Executive Summary

Setting the Course – Where to Next?

As a non-profit, the overarching goal of the Institute for Citizen-Centred Service (ICCS) is to champion, enable and promote citizen-centric services. Our job is to help governments research and develop insights, knowledge and create the tools needed to design and deliver citizen-centred services. In short, our priority is to ensure that organizations think ‘outside-in’, and always put the citizen at the ‘centre of their work’.
The ICCS has a unique relationship with the Joint Councils – the ICCS supports, enables and helps advance collaborative efforts across Canada to promote and implement citizen-centred service improvements. The ICCS must continue to strategically leverage this relationship in order to create and offer more relevant and valuable services to clients beyond the Councils.
Over the past three years, the ICCS strategically invested in its key lines of service – through innovative renewal, it has modernized and positioned itself well for the accelerated arrival of a digital first world. The ICCS is now more agile and must continue to build on this new foundation to better serve its Councils members and clients in an unprecedented era of uncertainty.

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Vision, Mission & Mandate

To be the leading Centre of expertise to advance citizen-centred service delivery in the public sector

To champion public sector service excellence by promoting and facilitating inter-jurisdictional collaboration

Provide secretariat support and other services to the National Joint Councils
Provide a neutral platform for inter-jurisdictional collaboration
Undertake research into citizen and business expectations and satisfaction
Measure, benchmark and promote progress of improving citizen and business satisfaction
Supports development of organizational capacity for citizen-centred service through a Certification and Learning Program
Recognize and celebrate excellence in citizen-centred service
Serve as a resource Centre for best practices, publications and tools
Act as a Centre of expertise and champion for citizen-centred service

Enable inter-jurisdictional citizen-centric service learning, collaboration, research, measurement, benchmarking and training
Manage a neutral, cost effective platform for inter-jurisdictional collaboration and advancement of quality service delivery improvement and ensure dissemination of knowledge and best practices to all governments
Provide knowledge, expertise and support to governments seeking to improve services; facilitate partnerships and coordinate shared priorities and activities focused on innovative public sector service delivery; enable shared digital and technological service improvements
Manage and support the National Councils, which comprise of the Public Sector Service Delivery Council (PSSDC) and the Public Sector Chief Information Officer Council (PSCIOC)

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Transformative Achievements:

Our numerous accomplishments between 2018-2021 have established a solid foundation for the future; the strategic value of our investments in digital enablement are becoming increasingly evident. The pandemic has accelerated the move to digital and virtual service in the span of months – there is no turning back. The ICCS must continue to forge ahead with a digital first strategic plan.
Between April 2018 and March 2020, the ICCS completed major investments and projects aimed at modernizing the Institute’s ability to deliver more self-serve, digital services.
In April 2020, in response to the emerging pandemic, the ICCS shifted to a tactical plan focused on meeting the emerging needs of Council members. This involved a quick pivot to virtual, digital enablement of the community to share, learn and adapt to unfolding events.
The ICCS delivered on the following: digitization of the Common Measurements Tools (CMT) and released the new Citizen First Analytics service, which allows clients the option of self-serving and conducting client data analysis and performance benchmarking; the Learning and Certification program has been modernized and is now available online in self-contained modules that collectively are equivalent to the Certified Service Professional (CSP) and Certified Service Manager (CSM). This now allows clients to learn at their own pace, or in concert with other online learners.

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How far can we see?

The emergence of the pandemic has brought to the forefront the need for all governments to think outside-in. Citizens have turned to governments for services, leadership, and support the likes of which we have not seen in decades. Governments have responded and will continue to do so for months and in the years to come as the world finds its way to the other side of an unprecedented pandemic.
The ICCS, like all organizations, is charting a path forward that recognizes new ways of working are here to stay. There is no going back to what was; disruption and continual innovation is the new operating environment.
Given the uncertainty, complexity and near impossibility of knowing with precision what our future will look like, the ICCS will proceed with a new strategic plan that keeps an eye on the future but is grounded in the near-term reality. Our new strategic plan will have a 12-to-18-month timeframe; we will revisit our priorities following 2021-22 and make the necessary course corrections and adjustments based on the needs of our members and clients.

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Overall Priorities:

Continue to leverage recent investments in products and services digital modernization
Explore member and client feedback/recommendations for new services, support while remaining cautious to ensure minimal risk exposure (e.g., digital leadership, new research/ analytics capabilities and evergreen learning content)
Seek continual feedback regarding needs and requirements to support more shared learning and experimentation among community members
Evaluate innovative research methodologies and approaches
Evolve self-directed and facilitated digital learning programs
Continue to cautiously explore international business opportunities for existing products and services