Symposium 2017

  Prepare to reserve your seat for Ottawa’s premier learning and networking event for those engaged in public sector excellence in the National Capital Region, the CPSEN Public Sector Symposium 2017, to be held at the Canada Aviation & Space Museum on February 7th, 2017. The Symposium, the 10th annual event, to be hosted by the Canadian Public Sector Excellence Network (CPSEN), will deliver an interactive, informative and meaningful experience for all who attend. A Committee of volunteers has begun work by reviewing the reports and recollections of our 2015 event. We intend to showcase experts from a variety of government organizations.You are invited to join your Public Sector colleagues who, year after year, have rated the annual events very highly.

  Our 2017 Symposium will, through a Talk Show of experienced panelists, presentations by engaging speakers and Professional Development sessions, will cover best practices and practical tools that you can take back to your workplace and will allow you to network with managers and practitioners from the broad Public Sector facing challenges similar to yours. Potential attendees are reminded that public sector organizations are expected to achieve excellence across their core functions. People working in those organizations must deliver programs and services effectively and efficiently in an environment where change is the only constant. They are expected to deliver core business responsibilities based on the adoption of streamlined business processes, leveraged technology and innovative partnerships, and to exert creative problem solving to meet organizational objectives. 

  Organizations – even public sector ones operating under fiscal and operational constraints – can thrive by applying agility and resiliency in this challenging environment using knowledge in new ways. Such organizations view people, rather than processes and products, as being the key levers of change. Human factors, such as the ability to manage stress, to adapt to change, to cope with profound organizational transformation – can make or break innovation initiatives. Learn about methods and processes that focus on quality and results-driven management to drive performance and productivity. Join us as we work together for better outcomes.

Our newly-minted Talk Show provided an option for discussions that dealt with the various aspects of our 2015 Theme, “Public Sector Transformation and the Journey to Excellence”, There was good interaction with the attendees throughout the day. Later in the afternoon, the joint CPSEN-Excellence Canada Public Sector Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to the 2015 winner, Wayne Wouters, PC. Photos above show the Talk Show personalities, CPSEN Director Paul Crookall presenting the Award to Wayne Wouters, a Professional Development session, and one of our Supporter exhibitions. An impromptu video was made of our Winner’s speech. Please click here to go to the Vimeo site and enter the password “CPSEN-984” to see the video.

  Karen Ellis captured attendees’ attention as she spoke about transformation and excellence. This was followed by a new feature of our annual events brought to us by one of our professional advisors, Tabatha Soltay. We were introduced to the Talk Show – an arrangement where panelists were asked to respond to questions from the Moderator, CPSEN Director Craig Marchand. This concept was very well received by attendees who had been invited to Tweet Craig any questions they might wish the panel to discuss. We then held two sets of three Professional Development Sessions, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

  Following the afternoon Professional Development sessions, our Closing Keynote, Lisa Sullivan, provided her insights on transformation and other thoughts for everyone to take home. To end the formal part of the program, the 2015 joint CPSEN-Excellence Canada Public Sector Excellence Lifetime Award was presented to Wayne Wouters, former Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to Cabinet.

  We have re-worked our web presence by incorporating our Fair website into our new Canadian Public Sector Excellence Network (formerly the Canadian Public Sector Quality Association) website. In addition, we have retained our Gallery with photos taken during our 2015 and earlier Quality Fairs – accessed by clicking on the Gallery button on the “Our Fairs” menu. To view the presentations made at our 2015 event, please go to our 2015 Program/Programme pages and then proceed to the Presentation entries in the appropriate block.

  Entities demonstrating organizational excellence – both public and private sector – do so as a result of strong leadership, careful planning, and the involvement of as many as possible of the people at work in the workplace. People engagements are stronger, the workforce is content, collaboration is readily apparent and innovation is one of the fundamentals exercised. Most importantly, the person or persons “owning” the process are able to help in its redesign.

Let us start with a Wikipedia entry that says “Excellence is a talent or quality which is unusually good and so surpasses ordinary standards. It is also an aimed for standard of performance.” Anyone who has undertaken to manage quality will recall the history of the Quality movement. The well-respected gurus such as Drs. Joseph Juran and W. Edwards Deming, themselves, have allowed us to move forward from excessive product inspection to Quality Assurance, then Quality Management and – ultimately – to an Excellence approach as they sought to improve the quality of goods and services in the United States and abroad. For many discriminating buyers, these days, quality is not enough. Thus, one needs to set the bar somewhat higher and promote excellence as the goal to be achieved. A Google search on “excellence” will identify a plethora of organizations anxious to help one achieve that happy state.

  The 2017 event will be another of tremendous value for participants – especially in these difficult economic times when professional development and travel funds are at a premium. Participants will be able to learn and share leading practices with colleagues from the Federal, Provincial, Territorial and Municipal Governments and the broader public sector. The Public Sector is at a turning point and is facing many challenges.  There has never been a better time to apply the concepts of Quality Management and Organizational Excellence to enable  organizations to face the increasing demands for quality programs and services with limited resources.  The 2017 Symposium will once again provide tips, tools, interactive panel discussions and  Professional Development Sessions to help attendees meet these challenges. You also can look forward to another Talk Show – patterned on the most successful one that was part of the 2015 Program.

   This table provides the history back to 2010 with the top score being a 5. It should be noted that, for the 2014 Fair, the Committee chose to introduce an online rating system.  This led to a significant increase in the number of questions asked and provided those responding to take a number of days before responding – rather than rating “on the spot” as occurred in the past. It is likely that this explains the change in the survey outcome for 2014.

  Anyone who has attended previous events will be able to tell their colleagues and friends about this great opportunity. We are again offering a Group rate wherein paying for four attendees allows five to attend! In addition the special Group rate applies for any number in the same Group over 5. It is therefore beneficial to assemble the Group completely before registering.

  Since the first of the annual Fairs was held in 2007, the organizing committees have concentrated on learning. Thus, as noted previously, the 2017 Symposium is not a conference but rather an opportunity for attendees to have real tools and tips to take back to their offices and an opportunity to network with others of like mind.

  And it is a fabulous value too!. The Symposium price includes a light breakfast, a nutritious lunch and two refreshment breaks. Attendees will be able to hear from our Opening Keynote Speaker, followed by a Talk Show. There will be a total of six professional development sessions, three in the morning and three in the afternoon including at least one French session. Also, there will be an opportunity to interact with exhibitors providing attendees with information pertinent to public sector personnel.

  As in the past, this is an opportunity for Supporters and Excellence Partners to visibly demonstrate their commitment to Organizational Excellence while taking advantage of a great promotional value. Not only there is an opportunity to attend all of our activities, but also Supporters and Excellence Partners are visible on our website and acknowledged at our event. For more information about Promotional Opportunities, click here.