Experimentation Works is back — with a twist!
Yes, EW is back! But before we reintroduce you, let’s pick up where we left off…
Creative, adaptable, eager, determined.
We can think of many adjectives to describe the second Experimentation Works (EW) cohort, who started their projects in March 2020 and reached the finish line in April 2021. At our closing event, we celebrated the cohort’s progress on nine outstanding experimental projects and offered our thanks to the 32 experts who made EW possible. We also celebrated our community, which despite the pandemic, continued to find ways to connect and learn. Throughout the year, we gathered (virtually) for over 20 events and members regularly shared their project updates and experiences on this blog.
Since April, our team at TBS has had some more time to reflect on EW. We took stock of the past two cohorts: what worked, what didn’t. And in the true spirit of EW, we embraced the process of learning-by-doing, testing, and iterating. One lesson is that there is no predictable timeframe for an experiment. Each project has its own particularities, and we want to be more flexible to accommodate that.
Expert advice on-demand
So, with the lessons of the pandemic close at hand and a desire to improve on past iterations of EW, we have decided to pivot away from a cohort-based model towards a more flexible and user-centred design. With this comes a change from yearly intake of projects to on-demand requests for expert advice. We envision a new, ongoing EW service, one which can better accommodate our users and provide support at any stage of their experimentation process.
In other words, if you are planning or have an ongoing experimental project anywhere in the Government of Canada, we want to help. Support is also on offer for those who are earlier in the process and are looking for advice on pre-experimental or exploratory work.
To access EW support for your project, just fill out our service request form. Our team assesses these requests on a rolling basis, making sure that all projects are (pre-)experimental in nature and have undergone a minimum level of development. For eligible requests, we’ll play matchmaker and facilitate the first meeting between the project team and the best suited expert.
Of course, the return of EW and the changes in its delivery model wouldn’t be possible without the support of a highly talented group of experts. Belonging to departments across government, as well as academia, we have recruited this year’s experts to what we’ve dubbed “the first Government of Canada Experimentation Advisory Panel.” The experts have in-depth skills in research and experimentation, with varied backgrounds in the natural and social sciences. We’ll be sure to profile the expert panel in our next posts, so stay tuned!
To learn more about EW, visit us on gcxchange (you may need to register first — currently Government of Canada employees only, unfortunately), contact us by email, or attend our upcoming launch event (details below)!
Experimentation Works Launch Event: Building an Experimental Government
Description:
Experimentation in the public service is tightly linked to innovation and problem solving. By running experiments, we can rigorously test a suite of options to find the best solution. Across the Government of Canada (GoC), departments and teams have embraced the call to experiment, but sometimes, individual projects can benefit from some additional expertise. That’s where we come in…
This event is for relaunching the TBS-led initiative, Experimentation Works (EW), an expert advisory program. EW started in 2018 as a cohort-based learning program, where teams across the GoC worked through the stages of running an experiment, together. After leading two successful project cohorts, we’re now taking things in a new direction. We’ve remodeled EW as an on-demand service where project teams can get expert advice at any stage of the experimentation process. So, teams can apply today, tomorrow, or whenever they need that extra boost of support.
As we relaunch this new service, we will be joined by Kaili Levesque (Assistant Secretary, Privy Council Office) and Sasha Tregebov (Director, Behavioural Insights Team Canada) for a panel discussion on the future of experimentation in the federal public service. We hope you will join us too!
Date and time: February 24, 2022 | 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm (EST)
Language: Bilingual
Location: This event will be delivered virtually. A link to the MS Teams Webinar will be provided to registered participants.
Registration: Please email the GC EXP team to register (zzexper@tbs-sct.gc.ca)
Author: GC EXP Team