FWD50 is a global digital government gathering held annually in Ottawa, Canada. Each year, technologists, executives, and industry come together for a week of content and discussion, focused on steering progress and innovation towards our better selves.

We’re covering a myriad of topics in 2020, and featuring some key speakers for each topic. 

This year, one of our focuses will be around Leadership.

Public sector executives face new challenges as technology becomes the new normal.

• They need to track the performance of distributed, cross-functional teams, many of whom are working remotely.
• They must translate technical schedules and deliverables into outcomes that make sense to citizens.
• They need to recruit and retain “full stack” technical workers despite an alluring and lucrative private sector full of jobs.
• New tools for communicating, setting objectives, and working collaboratively break down traditional organizational roles and barriers.
• With an always-connected workforce, they have to manage mental health and work-life balance to avoid burnout.
• As they oversee the adoption of emerging technologies like cloud computing, AI, and mobile computing, they must keep a watchful eye on inclusion, diversity, accessibility, and bias—and create teams that can navigate these modern challenges.

That’s why we’re devoting an entire day to leadership in a digital age, in conjunction with APEX.

Relevant speakers

Denis Skinner is the executive director of digital change in Canada’s government, following work across a wide range of high-profile digital initiatives in public health, citizenship, social development, and immigration.

Ann-Marie Cavanaugh is the Deputy Government Chief Digital Officer for Wellington and Wairarapa, New Zealand. A clinical pharmacologist by training, she’s worked in startups and multinationals, and today leads the development of New Zealand’s digital government strategy.

You can’t manage what you can’t measure. And to get things done in the Age of Distraction, you need relentless, almost ruthless, focus. Christina Wodtke is a Stanford lecturer and author of Radical Focus who specializes in meaningful measurement and performance management that delivers results.

Michael Solomon has managed a lot of things. His background in talent management with major artists and labels has equipped him to tackle the freelance “gig” economy head on. And he knows that finding and retaining the best talent means changing your organization, as well as how you find candidates. His book Game Changer focuses on hiring the elusive “10x” employees that will take your organization to the next level.