A Chatham House Party for Blueprint 2020?

This post is about a getting an idea out there.

Last week the Clerk announced Blueprint 2020, this is an exciting initiative that invites Public Servants to participate in shaping the future of a “capable and high performing” Public Service that embraces “innovation, transformation and continuous renewal”. The vision is based on the following guiding principles:

• An open and networked environment that engages citizens and partners for the public good;
• A whole-of-government approach that enhances service delivery and value for money;
• A modern workplace that makes smart use of new technologies to improve networking, access to data and customer service; and,
• A capable, confident and high-performing workforce that embraces new ways of working and mobilizing the diversity of talent to serve the country’s evolving needs.

I was with a group of indeterminate  public servants during the Blueprint202 webcast and more than once heard hesitation to making a frank comment because it might be a CLM (Career Limiting Move).  Over the years I have heard that term many times and it seems to me that we need to get those frank comments out in the open. This made me think that maybe there is a place for responsible anonymous input into the vision something like a Chatham House event perhaps?

“When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.”

The Chatham House Rule may be invoked at meetings to encourage openness and the sharing of information.

I like the sound of Chatham House Party, but that is probably because I have teenagers. For a more politically correct approach you could also hold a Chatham House Workshop. A few of the things you might need

• 5-100 people who care about the future of the public service and are willing to abide by the Rule.
• A physical/virtual location that can accommodate everyone
• A facility licenced to serve social lubricant if you are doing the “party” version
• Facilitator (s) to get the conversation going
• Recorders who will capture the main ideas without attribution
• Tweeting from an anonymous account such as @chgc2020 is an opiton

What do you think, would you like to organize or participate?

 

UPDATE:
Please see the new post on this topic