Insights from the Field

Insights from the Field is a new monthly newsletter written by Derek Alton, Head of Community for Apolitical, that captures key themes coming from conversations he is having with public servants all over the world.

Hi everyone, and welcome to this special year end edition of the Insights from the Field Newsletter! At Apolitical we use this time to reflect on lessons learned from the past year and to start looking to the New Year. To help, I sent out a small poll through my network with three questions:

1. What are the most important trends in the world of public servants from last year (2022)?
2. What are the developments in the world of public servants that you are most excited about for 2023?
3. What are the developments in the world of public servants that you are most concerned about for 2023?

I received over 30 responses from public servants all over the world including: Canada, UK, Japan, Australia, Norway and the UAE. This newsletter will summarise the results of this poll along with my own reflections based on over 100 conversations I have had with public servants over the last few months.

Overview

We are at a very crucial transition point for public services around the world. 2020-2021 was defined by the pandemic resulting in a major influx of resources and expectations put on public services all over the world. In contrast, 2022 marked a shift as the pandemic has been overshadowed by other major global issues (e.g. war in Ukraine, inflation and economic turmoil). This has led to tension as governments wrestle with how much they institutionalise changes and how much they try to return to pre-pandemic practices. Fatigue is also setting in everywhere as the sheer weight of the last couple years is being felt by public servants while at the same time the flow of resources and support slows.

Though public servants interviewed expressed some optimism brought about by shifts in culture and new technology allowing for innovation to flourish, they also expressed a strong sense of foreboding for the coming year driven by increased political and social turmoil and the rise of austerity. Public servants, faced with even more job stressors from budget cuts and mandate changes off the back of Covid-19 challenges, are beginning to leave their roles in search of better conditions, leading to a reduction in talent and experience in the public sector.

2022 Trends

1. Institutionalising Digital

Covid-19 safety measures forced governments to rapidly onboard digital processes to meet the needs of a suddenly virtual world in 2020-2021. A key trend of 2022 was the institutionalisation of these changes. As a result, governments are investing heavily in digital skills development and bringing agile methodologies into all practices (e.g. Agile Procurement, Agile Regulations). It has also caused an increased focus on key enablers of digital government, such as cloud infrastructure and the adoption of effective digital identity systems. Several respondents mentioned concerns about people being left behind because of either a lack of access to good digital infrastructure and tools, or the knowledge of how to use these technologies.

2. Changing Work Norms

After over two years of remote work, there has been a push from senior leadership to get public servants back into the office. This has led to a push back from many public servants who have adjusted to, and now prefer the remote work style. This has caused many workplaces to explore hybrid styles of work instead. But how does one do this well? Many managers in and out of government are struggling to make the right decisions about hybrid work for their teams. Without the right support and ideas, many could lose crucial staff, and in government this could lead to a further drain of talent.

3. Chaotic Leadership Environment - Global Upheaval

2022 has been defined by chaotic leadership across many parts of the world from the continued echoes of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and major financial pressures leading to civil unrest. After an intense couple years, many leaders are also feeling burnt out and leaving.

To really hit this point home, one public servant I talked to in Australia lamented going through three senior directors in six months, this caused a stagnation in her work for that period, and demoralised her team. Situations like this are putting a lot of strain on public servants who are driven by mission and impact. One survey respondent said it best: “chaotic changing governments mean lack of productivity.” The stress is felt most strongly by new public servants who are not used to this instability, and those who work most closely with the political layer who feel this chaos most acutely.

4. Increased environmental pressures putting climate change onto the agenda

2022 was once again another year defined by increases in extreme weather and new record high temperatures around the world. Whether it was the heat wave in Europe, or the floods in Pakistan, climate change continues to accelerate, putting increased pressure on governments to come up with effective policy solutions.

Excitement for 2023

1. Positive Culture Change - Build back better

Many participants talked about how the pandemic has changed government culture. One stated “the most exciting trend for me is that governments are starting to realise that you can't just put "digital" in things, you can't just build a good website. It's about fundamentally changing how the government is structured and functions.” Forced by the pandemic, digital culture is becoming the new norm for governments. Beyond digital, participants also talked about greater awareness around mental health and a general openness to new ideas and approaches.

2. Emerging tech opening new opportunities

Driving a lot of this change is a new generation of technologies. Participants expressed great excitement at how these technologies are opening new possibilities to improve services and make government work better for people and the planet. In particular people talked a lot about 1) digital ID, 2) AI and 3) digital twins - the ability to create digital sandboxes to test out policies and services in a contained virtual environment. These three tech movements all show potential to have a big impact on how governments work to provide services in the years to come.

3. Increased collaboration in, and between governments

A combination of this culture change and new emerging technologies is making it easier for public servants to connect, share and collaborate. Several respondents spoke with great hope about a shift they saw to greater collaboration between public servants both locally and globally. The question is whether this will continue as the pandemic crisis subsides.

Concerns for 2023

Despite all this positive energy and optimism, not everyone is feeling so bright. One participant flatly stated: “sadly, very little excites me about the bureaucracy and bureaucrats in 2023.” I think this speaks to the overwhelming nature of the concerns people are holding about 2023.

1. Major government cuts

While rising inflation rates are dominating decisions around government budgets, there are darker clouds on the horizon for the public service. After years of government spending to meet the crisis of the pandemic, the pendulum is getting ready to swing the other way as the austerity drums start to beat. Many participants expressed grave concern for the impact these cuts will have on their ability to deliver services, causing many governments “to ask their people to do more with less.” This will hit particularly hard as many frontline services are already in rough shape from the pandemic and inflation. Worse, these cuts always land hardest on the most vulnerable who depend on government services.

2. Rise of Populism and distrust in government

Several participants raised concerns about the rise of populism all over the world. This strain of populism carries with it a strong distrust of experts and elites including public servants. This distrust of government could use the current economic situation to validate the diversion of funds away from public services and institutions. All of this could make public service a very challenging place to work, leading to further exodus of talent from government.

3. Snap Back

As was noted above, major strides were made through the crisis to bring forward new ways of working in government. Now, as one participant stated, “with the sense of urgency dissipating, there is a danger of settling back into the old ways of working.” The most obvious place where this is already happening is the push away from remote work and back to being in the office. The coming austerity also threatens new initiatives that will likely not survive the coming cuts. As these innovative programs are cut, the leaders behind them could leave the government.

4. Dark side of tech

Participants note that new tech cuts both ways. Yes there are opportunities but there are also dangers. AI has lots of exciting applications but it is also a black box that can cause lots of negative unexpected outcomes. Technologies might provide efficiencies that will help us bridge the coming cuts but this drive for efficiency can undermine the truly human side of public services. Also, as more and more of our world moves into the digital domain, including people's personal data, cyber threats become a larger problem. “There are on average about 3-5 billion cyber attacks on Canadian government infrastructure every day” (President of Shared Services Canada, presented at FWD50 in Nov. 2022) and this number will only increase.

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I will sign off by wishing everyone a wonderful festive season. I hope you all have a chance to spend time with those you cherish most. 2023 will have its opportunities and challenges, Apolitical will be here to help you through it all as we push toward improving government for people and the planet.

Special thanks to Chikako Masuda, Taran Wasson, Pia Andrews, Pia Virmalainen Jøsendal, Roy Nader, Stephanie Price-Whittle, Richard Pietro, Martha Edwards, Noah Fang, Fernando Velasco, Kent Aitken and the many others who contributed their thoughts.

Warm Regards,

Derek