digital--reflections-blog

[digital--reflections-blog]

Reflection

1. What readings did you choose?

 Digital Rights Project

 The Downside of Digital Inclusion 

2. The common themes discussed in the readings include:

Social Justice Inequality Inefficiency  Technology Reform  Privacy Accountability Digital Divide Consumer Protection 

3. How do those themes relate to what we've learned in class so far this semester?

The article on Digital Rights by the Law Commission of Ontario and The Downside of Digital Inclusion written by Seeta Peña Gangadharan both discuss the problems relating to digital inclusion and access and inequality. From our lectures, it is evident that problems with digital inclusion and inequality exist today amongst many online platforms including government services. For instance, through our lectures and various readings, I have learned the importance of creating efficiency in government services through the process of digitization. It has been indicated that digitizing online services is one way of increasing accessibility and enhancing equality. This would be the case as everyone would be able to fairly participate in society through the use of these services right at home. However, with the digitization of services, limitations such as cybersecurity and privacy concerns have been acknowledged. As a result, it is important to understand the consequences of online services, the demographic of its users, and whether the service actually increases equality and justice.  

To elaborate, in class we have talked about the importance of user research in the implementation of digital services to ensure they effectively meet the needs and demands of all users. Privacy concerns can be brought up during user research and through conducting surveys or interviews, it can be determined if users are skeptical of the services they use online. Gathering this data is crucial as it would provide an understanding of the groups of people that have these assumptions and how improvements can be made.  Further, both readings also talk about accountability in regard to corporate behaviour and security concerns. This reminds me of what we have learned about government accountability in regard to implementing services without accurate data. For instance, in class we have learned about the importance of implementing services through evidence-based research however, in many instances we don't have enough data to make these big decisions. As a result, governments should be held accountable for the roles they play in the development of online services and the information they retrieve from citizens as well.

4. How do those themes resonate with your sense of digital justice and equity?

These themes all focus on resolving inefficiencies within the government through digitizing services while also ensuring that these services provide citizens with equal resources and participation in society. For me, digital justice and equity are enhancing government services through digitization that will enable everyone in Canadian society to have all the required information and resources right at home. Additionally, for me, digital equity is ensuring that everyone is capable of participation in society and the economy through the implementation of online services.  For instance, digitizing services within the justice system would ensure fairness in the processing of cases, as files would be easier to organize and access for all parties involved in the case. Additionally, for me, digital justice is also ensuring that everyone has privacy rights when using digital services especially when it comes to law enforcement and surveillance. However, just like in the real world, marginalized groups are racially profiled and targeted simply due to race and or the neighbourhoods they live in. This also occurs online and marginalized groups are unfairly targeted through data profiling and collection. Although this goes against what I believe to be as digital justice and equity, it is important to acknowledge that it still exists and that it continuously marginalizes the already marginalized. As a result, through collecting data and obtaining evidence, it is crucial that we make incremental improvements to online services to ensure that people are not unfairly targeted. 

[digital--reflections-blog]

Module 6: Data, Evidence and Decision Making

So I guess we have officially reached the point in the semester where I don’t even have the energy to change the title of the collage I've been using for all my previous posts. But that's okay, you just gotta tell yourself that it be like that sometimes and hope things get better. 

Anywho, we can get back to the program. This week we discussed the one key concept that I have been learning about since last semester: D A T A.  Prior to this lecture, I thought I knew the basics such as the benefits of gathering data,  and how it is beneficial for implementing evidence-based policies and services. 

This module and the lecture given by Honey Dacanay provided me with a better insight into how we can analyze and synthesize information in order to make effective decisions. Firstly, I really appreciated the emphasis given on the importance of data and how it should be incorporated within each stage of policy development and the decision-making process. Currently, I am also taking the coding course in which we have learned that only 29% of executives make decisions based on data while 58% make decisions based on instinct. I only hope that those who work in public service truly understand the importance of data and utilize it effectively when forming policy solutions and services. I personally believe data is the key to create informed policy solutions that will provide the best results for the challenges that it aims to solve. 

Additionally, with this lecture, I also learned a lot about how our current legislation on privacy creates barriers for not only utilizing data to make informed decisions but accessing it as well. I know that technology and societal trends change faster than the government can move. However, I hope that by identifying the gaps between accessing and using data we can reach an effective balance in which other stakeholders and organizations are willing to share information between different departments for the greater good of creating effective social change. 

[digital--reflections-blog]

Module 4: Technology and Platforms

Before this module, I never thought about the government as a platform. Due to this, I found this module both surprising and insightful. I really enjoyed Darren Chartier’s lecture and hearing about his experience in working within the tech industry and the government.

