Equipe de renfort

Meet Surge	How We Can Help	How We Work	Who We've Helped	FAQ	Contact Us

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The Surge Team

Established at the Canada School of Public Service in late 2018, the Surge Team supports policy projects where quick action or breakthroughs are needed. We do not have ongoing files. Instead, the team collaborates with partners on time-limited projects at the School and across the federal public service.

In all of our work we emphasize clear problem definition and rigorous analysis. We often play the role of a neutral third party or challenge function to help to our partners identify desired outcomes and outputs. To achieve these outcomes, our team of policy professionals has a range of experiences, perspectives, skills, and toolsets that help us deliver on partners' needs, including deliverables such as policy briefs, decision documents, presentations, and facilitated sessions.

To learn more about us and our work reach out at surgesolutionsunit@csps-efpc.gc.ca or visit our GCXchange Site for more details. Our GCXchange site also contains a series of Learning Materials and Resources, which offer tips and lessons learned on core aspects of policy work.

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.

Définition du problème S'assurer que tout le monde a une compréhension commune de la question grâce à un brainstorming, des consultations et des recherches			Développement des options Identifier en collaboration un éventail de solutions réalisables fondées sur des preuves, une analyse critique et la créativité
Prochaines étapes et réflexions Offrir un soutien pour la mise en œuvre des idées et tirer les leçons de l'expérience pour les appliquer aux travaux futurs			Engagement et briefing Valider les solutions possibles en s'engageant avec les parties prenantes et en créant des produits qui racontent une histoire convaincante

Nous offrons une gamme de services politiques, allant de la recherche et de l'analyse à l'engagement et aux sessions animées, en passant par la synthèse et les documents d'information destinés aux décideurs.


	Recherche et analyse	Diagnostic, cadrage et définition du problème ; analyse de l'environnement ; collecte, analyse et synthèse des données ; conduite d'entretiens et de groupes de discussion


	Fonction d'interpellation	Donner des idées ; fournir des conseils stratégiques ; aider les équipes à réfléchir à des dossiers complexes et à clarifier la manière de gérer le travail (par exemple, comment naviguer dans le système/processus)


	Renforcer les capacités	Apprentissage en équipe par le biais de projets ; facilitation des enseignements tirés ; ateliers axés sur les compétences


	Engagement et facilitation	Convoquer des groupes pour traiter des dossiers partagés / des problèmes communs ; concevoir des stratégies d'engagement ; planifier et accueillir des sessions d'engagement ; renforcer la collaboration horizontale ; amener les groupes à se mettre d'accord sur les prochaines étapes


	Synthèse et briefing	Présentations de PowerPoint; diapositifs; [tableaux de bord] ; rapports politiques ; rapports "What We Heard" ; soutien à la rédaction de documents politiques et décisionnels clés (par exemple, mémorandum au cabinet, planification à moyen terme, cadres de mesure de la performance

How We Work

Our approach is most effective with engaged and collaborative partners: we use regular touchpoints throughout the project to build off your expertise and respond to your needs.


Discuter	Concevoir un plan	Élaborer et mettre en œuvre	Conclure
- Expliquer notre modèle de service - Découvrez vos besoins - Discuter des objectifs, du champ d'application et du calendrier - Élaborer une proposition	- Discuter des résultats attendus et identifier les principales parties prenantes - Déterminer les rôles et les responsabilités - Convenir d'un calendrier - Rédiger un protocole d'entente	- Évaluer les progrès et intégrer le retour d'information dans le(s) produit(s) - Réviser les produits livrables et les délais d'exécution si nécessaire pour atteindre les objectifs.	- Clôturer les livrables - Discuter de la période de transition du projet - Partager les enseignements tirés de l'expérience pour assurer un apprentissage continu

As a team, we work in a series of short sprints and deep dives to improve the quality of products. Our work is iterative and collaborative, learning equally from failures and successes. Consulting with stakeholders is a critical part of how we do our work. Our projects are often non-linear, redefining problem statements and generating more research as we move forward and change course as needed.

Who We've Helped

Since December 2018, we have worked with several organizations to deliver over 50 projects with more than 150 individual deliverables. You can find details on these projects, as well as lessons we've learned from them, on our GCXchange site.

Our projects touch on many policy areas, including public administration and machinery of government, Indigenous relations, national security, social policy, and innovation, among others.

The Surge Team contributes to learning, innovation and policy priorities across the Government of Canada. Our partners' desired outcome dictates the deliverable(s) we work towards.

Examples of Projects:

	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
	Behavioural Insights Blended Services Pilot: Facilitated Workshop Learning Partnership with the Policy Community Partnerships 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 Primer for public servants on the need for reconciliation and the role they can play Developed in consultation with Indigenous public servants and policy experts Content contributed to the app Reconciliation: A Starting Point
	Modern Public Engagement: Facilitated Discussions and Engagement Framework Development Partnership with Transport Canada Curation of tools and resources relevant to public engagement that will support TC's Transformation Plan Provides 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 Research and Analysis to support pre-drafting process (how to tell a good story through an MC) 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 Engagement of 12 federal organizations to identify practices for more consistent and meaningful performance measurement Stock-take of data and briefing materials to support the adoption of a new logic model Development of practices for viable disaggregated data collection and reporting

Testimonials:

"...the most organized, helpful, and engaged capacity-building partners we've ever had"
~ Policy Community Partnership Office & Privy Council Officem

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

"...impressed by the efficiency, organization, and professionalism."
~ Environment and Climate Change 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

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

"...a strong proposal in such short time."
~ Privy Council Office

FAQ

How many projects does Surge normally take on?

Typically, 2-4 projects at any given time, with start and end-dates staggered.

What is the average duration of a project? How many analysts work on a project?

Projects usually last from 2 to 8 months. A project team will typically include 3-5 analysts. We do not 'loan out' analysts to departments, unlike the Free Agent Program.

How does the cost sharing approach to projects work?

CSPS and the partner department sign an MOU outlining costs, roles, timelines and deliverables. Costs are based on analysts' hourly wages and any additional O&M costs, if applicable (e.g., costs to hire an external speaker).

All partner projects are cost-shared - CSPS takes on a certain portion of the project costs (based on discussions and agreement with partners). Funds are collected through an Interdepartmental Settlement, typically from partners' O&M budgets.

How long does the MOU take to put in place?
We can normally draft and share an MOU quickly (1-2 weeks), after scope, timelines, and deliverables have been discussed and agreed upon.

Contact Us

If you are interested in working with us or want to learn more about what we do reach out to us at surgesolutionsunit@csps-efpc.gc.ca or visit our GCXchange site.