Surge Team

The Surge Team	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 (CSPS) in 2018, the 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 surgesolutionsunit@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	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)

How We Work

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


Discuss	Design a Plan	Develop and Deliver	Conclude
- Explain our service model - Learn about your needs - Discuss objectives, scope, and timelines	- Discuss specific deliverables and identify key stakeholders - Determine roles and responsibilities - Agree on project scope and schedule through a Memorandum of Understanding	- Evaluate progress and incorporate feedback - Revise deliverables, scope, and timelines as needed to meet objectives	- Close out deliverables - Discuss project transition period - Share lessons learned to promote continuous learning

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, allowing us to learn equally from failures and successes. Consulting with stakeholders is a critical part of how we do our work. At the same time, our projects are often non-linear: we redefine problem statements and generate more research as we move forward, adjusting 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 along the way, on our GCXchange site.

Our projects touch on many policy areas, including public administration and machinery of government, social policy, Indigenous relations, national security, 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 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 - 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 Transport Canada'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 Office

"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 staggered start and end dates.

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; instead, we partner on the work as a team. In doing so, people and skills on the project can be managed with flexibility as the work progresses.

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.