How to deploy artificial intelligence in the canadian public service

The development of artificial intelligence is one of the key issues facing government around the world. Governments need to develop at pace guidelines for public servants on how they can use AI – and to make the most of it, they need to consider reviewing and rewiring processes.

This session will hear from those in the Canadian government who are leading the deployment of artificial intelligence in government. It will look at the use cases where AI is being deployed, how it has been developed, and the lessons from its use that other departments and agencies can learn from. This session will focus on the opportunities from deploying AI in government – and how the risks can be overcome.

Speakers:

Elise Legendre
Chief Data Officer, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Laura Gilbert
Chief Analyst, Director of Data Science, 10 Downing Street, United Kingdom

Chrysandre Courchêne
Manager, Responsible Data and AI Centre of Expertise, Canada Border Service Agency

Pierre Bilodeau
Vice President, Standards Council of Canada

Bob Conlin
Technology Managing Director, Canadian Federal Government, IBM

Knowledge partner:

Joined up and responsive: How to use data to drive better services

Making better use of data can help government deliver more effective, equitable and inclusive programs and services, helping make government more responsive and tailored to users.

This session will look at how government can use data to drive better services, and how to enable the secure, seamless and real-time exchange of data across government departments – and with external partners and trusted institutions – to improve the service experience of Canadians.

This session will look at the progress that has been made on implementing a data strategy for the federal public service. It will look at the key building blocks of the data strategy in bringing together federal, national and international digital and data-related initiative, and will also share inspiring international examples of how governments around the world have been able to use data sharing to drive better services for users.

Speakers:

Gabrielle Fitzgerald
Chief Data Officer, Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Ima Okonny
Assistant Deputy minister and Chief Data Officer, Employment and Social Development Canada

Gayan Peiris
Head of Data and Technology, Chief Digital Office, United Nations Development Programme

Dr Melvin Greer
Fellow and Chief Data Scientist for the Americas, Intel

Michael Langton
Senior Director of Advanced Analytics & AI, North America, Converge Technology Solutions

Knowledge Partners:

Getting your culture fit: How to build a culture that can drive government transformation

Transforming government requires developing an innovative culture that incentives public servants to take calculated risks to deliver better services. But civil service cultures around the world are often risk-averse, and public servants are not incentivized to try new ways of delivering services.
This session will look at how governments can build a culture that accepts the need to take risk, from senior leaders taking ownership of risk and leading by example to civil servants at all levels feeling empowered to take risks and suggest new ideas.

This session will share insights across government, drawing on insights from senior leaders responsible for driving cultures of innovation and civil servants driving innovative ways of working in their teams.

Speakers:

Alex Benay
Associate Deputy Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Enterprise Pay Coordination, Public Services and Procurement Canada

Alexandra Mause
Head of Department New Work, Change Management, Project Management Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, Germany

Aminah Zawedde
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of ICT and NG, Uganda

Erica Ren
Chief Data Officer, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Philip Bland
Global Government Advisor, Qualtrics

Supported by:

Indigenous data sovereignty: From concept to action

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA) provides a roadmap for the Government of Canada and First Nations, Inuit, and Métis to work together to implement the UN Declaration based on lasting reconciliation, healing, and cooperative relations. Shared Measure #30 of the UNDA Action Plan calls for continued support to “Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Indigenous-led data strategies through legislative, regulatory and policy options”.

This session will delve into the complexities of exploring strategies for reclaiming control over data, respecting cultural protocols, and fostering meaningful partnerships with governments and institutions. Experts will share insights, challenges, and best practices in navigating the intersection of technology, data rights, and Indigenous rights. Participants will gain valuable perspectives on advancing Indigenous data sovereignty and shaping inclusive data policies for the benefit of Indigenous peoples worldwide.

Speakers:

Eric Guimond
Chief Data Officer and Director General, Strategic Research and Data Innovation Branch, Indigenous Services Canada

Jonathan Dewar
CEO, First Nations Information Governance Centre, Canada

Chris Penney
Director, Centre for Indigenous Statistics and Partnerships, Champion for Indigenous Employees, Statistics Canada

Open, accessible, responsive: how digital transformation can help build trust in government

Trust is vital to all elements of the work of government, and this is particularly true in the field of digital an transformation. If citizens do not trust government services, they are less likely to use them – and if they don’t use them, the benefits projected for them will not be realized.

This session will look at how government can boost trust and transparency. It will look at how the Government of Canada is working to implement the Trust and Transparency Strategy developed by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, and look at how the Government of Canada – and their peers around the world – can use more open government to boost trust in government.

Speakers:

Christine Bellamy
CEO, Government Digital Service, United Kingdom

Charles Taillefer
Executive Director, Access to Information and Open Government Legislation and Policies, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Miquel Estapé
Chief Executive Officer, Open Government of Catalonia, Spain and VP at ACGP

Raj Thuppal
Executive Vice President, Shared Services Canada

Wolfgang Ebner
Acting Director General, Digitalisation and E-Government, Federal Chancellery, Austria

Karen Myers
Co-founder,  President and CEO, Blueprint

Knowledge Partner:

12:55-13:30
Diversity in data and AI

The use of data and AI are advancing at pace in public services but despite concerns about bias, AI workforces in both the private and public sectors are rarely as diverse as the communities they serve.

