Tell us how to make better use of data
Through the 2023-24 Public Service Data Challenge, we are seeking both ideas from federal public servants on how government can improve its use of data, and volunteers to take forward the best ideas in interdisciplinary, cross-departmental teams. No matter your role, employer, profession or seniority, we want to hear from you! You have until 6 December to apply
In 2022-23, the winning team – pictured right, with judges – proposed the use of ChatGPT to transform Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s AgPal search function. Participants developed their skills in data, project management and collaborative working; and their idea is now set to improve access to public services for farmers and agricultural businesses across Canada.
“Nobody knows our data systems better than the public servants who use them every day. Tell us how to fix problems or recognize opportunities – the Data Challenge creates a space where we can build teams around the best ideas, and provide resources to move them forward.”
Catherine Luelo
Chief Information Officer of Canada
Our champions and judges
The Public Service Data Challenge is supported by a set of senior public servants, including both digital professionals and organizational leaders. Together, they provide:
- specialist digital and data expertise;
- the connections required to gather and test ideas; and
- the influence to push successful ideas towards implementation.
Why enter?
Joining an interdisciplinary, cross-departmental team, you’ll develop your skills in project management, business planning, digital technologies and partnership working, then showcase your work to panels of top leaders. The program is designed to boost the skills and career development of participating public servants; and if the judges like your idea, you’ll receive the support and resources required to carry it down the road to implementation.
Who are we?
The Public Service Data Challenge is organized by specialist publishing house Global Government Forum, in partnership with Natural Resources Canada and Statistics Canada.
The program is inspired by the UK’s Civil Service Data Challenge, whose first program reached its Final on 9 December 2021. Two of the finalists’ ideas are now well into delivery: the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has built a data dashboard tracking the distribution of UK citizens overseas, while Natural England is applying AI technologies to support restoration work in peatland environments.
In March 2022, Stephen Burt was appointed Chief Data Officer for the Government of Canada, at the Treasury Board Secretariat. His mandate is to provide leadership across government on information and data governance and integration, privacy modernization, and data-enabled digital services and programs. He is also responsible for providing enterprise level guidance on instruments and performance linked to the digital agenda, in the fields of service, security and access to information.
Vidya ShankarNarayan is the Assistant Deputy Minister, Information Systems Branch and CIO at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. She is a forward-thinking and creative leader implementing the Digital and Data strategy to advance the growth, sustainability and competitiveness of the agriculture and agri-food sector. She plays an active leadership role in championing innovation within the agriculture sector, the Government of Canada and with international associations such as the OECD.
Kate is the new Director of Data Science at Infrastructure Canada. Graduating with a Master’s degree in Economics, Kate has over a dozen years in the public service, first at Statistics Canada where she developed a passion for analytical programming and innovation. Leveraging her experience in establishing enterprise-wide strategic adoption of R and Python, modernizing scalable and reproduceable data analytics, Kate joined Infrastructure Canada’s Data Science Team to lead the acceleration of the department’s data strategy and use of data science to better leverage data and analytics for decision making.
Dr. Ranjana Sharma is Natural Resources Canada’s Chief Scientist and serves as the department’s Chief Scientific Data Officer.
Erika-Kirsten Easton joined Transport Canada in August 2023 as the Director General of Service and Data Modernization and the Chief Data Officer.
Brandon was appointed to oversee the relationship between Canada and the U.S. as Consul General of Canada in San Francisco and then also in Seattle and was Canada’s Ambassador to Silicon Valley.
Nadia Ahmad is Director General of Data and Evaluation at Global Affairs Canada. In this capacity she serves as Chief Data Officer and Head of Evaluation for the department. Having held a number of executive positions, Nadia is committed to building and nurturing diverse and inclusive teams and contributing data-derived insights to inform decision-making and foster more impactful policies, programs and services. Nadia holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto, a Juris Doctor from Michigan State University and a Master of Laws from the University of Ottawa.
Kara Beckles is Chief Data Officer & Director General of Data and Information Services at the Privy Council Office (PCO). As an active and experienced data leader in the Government of Canada, she has held various executive positions across the public service, including Director General of Data Integration in PCO’s Result and Delivery Unit, and Chief Economist at Agriculture and Agri-food Canada. She has also held various strategic, policy and analytical roles at Finance Canada, Treasury Board Secretariat, Statistics Canada, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and PCO. Kara holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics and business from the University of Winnipeg and a Master of Arts in economics from Dalhousie University.
Derek leads the Microsoft’s team serving Canadian Defence and Public Safety clients in the Federal Government. Derek has spent 30 years in the industry both in uniform and as a consultant. He served in the British and Canadian Armies for 23 years in a variety of operational and strategic roles. He has led multinational and interagency teams that conducted counter terrorism, public order, framework policing and high impact arrest operations in several countries. He has led the whole of government response to multiple emergencies and disasters at the national level and was the Commander of Her Majesty the Queen’s Royal Guard in the UK. Derek has spent 6 years as a consultant focused on transformation execution supporting defence, policing, intelligence and border service agencies on their digital journeys.
