SPPA welcomes Sean Boots as our Public Servant-in-Residence.
Boots is a policy advisor with the Canadian Digital Service (CDS). He previously worked as a product designer with VOTO Mobile, a Ghana-based social enterprise focused on empowering under-heard communities, and as a developer at Global Affairs Canada working on the Travel.gc.ca website redesign.
“Research and teaching on public management requires dialogue between the public sector and universities,” says SPPA Director Jennifer Stewart. “The Public Servant-in-Residence Initiative provides space for collaboration between academics and experienced public servants, which benefits faculty and students at SPPA.”
Boots will be working with SPPA Prof. Amanda Clarke and her team of research assistants and data scientists studying Trustworthy Digital Government. This research spans digital service teams in government, public service effectiveness and modernization, open government and transparency, and accountability and public confidence in the public sector. It provides an in-depth look at Canadian public sector capacity in the digital space, the role and influence of private sector firms, and the potential outcomes and consequences for public trust and Canadian society.
“Our students and faculty will benefit immensely from Sean’s time with us as a Public Servant-in-Residence,” says Clarke. “He brings a wealth of practical experience and a sharp, critical perspective on the big opportunities and challenges facing governments in the digital age. I’m really excited to have the chance to draw on Sean’s expertise to strengthen my teaching and research, and to support his research and writing during his time with us at SPPA.”
“Prof. Clarke is one of Canada’s leaders in digital government research, and I’m really grateful to have the opportunity to work with her,” says Boots. “During my Public Servant-in-Residence term, I’ll be studying the role and influence of IT vendors in the public sector as part of Prof. Clarke’s research, as well as contributing to the development of the next generation of public policy practitioners with digital expertise.”
“I’m really grateful for the support of Carleton’s School of Public Policy and Administration, the Canada School of Public Service, and my team and leadership at the Canadian Digital Service and Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat that made this possible.”
Thank you to the Government of Canada for supporting the Public Servant in Residence in program, which creates space for much-needed academic-government collaboration in Canada.