Through Darren’s lecture, I learned a lot about the role that the tech industry plays within the government, the problems that exist and all the methods that we can use to tackle these issues. Specifically, I was really intrigued about how agile methods can be used within the implementation of government-led services and how that is the key to modernizing our services and ensuring that they are efficient for users. I also really appreciate how agile methods can improve the delivery of services through gathering data from users to understand how users perceive the service and using this data to improve the next stage of the service as well.

In addition to agile methods, I also found the Service design and Lean methods really fascinating as well. It was really cool to learn about how these two disciplines are also needed to design and deliver services. For instance, both the service design and lean methods both work towards improving the service and designing well-built services that meet the needs of citizens and achieve policy goals.

Questions:

 How often are service design, agile, and lean methods utilized in public policy development for non-digital services?

[digital--reflections-blog]

Module 3: Design Thinking and Service Design

Prior to this module, I had never really thought about service design and its process, but before hearing the lecture I believed that this topic was going to focus solely on the elements that are needed to deliver a good service. I found Siobhan’s presentation really interesting and it provided me with a lot of insight on product management and service design. I really liked it when she talked about how the best services are the ones that we don’t even think about when using them. I found this interesting as it is true and made me stop to think about any service that I did struggle to interact with in comparison to the services that I didn’t.

I was also really intrigued about the fact that we don’t just need effective digital services for citizens but public servants too as it will provide them with the flexibility to complete their work and make a meaningful impact on the public. I also appreciated the negative and difficult aspects that Siobhan mentioned about service design as well. For example, she talked about how government services are complex and multiple factors will impact the implementation of a service such as competing priorities, budget cycles, regulations and resource availability. In addition to this, I learned a lot about the role of user research regarding service design and how there are four stages including discovery, alpha, beta, and live. I enjoyed the process of thinking about all of these stages on our own and developing a research method and potential solution to increase faculty access for undergraduate students. This process and module opened my eyes to how complex and challenging it can be to build a successful and effective product in the government.  

Questions:

 How do we prioritize issues when it comes to delivering services to solve problems within the government?

[digital--reflections-blog]

Prior to this lecture, my knowledge of user needs regarding online services was very limited. I personally thought that assessing and meeting user needs was mainly about accessibility and ensuring that all services met the needs of all types of people in regard to being inclusive, simple to use and efficient. The presentation given by Xiaopu Fung made me realize that my idea of user needs wasn’t far off. She discussed the importance of user research as a method of meeting user needs and how it is important to be aware of how the public is interacting with digital services and what their experiences are to ensure that all services are easy to use. Further, one aspect of Xiaopu’s presentation that stood out to me the most was her discussion of how digital services still have a customer service aspect. Before this presentation, I have never thought of accessing government services as a method of customer service, but after this lecture this comparison made sense. It’s understandable how users are a form of customers and how it is necessary for all organizations to meet the expectations of these customers through the delivery of their services.

Secondly, I also learned a lot from doing the user research process myself. My team members and I learned about how people travel on campus and the challenges they face in the process. We decided that an interview was the best way to go as it would allow us to ask open-ended questions and add in probing questions when needed. Our results indicated that there’s a lot that needs to be done to make the campus more accessible for all students and that the communications services that are used to inform students’ needs to be changed as well. 

Questions

How do we ensure that our user research is inclusive and that it reflects everyone’s experiences?

[digital--reflections-blog]

Even before this semester began I was looking forward to this course the most. As someone who has spent most of her life in a digitalized world, it is fascinating to see how much technology and the Internet have modernized and rapidly changed over the years. Despite some of the concerns that do exist regarding privacy in a digitalized world, I believe that most of these changes are for the better and enable people to access services, resources and communicate at a faster pace. Before this first lecture, I didn’t really have an idea of what digital government meant and what that looked like for public servants and the role they play. However, I did come into this class thinking that it would be more technical but I’m very pleased to see that the content is more relevant and concept-based rather than focusing on the nitty-gritty aspects of data and governance.  

I found the first lecture to be really insightful and also valuable in regard to the crucial aspects of digital governance that we need to be aware of as future public servants. Additionally, I found it really surprising for how long it took Ontario to modernize its online services and make them more accessible to its citizens especially considering its population size and the numerous amount of services that they have. Further, until this lecture, I had never thought of accessing government services as a transaction and it was really interesting analyzing my own experiences and hearing the experiences of my colleagues. I think it’s great that we as a society can access a lot of our government services online; however, I believe we’re still at a stage where government services need to be more accessible for all citizens and more needs to be done to adapt to the current technological climate. I also believe that this should be taken as a priority especially considering how fast technology changes throughout the years. 

The questions that occurred to me after this lecture include: 

What role does classism play in the modernization of government services and regarding accessibility?

How do we prepare older generations for a shift to digital government and online services?