Donne Flanagan is passionate about citizen-focused service delivery.
How passionate is he? Well, Flanagan left his post as director of communications and press secretary for the Premier of Manitoba in order to help drive a new multi-channel service delivery program for the government.
The program – At Your Service Manitoba – gives citizens direct access to government programs, services and information through three channels of contact: in-person, on the Internet and over the phone.
Flanagan began to whet his appetite for e-government initiatives in September 2001, when he found himself working on a committee to implement the Service Manitoba program.
He had always been interested in citizen-focused ESD, and as the program progressed he thought more about changing his role in government.
“As we got the ball rolling on the project I was increasingly intrigued,” he said. “I also thought more about the idea of working on this full-time.”
After discussing his desire to lead the Service Manitoba initiative with Premier Gary Doer, Flanagan became executive director of the province’s Coordinated Services Unit in June 2002. Since then, his unit has redesigned the province’s Web site, educated public sector employees on better serving citizens and promoted At Your Service Manitoba through an extensive advertising campaign.
“It’s been great,” Flanagan said of his new job. “Helping to define and shape e-government – while knowing there are people around the world doing the same thing along with you – is a unique experience. This is all part of a larger project that I think is going to transform the way governments work and the way people understand their relationship with the government. I am very proud to be a part of that.”