Annual Report

2023-2024

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Messages from
Leadership Lines of Business
Updates Financial
Summary Heintzman
Award

From the President

As President of the Institute for Citizen-Centred Service (ICCS) Board of Directors, it is my pleasure to share with you my reflections on the Institute’s achievements in 2023/24. I am inspired by the small, yet mighty ICCS team that works tirelessly to serve our members and clients.

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From the President

The overarching goal of the ICCS is to champion, enable, and promote citizen-centric services. We help governments develop experience, and knowledge to more effectively create the tools needed to design and deliver citizen-centred services. In short, our priority is to ensure that organizations think outside-in and put the citizen at the centre of their work.

Being a not-for-profit organization, we are an unbiased partner, with a unique relationship with the Public Sector Chief Information Officers Council and the Public Sector Service Delivery Council (also known as the Joint Councils). The Institute supports, enables, and helps advance collaboration across Canada through learning, research, and measurement services as well as by promoting, testing, and implementing citizen-centred service improvements. Through the Digital Trust and Credentials Program (DTCP), the ICCS provided knowledge, expertise, and support to several jurisdictions looking to improve services to Canadians. We facilitated and supported key partnerships and activities focused on improving public sector service delivery through shared digital and technological service improvements.

The second half of 2023 saw the completion of Citizens First 2023, marking the tenth iteration of the research series, first launched in 1998. The twenty-fifth anniversary of Citizens First results show that Canadians across the country are significantly less satisfied with the quality of services they receive from all levels of government. This dissatisfaction must be interpreted against the backdrop of a general decline in mood due to several years of uncertainty caused by the pandemic, inflation, and other factors. Nonetheless, the marked decrease in satisfaction ratings should be viewed as an urgent call to action for government service providers. I am confident that organizations of the public sector can use these valuable insights in their pursuit of enhancing public service delivery for Canadians.

Ultimately, we work with our federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal colleagues for broad collaboration on an approach that works for all Canadians. Minimizing barriers created by unequal access to trusted and reliable tools and services is key, particularly for vulnerable populations. That’s why we support efforts to expand accessibility and ensure non-digital alternatives continue to be available.

I want to thank our former Executive Director, Dan Batista, for his dedication and guidance, which have been invaluable to the ICCS over the past eight years. It is my pleasure to welcome Lin Zhu, the new ICCS Executive Director as of April 1, 2024. Lin’s wealth of experience in digital strategy and transformation, will be key as the ICCS transforms itself to better support the work of the councils.

I am grateful to lead the ICCS while exciting challenges in citizen-centric public sector services are emerging. With our colleagues on the Board of Directors and Joint Council, we are poised to meaningfully contributing to the future of citizen-centred service for Canadians.

Mark Burns
President, ICCS Board of Directors

From the Executive Director

I am pleased to introduce myself to readers of the 2023-24 Institute for Citizen-Centred Service (ICCS) Annual Report. I am excited to have become part of this organization, with a team who’s passion and commitment to ICCS priorities comes through in everything this small but mighty team achieves.

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From the Executive Director

The Institute’s most impactful contribution to improving service that is focused on the user experience is its ability to help governments achieve tangible success while implementing solutions that make sense for Canadians. We bring Canada’s public sector leaders together and reduce barriers for all Canadians.

During the past year, we supported the work of the Joint Councils, the Public Sector Service Delivery Council, and the Public Service Chief Information Officer Council which oversee inter-jurisdictional working groups and communities of practice. These are focused on the Councils’ priority areas: Safe and Trusted Digitally Enabled Services, Digital Service Delivery Talent, Client Centric Services, Innovative Service Delivery Partnerships, Indigenous Centric Services, Cyber Security, among others. A key mandate of the Councils is inter-jurisdictional collaboration to enhance the efficacy of public sector service delivery.

Our Digital Trust and Cyber Security Program had noteworthy foundational successes during this past year. Most notably, it enabled the sharing of compatible technology and components, such as the common wallet, developed a pan-Canadian workplan, created a national shared communications approach, initiated pilot projects with small jurisdictions, and supported cross-jurisdictional workshops. Our goal is to ensure the success of citizens experiencing trust when interacting with digital government services. We established a forum for dialogue and a platform for decision making with digital trust as its current focus. This newly formed Deputy Ministers’ table engaged, collaborated across jurisdictions, and supported the third FPT Digital Trust and Cyber Security Ministers’ Symposium.

As service delivery and technology leaders, ICCS members need clear, unbiased, and actionable insights. This means delivering timely, relevant intelligence. The past year saw the completion of Citizens First 2023, the latest study in the research series that examines how Canadians across the country rate government services. Eight jurisdictions, representing all levels of government, took part in the survey.

