Ask Once? Build the platform.
The government of Canada has an enormous opportunity in adopting an “ask once” policy, one that could redesign the functioning of government at all levels. It can establish integrated operations that will not only create vast efficiencies and create enormous long term cost savings, but increase the access and improve the service to citizens in relation to the network of agencies he or she must engage with. This is a moment that we must seize upon as a nation. We will positioned to better integrate with the digital world that has penetrated every aspect of our lives, and keep up with the expectations of what government can and should do to serve its population.
We know this will not be easy. The success or failure of an “ask once” policy will hinge on our ability to establish a “platform” upon which we can overlay the disparate services that our citizenry interact with, from tax records to birth certificates to drivers licenses. And we know that an undertaking of this magnitude and complexity will face numerous challenges in development and implementation. Changes to government operations are never easy, and many systems are not build to be easily adaptable, integrated, or updated.
Most of all, it will take an enormous level of stakeholder engagement, public outreach, and trust building with communities throughout Canada. While the argument that standardizing data collection and maintenance will ultimately lead to reduced costs, improved performance, and enhanced service delivery across government institutions is compelling from and administrative standpoint, it will naturally face resistance from those who see it as government overreach, and who fear the potential for misuse, breaches, and increased intrusion into private life. Without sustained public trust, any of these efforts will fail, and even the best integrated platform will be rendered useless. And we know that without a skilled and trained workforce to manage these efforts for the long-term, it will not be sustainable.
We can anticipate these challenges and risks, and know there will be additional risks that are currently unknown that will be encountered during development and implementation. These will have to be managed in an agile manner, and addressed in a transparent manner, or political and public support could erode. We know this.
In “Seeing Like A State”, James Scott notes that that government “sees the human activity… through the simplified approximations of documents and statistics”, which “are indispensable to statecraft” and “represent techniques for grasping a large and complex reality”. (pp. 76–77) As a state, we must better “see” the human activity to address these ever growing “complex realities”.
This is our chance to break a longstanding pattern of legacy systems, poor infrastructure, lack of communication between databases, and user dissatisfaction. With a strong platform that meets common needs, and a robust effort to establish public trust, Canada can realize not only the outcomes stated above, but possibilities for growth we cannot yet imagine. I believe in an “ask once” policy that can sustain itself for future generations, and encourage the government of Canada to undertake this transformative effort.
