Editor’s note: As part of our series spotlighting our onshore delivery centers, we reached out to a handful of the CGI members featured in our new videos. We asked them to share their experiences and expand on the story you see on screen. In this post, Vice President of Consulting Services, Will LaBar discusses the impact and importance of a thriving public-private partnership.
A picture is worth a thousand words. I hope a video is too, because over the past few decades, when trying to explain what we’re doing here in Acadiana to benefit our clients, our members and our community, a lot of words come to mind: public private partnership, digital acceleration, workforce development, economic development, STEM education, citizen engagement, employee engagement.
As an executive who has spent 20 years in the information technology field, it’s not an exaggeration to say that many of my colleagues and I are oftentimes bombarded with strategies, thought leadership pieces, and hot takes on any one of these topics – or the intersection of several and how they will impact the future of our communities and our country. It is easy to get lost in the noise. It is easy to lose focus on a strategy that harnesses these forces and helps achieve your objectives. It’s hard to pull back, pick up your head and see the big picture. How do these all really fit together? How do you build a public-private partnership that results not just in digital transformation, but transformation of a community, a workforce, and careers?
I’ve been lucky enough to have been a small part of a special project at CGI that takes all of these concepts, all of the buzz words and all of the hype, and makes it real. CGI’s Onshore Delivery program landed on my front porch in 2014 when we launched our partnership with the community of Lafayette (my adopted hometown of 19 years), the state of Louisiana, Lafayette Consolidated Government and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
The leaders you see in the video below, and many others who came before them, laid the foundation for something organic that harvests the energy found at the intersection of CGI’s core values, the community needs of Lafayette, the enabling power of our local university and community college, the vision of our state leaders, the opportunity created by our parish school system, and the unique creative spirit of a region known as Acadiana. On top of that foundation, our team created a culture of empowerment and innovation for our members and we haven’t looked back yet. The story you’ll hear about in this video is an excellent example of how we can move forward with public private partnerships that position communities to prepare for the workforce and societal needs of the future. It highlights our community partners, my colleagues, and people that I learn from every day. And last but not least, it introduces you to many of my friends as we all work together to make our community a better place. Thanks for watching.
About CGI onshore delivery centers
CGI’s Client-proximity operating model places operations within metro markets such as Lafayette, where clients have concentrated footprints, giving us deep knowledge of our clients’ businesses and enabling us to deliver innovative solutions proactively.
Learn more about CGI’s onshore capabilities
About this author
Will LaBar
Vice President, Consulting Services
Will has nearly 20 years of experience in the IT industry, specializing in transforming government by implementing digital and citizen-centric services designed to streamline information sharing among stakeholders, increase engagement and enable mission support while reducing regulatory burden.
