Canadian Public Servants are being urged to send in their ideas for how to make better use of data in a competition designed to build staff skills and launch new data projects.
Chief Statistician, Anil Arora said the future was digital “so if you really want to be part of building the future, you better know data”.
“The ability to harness the insights available through good use of data is not just a ‘nice to have’, it’s going to be one of those essential skill-sets that every Public Servant will require over the coming years,” Mr Arora (pictured) said.
“You can either spend years and years watching others do it, or you can roll up your sleeves, get involved and learn — and work on something that is meaningful in partnership with colleagues across the entire Government.”
Under the Public Service Data Challenge, launched by Statistics Canada, Natural Resources Canada and the Global Government Forum, Federal officials of all disciplines, organisations, roles and seniorities are being invited to send in their ideas for improvements to the Government’s collection, management and use of data.
Public Servants can also volunteer to join a project team to take forward the most promising ideas — carrying out research work and pitching their concepts to a panel of top data leaders.
Assistant Deputy Minister for Strategic Policy and Innovation at Natural Resources Canada, Frank Des Rosiers said for those Public Servants who were entrepreneurial and dynamic in nature, this was the ideal opportunity to shape their destiny and advance their careers.
“I can’t think of a better time to embrace digital innovation,” Mr Des Rosiers said.
“We see it happening across so many industries, so many countries, and Canada has the ambition to be at the forefront of it,” he said.
“We have the expertise; we have the data; we have the will, and this challenge is the perfect opportunity to unleash that creative energy.”
Ottawa, 28 April 2022
