Next Gen user expo and engagement

 
January 14, 2019

As part of our ongoing work to explore a future HR and pay solution for the government, I wanted to update you on our progress, particularly in terms of our efforts to engage and consult.

On December 13 we held a LeadersGC Twitter Chat, which is an online series hosted by public servants for public servants with nearly 4,000 subscribers. Throughout the hour we solicited feedback on NextGen and invited participants to submit their own questions to the NextGen team. We were very pleased with the high volume of interest, and I am happy to say that many participants praised the openness and transparency of our approach. We got some innovative suggestions, and a recap of the chat is now available on our website.

We are learning a lot from working in the open and we are soaking up the comments, feedback and questions we are receiving online from public servants across Canada.

As our next step, we will be engaging with public servants directly and in-person at user expos across the country. We are going to be putting the vendors to the test! The User Expo will give us an opportunity to, gather user insights as public servants will get an opportunity to test potential features of a new system and provide feedback. These user expos will be held both in the National Capital Region and in the regions starting next week and running through to February. Employees must remain at the centre of this process, and these sessions will provide further opportunity for hands-on input.

While this work serves as an opportunity to engage users across Canada, there is still much work ahead as part of the ongoing process to develop recommended options and plan for future testing and implementation.

As always, we are committed to working in the open and encourage you to connect with us and learn about our work via our website – Canada.ca/Next-Generation, online with our hashtag #NextGenHRPay, or by email.


Alex Benay

Image
Alex Benay
Chief Information Officer, Government of Canada

Alex Benay currently serves as the Chief Information Officer of the Government of Canada. Prior to this appointment, Alex was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation since July 2014.

From 2011 to 2014, he was Vice-President of Government Affairs and Business Development at OpenText. He has played a leadership role in Canada's digital industry, as well as in promoting the global shift to digital in organizations such as the G20, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Olympics. Before joining OpenText, Alex managed various teams and programs at the Canadian International Development Agency, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and Library and Archives Canada.

Add new comment

Rules of Engagement

We look forward to hearing from you. Your ideas and feedback are central to the development of both the Open Government portal and the Government of Canada’s approach to Open Government.

While comments are moderated, the portal will not censor any comments except in a few specific cases, listed below. Accounts acting contrary to these rules may be temporarily or permanently disabled.

Comments and Interaction

Our team will read comments and participate in discussions when appropriate. Your comments and contributions must be relevant and respectful.

Our team will not engage in partisan or political issues or respond to questions that violate these Terms and Conditions.

Our team reserves the right to remove comments and contributions, and to block users based on the following criteria:

The comments or contributions:

  • include personal, protected or classified information of the Government of Canada or infringes upon intellectual property or proprietary rights
  • are contrary to the principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Constitution Act, 1982
  • are racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic or defamatory, or contain or refer to any obscenity or pornography
  • are threatening, violent, intimidating or harassing
  • are contrary to any federal, provincial or territorial laws of Canada
  • constitute impersonation, advertising or spam
  • encourage or incite any criminal activity
  • are written in a language other than English or French
  • otherwise violate this notice

Our team cannot commit to replying to every message or comment, but we look forward to continuing the conversation whenever possible. Please note that responses will be provided in the same language that was used in the original comment.

Our team will reply to comments in the official language in which they are posted. If we determine the response is a question of general public interest, we will respond in both official languages.

Comments

Submitted by Carole Ann Bilodeau on January 15, 2019 - 4:36 PM

Just received and email about the user expos that will be happening this month and next, with very generic info. A few clicks later I see that it will be at Portage 3 tomorrow, where I work and I am curious and sad that this is the first time I hear of this, especially that it stated that you want user feedback. I guess the participants have been selected somehow and I will hope that we have a good representation of the people who work at Portage 3 as this is the first time I hear of these expos.

In reply to by Carole Ann Bilodeau

Submitted by Stephanie on January 15, 2019 - 7:41 PM

If I have understood correctly, the expos are being held in a common area (like the lobby of PdP3) and will be open to anyone interested in participating. :)

Submitted by Amanda Bernardo on January 22, 2019 - 1:43 AM

Hi Stephanie, You are correct; the User Expos are being held in the lobbies of the buildings listed - with the exception of 1400 Merivale where we will be set up in the Cafeteria due to space limitations in the lobby. We hope to engage with you at one of the possible dates. Thank you, Amanda Senior Advisor, NextGen

Submitted by Amanda on February 06, 2019 - 5:09 AM

Hi Farideh, We were told that 1400 Merivale does not have lobby capacity and so the team is being set up in the Cafeteria of the building. Recently learned that others in the building will have access to the cafeteria so in truth it is limited to building tenants only. We will update our website accordingly. Thank you, Amanda Senior Advisor, NextGen

In reply to by Carole Ann Bilodeau

Submitted by Amanda Bernardo on January 15, 2019 - 10:27 PM

Hi Carole, Thanks for your message! The User Expos officially kicked off at 90 Elgin on January 14 and will run until February 11! These Expos are taking place in federal offices in the National Capital Region and in cities across Canada. No registration is required as the goal of the event is to engage with public servants in the public lobbies. For tomorrow’s event at Place du Portage, the NextGen Team will be set up in Phase Three, Tower A/B, Event Space Four. We hope to see you and your colleagues there to engage with us. While only 14 Expos have been planned at this time, the NextGen team is always welcoming feedback through our website and looking at other ways to engage public servants on an ongoing basis throughout this process. Amanda Senior Advisor, NextGen

Submitted by Michelle Toy on January 15, 2019 - 4:50 PM

Hello, I also received an email this morning regarding the User Expos - there is no information provided for the floor location and times, only the building names and dates.

Submitted by Amanda Bernardo on January 17, 2019 - 2:31 AM

Hi Michelle, Thanks for your comment! A complete list of locations and dates is available via the NextGen website (canada.ca/next-generation). Once on the main page, please select "Full Timeline" on the right to access this view. The User Expos are being held from 9:00am to 4:00pm. We will be adding this info to the website shortly (thanks for everyone's feedback). In terms of our kiosk's location within buildings, we are situated in the main lobbies for federal office spaces with access to the public, some engagement sessions - such as that planned at 1400 Road (CFIA) - are in designated areas, such as the cafeteria, due to security/limited lobby access. Amanda Senior Advisor, NextGen

Submitted by Mackenzie on January 15, 2019 - 5:41 PM

Will there be more information forthcoming about the regional expos? The calendar link provided in the email from Communications only provides the date and address. What time does the expo run? Any other pertinent information we should know?

Submitted by Amanda on January 17, 2019 - 2:33 AM

Hi Mackenzie, Thanks for your message! Similar to the NCR dates, regional sessions will be held in the main lobbies of these buildings, in order to reach public servants both within the building and those nearby. The User Expos run from 9:00am to 4:00pm - we'll be updated our website shortly to reflect this info (thanks for everyone's feedback). No registration is required, simply a willingness to learn about the initaitive and a desire to test possible solutions to offer feedback. We look forward to seeing you at one of our regional dates, Amanda Senior Advisor, NextGen
Date modified: