Andy’s mission is to help our public institutions meet the challenges of the coming decades.
Mr. Best is a public data advisor for government clients on data strategy, data governance and innovation programming. Recent consulting projects include:
A Provincial agency for data strategy development and open data advisory services;
A leading Canadian digital transformation consultancy, for strategic forecasting, municipal engagement and innovation program design;
A Federal department, supporting its data strategy with a change management and engagement framework;
A Regional government’s Data, Analytics and Visualization Division, for strategic data governance advice;
A national technology non-profit, for municipal strategic forecasting and business model diversification.
Andy also served a public appointment in 2021 as Special Advisor to the Ontario Data Authority to advise on the development of a business case for the Authority, including supporting new data stewardship models, technical infrastructure, digital use cases, and public consultations. Mr. Best continues to support the Province as a Member of the Ontario Health Data Council, whose report A Vision for Ontario Health Data Ecosystem was recently published.
Andy was recently the CEO of the Civic Digital Network, a research, development and prototyping shop for public data infrastructure, which operated from 2018-22. The non-profit collaborative work by CDN towards responsible data frameworks for Canadian public and economic institutions was uploaded to the government for implementation in 2022. The broader context CDN worked in was well-chronicled in the recent book Sideways: The City Google Couldn’t Buy.
Andy also previously led the innovation file at the City of Guelph, including:
Designing the Civic Accelerator, Canada’s first challenge-based innovation procurement inside of a Canadian City Hall;
Designing the Improvement Network, a coordinated suite of innovation programs and tools to help drive modernization and results;
Implementing Canada’s first municipal open government action plan.