In a press release made available today, the Conference Board of Canada discussed its new report regarding blockchain technology. The Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)-funded report looked into the potential ability of blockchain technology to improve current government services within the country.
As one of Canada’s significant not-for-profit think-thanks, the Conference Board of Canada’s dedication to analyzing economic trends and public policy lends itself well to blockchain research. In a new 22-page report titled Cautious Optimism: Adopting Blockchain to Improve Canadian Government Digital Services, the author discussed the potential implications blockchain could have on a variety of government services. "Government plays a leading role in keeping public records and funds,” said Conference Board of Canada associate director of privacy and corporate security, Andrew Pender. “In this regard, blockchain's distributed trust model could support governments' efforts to ensure accountability and transparency, and simplify the management of information in a secure way.”As the organization explained in the accompanying press release, its report suggests that blockchain technology could benefit efficiency and transparency in the public sector. This is especially the case, it argues, for the handling of public documents, permits, and licenses. “Blockchain can also be implemented to deliver core government activities such as tax administration and the secure transfer of funds to welfare and pensioner recipients,” the release stated. “The technology could also be beneficial in consumer product regulation, where it can be applied to tracking or tracing regulated consumer products.”
The report further outlines current obstacles that should be overcome in order to facilitate “widespread adoption” of blockchain technology. Specifically, it outlines the industry’s challenges regarding privacy, regulatory standards, interoperability, and implications on current businesses.To mitigate these areas of concern, the Conference Board of Canada prompts Canada’s federal government to develop its current approaches to blockchain technology and implement further prototypes and pilot programs. Further, the paper recommends that the federal government develops a focused approach to provide direction to adopters. The paper also advises the government to align its digital-upgrade efforts, improves data linkages between departments and jurisdictions, and determine appropriate prototypes to further “blockchain maturity.” Blockchain use in the public sector is not a new concept in Canada. Earlier in 2018, the National Research Council, an official Government of Canada agency, began a pilot program using the Ethereum blockchain to track and publish information about grant funding.Image credit: CBOC logo
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