Welcome to the late October issue of the Button Insight Newsletter!

The Big Story

The very busy person’s guide to putting your creativity and career first

Yes, you’re swamped. But win the year by making time to plan for your professional future.

As October draws to a close, many of us find ourselves accelerating professionally: there are conferences to attend virtually and in person, end-of-year client projects to deliver and Q4 reports to finish. Reflecting on our career paths and opportunities for growth may seem like distant luxuries at a time when we’re going pedal to the metal.

But taking the time for some professional mindfulness with two months to go in the year means you’ll feel better prepared when the holiday break (and the new year) sneaks up on you. And your own learning journey and career will be better for it. At Button, we see lifelong learning as a key part of our culture—whether we're diving into new technologies, building social connections, or pursuing personal passions. Here’s a cheat sheet to get started on you time, even when you don’t have any.

1. Explore Online Learning Platforms: Platforms like Coursera and LinkedIn Learning offer diverse courses, often at discounted rates, allowing you to acquire new skills.

2. Participate in Local or Regional Meetups: Fall is a great time to connect with the local tech community through low-cost meetups, where you can network and share insights.

3. Attend Conferences and Workshops: Many industry events now have hybrid formats, enabling you to learn from thought leaders and expand your professional network.

4. Embark on Personal Projects: Engaging in personal projects lets you apply new skills and explore passions, especially with family.

5. Seek Out Mentorship and Community Engagement: Actively pursue mentorship opportunities within your network to gain valuable insights and guidance.

Read the full cheat sheet here.

Meet the Buttons

🤝 Say hello to Jenna, our newest Button!

Jenna helps technical teams dissect complex sustainability challenges and deploy user-centred technology solutions. She is a user-experience designer and service designer focused on civic tech, govtech and organizational development. 

Jenna holds a Master’s in Sustainability Science and is a former RADIUS Fellow and C40 Women4Climate Fellow. She has worked at the provincial and federal level on digital transformation projects and is an emerging forecasting and foresight practitioner. Her education in geography, sustainability science and business provides a foundation for her three professional areas of interest:

🌆 1. How can technology support more equitable and sustainable city building?

🌳 2. What is the role of technology in building trust between denizens and their governments?

💗 3. How can teams create practices, processes and norms that support their wellbeing as well as their impact goals?

Since joining Button, Jenna has lived in Canada’s biggest cities and in the woods in the deep of winter.

Community Engagement

Build bridges at the Victoria GovJam

Facilitating Change for Good in the Public Sector with Human-Centred Design

DATE: November 7 & 8, 2024
PLACE: Victoria, British Columbia | The Dock Centre for Social Impact

Join Button’s Jaimie Park, co-facilitating at the Victoria GovJam! Part of the two-day Global GovJam movement, this event gathers passionate public-sector innovators to collaboratively design solutions that elevate public services. With participants from diverse public sector backgrounds, Victoria GovJam fosters a creative space for rapid prototyping and cross-functional teamwork, empowering teams to make meaningful, real-world impacts.

Open to public sector employees, service designers, IT experts, policy advisors, and others in government service, the event encourages collaboration across departments to co-create transformative solutions.

Learn more and register here.

Worth Your Attention

What We’re Reading:
Platformland: The anatomy of next-generation public service, by Richard Pope

Hot off the press (released in September), Richard Pope’s Platformland critiques the common approach to public sector digitization, which often aims to replicate existing services at a lower cost, inadvertently creating new administrative burdens. It argues for a paradigm shift where digital solutions are seen as essential to the operation of modern public services rather than an afterthought.

The text deftly presents illustrated design patterns, strategic interventions, and global examples to guide the next generation of digital government. It encourages tech professionals in the public sector to adopt a dual mindset, integrating technological innovation with public policy insights. This approach aims to foster better public interactions and deliver services that genuinely enhance public value.

Further Reading

Stay on top of vital digital services news and tips by checking out insights from our previous newsletters!

CHANGE MANAGEMENT: How to get your team to adopt new digital tools and processes.

HOW TO EMPOWER YOUR TEAM TO EMBRACE CHANGE: Button’s four key considerations when tackling the human side of digital projects within your organization.

SPRING-CLEAN YOUR PUBLIC SECTORY DIGITAL STRATEGY: Shake off the holiday cobwebs and hit your goals for the new year by following these four resolutions to make 2024 your best year yet.

AI IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: We break down AI’s potential to revolutionize public services—as well as the serious pitfalls to acknowledge when handling public information and public trust.

🔥 THE NEWEST HOT BUTTON REPORT: Learn how to rebuild trust with your stakeholders. Download the full, free report now.

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