I want to congratulate Peter Watkins as the 2023 Heintzman Leadership Award winner in recognition of his substantial contribution to the promotion of, and commitment to, citizen-centred service delivery in Canada.

As new executive director, I want to say that I am thrilled to work with the Board of Directors and Joint Council members to further evolve the Institute towards a sustainable future continuity. We are adapting our business, and the way in which we support governments, to better help remove barriers to service access for all Canadians. The refocus of the ICCS is built on listening to our members. So, this upcoming year, we’ll be changing some of our offerings as well as our ways of working to better meet the needs of our members. I look forward to leading the ICCS in the coming year. Our experience and the lessons we’ve learned will serve us as we build a strong foundation for the ICCS of the future.

Lin Zhu
Executive Director, ICCS

Published 2023 Citizens First study

Enhanced Citizen First Analytics online service

online self-study programs expansion

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Line of Business Updates

Research

Research

The second half of 2023 saw the completion of Citizens First 2023, marking the tenth iteration of the research series, first launched in 1998. The twenty-fifth anniversary of Citizens First results show that Canadians across the country are significantly less satisfied with the quality of services they receive from all levels of government. This dissatisfaction must be interpreted against the backdrop of a general decline in mood due to several years of uncertainty caused by the pandemic, inflation, and other factors. Nonetheless, the marked decrease in satisfaction ratings should be viewed as an urgent call to action for government service providers.

Other key findings of Citizens First 2023 include Canadians’ overwhelming preference for online channels as the primary mode of service delivery. The study also reaffirmed that positive service experiences depend on timeliness and resolving issues. At the same time, significant issues related to these aspects of service delivery were identified and need attention.

Citizens First 2023 was conducted in collaboration with the Angus Reid Group and involved interviews with 7,367 Canadians from June to August 2023.

Eight jurisdictions participated in the study:

  • Government of Canada
  • British Columbia
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Northwest Territories
  • Yukon
  • Region of Peel
  • City of Toronto

Councils

Councils

Citizens want quick, convenient, and secure access to online programs and services from public and private sectors. Digital government requires multiple significant changes to address current and forthcoming challenges such as rethinking the responsibilities of levels of government, how they intersect and coordinate, especially governance and leadership.

In 2023-2024, the ICCS provided secretariat support services to the Joint Councils, the Public Sector Service Delivery Council (PSSDC), and the Public Sector Chief Information Officer Council (PSCIOC). The Secretariat organized monthly virtual meetings of the Joint Councils, PSSDC, PSCIOC, as well as winter and fall in-person meetings on topics of pan-Canadian interest and sharing of best practices from across the country.

The Joint Councils, PSSDC and PSCIOC oversee inter-jurisdictional working groups and communities of practice that focus on the Councils’ identified key priority areas: Safe and Trusted Digitally Enabled Services, Digital Service Delivery Talent, Client Centric Services, Innovative Service Delivery Partnerships, Indigenous Centric Services, and Cyber Security.

A key mandate of the Councils is inter-jurisdictional collaboration to enhance the efficacy of public sector service delivery. The recently established Digital Trust and Credentials Program provides the leadership, expertise, and secretariat function to the newly formed Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers and Deputy Ministers’ Tables on Digital Trust and Cyber Security. The Councils remain committed to accelerating the work to deliver digital trust and credentials for Canadians.

The Joint Councils remain conscious of the fluid external environment in which it operates and that it needs to be attentive and responsive to change. They frequently re-visit priorities whilst consulting with members to ensure that its best positioned for collective impact.

CMT

Common Measurements Tool

The ICCS continues to support a diverse array of organizations, particularly those actively utilizing the Common Measurements Tool (CMT) and Citizen First (CF) Analytics.

This year, the CF Analytics platform was further enhanced to strengthen its capacity to benchmark results, facilitate key statistical data analysis, and use text analytics. These changes were made to produce insights based on unstructured data from various sources. These sources may include open-ended survey responses and client feedback obtained through various forms of social media. As public sector organizations increasingly rely on such input to inform their decisions relating to service delivery, the ICCS remains committed to further refining its analytical capabilities. Concurrently, a marketing and outreach plan has been developed and is currently being implemented to expand awareness of CF Analytics and how public sector users can benefit from the platform.

In addition, the Digital CMT, an online version of the CMT, has been developed and is now in the testing phase. Broader access for the user base is anticipated to be implemented in 2024.

