Published in the IRPP’s series on state capacity: “Ending the IT Megaproject Curse: Delivering Government Technology Systems That Actually Work”
This week the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) published a memo that I wrote as part of their series on state capacity.
The series is titled Capacity for Change: Designing a Public Service Built to Deliver and I’m thrilled that the IRPP has put together a focused look at how to improve state capacity in Canada. State capacity has been on my mind for some time – essentially, are our public service institutions able to effectively deliver on the priorities of our elected leaders and the needs of Canadians? (Often: no.)
The memo I wrote is focused on government technology capacity and how to improve it, building on some of the earlier research that I did with Prof. Amanda Clarke. (Prof. Clarke also co-wrote a memo that is part of the same series – Dismantling Ottawa’s Costly Web of Rules: How to Build a Functioning Federal Accountability Regime. It’s a must-read.)
In this memo, I look at how past technology modernization efforts have gone sideways – mostly, ill-fated megaprojects – and how we could deliver government technology systems that actually work.
Delivering technology projects in a smaller cost and time range is doable. The added benefit is that technology systems — and the services to the public that depend on them — can be delivered quickly enough to be relevant for the policy issues and priorities of the day. A project development period of five to 10 years does not help governments respond to the urgent needs of a pandemic, a large-scale disaster, an economic crisis, or geopolitical and military situations. Small, inexpensive and iterative technology implementation is useful technology implementation. The alternative is our current norm: outdated and mediocre, if a system even launches at all.
You can read the full memo on the IRPP’s Capacity for Change website (or print off a PDF copy for your favourite paper-based senior government executive!).
A big thanks to Jennifer Ditchburn, Maya Lach-Aidelbaum, and Prof. Jennifer Robson for the opportunity to be part of the series, as well as the many friends who provided feedback on early versions of this memo. If you have thoughts on the memo, send me an email or give me a shout on Bluesky or Mastodon!