Empowering public servant managers with displacements

Published on 2024-09-22 by Stuart Spence

Sometimes my friends, family, colleagues, or online communities ask me this question:

"If you could wave a magic wand to make one change in public service, what would it be?"

I'd create a new tool for managers in government called "displacement". Here's how it works.

Disclaimer

The opinions here are …

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My three months vacation this summer

Published on 2024-08-02 by Stuart Spence

After some big disappointments at Environment Canada, I decided to take three months off in May, June, and July of 2024. Now that my time off is coming to a close I thought it would be nice to jot down all the nice ways I got to spend my time …

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A Proposed Point System for Government WFH

Published on 2024-05-01 by Stuart Spence

This page describes a point system where public servants and their managers can autonomously identify what their minimum work-from-home (WFH) day count should be.

Why RTO

Some politicans are more transparent than others about why return-to-office (RTO) is so important to them:

"Three days is a good start," Ford said …

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New Role at ECCC

Published on 2023-10-23 by Stuart Spence

Today I'm excited to say I'm moving to a new team! They build AI prototypes in the cloud for Environment Canada (ECCC). On paper this is like a dream job! On this page I'll go over key details, the job description, and highlights.

Key Details

  • One year assignment starting November …

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Better Hiring in Government

Published on 2023-07-07 by Stuart Spence

When I help with government hiring I often give the same suggestions to hiring teams. So I wrote this page as a starting point. I focus on IT hiring but this also applies generally. If these points resonate with you, I'd love to help you with your hiring.

Important note …

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ECCC and ChatGPT

Published on 2022-12-09 by Stuart Spence

The free ChatGPT AI gave excellent or perfect answers to all my real ECCC interview questions: code writing and soft skills.

This post is written for public servants that need to know about the latest AI tool called ChatGPT. We should all understand what kind of text and interview answers …

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My First Union Event

Published on 2022-11-22 by Stuart Spence

The views expressed here are my own, and do not express the views of my employer or my union.

Here's my experience attending my union's annual general meeting. I felt some empowerment but mostly outrage and boredom.

Clearly my union is sclerotic and archaic. We gathered to vote and share …

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Green Party of Canada Membership Test

Published on 2022-09-24 by Stuart Spence

What's more important to you: climate science or social justice?

Canadian politics is better when all parties are strong. How can the Green Party of Canada (GPC) recover its legitimacy and relevancy? Here I describe a simple and likely controversial membership test. I can't think of any other way forward …

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Public and Private Sector IT

Published on 2022-06-29 by Stuart Spence

I often see these questions online:

"What are the differences between private and public sector IT?"

"What makes you stay in government IT?"

"Aren't government IT workers underpaid?"

This page is my list of the best things about public sector IT.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are my own, and …

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