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The Surge Team	How We Can Help	How We Work	Past Projects & Partners	FAQ	Contact Us

For best results please view this page on a desktop browser Pour la version française, cliquez ici The Surge Team Established at the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) in 2018, the Priority Initiatives - or Surge - Team supports policy projects where quick action or breakthroughs are needed. We do not have ongoing files. Instead, we collaborate on time-limited projects with partners at the CSPS and across the federal public service. In our work, we emphasize clear problem definition and rigorous analysis. We also provide a challenge function to help our partners identify desired outcomes and outputs. On horizontal files, we have acted as a neutral third party to help find common ground and build bridges within and across organizations. Our policy professionals have a range of experiences and skills that help us deliver on partners' needs. We specialize in facilitated sessions, presentations, policy briefs, and synthesis products, and have experience developing reports and decision documents. To learn more about us and our work, please reach out to surgeteam-equipederenfort@csps-efpc.gc.ca or visit our GCXchange Site for more details. This site also contains resources and reflections from past projects. How We Can Help We meet our partners where they're at - whether it's collaborating on a project from day one or helping push a file over the finish line. Problem Definition Ensuring everyone has a common understanding of the issue supported by brainstorming, consultation, and research Options Development Collaboratively identifying a range of workable solutions that are grounded in evidence, critical analysis, and creativity Next Steps & Reflections Offering support to put ideas into effect, and capturing lessons learned to apply to future work Engagement & Briefing Validating possible solutions by engaging with stakeholders, and generating products that tell a compelling story We offer a range of policy services to meet our partners' needs, including: Research, Analysis and Synthesis Problem diagnosis, framing and definition; Environmental scans; Data collection, analysis, and synthesis; Conducting interviews and focus groups Challenge Function Soundboard for ideas; Providing strategic advice; Helping teams think through complex files and find clarity on how to manage the work (e.g., how to navigate through the system/process) Building Capacity Team learning through projects; Lessons Learned facilitation; Skills-oriented workshops Engagement & Facilitation Convening groups to tackle shared files and common problems; Designing engagement strategies; Planning and hosting engagement sessions; Strengthening horizontal collaboration; Driving groups towards agreement on next steps Synthesis & Briefing Decks; Placemats; Dashboards; Policy reports; What We Heard reports; Supporting the drafting of key policy and decision documents (e.g., Memorandum to Cabinet, medium-term planning, performance measurement frameworks) Our partnership model Our mission is to help departments across the GC to achieve their priorities. Our model allows us to offer our services faster, at a lower cost, while providing high quality deliverables. Lower costs Fast to deploy You are in control Expanded network - We charge 85% of FTEs; providing access to dedicated team of analysts - Compared to hiring term/indeterminate staff or consultants, we can start working with you in as little as 1- 2 weeks - We’ll contribute new ideas and perspectives, while you retain the final say - You have access to our horizontal knowledge and connections Caption text Lower costs Fast to deploy You are in control Expanded network We charge 85% of FTEs; providing access to dedicated team of analysts Compared to hiring term/indeterminate staff or consultants, we can start working with you in as little as 1- 2 weeks We’ll contribute new ideas and perspectives, while you retain the final say You have access to our horizontal knowledge and connections Delivering Results for the GC since 2018 Since December 2018, we have worked with 15+ GC organizations and teams to deliver +60 projects with +150 deliverables and have received overwhelmingly positive feedback by: These projects have helped to advance learning, innovation, and policy priorities across the federal government Examples of Projects Modern Public Engagement: Facilitated Discussions and Engagement Framework Development Partnership with Transport Canada - Curated tools and resources relevant to public engagement that will support Transport Canada's Transformation Plan - Developed a public engagement framework in prototype format that articulates 5 broad phases of engagement and explores best practices Memorandum to Cabinet Process Partnership with Employment and Social Development Canada - Conducted Research and analysis to support pre-drafting process (how to tell a good story through an MC) - Offered strategic advice and Surge capacity for coordinating a horizontal MC - Curated tools and resources to support drafting process Renewed Horizontal Performance Measurement Framework Partnership with Employment and Social Development Canada - Engaged 12 federal organizations to identify practices for more consistent and meaningful performance measurement - Took stock of data and briefing materials to support the adoption of a new logic model - Developed practices for viable disaggregated data collection and reporting Behavioural Insights Blended Services Pilot: Facilitated Workshop Learning Partnership with the Policy Community Partnership Office, Privy Council Office, and Behavioural Insights Team - Applied a team-based learning-by-doing approach to teach public servants about Behavioral Insights and make concrete progress on real problems - Combined expert-led training and one-on-one support to develop BI-based interventions for real world challenges Reconciliation Primer: Policy Brief and Learning Tool Partnership with Health Canada - Drafted a learning resource for public servants on the principles, history, and policy of reconciliation and the role of the public service - Engaged with Indigenous public servants and policy experts across the public service - Content contributed to the app Reconciliation: A Starting Point Online Transition Planner and Checklist: A Tool to Support Government Transition Partnership with the Privy Council Office - Centralized a checklist of tasks to be completed for all incoming and outgoing Ministers, staff, and offices - Deployed a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tool across the GC - Provided an enterprise-wide view of transition activities for the Privy Council Office

Testimonials:

"...the most concise, comprehensive, and visually appealing summary of Crown-Indigenous relations I've come across." ~ Environment and Climate Change Canada

"Love the expertise you provided, with customized support to make this work easier." ~ Employment and Social Development Canada

"The team [has] provided us excellent support and have shown creativity and a high capacity to integrate concepts and show discernment. And the outcomes have benefited from our collaboration tremendously with our storytelling becoming clear, engaging, and compelling." ~ Public Services and Procurement Canada

"This is very good work, especially given how little you've been given to work with." ~ Department of National Defence

"There are a few [exercises] that have stood out over the course of my career, and this is one of the high flyers." ~ Employment and Social Development Canada

"Your support over the last few weeks has provided DND a meaningful uplift in our capacity. Huge thanks!" ~ Department of National Defence

"This is way better work than KPMG" ~ Natural Resources Canada

"We’ve truly benefited from your incredible talents, insights, and dedication throughout this engagement. Looking forward to when our paths cross again. " ~ Public Services and Procurement Canada

For more information, contact us

Via our generic mailbox monitored by our analysts: surgeteam-equipederenfort@csps-efpc.gc.ca Or, our Director General (DG) is available for exploratory and informal discussions: paul.pilieci@csps-efpc.gc.ca