Cheers
Friday, 16 March 2012
Coding Better Government
I was laid up sick all last week and didn't have time to put anything together. Rather than leave you hanging, I'm just going to point you at this TED talk about Coding Better Government by Code for America Founder Jennifer Pahlka.
Cheers
Originally published by Nick Charney at cpsrenewal.ca subscribe/connect
Cheers
Monday, 12 March 2012
MBR: Accidental Genius by Mark Levy
I decided I was going to read a book a week for a year, here's a quick review of this weeks book. You can see the ongoing list here.
Basic Info
Why I bought it
As someone who publishes something weekly and earns a living writing various types of documents I was looking for a book that would give me some much needed structure to my approach to writing. This book did exactly that.
How it connects to the public sector
It doesn't, it's about the mechanics of writing, and how to get better at it.
What I got out of reading it
The book argues that freewriting (fast, furious, and unedited writing) is where you best work emerges. The best lesson I took away from the book was that you need to separate your writing and editing phases. I often find myself carefully crafting each sentence as I go. This, according to Levy, not only slows down my writing but also my thinking, which often results in inadvertently omitting key insights from my final written products. I used freewriting to draft last week's post on the confluence of Lego and Public Policy and I was really impressed with the results. Since reading it I've also completely changed how I structure all of my unfinished thoughts in Evernote. If you are interested in being a better writer, I suggest grabbing a copy of the Accidental Genius.
Originally published by Nick Charney at cpsrenewal.ca subscribe/connect
Basic Info
Friday, 9 March 2012
All I really need to know about Public Policy I learned from Lego
I love Star Wars.
When I was a kid I used to queue up the entire trilogy (yes, the trilogy) empty my vast Lego collection out onto the floor and spend the entire day in the Star Wars universe building things I'd seen on the screen before me. It shouldn't come as a surprise then that I have passed those interests on to my children, both of whom love Star Wars (although they know 6 movies, animated series and countless video game versions) and Lego.
Last weekend we watched Return of the Jedi then retired to the play room to play with the Lego (yes, I still play with Lego). I somehow got it stuck in my head that I wanted to build an AT-ST walker. But before I did wanted to gauge the kids (stakeholders) interest in the project; they were obviously on board. So with their blessing, I built the AT-ST pictured above completely from scratch (no instructions, no sets) in about a week's time. It's far more complicated than anything I ever built as a child and I am incredibly proud of how it turned out.
That said, what I never anticipated was just how much the experience would teach me about public policy. Here's what I mean.
Public Policy, like Lego, requires vision
You aren't going to get very far if you don't have vision. In my case it was fairly easy, as a long time fan I have a good sense of what the end product should look like. I think this speaks to the value that subject matter experts bring to the public policy discourse. But even then, I repeatedly went online to look at pictures of AT-ST walkers, I needed to check my assumptions against hard facts. The same applies to policy analysts who need to consciously check their assumptions against the data available to them. Moreover, not only did I look at photos of AT-ST's but I purposely sought out photos that exposed different sides of the walker to me or that were done in different medium (sketches, paintings, computer generated graphics, other Lego builds, etc). Policy makers need a well rounded understanding of their medium and that often requires expanding inputs beyond a small handful of expected sources.
But periodically checking in with photographs for direction also gave me the intelligence I needed regarding my resource pool. Given what I've already completed and that which I have yet to complete, do I have enough resources at my disposal or did I need to go back for more?
Public Policy, like Lego, requires the right resources
I started by building a small chunk of the AT-ST but soon realized that I didn't have easy access to the pieces I needed to work on it project efficiently. I have a huge (I mean huge) Lego collection. My kids have not only the benefit of all the Lego they've been purchased over the years, but also everything I was purchased as a kid as well (thanks mom!). Rummaging through an enormous bin of pieces can be incredibly time consuming. After all, I had very specific needs for the project in front me. I didn't need all the resources at my disposal, only a subset. So I decided to slowly source the parts I needed before continuing to assemble the walker. My requirements were fairly simple. Anything that was gray was in with the exception of wheels and really large platforms and priority was to be given to any parts that moved or could be used to make joints or connect angles.
