy is Manager of Transport Canada’s Regulatory/Inspector Recruitment
Centre. This unit, established in response to the need to recruit highly
skilled technical professionals quickly, manages the electronic
recruitment system (web site and managers’ electronic search tool) for
the department’s approximately 1800 technical jobs. Types of technical people the department recruits include: pilots,
engineers, technical inspectors, electricians and aircraft mechanics). Transport Canada is
one of the few departments to use only
electronic means to recruit even a portion of its employee population.

 

Thursday, October 30, 2003:

Dr. Don de Guerre, Concordia University:
Real Employee Empowerment:
Democracy is not Laissez-faire. (Read notes on this presentation, or see the presentation slides prepared by Dr de Guerre.)

Innovation Salon / Salon de
l’innovation
Thursday, October 30, 2003
1238 Castle Hill Cres., 723-3199
(Details of location below)
5:30 to 9:00 pm

There are many approaches to employee empowerment and
there are many failures or partial successes. After a brief review of
open systems theory and its application to employee empowerment, Dr. de
Guerre will discuss a case from the Municipal Government sector in which
only partial employee empowerment has been attained. Reporting the
characteristics of what amounts to a kind of pseudo-empowerment as low
negative affect and low accountability and responsibility, Dr. de Guerre
argues for the necessity of fully implementing a more participative
democratic organization structure.

Dr. de Guerre teaches in the Department of Applied
Human Sciences, Concordia University, Montreal. He was formerly manager
of organization effectiveness, Syncrude Canada Ltd., where he led a
total organization redesign process. Prior to Syncrude, Dr. de Guerre
worked internationally on the development of democratic organization in
various industries and economic sectors. His ongoing research interests
are in the further development of open systems theory, participative
planning and policymaking, the development of action research, and the
new paradigm of organizing.

 

Cost: $10 to cover expenses. Persons cancelling less
than 24 hours before the meeting will be charged the registration fee.

Registration: For more information and RSVP by
Monday, October 27th to Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-941-2680;
email: eglor@magma.ca

Location: 1238 Castle Hill Cres., Ottawa. Take the
Queensway West from downtown Ottawa, exiting at Maitland South. Drive up
the hill about a kilometer, turn left at a light, Glenmount, and turn
right at the first street, Castle Hill.

The Glenmount corner has two lights. The first goes to
the right at Erindale, the second goes to the left onto Glenmount. If
you get to Baseline you have gone almost a kilometer too far.

 

Biography

Dr. de Guerre was appointed to
an Assistant Professorship in the Department of Applied Human Sciences,
Concordia University, in 1999, where he teaches their graduate program
in Human Systems Intervention.
He was appointed manager
organization effectiveness, Syncrude Canada Ltd. in 1989 where he led a
total organization redesign process. Prior to Syncrude, Dr. de Guerre worked internationally on the
development of democratic organization in various industries and
economic sectors. His ongoing research interests
have to do with the further development of open systems theory,
participative planning and policymaking, the development of action
research and the new paradigm of organizing. Dr. de Guerre holds a Ph.D. in
Human and Organization Systems (1999)
and a Master of Arts degree in Organization Development (1994), from The
Fielding Graduate Institute, a Master of Education degree (1976), from
the University of Toronto, and an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in
Physical and Health Education (1970) from the University of Western
Ontario.

 

Published October

07 2003

Revised November 2009

Innovation Salon Schedule – Winter 2004

Monday, June 14, 2004:

Lorne Sossin, Citizen Empowerment:
The Intimate Relationship between Government Clients and Public Servants

 

