In some ways, the year 2013 seems to have finished where we started. There was a lot of noise in between January and December, but on one key front, nothing changed.
Last year, in my first post of the year 2013, I wrote:
It is the beginning of a new year. A chance to make a fresh start.
So perhaps, it is time for us to take a fresh look at a long overdue file, the national digital strategy.
Michael Geist led off his year-end column in the Toronto Star asking:
Will the government finally unveil a national digital strategy?
The long-promised national digital strategy could become a reality in 2014 after years of inaction. Industry Minister James Moore is on the verge of clearing out the lingering policy issues he inherited and may be ready to set his own path on a digital strategy.
Over the past few years, I have asked that question frequently. As I noted last year, operating without a formal strategy, it is hard to point to any catastrophic failures in our ability to compete relative to the rest of the world, but that is hardly an encouraging statement of leadership.
Let’s not confuse a digital economy strategy with a need to hand out cash for digital infrastructure or other forms of government spending, despite the political attractiveness of a photo with a ceremonial over-sized cheque. Releasing a digital strategy does not need to cost billions of dollars; it needs clear, consistent statements of objectives.
For example, while digital services adoption is a metric that is commonly used in global rankings, most people seem to focus on only one variable in the calculation: the supply side. As a result, we have seen billions of tax dollars thrown toward broadband infrastructure in remote regions, with ever diminishing returns. In some cases, close to $10,000 per household have been handed out in subsidies, permanently disrupting the business case for competitive supply of services. The private sector has already been investing in infrastructure, including billions of dollars in rural markets, delivering the supply side of the adoption calculus.
Instead, we need to promote demand. We need more programs like Rogers Connect For Success to provide low income Canadian households with affordable access to a connected home computer. [It was nearly 6 years ago that I first suggested that we should consider computers and connectivity as part of Canada’s social safety net.]
Digital adoption is just one element of a national strategy. Digital literacy is another. The original consultation asked 26 questions under 6 broad headings:
- Innovation Using Digital Technologies
- Digital Infrastructure
- Growing the ICT Industry
- Canada’s Digital Content
- Building Digital Skills
- Improving Canada’s Digital Advantage
The consultation created a table of contents for a document that we have waited 3 years to be delivered.
In May 2010, three Ministers of the Crown stood together to launch the consultation, saying “Canada can and should be a leader in the global digital economy. Now is the time for the private sector to step up and contribute their ideas for a digital strategy and, when that strategy is in place, to implement the plan.” Nearly four years have passed since that call for action.
Two previous Industry Ministers failed to deliver a plan for the private sector to implement.
Over the past year, I have stated a pretty simple leadership formula: Set clear objectives. Align activities with the achievement of those objectives. Stop doing things that are contrary to the objectives.
In the next two weeks, bidding will start in the multi-billion dollar 700 MHz spectrum auction [January 14] and Industry Minister James Moore will celebrate his 6-month anniversary of his appointment [January 15].
Isn’t it time for Canada to set clear objectives to guide the development of a digital economy?