Overview
As the Canadian Government accelerates its AI and data infrastructure ambitions, with a new AI Strategy, including initiatives to position Canada as a hub for data and digital innovation, public sector leaders across functions and disciplines are increasingly being asked to navigate the opportunities, risks and implications of AI in their organizations.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how organizations operate, creating new opportunities to improve decision-making, service delivery, productivity, and innovation. For public-sector leaders, however, the challenge extends beyond technology. AI introduces important questions about governance, public trust, accountability, ethics, workforce impacts, and responsible stewardship.
This virtual training course is designed for Canadian public-sector leaders who want to understand AI beyond the hype and lead confidently in an evolving landscape. Participants will build foundational AI literacy, explore governance and risk considerations, evaluate opportunities through the lens of public value, and develop practical approaches for responsible adoption. Through interactive exercises, real-world examples, and structured decision-making tools, participants will learn how to identify meaningful opportunities, assess risks, engage stakeholders, build organizational readiness, and make informed decisions about AI in their own environments.
Rather than focusing solely on technology, this course emphasizes leadership, trust, governance, and decision-making - equipping participants to navigate an AI-enabled future while maintaining the confidence of employees, stakeholders, and the public they serve.
Who Should Attend?
This course is designed for Canadian public sector leaders, executives, and senior managers who are responsible for navigating AI in their organizations. This includes those shaping policy, overseeing programs, or making decisions about technology adoption, workforce, governance, and service delivery. This course would greatly benefit public sector professionals involved in:
Canadian public-sector executives, directors, and senior managers
Policy and program leaders shaping digital, data, and AI initiatives
CIOs, CDOs, digital, data, and technology leaders
HR, workforce, organizational development, and transformation leaders
Leaders responsible for governance, risk, innovation, service delivery, or organizational change
Public-sector professionals seeking to better understand the opportunities, risks, and leadership implications of AI
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
Assess AI opportunities with confidence. Move beyond the hype and evaluate AI initiatives through the lens of public value, risk, and organizational readiness.
Lead governance conversations that matter. Apply practical frameworks for oversight, accountability, and responsible decision-making in an AI-enabled environment.
Build and maintain public trust. Understand the ethical, workforce, and transparency considerations that determine whether AI adoption succeeds or stalls.
Leave with a concrete action plan. Identify your top AI priorities, assess your organization's readiness, and walk away with a 90-day plan you can act on immediately.
Online Training
AI for Public Sector Leaders - Strategy, Governance & Action
Session details
Location: Virtual
Canadian public sector leaders are navigating growing pressure to understand and act on AI. This course is designed to build the literacy, judgment, and governance skills needed to lead responsibly in an AI-enabled environment.
- Understand how AI works and what it means for your organization.
- Evaluate opportunities through the lens of public value and accountability.
- Apply practical governance frameworks to manage risk and build trust.
- Develop a concrete action plan for responsible AI adoption in your own context.
No previous experience necessary
Key Sessions
Module 1: Understanding the AI Landscape
Module 2: How Modern AI Works – Capabilities and Limitations
Module 3: Innovation, Accountability & Public Value
Module 4: Cyber Risk, Trust & Security by Design
Module 5: Ethics, Public Trust & Human Adoption
Module 6: Governance for Responsible AI
Module 7: Identifying and Prioritizing AI Opportunities
Module 8: Becoming an AI-Enabled Leader
Welcome & Context
- Program introduction, objectives, and outcomes
- Positioning AI in public sector and mission-driven organizations
- Overview of the day
Understanding the AI Landscape
- How AI has evolved: automation, predictive analytics, generative AI, and emerging AI capabilities
- Why AI is receiving unprecedented attention from leaders
- Opportunities and challenges AI presents for organizations and society
- Implications for policy, HR, ICT, procurement, service delivery, and knowledge work
- Separating hype from reality: what leaders need to know today
Activity: Pain Points & Opportunities Mapping
- Plain-language explanation of modern AI concepts, including large language models, retrieval approaches, and emerging agentic systems
- What AI is good at—and what it is not
- Understanding hallucinations, bias, confidence, and uncertainty
- Why human judgment remains essential
- Building AI literacy without requiring technical expertise
Activity: "Which Answer Would You Approve?"
