OGGO – Digital Platform Modernization – June 5, 2023

Date: May, 2023

Classification:

Department: IRCC

Issue:

Modernizing Canada’s migration, citizenship and passport systems

Proposed Response:

• A fast, agile and reliable immigration system is critical to Canada’s success and ability to meet the changing needs and expectations of clients.
• Over the next five years, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will undergo business transformation to modernize its programs and services.
• Through the Digital Platform Modernization (DPM) program, IRCC is redesigning its business to provide a modern client experience and more efficient immigration system, underpinned by new technologies and data capabilities.
• Ultimately, IRCC’s DPM program will enable the Department to provide:
  • Improved client experience;
  • More streamlined, efficient operations;
  • Improved applications, data and infrastructure
  • Enhanced management of programs and program integrity; and.
  • Strengthened organizational engagement and employee experience.
• Moving forward, we know public confidence in a digitally-enabled immigration system will depend on safeguards to maintain the health, safety, and security of Canadians, to protect against bias and to ensure the accessibility of IRCC’s services and digital tools for a diverse client population.

If Pressed:

• This initiative builds on modernization work to date and will draw on the Department’s response to the COVID‑19 pandemic, which resulted in digital innovation and demonstrated the importance of agility in our programs and services.
• Given the scale and complexity of this project, IRCC is looking to private sector suppliers with world-class skills and experience to accelerate the development and implementation of a new IT platform, using transparent and competitive procurement processes.

Contact:
Alanna MacDougall
Director General, Program Design
Tel. No.: 613-769-5276

Approved BY:
Jason Choueiri
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Digital Strategy, Services and Innovation Sector
Tel. No.: 613-218-9221

Background:

• IRCC is undertaking a multi-year, multi-phase business modernization and IT renewal initiative known as DPM.
• DPM will deliver a new operating model with redesigned and optimized business processes and a new supporting digital platform, with modern capabilities, that will gradually replace IRCC’s aging IT platform (i.e. the Global Case Management System, or GCMS) and other legacy systems.
• The DPM program will achieve its goals and objectives by delivering three consecutive and overlapping phases.
• Phase 1 (“Stabilize”), now complete, was designed to de-risk and stabilize GCMS in advance of Phases 2 and 3, with a focus on reducing the technical debt that had accumulated over the years in the legacy system. Additional investments included cloud technology and capacity that will be leveraged as part of Phase 2.
• Phase 2 (“Standardize”), currently underway and building upon elements of Phase 1, continues to standardize IT operations and reduce technical debt to prepare the Department for digital transformation. Ongoing maturing of the cloud elements we need for the new digital platform during Phase 3 is also underway.
• Phase 3 (“Enhance”), now in its Definition stage, will transform the way that IRCC works and delivers its services to clients and Canadians around the world through the delivery of a new digital platform and the processes and policies that support it.
• The third phase of the DPM initiative (DPM Phase 3) is the most complex and will yield the most significant benefits to Canadians. DPM Phase 3 is underway, running from January 2022 through December 2026.
• DPM Phase 3 is designed to achieve a business vision for a modern, digital and data-driven managed migration system. This system will be nimble, flexible and responsive enough to support growing volumes, actively helping us reduce application processing times; improve tools for our officers; meet the Government’s immigration and diversity priorities; and critically respond to the changing needs and expectations of clients as Canada seeks to out-compete other countries for the best and brightest.
• Modernizing the way IRCC delivers immigration programs is critical, so Canadians can continue to enjoy the benefits of immigration. Canada’s managed migration system contributes to Canadian interests in several ways, including by driving economic growth and innovation; growing the population, specifically the labour force, to help offset the pace of retirements as Canadians age; enriching and building communities; and contributing to Canada’s diversity and international reputation.
• Modernizing the way IRCC delivers its programs and services will directly benefit Canadians in other ways, too. For example, among the millions of people who interact with IRCC’s services each year are Canadians sponsoring relatives, hiring employees, applying for or renewing passports, and applying for citizenship certificates.
• Overall, modernization will enable IRCC to further the Government’s vision to be “an open and service-oriented organization that operates and delivers programs and services to people and business in simple, modern and effective ways that are optimized for digital and available anytime, anywhere and from any device.”

DPM Procurement Activities

• In April 2023, following an Invitation to Qualify and extensive evaluation process, IRCC selected four Qualified Supplier Partnerships – each comprising a system integrator and a core technology vendor to work with us over the coming months and before issuing a formal Request for Proposals later in 2023.
• At the same time, in order to accelerate the delivery of benefits to clients, IRCC is procuring a new Client Experience Platform that will provide clients with a modern digital experience when accessing services and engaging with IRCC. A contract award is expected in May 2023.

If Pressed:

• IRCC is also procuring the services of a Programme Management Strategic Advisor. This contract is expected to be awarded in May.
• IRCC will use these advisory services for specific and targeted areas of expertise, on an as-needed basis, to augment existing capabilities and/or provide expertise in areas that will not be required on an ongoing basis.
• However, IRCC will continue to rely first and foremost on the valued experience, knowledge and expertise of employees across the Department.

DPM is Part Of IRCC’s Broader Transformation Effort

• IRCC is transforming the way it works, including how it delivers services (e.g., finding better ways to process applications) and the Department’s digital infrastructure (e.g. providing better digital tools for employees and new digital services to meet changing client expectations).
• IRCC has already undertaken extensive work to improve the Department’s numerous business lines, including introducing back-end technology and administrative efficiencies, as well as new client-facing tools and service delivery channels.
• In many ways, the COVID‑19 pandemic accelerated modernization efforts already underway. For example, during the pandemic, IRCC:
  • began to hold asylum interviews remotely;
  • welcomed new Canadians at virtual citizenship ceremonies;
  • became the first country in the world to offer citizenship testing online; and
  • expanded the ability to submit applications electronically in some permanent residence streams.
• IRCC also recognizes that clients and Canadians increasingly expect programs and services that are fast, personalized, intuitive and able to respond to changing conditions as quickly as information now moves around the world.

Application Volumes and Processing Times

• An enhanced digital platform will enable us to manage increasing application volumes.
• While we are in the process of defining our processing targets as part of our transformation vision, we expect that the future system will provide clients with faster processing, user-friendly and seamless online services, and more timely information about their application status.

Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness (ARDEI) and Anti-Discrimination Principles

• IRCC knows that public confidence in a technology-enabled immigration system will depend on safeguards to protect against unintended bias and discrimination, and in ensuring the accessibility of IRCC’s services and digital tools for a diverse client population. We are committed to embedding the principles of diversity, equity and Anti-Racism into our modernization journey.
• The transformation of IRCC’s business processes and systems is expected to benefit our diverse client base, including by providing a user experience that is easier and more transparent.
• As part of the Definition stage of the DPM program, IRCC is applying an intersectional approach, e.g. Anti-Racism and gender-based analytical lenses, to its work.
• Through DPM Phase 3, IRCC will ensure digital solutions are developed to take into account disparate realities, impacts, and intersectionality on Black, Indigenous and racialized groups by active inclusion of diverse representatives. DPM Phase 3 will also review and monitor analytical model building processes to mitigate against bias being replicated or imitated in data gathering and analysis.
• Further, as DPM Phase 3 redesigns business processes and increases the use of automation it will ensure that a credible approach to ARDEI is being applied at every stage and that the necessary attention is being given to both assessing and addressing the inequities and disparities that exist within our systems, ultimately helping the program to achieve optimal outcomes for employees and Canadians.