Innovation Salon/ Salon de l’innovation
Citizen Empowerment:
The Intimate Relationship between
Government Clients and Public Servants
Lorne Sossin
Innovation Journal Volume 9 Issue 3 2004
Monday, June 14, 2004
Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516
(Details of location below)
5:30 to 9:00 pm
The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 7(1), 2004, article 7.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2
Citizen Empowerment:
The Intimate Relationship between Government Clients and
Lorne Sossin
Public Servants
When bureaucrats and citizens come together, it is typically for institutional and legal reasons, and
the focus is not on the personal interaction between these individuals, but on the benefit, claim,
penalty or interest at issue. These are rarely ongoing relationships and sometimes may even be
anonymous (for example, where the citizen and bureaucrat can only identify each other by a
reference number). This most impersonal of relationships is reinforced by an administrative culture,
and legal infrastructure, that esteems objectivity and detachment, and a popular and political culture
which portrays bureaucrats as remote, uncaring and often adversarial.
Bureaucrat-citizen relationships encompass a broad spectrum of power dynamics. In every case,
however, the bureaucrat and citizen approach one another with cultural, psychological and social
baggage. The current form of the bureaucrat/citizen relationship obscures this baggage from view,
and in so doing, has impoverished our democratic system, and more specifically, has undermined
the autonomy and human dignity of those people dependent on the discretion of public officials for
their welfare or well-being. The goal is to restore the personal dimension to administrative
relationships, and to reconceptualize this relationship as one capable of engendering intimacy – in
the sense of mutual respect, mutual recognition and interdependence and, ultimately, citizen
empowerment.
Drawn from: “Law and Intimacy in the Bureaucrat-Citizen Relationship” in N. des Rosiers (ed.), No
Person is an Island: Personal Relationships of Dependence and Independence (Vancouver:
University of British Columbia Press, 2002) pp.120-54; also published as “Le juridique et l’intime
dans le rapport entre fonctionnaires et citoyens” in N. Des Rosiers (ed.) Les rapports de dependance
et d’interdependance (Quebec City: Les Presses de l’Universite Laval, 2002), pp. 109-150; and “An
Intimate Approach to Fairness, Impartiality and Reasonableness in Administrative Law (2002) 28
Queen’s L.J. 809-58
About The Author:
Professor Lorne Sossin, B.A. (McGill), M.A. (Exeter), Ph.D. (Toronto), LL.B. (Osgoode), LL.M.,
J.S.D (Columbia), of the Bar of Ontario
The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 9(3), 2004 Lorne Sossin is
an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, where he teaches courses in
administrative law, public administration, legal process and social policy.
Prior to this appointment, he was a member of Osgoode Hall Law School’s full-time faculty and the
Department of Political Science at York University. He remains Co-Director of the Part-Time LLM
in Administrative Law at Osgoode Hall Law School.
The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 7(1), 2004, article 7.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3
Professor Sossin is a former law clerk to Chief Justice Antonio Lamer of the Supreme Court of
Canada, a former Associate in Law at Columbia Law School and a former litigation lawyer with the
firm of Borden & Elliot (now Borden Ladner Gervais). He holds doctorates from the University of
Toronto in Political Science and from Columbia University in Law.
Professor Sossin serves on the executive of the Ontario Bar Association, Administrative Law
Section, the Canadian Association of Law Teachers, the Canadian Institute for the Administration
of Justice, Tribunals Section, and is a member of the Board of the Income Security Advocacy
Centre. He has published a wide range of articles in the fields of administrative law, constitutional
law, civil litigation and public administration, including most recently “Speaking Truth to Power?
The Search for Bureaucratic Independence” (2004) University of Toronto Law Journal
(forthcoming) and “Discretion Unbound: Reconciling the Charter and Soft Law” (2003) 45
Canadian Public Administration 465-89. He is the author of Boundaries of Judicial Review: the
Law of Justiciability in Canada (Toronto: Carswell, 1999) and co-author of Public Law (Toronto:
Carswell, 2002) (with Michael Bryant).
Cost: $10 to cover expenses. Persons cancelling less than 24 hours before the meeting will be
charged the registration fee.
Registration: For more information and RSVP by Thursday, April 15th to: Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-
941-2680; email: eglor@magma.ca
Location: The Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516 is in the Byward Market, in the first
block East of Sussex, North of The Bay and Chapters, in a courtyard on the North side of George. It
is not in the Courtyard Inn.

