The first day of the Resilient Institutions conference will end with a dinner at the National Arts Centre featuring keynote speaker Alasdair Roberts, professor of public policy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, the Jocelyne Bourgon Visiting Scholar at the Canada School of Public Service and a visiting professor at the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University.
Arrival and drinks: 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Dinner: 6:30-8:30 p.m.
About the Keynote Address: BUILDING AN ADAPTABLE COUNTRY
Countries that want to thrive in this turbulent century must be adaptable. They must be good at reconfiguring public institutions to meet new challenges and evolving public expectations. Our challenge is demonstrating that Western democracies like Canada can be as nimble under stress as technocratic authoritarian systems like China.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Canada has a good track record on adaptability. Its governmental system has been transformed over the last 40 years. Distinctive features of the Canadian approach to governing, including heavy investment in forward thinking and concern for protecting the public sphere, allowed the country to respond effectively to new conditions and ideas.
In this century, however, adaptability is under threat. We have shifted our focus toward short-term politics and away from forward thinking. Technological change has disrupted the public sphere. And our public services appear less nimble. We need a program of reform that is focused on improving our flexibility for the dangerous decades ahead.
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