The users of the CMT and CF Analytics include:

  • Alberta WCB
  • BC Stats
  • Canadian Space Agency
  • ESDC/Service Canada
  • Service BC
  • Service New Brunswick
  • New Zealand Police

Learning

Learning

In 2023-24, our learning programs, consisting of online self-study and facilitated workshops, benefited more than 325 Canadian public sector professionals. Employees from three levels of government and various jurisdictions gained insights into excellent service delivery methods.

Our instructor-led workshops continue to be well-received, leading the ICCS to develop new offerings for 2024-25. These new workshops will focus on various aspects of service design, including:

  • Developing client personas
  • Mapping user journeys
  • Ideating for and anticipating user needs
  • Implementing concepts

We will also continue to offer our workshops on service standard design, service improvement planning, and project management for service delivery.

This year also saw the introduction of the ICCS’ eighth online learning module, Effective Service Delivery Management. The course focuses on how service delivery managers can apply citizen-centric practices and approaches to services, implement service standards, and develop effective complaint management systems.

Deliveries and Certifications

Throughout 2022-23, the ICCS facilitated 13 training sessions for individuals and organizations from across the Canadian public sector:

  • 2 sessions of Guide to Service Improvement
  • 2 sessions of Designing Service Standards
  • 3 sessions of Project Management for Service Delivery
  • 6 ICCS Customized Workshops

Workshop participation exceeded previous years

  • Licenced jurisdictions continue to facilitate ICCS training on our behalf within their respective organizations, with sessions held in British Columbia and Nova Scotia. We also welcomed Service P.E.I. as a new licenced partner.

The ICCS looks forward to continuing our partnership with jurisdictions. We are pleased to share that we now have approximately 1,200 certified service professionals and certified service managers across the Canadian public sector.

Partnerships

The ICCS is pleased to have worked with the following organizations:

  • Government of British Columbia
  • Government of Nova Scotia
  • Government of Prince Edward Island
  • Government of Northwest Territories
  • Natural Resources Canada
  • Department of National Defence Canada
  • Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
  • Public Sector Service Delivery Council
  • Public Service Chief Information Officer Council

Digital Trust

Digital Trust

Digital trust is a key priority of the Joint Councils. In 2022, the Joint Councils formally established the Digital Trust and Credentials Program (DTCP). The ICCS DTCP office provides leadership and guidance on digital trust issues, secretariat function to the FPT (Federal Provincial Territorial) Ministers’ and Deputy Ministers’ Tables on Digital Trust and Cyber Security and aligns work to the priorities of the Public Service Chief Information Officers Council and Joint Councils.

The DTCP had some major successes during its first year. Most notably, delivering on shared common components, such as the common wallet, a pan-Canadian workplan, and shared communications approach. The DTCP established the newly formed Deputy Ministers’ table, setup new forums to engage and collaborate across jurisdictions, and supported the third FPT Digital Trust and Cyber Security Ministers’ Symposium. The program has also initiated pilot work with small jurisdictions, supported cross-jurisdictional workshops, and enabled the sharing of compatible technology.

Digital government requires more than incremental changes, it demands rethinking how various levels of government intersect and coordinate. That’s why, for 2024 – 25, the program has received renewed direction from Joint Councils to move from a start-up phase to a building phase. The Councils remain committed to delivering on digital trust and credentials for Canadians who want quick, convenient, and secure online access to public and private sector programs and services. The Joint Councils remain conscious of the fluid environment in which it operates and that it needs to remain responsive to change.

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Financial Summary

At a Glance

In 2023-24, we saw a slight incline in the revenue trend compared to previous years.

  • Year to date shortfall of revenues over expenses of $74,687 …. $22,984 less than what we had budgeted.
  • Revenues totaled - $950,283. This is less than budget by $26,103.
  • Expenditures totaled - $1,036,551. This is less than budget by $37,507.
  • Support to Councils revenues were $33,438 more than budget and expenditures were $6,468 more than budget.
  • Research revenues and expenditures were on budget.
  • CMT revenues were $49,250 less than budget and expenditures were $24,283 less than budget.
  • Certification revenues were $12,851 more than budget and expenditures were $18,036 more than budget.
  • General and Administration revenue and expenditures were on budget.
  • Adjustments to the revenues will be made following the ICCS audit as a 2023-2024 payment was received after the end of the fiscal year.


Revenues by Lines of Business

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Winner of the Heintzman Leadership Award - 2023

Peter Watkins

Peter Watkins

The ICCS is proud to announce Peter Watkins as the 2023 Heintzman Leadership Award winner in recognition of his substantial contribution to the promotion of, and commitment to citizen-centred service delivery in Canada.

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