 

Biography

 

Lorne Sossin is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, where he teaches courses in administrative law, public administration, legal process and social policy. Prior to this appointment, he was a member of Osgoode Hall Law School’s full-time faculty and the Department of Political Science at York University. He remains Co-Director of the Part-Time LLM in Administrative Law at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Professor Sossin is a former law clerk to Chief Justice Antonio Lamer of the Supreme Court of Canada, a former Associate in Law at Columbia Law School and a former litigation lawyer with the firm of Borden & Elliot (now Borden Ladner Gervais). He holds doctorates from the University of Toronto in Political Science and from Columbia University in Law.

Professor Sossin serves on the executive of the Ontario Bar Association, Administrative Law Section, the Canadian Association of Law Teachers, the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, Tribunals Section, and is a member of the Board of the Income Security Advocacy Centre. He has published a wide range of articles in the fields of administrative law, constitutional law, civil litigation and public administration, including most recently “Speaking Truth to Power? The Search for Bureaucratic Independence” (2004) University of Toronto Law Journal (forthcoming) and “Discretion Unbound: Reconciling the Charter and Soft Law” (2003) 45 Canadian Public Administration 465-89. He is the author of Boundaries of Judicial Review: the Law of Justiciability in Canada (Toronto: Carswell, 1999) and co-author of Public Law (Toronto: Carswell, 2002) (with Michael Bryant).

Published

28/04/2004

 

Monday, April 19, 2004:

Clive Doucet, Citizen Empowerment through Participative
Budgets.

The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 7(1), 2004, article 7.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1
Innovation Salon/ Salon de l’innovation
Citizen Empowerment through Participative Budgets
Clive Doucet:
Innovation Journal Volume 9 2004
Monday, April 19, 2004
Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516
(Details of location below)
5:30 to 9:00 pm
The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 7(1), 2004, article 7.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2
Innovation Salon/ Salon de l’innovation
Citizen Empowerment through Participative Budgets
Clive Doucet
The City of Porto Alegre, Brazil was the first government world-wide to introduce a participative
budget process. Beginning ten months before the budget must be approved, budget priorities are
discussed and determined at the neighborhood, district and area level, before recommendations are
made to the City Council for decisions. This innovation has now been adopted in 200 Brazilian
municipalies. Clive Doucet secured the agreement of Ottawa City Council on April 2, 2004 to adopt
this approach in the City of Ottawa. Come and hear how it works, what it means, and what Clive
hopes it will achieve. Come to discuss, too, the role of citizen empowerment in innovation.
About the Author:
Clive Doucet is Ottawa City Councillor for Capital Ward. He went to Porto Alegre in February
2002 primarily to study the ‘participative budget’ process, which was created in the city of Porto
Alegre in 1988-89. He has written about this innovation in The Innovation Journal
(www.innovation.cc ) under Case Studies.
Cost: $10 to cover expenses. Persons cancelling less than 24 hours before the meeting will be
charged the registration fee.
Registration: For more information and RSVP by Thursday, April 15th to: Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-
941-2680; email: eglor@magma.ca
Location: The Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516 is in the Byward Market, in the first
block East of Sussex, North of The Bay and Chapters, in a courtyard on the North side of George. It
is not in the Courtyard Inn.
This information is also available in The Innovation Salon Schedule, published on Internet in The
Innovation Journal under Salon at: http://www.innovation.cc/salon.htm

Read Clive Doucet’s notes.

 

Thursday, March 11, 2004:

A discussion of employee empowerment. Presentations by William Sheridan and Tom Riley. Read William Sheridan’s notes.

