Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/337874
P PROCUREMENT 36 JUNE/JULY 2014 www.vanguardcanada.com O n May 6, 2014, the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa an- nounced the launch for the first time in Canada of two Executive Master of Business degrees, one in Complex Program Leadership and the other in Strategic Pro- curement, with 80 percent common con- tent. These programs will start in 2015. The response by government, industry and in- dustry associations has been most positive. Perhaps the most interesting questions are why this is needed, why partner with Australia and why Canada is one of the few jurisdictions among modern industrialized countries that does not have significant complex defence/aerospace acquisition education capability. Before attempting to answer these three questions, a few words on the scope of the Telfer initiative. These new Master's de- grees for project and procurement profes- sionals will be supported by industry and government engagement, short courses, research and international cooperation. The intent is to bring roughly equal num- bers of government and industry execu- tives together on a Canada-wide basis to build common understanding and to share best practices. The ultimate outcomes sought are sustainable competencies, col- laboration and trust. The programs will be offered in partner- ship with the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) of Brisbane, Australia, which has delivered these proven post- graduate programs for six years. They meet the competency standard as defined by the world's most expert project practitioners. Both Telfer and the QUT business school hold the triple crown of international ac- creditations, and the programs are subject to rigorous institutional quality assurance processes. Delivery is designed to be compatible with a busy career anywhere in Canada. It uses a modern hybrid approach with just seven six-day residential sessions across three years combined with active web- based learning and interaction. The learn- ing platform is entirely digitized. It features workplace projects, experiential learning, an international study trip and coaching by accomplished practitioners and academics. Why is this approach needed? The pros- perity of Canada depends inter alia on large and complex projects in the defence, marine, aerospace, infrastructure, technol- ogy and business transformation sectors. The scope and scale of this complex type of project present unique challenges in terms of cost, relationship, risk, technol- ogy, change, intellectual property, systems integration, supply chain and public expec- tations. Federal government procurement in Canada has become increasingly conten- tious, with well-publicized project issues in the requirements definition, procure- ment, industrial policy, delivery timelines and in-service support domains. While some complex projects run smoothly and Major-General (Ret'd) Doug Dempster is the executive director of the Centre for Executive Leadership at the Telfer School of Management. Previously, he served as NATO Assistant Secretary General for Executive Management in Brussels and as Deputy Commander of the Canadian Army and chief strategy officer for National Defence. Complex project management a strategic imperative