From compliance to performance

Examine how public digital transformation contracts are planned, awarded and executed.

In the wake of the SAAQclic fiasco and other digital setbacks, Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel has mandated the l’Autorité des marchés publics (AMP) to act as a watchdog. Under the terms of this mandate, the agency must thoroughly review how public digital transformation contracts are planned, awarded, and executed. Based on a
representative sample of projects, the AMP will:

• Examine contractual practices that lead to failures;
• Document the factors behind cost overruns and schedule delays;
• Assess governance, from supplier selection to the monitoring of deliverables;
• Recommend concrete solutions to strengthen performance, transparency, and accountability.

The announcement, praised for its methodological rigour, nonetheless raises a crucial question: is the government truly motivated to reform a process it has itself made increasingly complex, despite promises of simplification?

The mirror of private enterprises

For nearly twenty years, our consulting firm has supported renowned Quebec companies —manufacturers, retailers, financial institutions, and entertainment groups—whose operations extend across the globe. They all shared one urgent need: an IT transformation to support a broader shift in their business model.

Even before discussing architecture or detailed specifications, we first seek to gauge the organisation’s genuine motivation: will its top talent be freed up? Will the transformation take precedence over other projects? Is management prepared to make swift and sometimes tough decisions? To date, only a few organisations have earned the “highly motivated” designation at our first meeting; most often, they underestimated the discipline required: shared resources, shifting priorities, deferred decisions… and rising costs.

A reform without half measures

The mission entrusted to the AMP thus resembles our corporate diagnostics: determine
where promises diverge from actions. If the government wants to avoid yet another
report with no follow-through, it must:

Mobilize its best resources, not just external consultants;

Give top priority to this major initiative within the administrative machine;

Accept the unpopular decisions needed to put an end to recurring failures.

In other words, it will need to achieve the same level of motivation we demand from our private-sector clients. Taxpayers, for their part, will not be satisfied with intentions; they expect measurable results.

The lens widens

A few months later, Ms. LeBel expanded the AMP’s mission. Aware that the same pitfalls repeat themselves across agencies, she now requires ongoing monitoring and comparative analysis of multiple digital transformation projects. Four areas deserve particular attention:

1. Planning : clearly defining business needs, governance, and target architecture from the outset.
2. Contract Awarding : favouring criteria that reward agility, risk management, and delivery capacity, rather than just price.
3. Cost and Schedule Management : enforcing control milestones combined with public accountability mechanisms.
4. Contractual Governance : establishing decision-making committees that include executives, IT, the Treasury Board Secretariat, and, if necessary, the AMP as a permanent observer.

Three key findings

1. Complexity is not inevitable. Cloud platforms and integrated management systems promise speed and modularity, but without a rigorous diagnostic phase, they become costly shells.
2. Risk allocation remains asymmetric. Private suppliers leverage their expertise and bill hours, while the State assumes full political responsibility for delays. A more balanced sharing of risks through performance clauses and bonus/penalty mechanisms would realign incentives.
3. Internal competence is the first line of defence. Too often, the pressure to deliver pushes organisations to outsource governance itself. Yet without internal mastery of agile methods, data architecture, and cybersecurity, the State becomes dependent on providers whose objectives may diverge from those of the organisation.

Key recommendations for a sustainable shift

1. Adopt a sequential procurement model: award a limited proof-of-concept (PoC) contract first, then gradually expand the scope based on measurable deliverables.
2. Publish a public-facing dashboard: showing committed costs, deliverables received, variances, schedules, and monitoring committee decisions, updated quarterly.
3. Establish a strategic reserve of government IT resources (architects, business analysts, cybersecurity experts) ready to join critical projects as “specialists” and challenge proposed solutions.
4. Implement a mandatory post-mortem audit: at the close of every digital project exceeding $25 million or lasting more than 24 months, an independent team must document lessons learned and make them public.
5. Strengthen the training of public managers: the Professional Order could certify a micro-program in digital contract governance, as a prerequisite for any major IT project leadership role.

Conclusion : from compliance to performance

Technology evolves at a pace that public processes have historically struggled to keep up with. The dual mandate given to the AMP (initially targeted, then transversal) reflects an awakening: accountability must not only aim for compliance but also for sustainable performance. By opening up the black box of technology contracts, Quebec now has a unique opportunity to rethink digital governance and place the public interest at the heart of modernization. It is now up to agency leaders, suppliers, and elected officials to turn these recommendations into tangible action. For the greatest innovation may not be technological at all: it may be transparency.