Innovation Salon/ Salon de l’innovation
Citizen Empowerment:
The Intimate Relationship between
Government Clients and Public Servants
Lorne Sossin
Innovation Journal Volume 9 Issue 3 2004
Monday, June 14, 2004
Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516
(Details of location below)
5:30 to 9:00 pm
The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 7(1), 2004, article 7.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2
Citizen Empowerment:
The Intimate Relationship between Government Clients and
Lorne Sossin
Public Servants
When bureaucrats and citizens come together, it is typically for institutional and legal reasons, and
the focus is not on the personal interaction between these individuals, but on the benefit, claim,
penalty or interest at issue. These are rarely ongoing relationships and sometimes may even be
anonymous (for example, where the citizen and bureaucrat can only identify each other by a
reference number). This most impersonal of relationships is reinforced by an administrative culture,
and legal infrastructure, that esteems objectivity and detachment, and a popular and political culture
which portrays bureaucrats as remote, uncaring and often adversarial.
Bureaucrat-citizen relationships encompass a broad spectrum of power dynamics. In every case,
however, the bureaucrat and citizen approach one another with cultural, psychological and social
baggage. The current form of the bureaucrat/citizen relationship obscures this baggage from view,
and in so doing, has impoverished our democratic system, and more specifically, has undermined
the autonomy and human dignity of those people dependent on the discretion of public officials for
their welfare or well-being. The goal is to restore the personal dimension to administrative
relationships, and to reconceptualize this relationship as one capable of engendering intimacy – in
the sense of mutual respect, mutual recognition and interdependence and, ultimately, citizen
empowerment.
Drawn from: “Law and Intimacy in the Bureaucrat-Citizen Relationship” in N. des Rosiers (ed.), No
Person is an Island: Personal Relationships of Dependence and Independence (Vancouver:
University of British Columbia Press, 2002) pp.120-54; also published as “Le juridique et l’intime
dans le rapport entre fonctionnaires et citoyens” in N. Des Rosiers (ed.) Les rapports de dependance
et d’interdependance (Quebec City: Les Presses de l’Universite Laval, 2002), pp. 109-150; and “An
Intimate Approach to Fairness, Impartiality and Reasonableness in Administrative Law (2002) 28
Queen’s L.J. 809-58
About The Author:
Professor Lorne Sossin, B.A. (McGill), M.A. (Exeter), Ph.D. (Toronto), LL.B. (Osgoode), LL.M.,
J.S.D (Columbia), of the Bar of Ontario
The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 9(3), 2004 Lorne Sossin is
an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, where he teaches courses in
administrative law, public administration, legal process and social policy.
Prior to this appointment, he was a member of Osgoode Hall Law School’s full-time faculty and the
Department of Political Science at York University. He remains Co-Director of the Part-Time LLM
in Administrative Law at Osgoode Hall Law School.
The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 7(1), 2004, article 7.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3
Professor Sossin is a former law clerk to Chief Justice Antonio Lamer of the Supreme Court of
Canada, a former Associate in Law at Columbia Law School and a former litigation lawyer with the
firm of Borden & Elliot (now Borden Ladner Gervais). He holds doctorates from the University of
Toronto in Political Science and from Columbia University in Law.
Professor Sossin serves on the executive of the Ontario Bar Association, Administrative Law
Section, the Canadian Association of Law Teachers, the Canadian Institute for the Administration
of Justice, Tribunals Section, and is a member of the Board of the Income Security Advocacy
Centre. He has published a wide range of articles in the fields of administrative law, constitutional
law, civil litigation and public administration, including most recently “Speaking Truth to Power?
The Search for Bureaucratic Independence” (2004) University of Toronto Law Journal
(forthcoming) and “Discretion Unbound: Reconciling the Charter and Soft Law” (2003) 45
Canadian Public Administration 465-89. He is the author of Boundaries of Judicial Review: the
Law of Justiciability in Canada (Toronto: Carswell, 1999) and co-author of Public Law (Toronto:
Carswell, 2002) (with Michael Bryant).
Cost: $10 to cover expenses. Persons cancelling less than 24 hours before the meeting will be
charged the registration fee.
Registration: For more information and RSVP by Thursday, April 15th to: Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-
941-2680; email: eglor@magma.ca
Location: The Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516 is in the Byward Market, in the first
block East of Sussex, North of The Bay and Chapters, in a courtyard on the North side of George. It
is not in the Courtyard Inn.