But I also had to be realistic. I knew that I wasn't going to need every piece of Lego I collected, so I didn't need to go through the entire collection routing out all of they gray pieces, I just needed enough resources to complete the job. The rest could easily be returned for another project. Having the right resources was incredibly important; but knowing what resources were in my collection but not yet directly accessible to me (buried pieces) was even more important. The familiarity with the resource pool meant I knew whether or not my approach - an approach that hinged on a particular type of resource or its abundance within the collection - was plausible or not. For example, smaller pieces are generally the hardest to reach resources because they usually wind up at the bottom of the bin and as such require additional effort to secure. At one point in the process I even had to build a makeshift scaffold from some small buckets to hold back pieces from collapsing back into the large container in order to reach these exact pieces at the bottom of the bin. Additional work pays dividends when you are certain the resources you hope to uncover actually exist. But sometimes those pieces don't exist, you simply can't find them, or you can't access them without huge cost. That's why you need to be able to pivot your approach, why you need to be flexible. You need to be prepared in the event that the end product may not look exactly like your vision. Vision is, after all, limited to resources. Remember that a roadblock often means an improvement, not a detraction of the quality of the end product.
Public Policy, like Lego, has to stand up to scrutiny
The more complex the undertaking the more fragile it is. This is especially the case during the initial build when you are unfamiliar with how to best handle your creation with care. Quite frankly while you may have an idea of where the weak points are you aren't quite sure. Typically we expect breaks at the joints but tragically, the only way to know for sure is to purposely break that which you have just created.
So don't be afraid to knock it over, apply pressure, or add some weight. Make note of where it breaks, then rebuild it, re-test it, and see if it breaks in the same spot again. Repeating this process a couple of times not only shows you its strengths and weaknesses but also teaches you about the act of rebuilding itself; which is to say that it breeds a familiarity and expert understanding that is important. It's important because it will frame your reaction. It will determine how you reinforce the joints, what pieces you swap out or in or lead to a complete redesign that circumvents a problem that cannot otherwise be fixed.
In the end you want to build something that can support its own weight. A task that is made more difficult when you have moving parts. My walker for example has a moving head that moves both horizontally and vertically. Moving parts are complicated, awesome, but complicated. The more of them you have the more additional support you need, but the support you add should create a sense of robustness without undermining mission. In my experience the best support mechanism in this regard is transparency.
For example, the mobility of the head combined with its weight meant that I needed additional pieces to hold it in place. If I used coloured pieces it wouldn't be a walker anymore but something else entirely. Using transparent bricks maintains the mission while offering critical support to the most complex piece of the undertaking. There is greater willingness to accept additional support when that support mechanism is transparent and minimally invasive; you are also quick to accept it when you compare it directly to less palatable (or more intrusive) alternatives.
Public Policy, like Lego, should be a creative endeavour
Having fun is an inherent part of crafting. It's incredibly important, so don't be afraid use your imagination and be creative. If something doesn't work out right away, don't panic and don't abandon ship, its just bricks, there is nothing that can't be fixed, altered or tweaked, and there is always a work around. You just need to be willing to look for it.
Public Policy, like Lego, could be exciting to next generation
After I finally completed the project, the look on my kids faces was incredible. They watched me craft something amazing yet tangible; so much in fact, that it left them wanting more.
Shouldn't our governments strive for the same thing?
Originally published by Nick Charney at cpsrenewal.ca subscribe/connect
When I was a kid I used to queue up the entire trilogy (yes, the trilogy) empty my vast Lego collection out onto the floor and spend the entire day in the Star Wars universe building things I'd seen on the screen before me. It shouldn't come as a surprise then that I have passed those interests on to my children, both of whom love Star Wars (although they know 6 movies, animated series and countless video game versions) and Lego.
 |
| My son Kohl (4) with our new Lego AT-ST |
That said, what I never anticipated was just how much the experience would teach me about public policy. Here's what I mean.
Public Policy, like Lego, requires vision
You aren't going to get very far if you don't have vision. In my case it was fairly easy, as a long time fan I have a good sense of what the end product should look like. I think this speaks to the value that subject matter experts bring to the public policy discourse. But even then, I repeatedly went online to look at pictures of AT-ST walkers, I needed to check my assumptions against hard facts. The same applies to policy analysts who need to consciously check their assumptions against the data available to them. Moreover, not only did I look at photos of AT-ST's but I purposely sought out photos that exposed different sides of the walker to me or that were done in different medium (sketches, paintings, computer generated graphics, other Lego builds, etc). Policy makers need a well rounded understanding of their medium and that often requires expanding inputs beyond a small handful of expected sources.
