Let me tell you a story...(THREAD) about a small group of public servants gathered from all over #GoC in early 2020 to figure out how much #PPE was enroute to Canada, and when it would arrive to help prepare for what would soon be known as a global pandemic #Covid_19 #COVID19 /1

In early spring as more countries fell into the grip of #COVID the #PPE #Data team worked around the clock while also managing the same challenges as other Canadians. They were taking take care of their kids, parents & neighbours....and trying to find toilet paper /2

Their work required #teamwork across government, tough because they lacked some IT tools & infrastructure that would help them to share files remotely& collaborate. While generating tonnes of time-sensitive and critical work, they were at the same time #ReImaginingWork & #WFH /3

The team worked around the clock (I said that before but it is worth repeating..) Over weeks & months they solved problems big & small while in their personal lives they faced problems big & small. People rotated in & out to help with the effort. #RemoteWork #WorkBoundaries /4

Everyone was committed to the work. Everyone knew someone who was in a high-risk category, many with loved ones who were essential workers. The mission was personal & this was the best way they knew to serve their country at this time /5

Over time, they got better #GCDigital tools to help them with #RemoteWork so they could quickly answer hypothetical questions like: “When do we think we will run out of face shields?” & “How many N95s will this province possibly need in a second wave resurgence /6

They had enormously frank discussions with their colleagues about their own #MentalHealth , the health of their teammates and the health of their families. They sought to unblock problems and tear through any silos or low value work they encountered. /7

They had conversations about how to foster #Allyship #Inclusion and #Empowerment in a #RemoteWork context when so much of human communication is body language which doesn’t translate well to the new reality. /8

While #Covid_19 still presents us many questions to answer we know that the people working across the #GoC will either build the tools needed to help generate the answers, or find partners to do so. #GC2020 /9

As people rotate out of the team to rest & recover from their tour of duty, more #PublicServants will line up to take their place to equip decisionmakers with the information they need about #PPE procurement, distribution, economic sectors, epidemiology and usage rates /10

These are some faces of ppl who stepped up to serve their country during this time. They made big personal sacrifices to do it. Some lost parents. All parents lost much time with their kids. Some kids ask their parents every Saturday if they are working all weekend - again. /11

These folks will never get a certificate or a medal for their service, but I wanted you to know a little bit about it.

Their work has been the very definition of Public Service.

/12

P.S. they are ALSO some of the most FUN people to work with on the planet.

If you’d like to help spread the word about this great work being done, please Retweet THREAD/1st tweet—thanks!

@LeadersGC @DigitalCDN @OpenGovCan @DigiAcademyCAN @StatCan_eng @GovCanHealth @PSPC_SPAC @ISED_CA @RobButler @AmandaBernardo @sabrinaahmad_ @TaranWasson @smwgilbert

If you’d like to help spread the word about this work and the people behind it, please Retweet this THREAD.
—thanks!

@acroll @picardonhealth @NightShiftMD @wickdchiq @kaylaspag @EmilieTaman