Innovative staffing approaches: Getting to the “Right” trifecta - People, place and time

Here in the Impact and Innovation Unit at PCO, our mission is to drive a shift in the way the Government uses new tools to help address complex public policy challenges — and our focus is on the “how”. But as the new Centre of Expertise that supports the Impact Canada Initiative — a whole-of-government effort to help departments accelerate the adoption of outcomes-based funding approaches — we know that the “who” matters just as much. Our team has been cultivated to be multidisciplinary in nature, in order to support a broad range of emerging Government innovations, from social finance to impact measurement and behavioural insights.

We have learned that for an idea to move from vision to execution, it must be created and supported by a team that meets project needs at all stages of design and execution. Never underestimate how hard that can be! On a larger scale, the public service has the same need for a dexterous, nimble and skill-flexible workforce. We are looking to support departments to move toward their experimentation and innovation goals through our Innovative Staffing Resource Management Strategy. We will help to surface and seed talent across the public service, onboarding individuals from outside the government and from within departments/agencies, to build capacity across Departments and Agencies for the practical application of innovative approaches to achieving greater impact.

The IIU’s innovative staffing strategy consists of three streams: Fellowship, wherein subject matter experts join government on a term to lead priority projects in their field of expertise (e.g. behavioural insights or innovative finance); Affiliates, comprised of a roster of renowned leaders who can provide ad hoc advice and guidance on project execution and broader strategic issues in their fields of expertise and; Policy and Program Entrepreneurs.

In our role as Secretariat to the Deputy Minister Task Force on Public Sector Innovation, we are moving from vision to action with the Policy and Program Entrepreneurs stream of our innovative staffing strategy. The Task Force is focused on realizing the Government’s priorities in policy and program experimentation and innovation, with an emphasis on core systems transformation and disruptive policy solutions. To support this ambitious agenda, Policy and Program Entrepreneurs (PPE’s) will be recruited with an expansive pool of skill sets to support the TF-PSI, and its members, to deliver on priority projects.

PPE’s will be drafted from within Departments and across professional categories to undertake a full-time, one year position supporting their Deputies’ projects through the Task Force. These employees will work collectively with their departments and PCO, and have opportunities for professional and leadership development, access to new networks, as well as coaching and mentoring. We expect that new PPE’s will be in place by February 2018.

Like so many of you, we in the IIU are working to build a public service “dream team” around each of our projects, and are honoured to play a role in supporting other Departments to launch and accelerate innovation by ensuring, (as the boss says) that “the right people are working in the right place at the right time”.