But periodically checking in with photographs for direction also gave me the intelligence I needed regarding my resource pool. Given what I've already completed and that which I have yet to complete, do I have enough resources at my disposal or did I need to go back for more?
Public Policy, like Lego, requires the right resources
I started by building a small chunk of the AT-ST but soon realized that I didn't have easy access to the pieces I needed to work on it project efficiently. I have a huge (I mean huge) Lego collection. My kids have not only the benefit of all the Lego they've been purchased over the years, but also everything I was purchased as a kid as well (thanks mom!). Rummaging through an enormous bin of pieces can be incredibly time consuming. After all, I had very specific needs for the project in front me. I didn't need all the resources at my disposal, only a subset. So I decided to slowly source the parts I needed before continuing to assemble the walker. My requirements were fairly simple. Anything that was gray was in with the exception of wheels and really large platforms and priority was to be given to any parts that moved or could be used to make joints or connect angles.
But I also had to be realistic. I knew that I wasn't going to need every piece of Lego I collected, so I didn't need to go through the entire collection routing out all of they gray pieces, I just needed enough resources to complete the job. The rest could easily be returned for another project. Having the right resources was incredibly important; but knowing what resources were in my collection but not yet directly accessible to me (buried pieces) was even more important. The familiarity with the resource pool meant I knew whether or not my approach - an approach that hinged on a particular type of resource or its abundance within the collection - was plausible or not. For example, smaller pieces are generally the hardest to reach resources because they usually wind up at the bottom of the bin and as such require additional effort to secure. At one point in the process I even had to build a makeshift scaffold from some small buckets to hold back pieces from collapsing back into the large container in order to reach these exact pieces at the bottom of the bin. Additional work pays dividends when you are certain the resources you hope to uncover actually exist. But sometimes those pieces don't exist, you simply can't find them, or you can't access them without huge cost. That's why you need to be able to pivot your approach, why you need to be flexible. You need to be prepared in the event that the end product may not look exactly like your vision. Vision is, after all, limited to resources. Remember that a roadblock often means an improvement, not a detraction of the quality of the end product.
Public Policy, like Lego, has to stand up to scrutiny
The more complex the undertaking the more fragile it is. This is especially the case during the initial build when you are unfamiliar with how to best handle your creation with care. Quite frankly while you may have an idea of where the weak points are you aren't quite sure. Typically we expect breaks at the joints but tragically, the only way to know for sure is to purposely break that which you have just created.
So don't be afraid to knock it over, apply pressure, or add some weight. Make note of where it breaks, then rebuild it, re-test it, and see if it breaks in the same spot again. Repeating this process a couple of times not only shows you its strengths and weaknesses but also teaches you about the act of rebuilding itself; which is to say that it breeds a familiarity and expert understanding that is important. It's important because it will frame your reaction. It will determine how you reinforce the joints, what pieces you swap out or in or lead to a complete redesign that circumvents a problem that cannot otherwise be fixed.
In the end you want to build something that can support its own weight. A task that is made more difficult when you have moving parts. My walker for example has a moving head that moves both horizontally and vertically. Moving parts are complicated, awesome, but complicated. The more of them you have the more additional support you need, but the support you add should create a sense of robustness without undermining mission. In my experience the best support mechanism in this regard is transparency.
For example, the mobility of the head combined with its weight meant that I needed additional pieces to hold it in place. If I used coloured pieces it wouldn't be a walker anymore but something else entirely. Using transparent bricks maintains the mission while offering critical support to the most complex piece of the undertaking. There is greater willingness to accept additional support when that support mechanism is transparent and minimally invasive; you are also quick to accept it when you compare it directly to less palatable (or more intrusive) alternatives.
Public Policy, like Lego, should be a creative endeavour
Having fun is an inherent part of crafting. It's incredibly important, so don't be afraid use your imagination and be creative. If something doesn't work out right away, don't panic and don't abandon ship, its just bricks, there is nothing that can't be fixed, altered or tweaked, and there is always a work around. You just need to be willing to look for it.
Public Policy, like Lego, could be exciting to next generation
After I finally completed the project, the look on my kids faces was incredible. They watched me craft something amazing yet tangible; so much in fact, that it left them wanting more.
Shouldn't our governments strive for the same thing?