 

Monday Feb 23, 2004:

Mike Connolly, Industry Canada: Spectrum Auctions: Innovation in Regulation – CANCELLED

The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 7(1), 2002, article 7.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1
Innovation Salon/ Salon de l’innovation
Spectrum Auctions: Innovation in Regulation
Industry Canada
Mike Connolly
Innovation Journal Salon Volume 7 Issue 3 2004
http://www.innovation.cc/salon.htm
Monday, February 23, 2004
Location Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516
(Details of location below)
5:30 to 9:00 pm
The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 7(1), 2002, article 7.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2
Spectrum Auctions: Innovation in Regulation
Industry Canada
Mike Connolly
The radio frequency spectrum is a limited public resource that everyone uses. Both private
users and wireless communication suppliers require spectrum, which allows for television and radio
broadcasting, cellular, and PCS phones, mobile dispatch, wireless cable, wireless broadband access,
satellite television, air and navigation, and a host of other applications.
Industry Canada is responsible for managing this resource and ensuring that this variety of
uses co-exists compatibly. Given the scares nature of this resource, demand for access often exceeds
supply, Like many other administrations until recently, the Department had typically used a
comparative review process to award licenses where the supply of spectrum was insufficient to
satisfy the demands of potential users. The subjective nature of this process has led to many in the
telecommunications industry to refer to it as a “beauty pageant”.
A spectrum auction is more a market-based tool that the Department has recently introduced
to award licenses when demand for spectrum exceeds supply. Spectrum auctions allow the
government to identify the companies who value the spectrum the most and who put that spectrum
to its most efficient use. Auctions are also procedurally efficient and provide a means for taxpayers
to be compensated for the use of a public resource. The process is open, objective and the auction
rules can be designated to achieve public policy objectives. Some details about the auction can be
found in The Innovation Journal (see below).
Industry Canada has conducted two spectrum auctions in 1999 and 2000 that have garnered
high praise from participants, a number of awards for the auction team and over $1.6 billion for the
Canadian public. This Innovation Salon discussion will explore the policy, regulation and
technological innovations that made this success story happen.
Cost: $10 to cover expenses. Persons cancelling less than 24 hours before the meeting will be
charged the registration fee.
Registration: For more information and RSVP by Monday, October 27th to:
Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-941-2680; email: eglor@magma.ca
Location: The Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516 is in the Byward Market, in the first
block East of Sussex, North of The Bay and Chapters, in a courtyard on the North side of George.
About the Author:
Mike Connolly, is Senior Director, Spectrum Management Operations, with Industry Canada
This information is also available in The Innovation Salon Schedule, published on Internet in the
Innovation Journal under Salon at: http://www.innovation.cc/salon.htm

Biography

 

Mike Connolly is Senior Director, Spectrum Management Operations, with Industry Canada and is responsible for that department’s operational policies and procedures in spectrum authorization, coordination and enforcement. Mike’s career in spectrum management dates from 1975 when he joined the then Department of Communications as a Radio Inspector and later came to assume positions of progressively greater responsibility. He has also been responsible for the provision of telecommunications services to the federal government in the Ontario Region and prior to his current position was the Director General, Communications and Culture in the same region. Mike has been in his current capacity since the Fall of 1994 and is known as a champion of the application of economic techniques to spectrum management. For his efforts to successfully introduce spectrum auctions to Canada he received the Head of the Public Service Award for Excellence in Policy. He is a graduate of Cambrian College where he studied electronic technology and of Ryerson University where he studied public administration.

 

January 27, 2004, 7:00-9:00pm:

Joint session with the Ottawa Creative Thinking Group. Mario Savard, Health Canada: Health Protection Legislative Renewal

