Learning from New Brunswick The Public Engagement Initiative

Transcription

1 Learning from New Brunswick The Public Engagement Initiative AGENDA Delta Fredericton Hotel Fredericton, New Brunswick May 12-13, 2008 Conference Co-Chairs: Chris Baker Deputy Minister Policy and Priorities Executive Council Office Government of New Brunswick Hon. John Milloy Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Government of Ontario Sponsored by The Public Policy Forum and the Government of New Brunswick

2 The Conference Objectives Over the last year, the Public Engagement Initiative (PEI) has been developing and testing a new model of public engagement, which will be proposed to the Government of New Brunswick in its final report. 1 This conference will bring together members of the policy community from across New Brunswick and the country to: learn about and discuss the model and recommendations in the final report; and assess their potential impact on government and governance in New Brunswick and elsewhere. The Model Many public policy issues today cut across different policy fields and affect a wide range of actors. Governments are increasingly unable to address these issues on their own. They need to work together with stakeholders, citizens and communities. Public engagement therefore is a condition of good governance. But there is a problem. The traditional approach to engagement focuses on consultation. Not only is this becoming less productive, it is increasingly divisive, leading stakeholders and citizens to compete for the ear of government. If governments need to work together better with the public, then consultation is the wrong tool for building the relationship. By contrast, the PEI model enlists the public in the task of solving complex problems and achieving key goals. Government acts more as a facilitator that gets stakeholders or citizens to interact, identify common goals, make trade-offs, set priorities together, and develop a plan of action to achieve them. This kind of engagement thus transfers some of the ownership and responsibility for solving key issues directly to ordinary citizens, communities and stakeholders. The Conference Program The conference program has been developed around four key questions: What is the model and how does it work? What impact will it have on representative government? What impact will it have on the public service? What steps can be taken to build on New Brunswick s leadership on public engagement and promote the ideas more broadly? The agenda will be subdivided into three parts, one for each of the first three questions. The fourth question cuts across all three parts and will be raised at various points throughout the conference. 1 The report will be released in late April and will be available for download from the Government of New Brunswick s website at 1

3 Agenda Monday, May 12 Part I What is the Model and How Does it Work? 1:00 1:30 pm Registration 1:30 4:30 pm Pre-Conference Seminar on Public Engagement An Introduction to the New Model 2:45 3:00 Don Lenihan Health Break 4:30 7:30 pm Free Time Advisor on Public Engagement Government of New Brunswick This seminar will provide an in-depth introduction to the model of public engagement proposed by the PEI. It will conclude with a discussion of how the Public Policy Forum s new Crossing Boundaries Governance Program can best serve governments across the country, helping them to understand and apply the new approach. 6:30 7:30 pm Registration Cash Bar and Refreshments 7:30-9:00 pm Keynote Address 7:30 7:40 Welcome and Introductions The Co-Chairs 7:40 7:50 Introduction of the Premier Jodi White, President, Public Policy Forum 7:50 8:30 Self-Sufficiency and the Role of Public Engagement: A Response to the Final Report of the Public Engagement Initiative New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham 2

4 Premier Shawn Graham will outline his views on the role of public engagement in achieving self-sufficiency and respond to the final report of the Public Engagement Initiative 8:30 8:50 Questions and Answers 8:50 9:00 Closing Comments The Co-Chairs 9:00 10:00 pm Reception and Cash Bar Tuesday, May 13 Part II What Impact will the New Model have on Representative Government? 7:45 8:30 am Registration and Continental Breakfast 8:30 8:40 am Welcome and Introduction The Co-Chairs 8:40 9:30 am Keynote Address Will Public Engagement Lead to More Effective Governance? Hon. John Milloy Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Government of Ontario The PEI final report argues that public engagement is now a condition of good governance. Without it governments will be increasingly unable to achieve key goals. The speaker will consider this claim. How valid is the argument? Is conventional governance hitting a wall? What is the evidence and how will a new emphasis on public engagement solve the problem? What will happen to governments that don t adopt this approach? 9:30 10:45 am First Plenary Panel Session The Impact on our Democracy and Politics Politics: Hon. Andy Scott, MP, Fredericton Business: Ed Barrett, Chairman, New Brunswick Business Council Media: Susan Bonner, Journalist, CBC Newsworld 3