Monday, 5 March 2012
Monday Book Review: Context by Cory Doctorow
I decided I was going to read a book a week for a year, here's a quick review of this weeks book. You can see the ongoing list here.
Basic Info
Context: Further Selected Essays on Productivity, Creativity, Parenting, and Politics in the 21st Century by Cory Doctorow
Note: you can download the book for free here
Why I bought it
I was literally in the Ottawa airport en route to Chicago for the weekend and needed some reading material for the plane. I stopped in the book store, had a look through the titles and was about to walk away empty handed when I spotted this on another shelf by the cash register.
I first saw Doctorow on TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin a couple of years back and have been loosely paying attention to his work since.
How it connects to the public sector
The essays in the book deal largely with technology, security, and copyright providing context (hence the title) around these issues in a practical and accessible way. Case in point on IT security:
What I got out of reading it
Context was a really easy read. Since it's just a collection of essays (on a host of related issues) it's hard to nail down a single take away. That said, over the course of the book Doctorow repeatedly shows how out of touch incumbent businesses are, how the regulatory responses they are lobbying for (to protect their incumbency) are flawed, and how much better off we would be if we simply thought through these issues with a bit more of a critical lens.
Much of the book has to do with copyright, so if you aren't interested in the subject matter you may want to skip this one. However, I'd encourage you to watch to the interview below before you make your decision. If nothing else, Doctorow is thoughtful and articulate, which makes him incredibly easy to listen to.
Originally published by Nick Charney at cpsrenewal.ca subscribe/connect
Context: Further Selected Essays on Productivity, Creativity, Parenting, and Politics in the 21st Century by Cory Doctorow
"Users will always prioritise getting their job done over honouring your network policy, and who can blame them? If networks policy breaches aren't followed up with safe solutions to user' demonstrated needs, they'll keep on happening, no matter how much security you put between your users and their duties." -- Cory Doctorow, Like Teenagers, Computers are Built to Hook Up
Friday, 2 March 2012
On Engagement, Honesty and Walking Away in Austere Times
These are tough times and as many instinctively brace for impact in the face of looming cuts, I wanted to take a step back and reflect a little.
If you don't find your work engaging, perhaps now is the best time to walk away
If the reason you work in the public sector is the stability, I would argue that that reason no longer exists. If you need evidence look at the magnitude of the projected cuts.
In austere times, we probably need engaged public more than ever.
Walking away from a job takes courage and honesty
It's a kind of courage that isn't easy in bleak economic times, but one that will be offset by a kind of honesty that's both personally satisfying and deeply moving to others.
I know we all have to put food on the table and clothes on our backs, but if it came down to you or someone else you know - say a friend - who was far more engaged in their work than you were, wouldn't you want to see them continue that work?
If the roles were reversed, wouldn't you want someone to step in and offer you the same opportunity?
I know I would.
One last thing
The worst thing anyone could do right now is make uniformed decisions. There are a number of options available to public servants affected by Work Force Adjustment (WFA) (including alternation which I refer to implicitly above); I had no clue what these were until a friend sat me down and walked me through them.
I strongly recommend speaking to your manager, your human resources officer, your union rep, or consulting the Treasury Board website for more information; the budget drops March 29th.
Originally published by Nick Charney at cpsrenewal.ca subscribe/connect
If you don't find your work engaging, perhaps now is the best time to walk away
If the reason you work in the public sector is the stability, I would argue that that reason no longer exists. If you need evidence look at the magnitude of the projected cuts.
In austere times, we probably need engaged public more than ever.
 |
| Untitled by Fire At Will [Photography] |
It's a kind of courage that isn't easy in bleak economic times, but one that will be offset by a kind of honesty that's both personally satisfying and deeply moving to others.
I know we all have to put food on the table and clothes on our backs, but if it came down to you or someone else you know - say a friend - who was far more engaged in their work than you were, wouldn't you want to see them continue that work?
If the roles were reversed, wouldn't you want someone to step in and offer you the same opportunity?
I know I would.
One last thing
The worst thing anyone could do right now is make uniformed decisions. There are a number of options available to public servants affected by Work Force Adjustment (WFA) (including alternation which I refer to implicitly above); I had no clue what these were until a friend sat me down and walked me through them.
I strongly recommend speaking to your manager, your human resources officer, your union rep, or consulting the Treasury Board website for more information; the budget drops March 29th.
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