SAINT-SAUVEUR, QUE. – The Canadian service delivery community isso advanced in its “thinking and doing” it’s hard to discuss itssuccess with counterparts in other countries, according to theCitizens First 4, fourth annual update.
“(UK Prime Minister) Tony Blair, and his ministers, have prettywell adopted the whole Canadian model,” Brian Marson, specialadvisor with the CIO Branch of Treasury Board Secretariat told the10th annual Lac Carling Congress on Monday.
“They saw that Canada was getting results, but they have notmoved the yard sticks in the way that Canada has, so they keepcoming back to learn what we have done.”
Citizens First 4 is a series of research initiatives designed toprovide managers with direct input from Canadians on theirexperiences with public-sector service delivery, and theirpriorities for improvement.
Some of the things that the UK has said they are going to copyfrom the Canadian model include the creation of a CommonMeasurement Tool, which they announced last August, and to design aCitizens First for the United Kingdom, according to Marson.
“Their Service Transformation Board, about six weeks ago, gavethe green light for the project to replicate Canada’s work to goahead,” he said. “What we have been trying to explain to them it’snot just commissioning a study, and getting someone to do it.
“It’s not the polling company that does the work, we do thework.”
When Canadians sit down to design something like Citizens First4 or Taking Care of Business it is collaboration between 20 or sopeople from across the country, he said. It’s the CIO community andthe service community who do the planning.
“We drive, like crazy, the people who do the work,” Marson said.”We are not willing to accept if it’s not a report that tells astory.”
One thing you won’t see when you read this year’s Citizen First4 report is the blood, sweat and tears that went into it, hesaid.
“It tells a story, and that’s the magic of the research that wedo,” Marson said. “More than anything else we do, or anything wecommission, this report is by us, for us, and we are able tounderstand the main messages.”
“That’s why we get the results that we do.”