September 24th, 2021
In the spirit of transparency and candour, Kevin and Jill publish weeknotes reflecting on the what and why for their team.
Jill’s notes
A good friend and colleague reminded me this week that:
hard stuff is hard… because it is hard, and if it wasn’t hard it would be done already… also if it wasn’t hard… you would be bored…
Truthbomb. I do find I have to remind myself of that fact. I love hard. I love challenges. And I love the emotion of it all — no matter how taxing that can sometimes be. This week’s theme: The setup continues. It is not all that exciting, but it is the most important part of the journey(s).
Parks
We continue to set the frame for what comes next. It’s that crunchy time where we are churning and meeting a lot, but for a good reason. Getting the details sorted at the beginning / and end is so crucial. We briefed our Deputy this week, who provided some additional clarity and direction.
Digital Strategy
As we continue to prepare for an internal launch in the coming weeks, our new designer Harry spent some time giving the finalized content a facelift. I re-connected with Derek Masselink, Director of the Digital Academy with the OCIO. We chatted about all things learning, leadership and, of course, a little Ted Lasso. Check out Brené Brown’s podcast with Jason Sudeikis & Brendan Hunt if you haven’t already. Our focus is on digital-era leadership and how we flex that muscle internally. We’ve also partnered with IIT and Andy Calarco to start small with some leadership sessions planned within divisions (1.5 hours each) over October and a few full days for the broader government community with The Exchange.
This is 100% going to be an interactive process where we define and redefine what works and what doesn’t. I was excited to hear that Derek has a new hire coming on board with the learning skills and rigour to develop curriculum and programs. Not something I am good at. I am looking forward to the coming month.
Branch happenings
- Sam continued to lead the intranet transition as his focus shifts to the Environmental Protection Division and BC Parks.
- NRM Investment Board met for an update on the OCIO’s plan to review concept cases.
- IIT and Rajesh Jain presented a new proposed tool to evaluate the health of our applications. This seems to be a theme across ALL governments, and everyone has different opinions on using the tool. I can’t help but think — as I remember this conversation from 6 years ago, and 5, and 4, and… you get the idea — that this is one of those things we will always debate. Sigh.
- Kevin led two amazing Watershed workshops for our internal colleagues. I think this is the first thing we as a branch have done for our own division. As weird as that is, it’s a testament to the commitment of our executive that the Service Transformation Branch mandate is ministry-wide and at their direction.
- Speaking of direction, we are headed back to our executive in two weeks to update you on what we’ve done as a branch, what we are planning, and seeking direction on how it aligns with government priorities.
Finally, I’m off to finish up the sunny day with what I’m sure will be an interesting and engaging conversation with a colleague over a cool bevy. That is assuming that Shark lets me leave.
Kevin’s notes
A bit of a short week for me, as I was up supporting my partner on her through-run attempt of the Sunshine Coast Trail. Short recap via the gram. Tla’amin territory is beautiful — I could see myself here. Busy times for the 3 days on the clock this week, though.
Parks: GDX report out on the camping services research with the general public. Really awesome work led by Melissa with a strong assist from Sam from STB with notes and analysis. Also, shoutout Harry for coming in at the end for another set of eyes on findings framing and deck aesthetics. The presentation was well received, and this becomes a solid foundational piece as part of the overall service transformation journey.
Speaking of Harry: he continues to maximize his utility across all our initiatives. It turns out we needed this capacity! UI design for Parks, inputs on the brand stewardship process, and visual redesign of our forthcoming Ministry digital service. A jack of all and making this onboarding seamless. Ideal for Jill and me, who seem to spend most of the week on our back heel.
As Jill mentioned above, I facilitated two problem definition workshops with a wide stakeholder group from the watershed data space — this crosses sectors, NRS to Health. Big thanks to Sean and Angeline for all the help in getting set up right for these; I’m no scientist by any stretch, and it’s important to speak the language to make sure the method connects. One quick takeaway from these sessions is how important it is to establish the value prop for the participants — why should they care about spending a couple of hours going through your silly design exercise? Designers are notorious for thinking our processes have inherent value — we need to ensure the participants receive clear, relevant, and impactful reasons for spending their valuable time workshopping, even if it seems implicit or obvious from our vantage. Design is a privileged craft as we’re given the time and space to sit with the problem and take a long view. Not everyone is provided with those conditions and perspectives.
EPD: we’ve notified our design vendor, and I’m thrilled that [name redacted as the contract isn’t signed yet] will be partnering with us through this discovery phase. It feels like complex work, and I’m glad to have top talent on board for the important sensemaking research.
As always, gratitude to Jill for our often rambling debriefs and side convos, full of levity and realization. We’re 6 months in working together, and it’s exceeded any expectation I could have had. I feel lucky to be here.
Photo of the Tin Mountain hut on the SCT. What a spot!