Innovation Salon/ Salon de l’innovation
Citizen Empowerment:
The Intimate Relationship between
Government Clients and Public Servants
Lorne Sossin
Innovation Journal Volume 9 Issue 3 2004
Monday, June 14, 2004
Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516
(Details of location below)
5:30 to 9:00 pm
The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 7(1), 2004, article 7.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2
Citizen Empowerment:
The Intimate Relationship between Government Clients and
Lorne Sossin
Public Servants
When bureaucrats and citizens come together, it is typically for institutional and legal reasons, and
the focus is not on the personal interaction between these individuals, but on the benefit, claim,
penalty or interest at issue. These are rarely ongoing relationships and sometimes may even be
anonymous (for example, where the citizen and bureaucrat can only identify each other by a
reference number). This most impersonal of relationships is reinforced by an administrative culture,
and legal infrastructure, that esteems objectivity and detachment, and a popular and political culture
which portrays bureaucrats as remote, uncaring and often adversarial.
Bureaucrat-citizen relationships encompass a broad spectrum of power dynamics. In every case,
however, the bureaucrat and citizen approach one another with cultural, psychological and social
baggage. The current form of the bureaucrat/citizen relationship obscures this baggage from view,
and in so doing, has impoverished our democratic system, and more specifically, has undermined
the autonomy and human dignity of those people dependent on the discretion of public officials for
their welfare or well-being. The goal is to restore the personal dimension to administrative
relationships, and to reconceptualize this relationship as one capable of engendering intimacy – in
the sense of mutual respect, mutual recognition and interdependence and, ultimately, citizen
empowerment.
Drawn from: “Law and Intimacy in the Bureaucrat-Citizen Relationship” in N. des Rosiers (ed.), No
Person is an Island: Personal Relationships of Dependence and Independence (Vancouver:
University of British Columbia Press, 2002) pp.120-54; also published as “Le juridique et l’intime
dans le rapport entre fonctionnaires et citoyens” in N. Des Rosiers (ed.) Les rapports de dependance
et d’interdependance (Quebec City: Les Presses de l’Universite Laval, 2002), pp. 109-150; and “An
Intimate Approach to Fairness, Impartiality and Reasonableness in Administrative Law (2002) 28
Queen’s L.J. 809-58
About The Author:
Professor Lorne Sossin, B.A. (McGill), M.A. (Exeter), Ph.D. (Toronto), LL.B. (Osgoode), LL.M.,
J.S.D (Columbia), of the Bar of Ontario
The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 9(3), 2004 Lorne Sossin is
an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, where he teaches courses in
administrative law, public administration, legal process and social policy.
Prior to this appointment, he was a member of Osgoode Hall Law School’s full-time faculty and the
Department of Political Science at York University. He remains Co-Director of the Part-Time LLM
in Administrative Law at Osgoode Hall Law School.
The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 7(1), 2004, article 7.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3
Professor Sossin is a former law clerk to Chief Justice Antonio Lamer of the Supreme Court of
Canada, a former Associate in Law at Columbia Law School and a former litigation lawyer with the
firm of Borden & Elliot (now Borden Ladner Gervais). He holds doctorates from the University of
Toronto in Political Science and from Columbia University in Law.
Professor Sossin serves on the executive of the Ontario Bar Association, Administrative Law
Section, the Canadian Association of Law Teachers, the Canadian Institute for the Administration
of Justice, Tribunals Section, and is a member of the Board of the Income Security Advocacy
Centre. He has published a wide range of articles in the fields of administrative law, constitutional
law, civil litigation and public administration, including most recently “Speaking Truth to Power?
The Search for Bureaucratic Independence” (2004) University of Toronto Law Journal
(forthcoming) and “Discretion Unbound: Reconciling the Charter and Soft Law” (2003) 45
Canadian Public Administration 465-89. He is the author of Boundaries of Judicial Review: the
Law of Justiciability in Canada (Toronto: Carswell, 1999) and co-author of Public Law (Toronto:
Carswell, 2002) (with Michael Bryant).
Cost: $10 to cover expenses. Persons cancelling less than 24 hours before the meeting will be

charged the registration fee.
Registration: For more information and RSVP by Thursday, April 15th to: Eleanor Glor, ph. 1-613-
941-2680; email: eglor@magma.ca
Location: The Courtyard Restaurant, 21 George, 241-1516 is in the Byward Market, in the first
block East of Sussex, North of The Bay and Chapters, in a courtyard on the North side of George. It
is not in the Courtyard Inn.

 

Published May 10/2004

Revised November 2009