- What does public value mean in an AI-enabled world?
- How public-sector decision-making differs from commercial decision-making
- Balancing innovation, efficiency, accountability, and public trust
- Understanding uncertainty and emergent behaviour in AI systems
- Evaluating AI initiatives through a public value lens
- When AI should be used—and when it may not be the right solution
- Questions leaders should ask before pursuing AI initiatives
- Navigating competing priorities and trade-offs in AI decision-making
Activity: Public Value Assessment
- Understanding AI-related cyber and information risks
- Data protection, privacy, and information governance considerations
- Security-by-design principles for AI initiatives
- The relationship between trust, security, and adoption
- Practical approaches for reducing risk while enabling innovation
Activity: Risk-to-Control Mapping Exercise
- Responsible AI principles and ethical decision-making
- Public service values, accountability, and stewardship
- Building and maintaining trust in AI-enabled environments
- Transparency, explainability, and human oversight
- Fairness, bias, and unintended consequences
- Workforce concerns, uncertainty, and the human side of AI adoption
- Common barriers to adoption and how leaders can address them
- Leading through uncertainty while building confidence and capability
Activity: Trust Impact Assessment
- Governance principles for AI-enabled organizations
- Roles, responsibilities, and decision-making structures
- Oversight models and accountability mechanisms
- Evaluating AI use cases throughout their lifecycle
- Creating governance that enables innovation rather than slows it
Activity: Design Your Governance Approach
- Moving beyond AI hype to practical value creation
- Identifying opportunities across programs, operations, and services
- Evaluating initiatives through the lens of value, risk, and organizational readiness
- Understanding dependencies, barriers, and adoption considerations
- Prioritizing initiatives with the greatest potential impact
Activity: AI Opportunity, Risk & Readiness Assessment
- Bridging the executive–technical divide
- Leading conversations about AI without needing to be a technical expert
- Creating the conditions for responsible AI adoption
- Building organizational readiness for an AI-enabled future
- Personal leadership commitments and next steps
Activity: Executive Action Planning Workshop
Participants will:
- Identify priority AI opportunities for further evaluation
- Assess organizational readiness and key risks
- Develop a practical 90-day AI action plan
- Identify leadership actions to support responsible AI adoption
Summary: Leading responsibly in an AI-enabled future
Meet Your Facilitator
Amy Yee
Digital Transformation Executive and Strategist
Amy Yee is a digital transformation executive, strategist, and internationally recognized speaker who helps leaders navigate complexity, build trust, and drive meaningful change in an increasingly digital world.
Over the course of her 25+ year career, Amy has helped organizations across insurance, financial services, engineering, healthcare, and technology navigate complex transformation, with a particular focus on environments where public trust, governance, and human impact matter as much as technology itself.
She has served in senior executive leadership roles, including Chief Digital Officer and Chief Digital Transformation Officer, with responsibility for digital strategy, technology modernization, cybersecurity, data, innovation, and organizational transformation. Her experience spans enterprise transformation, emerging technology adoption, governance, and change leadership, with a consistent focus on aligning people, process, and technology to achieve meaningful outcomes.
A sought-after speaker, facilitator, and moderator, Amy is regularly invited to deliver keynotes, lead workshops, and facilitate executive discussions at conferences and leadership forums across Canada and internationally. Her engaging, practical style helps leaders translate complex topics into informed decisions and meaningful action.
Amy is also the founder and host of the Wired for Change podcast, where she explores leadership, innovation, trust, and transformation with executives, policymakers, researchers, cybersecurity leaders, and change-makers from around the world.
Amy's approach combines strategic insight with practical application, helping leaders translate complex ideas into meaningful action. Participants leave with a deeper understanding of the issues that matter most—and the confidence to navigate change and make better decisions in rapidly evolving environments.
Register Today
Join this training for professionals working within the Public Sector
Super Early Bird
Ends 31 Jul
$795
per person + tax $500 savingEarly Bird
Ends 28 Aug
$995
per person + tax $300 savingRegular
$1,295
per person + taxFor group or payment enquiries or custom training solutions, please contact [email protected]
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