5 Civil Society: Joanne Caddy, Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate, OECD, Paris This panel session asks how the new approach may impact on representative democracy, including the roles and responsibilities of politicians, stakeholders, NGOs, the media, communities and citizens. Does it challenge or renew deeply held views around who makes decisions or who is accountable for them? From the viewpoint of the public, is it truly empowering? What kind of leadership does it call for? Will political leaders elsewhere buy-in to the model and what can be done to ensure that they do? 10:45 11:00 am Health Break 11:00 12:15 am First Breakout Discussions The Governance Perspective The previous panel session discussed how the new model might impact on our democratic practices, particularly as these relate to politicians, stakeholders, NGOs, the media, communities and citizens. These breakout sessions will allow participants to delve into one of these areas more deeply. Each session will focus on one of the following four questions: Getting political buy-in o Hon. Andy Scott MP, Fredericton o Allan Rankin, Clerk of the Executive Council, Government of Prince Edward Island o Rick Brewer, MLA Southwest Miramichi, Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick The role of the media in covering this kind of politics and governance o Susan Bonner, Journalist, CBC Newsworld o Lisa Hrabluk, Freelance Journalist, former News Editor and Political Columnist for the Saint John Telegraph-Journal o Nicole Picot, Director of Communications, Office of the Premier of New Brunswick Are communities and citizens ready to assume more responsibility? o Andrew Beckett, Deputy City Manager, City of Saint John o John Hennessy, Sector Development Director, Municipal Association of Victoria, Australia. o Rick Hutchins, Renaissance College, University of New Brunswick 4

6 How big a role do we want businesses, NGOs and other stakeholders to play in governance? o Don Dennison, Executive Director, New Brunswick Business Council o Kelly Rodgers-Sturgeon, Chair, Skills Development Pilot Project; and Director, Labour Market Analysis, Department of Post- Secondary Education, Training and Labour,, Government of New Brunswick o Graham Fox, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, Ottawa Part III What Impact Will the New Model Have on the Public Service? 12:15 1:00 pm Lunch 1:00 1:45 pm Lunch speaker How do things look 15 years out? John McLaughlin President University of New Brunswick Fredericton The lunch speaker will take a visionary look at how the new model may change government and governance over the next 15 years. What if governments adopt the model? How will things look in 15 years? If this is this the beginning of a journey, where does it lead? Are we aiming at a fundamental change to our democracy or just making some adjustments? Will some governments resist the trend? How will these practices become intertwined with the selfsufficiency agenda in New Brunswick? 1:45 3:00 pm Second Plenary Panel Session Implications for the Public Service David Ferguson, Clerk of the Executive Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, Government of New Brunswick Ruth Dantzer, President, Canadian School of Public Service, Government of Canada John Hennessy, Sector Development Director, Municipal Association of Victoria, Australia. Sue Inches, Deputy Director, State Planning Office, Government of Maine 5

7 This panel will address key issues from the viewpoint of the public service, including the task of building new skills and capacities to manage and deliver public engagement processes, ensuring accountability, the relationship between public servants and political leaders, and the floodgates issue, that is, the fear that more open engagement processes will relinquish too much control over government s own agenda and resources. 3:00 3:15 pm Health Break 3:15 4:30 pm Second Breakout Discussions Implications for the Public Service The previous panel session discussed how the new model might impact on the public service. These breakout sessions allow participants to explore the implications in greater detail. Each session will focus on one of the following four questions: Aligning government around a long-term agenda o Joan Kingston, Principal Secretary to the Premier, Government Affairs, Office of the Premier, Government of New Brunswick o John Hennessy, Sector Development Director, Municipal Association of Victoria, Australia. o Graham Fox, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, Ottawa New media and future engagement o Keith Culver, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Centre for Social Innovation Research, University of New Brunswick o Jean-Michel Picher, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, Toronto o David Hume, Former Consultant, Government of New Zealand and Associate, MASS LBP What skills and capacities do governments need to build to deliver these processes? o Ruth Dantzer, President, Canadian School of Public Service, Government of Canada o Diane Kent Gillis, Assistant Deputy Minister, Sciences and Planning, Department of Environment, Government of New Brunswick o Joanne Caddy, OECD 4:30 5:00 pm Closing Remarks The Co-Chairs New Brunswick s future 6

8 New Brunswick as a trailblazer The Crossing Boundaries Governance Program 7