Mr. Dufour is Director General, Innovation Branch at the Department of Natural Resources Canada. He is responsible to advance a departmental strategy to support innovation in the natural resource sectors and provide policy guidance on development and deployment of clean technologies. He leads the Clean Growth Hub – a whole-of-government focal point, composed of 17 departments and agencies, focused on providing front-line support to clean technology companies to navigate federal programming and clean tech regulations. Mr. Dufour is also responsible to develop international partnerships and in advancing international collaboration in clean technology R&D and innovation. He leads the management of the department’s intellectual property portfolio and services. Finally, he is the Head of the NRCan Digital Accelerator, looking at the application of innovative digital technologies to enhance the Department’s ability to conduct research and analysis, and provide evidence-based policy advice supported by advanced analytical techniques.
Together with NRCan’s Chief Information Officer and Chief Science Advisor, Daniel works with data leaders across the department and the Government of Canada to help everyone continuously improve the use of data as a strategic asset for the achievement of Departmental priorities, including through the development and implementation of the Departmental data strategy. 
Capt(N) Guillaume Lafrance was born in Quebec City. He embarked upon his Naval Officer career in 1989.
Elise was appointed Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Chief Data Officer in the summer of 2021. She leads a small, passionate team of policy and IT professionals dedicated to both harnessing and unleashing the power of data to improve service delivery and support the sector’s sustainable growth. 
Ms. Loignon was appointed Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) in August 2016. As CIO, Ms. Loignon leads the Digital Strategy implementation and the Information Management (IM) and Information Technology (IT) initiatives and operations that enable the delivery of ECCC programs and services. Among her strategic objectives, Ms. Loignon is responsible for the delivery of modern IM/IT solutions and practices, for the implementation of the ECCC project management center of excellence and to position the IM/IT team to embrace challenges of the future. As ECCC’s designated official for cyber security, Ms. Loignon is responsible in providing leadership, coordination and oversight for departmental cybersecurity management activities.
Jason Reid joined Natural Resources Canada on July 27, 2020. He has more than 25 years professional experience working within the Government of Canada (GC), the majority of which has been in fields of Information Management and Information Technology. He has held positions of increasing responsibility including being the Executive lead of two GC transformation projects. Jason was named to the EX cadre in 2007, he was awarded the Queens Golden Jubilee medal in 2002 and is a graduate of the Executive Leadership Development Program and the Career Assignment Program. He holds bachelor degree in Social Science with a concentration in Economics from University of Ottawa.
Joann Shields is an innovative leader with over 25 years in Information Management / Information Technology (IMIT) and Organizational Change across both the public and private sectors. 
Mélanie Robert is the Executive Director of Open Government at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS). She leads the Government of Canada’s efforts to open data and information and to increase accountability and citizen participation, and manages Canada’s Open Government and Open Data Portal (open.canada.ca) as well as the Online Access to Information Request Service.
Wesley Yung is the Director of the International Cooperation and Methodology Innovation Center at Statistics Canada. Previous to this position, he was the Director of the Economic Statistics Methods Division. With a background in statistics and survey methods, Wesley has over 30 years of experience working with data and managing people providing methodological support to statistical programs at Statistics Canada. Although trained as a ‘traditional’ statistician, he is very interested in how data and modern methods, including Data Science techniques, can be leveraged to the benefit of all Canadians.
Elizabeth is the Senior Director of Research and Experimentation in the Office of Chief Human Resources Officer, Treasury Board Secretariat, Government of Canada, where she is responsible for leading advancements in innovation to improve outcomes for people management initiatives across the Government of Canada. Before starting this role in March 2020, she was Senior Lead, Behavioural Science, at the Impact and Innovation Unit at the Privy Council Office, where she oversaw the application of behavioural science to public policy challenges. Prior to joining the Government of Canada, Elizabeth held several senior leadership positions, including leading the Behavioural Insights Unit in the Government of Ontario, where she was instrumental in creating and building Canada’s first behavioural science team in government. To date, Elizabeth has successfully completed trials dealing with public health, financial decision-making, regulatory compliance, digital adoption and modernization, and service delivery. She provides advice and guidance on the application of behavioural science to public policy, recently supporting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a member of the External Advisory Committee for Capacity Development. 
James Van Loon is Health Canada’s Chief Data Officer and also serves as the department’s Chief Scientific Data Officer. He has a passion for innovating programs and delivery from the ground up in cooperation with partners across government, nationally, and internationally. Most recently, James led efforts of Health Canada, the Public Health Agency, Public Services and Procurement Canada, Statistics Canada and other partners to create a dynamic model of pan-Canadian supply and demand on Personal Protective Equipment. As a Director General on the COVID-19 Task Force, James was instrumental in leading the development of analytic tools for the Critical Drug Reserve, as well as the Testing and Vaccine Secretariats. With over 20 years of experience in developing and managing federal regulatory programs, James is recognized as an action-oriented leader who has advanced key files at Health Canada and Environment Canada.
Frank Des Rosiers was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy and Innovation in 2019. Prior to this, Frank was ADM, Innovation and Energy Technology at NRCan. He also served as General Director, Tax Policy at Finance Canada and as Assistant Secretary, Priorities and Planning at the Treasury Board Secretariat. Frank worked as Director General, Strategic Policy Branch at NRCan from 2003-07 and at the Privy Council Office (Intergovernmental Affairs at) as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Minister and Director, Economic and Fiscal Analysis.
Anil Arora was appointed Chief Statistician of Canada in September 2016.
Taki Sarantakis has been President of the Canada School of Public Service since July 2018, having previously served as Associate Secretary of the Treasury Board at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Mr. Sarantakis spent most of his career at Infrastructure Canada, including as Assistant Deputy Minister of Policy and Communications.