Breaking All the Rules
Information Technology Procurement in the Government of Canada
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9784354 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sean Boots (School of Public Policy and Administration Carleton University Ottawa ON), Amanda Clarke (0000-0001-7978-2401, School of Public Policy and Administration Carleton University Ottawa ON, corresponding author), Chantal Brousseau (0000-0002-4649-059X, School of Public Policy and Administration Carleton University Ottawa ON), Anne‐Michèle Lajoie (School of Public Policy and Administration Carleton University Ottawa ON) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 67 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 297-325 |
| Publication date | 2024-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Canadian Public Administration (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0008-4840 • E-ISSN: 1754-7121 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/capa.12577 |
| OpenAlex | W4402644603 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 20 |
The Government of Canada has recently faced intense parliamentary and public scrutiny of the role played by private contractors in its information technology (IT) projects, most notably in the case of the ArriveCAN application. With these ongoing investigations as its backdrop, this article analyzes patterns in federal government IT procurement between 2017 and 2022, drawing on a comprehensive analysis of the federal contracting open dataset. We reveal that the federal government betrays accepted best practice in modern government IT procurement on several key dimensions, including on contract values and lengths; on the diversity of suppliers; on the source of IT expertise; and in the management of intellectual property. We argue that the Canadian approach to IT procurement is an historically overlooked but crucial driver of its failing digital reform efforts. We conclude by turning to IT procurement policy reforms gaining traction outside Canada that may help the Government of Canada improve how it buys and deploys IT going forward—a task we argue is essential if the government wants to avoid future IT contracting scandals and deliver on its long‐standing promise of digital era modernization
Business · Government (linguistics · Government procurement · Knowledge management · Procurement · Computer Science · E-Government and Public Services · Marketing · Outsourcing and Supply Chain Management · Public Procurement and Policy
Breaking the Bargain
Digital Era Governance
Digital government and public management research
Overcoming barriers to digital government
E-governance innovation
Defining digital transformation
The Thinning of Administrative Institutions in the Hollow State
The management consultancy effect
Building the Virtual State
The Hollowing Out of the State
Consultocracy and its discontents
Agile
Digital Government, Open Architecture, and Innovation
Implementing Information Technology in Government
Digital State at the Leading Edge
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |