2014
Executive Council

By improving policy capacity, Chris Smith’s work has led to better policy decisions for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Chris has worked tirelessly on the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s policy capacity initiative and its innovative community of practice, PolicyNL. He laid the groundwork for this initiative five years ago with “lunch and learns” with policy directors, and, in collaboration with the Centre for Learning and Development, developed the Policy Forum and the Competency Framework for Policy Professionals.

As a result of hard work by Chris a case competition, the first such event by a provincial government, was held. It involved the development of 10 cases by teams of 50 new professionals. This event took place over three months and involved officials from every department in government.

The work done by Chris to create PolicyNL is the essence of relationship building. It has led to a core group of policy professionals in government now having a clear sense of community. The NL Policy Model is available online to policy practitioners throughout the province. Through café-style training sessions, designed by Chris and delivered by content experts, over 200 officials have been trained so far. His work with PolicyNL has not only benefited clients internal to the provincial government but has also been sought out by external groups including other governments and the academic, private and community sectors.

Chris is a leader in the organization, demonstrating through his passion and professionalism how to stay creative and dedicated throughout a career by constantly focusing on learning. Every day he brings an excitement to his work that serves as an example to employees at every level of the organization. He is highly detail oriented and very conscientious, holding himself to a standard of excellence with each element of his work.

Chris is a shining example of an invigorated public servant. He embodies a zest and spirit that inspires co-workers and colleagues to realize their potential, embrace opportunity and invest in collective and individual efforts to enhance their contributions to public service.