This networking session will look at:

• Why diversity is crucial for the development and deployment of disruptive technologies like AI in public services
• A snapshot of diversity in public services data and AI workforces today
• Efforts that are in place to rebalance this and how can this work be accelerated given the pace of AI
• How public services organisations are working to mitigate bias in AI systems

Speakers:

Christine Bellamy
CEO, Government Digital Service, United Kingdom

Ima Okonny
Assistant Deputy minister and Chief Data Officer, Employment and Social Development Canada

Enabling delivery: Coordinating digital transformation across services and teams

To make the most of the potential for government to use digital to improve services, departments and agencies work together to create interoperable systems and processes.

To this end, the Government of Canada’s Digital Ambition has set an objective to improve horizontal prioritization and portfolio management in order to “deliver citizen-centric digital government services effectively”.

This session will look at how this can be achieved, and the role of centralized policies and frameworks to coordinate change, and how developments like digital credentials and single sign-in systems for government can help deliver transformation.

Speakers:

Brian Epley
Chief Information Officer, Department of Commerce, United States

TAN Eng Pheng
Assistant Chief Executive, Economic and National Development Clusters, GovTech, Singapore

Joyce Dimech
Permanent Secretary, Ministry for the National Heritage, the Arts & Local Government, Malta

Shamsul Izhan Abdul Majid
Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commissions (MCMC)

Ben Piercey
Chief Technology Officer, AffinitiQuest

Knowledge Partner:

CYBER SECURITY FOR ALL: ADDRESSING THE EVOLVING THREATS

The threats that governments face are constantly evolving, with the Canadian government warning about the low barriers to entry mean that it is easy for fraudsters to target government services, and that state-sponsored actors also increases the sophistication of the threats that government needs to protect against.

This session will look at how the Canadian government is developing new digital tools to protect and fortify existing systems.

This session will discuss the threats governments face, and how Canada and other administrations are working to address them. It will also look at how governments are using efforts to improve cyber security to catalyze other technology developments.

Speakers:

Po Tea-Duncan
Chief Information Security Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Martin Bowyer
Deputy Director, Securing Government Services, Central Digital and Data Office, United Kingdom

Paul Selby
Chief Information Security Officer and Deputy CIO for Cybersecurity, Department of Energy, United States

Anssi Karkkainen
Director General of NCSC-FI, (Deputy Director General of Finnish Transport and Communications Agency)

Chris Montgomery
Field CTO, Americas, Commvault

Jonathan Ouellet
Director General of Cyber Defence, Canadian Centre for Cyber Security

Knowledge Partners

Better building blocks: equipping public servants to succeed

In the digital age, it has never been more vital for government to ensure that public servants not only have the skills that they need, but the technology too.

This is true both for the systems that provide citizen-facing services, and those used for the internal services in government. As the former Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick noted on leaving government, “the plumbing and wiring of the public service is very difficult to get attention and investment for”.

So public servants need modern tools and systems – enabling them to realise the potential of data, streamline organisational management, bolster collaboration and cut the time spent on repetitive, low-value tasks.

During this session, panellists will discuss how to secure investment for staff tools, prioritise spending, and give public servants the skills to take advantage of new capabilities, as well as how leaders can best manage teams where officials are working both in the office and remotely.

Speakers:

Meagan Collins
Chief, Enterprise Information Management, Corporate Services Sector, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Dorothy Eng
Chief Executive Officer, Code for Canada

Innocent Bagamba Muhizi
Chief Executive Officer, Rwanda Information Society Authority, Rwanda

Cordell Schachter
Chief Information Officer, Department of Transport, United States

Karl Andreas Sprenk
Director Digital Skills Coordination, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Estonia

Tara Holland
Government Data and Analytics, Industry Principal, SAS

Knowledge Partner:

Usable for all: Making government services accessible and frictionless

Government services must be designed in a way that ensures they are accessible by all. As government services become digital-by-default, action is needed to ensure that provision is accessible.

The Government of Canada has set out a policy to ensure that government services are accessible, and this session will look at how to ensure that services can be used by as broad a community as possible. The session will look at the development by Accessibility Standards Canada of a new Centre of Expertise for standards and research on accessibility, and the actions that need to be taken to meet the Accessible Canada Act’s seven priority areas of employment; built environment; information and communication technologies; communication; procurement of goods, services, and facilities; design and delivery of programs and services; and transportation.

Speakers:

Martin Boucher
Director of Government Digital Communications, Government Communication Secretariat, Ministry of Executive Council, Government of Québec

Clara Morgan
Director, Office of Public Service Accessibility, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Stephanie Cadieux
Chief Accessibility Officer of Canada

Dino Zuppa
Acting CEO, Accessibility Standards Canada

Jonathan Finch 
Director, Digital Experience, Office of Management and Budget, United States