Monthnotes: Feb 2025
**I wrote this in February, I swear, but I forgot to hit publish! In case that is any indication of how my month has been
What happened
- The big thing that happened this month was a visit to BC Gov from Lou and Sarah from School of Good Services. I spent two days with many familiar and new-to-me public servants for in-person learning, as well as social events with my team (who were all together IRL for the first time) and the organizer group. It was super energizing and insightful. I've been buzzing ever since with ideas.
- I've spent most of the month in workshops and in deep research mode with BC's Vital Statistics Agency, the people who register births, deaths, marriages and other big life changes. It's been overwhelming but in the best way. I am really enjoying the work, the people and the challenges (though they are immense)
- I wrapped up phase 1 of another internal project by sharing findings with the executive team. I'm not sure how well it landed yet.
- Besides actual research work, I spent the bulk of my time on those two projects absolutely agonizing over slide decks. That's how work and decisions happen where I am now, so I feel a lot of pressure to get it right while also not making anyone feel offended if I point out a challenge.
- I had lots of connections with people, IRL and virtually. Including a good friend who was in town for a night on a layover (she's a flight attendant) - we sang karaoke in the kitchen with my kids.
What went well
- The highlight of the month was definitely people. The Vital Stats people I've been working with have been so patient and generous with their time and expertise. It's been wonderful to get a peek into how these services work, as they are a foundational service that all people need and rely on. Also having the chance to meet new people and connect with familiar ones in person.
- Also - I'm still a bit in shock that we made the School of Good Services visit happen. It's notoriously hard to navigate government rules and funding for things like this. Big shoutout to my colleague Marlieke, as well as Gord who is a partner in a lot of the work we do - they both put in a lot of work and creative thinking to find a way to make it happen. And my colleagues at the Digital Office who really took ownership of the event once we started the process.
- Having Lou and Sarah speak to BC government was powerful for me - having someone else with more clout say the same things I usually say is very validating and I hope helps pave the way for more service-orientation in our service areas.
What was challenging
- For one of my projects, I feel like I have some space to influence the strategic direction of the organization through my research work, which is great. But I struggle a bit with feeling like 'strategy' is not my strong suit, or at least the kind of 'business strategy' that government executives in BC seem to be looking for. I'm a 'strategy is delivery' kind of person; I don't want to talk for ages about jargony things like the KPIs and target operating model, I want to set a basic delivery roadmap that is practical and iterative. I think most would agree this is a good thing, but at the same time I often feel like I am speaking a different language from other long-term public servants who haven't had the same experiences I've had in agile government. I've been re-visiting Kate Tarling's The Service Organization to help me build the case and vision, and it's been really helpful.
- I mentioned in my bluesky weekly updates, still feels relevant: It's been challenging finding the balance between raising issues I am seeing (with good intent) but also not making people feel defensive enough to dismiss what I am saying. Basically, how to be a 'trouble maker' for good that people don't dread hearing from.
- Time was a challenge this month, more than usual. I've been neglecting other parts of my life and job.
- Also a bit of mental exhaustion after everything that's happened. I'll need to take it easier in March (I already have some plans for taking time off.)
Things I read and saved this month
Designing Connected Services
Today I was fortunate enough to attend the “Designing Connected Services” masterclass with Lou Downe. This course was positioned for…
Andrea F Hill
Sprint before you walk: fail faster
Department for Education design leader Mark Edwards explains how his team are working in new ways to rapidly design public services.
Mark Edwards
Crochet my grief
Learning to create when everything feels like it’s unravelling
Sam Villis
Whitespace isn’t empty — Laura Yarrow
As a designer, understanding the importance of whitespace as a visual tool is non-negotiable, but it’s an often fought-over topic in organisations. Often stakeholders will want to reduce whitespace and use every inch of the page, and designers want the opposite: to increase whitespace and maintain a
Laura Yarrow
When court processes are stuck in the past, justice suffers. | oxd.com
We help courts transition from paper-based processes to modern digital solutions, improving admin while maintaining operational continuity.
Focus on user needs: Shifting how the public sector funds service delivery
Disclaimer: opinions expressed are my own and do not represent those of my employer. I wrote this post, then ran it through ChatGPT to be…
Andrea F Hill
Designing is imagining
An outcome that you and your team is trying to affect is probably fairly static, say, reducing the bureaucratic burden on the public. But how you get there is not, and it changes based on your assumptions, data, successes, funding, failures, ability to…
Reading watching listening
I read three books in February, most recently Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa, a story of the struggles of a Palestinian refugee. It was very powerful.
I'm finally catching up on season 2 of Shrinking, I'm enjoying it more than the first.
Lots of good podcasts recently, one that really stood out was How to Trust and Be Trusted with Rachel Botsman, which is relevant to a talk I am giving soon at SD in Gov virtual. I also enjoyed an investigative series called Kaitlyn's Baby though it was quite messed up.
Comments ()