Trying to establish a Center of Excellence can sometimes feel like trying to jump a entire flight of stairs at once. On top of the already daunting technical and governance considerations - or the challenges of finding enough skilled resources - you won’t get very far without the support of the people in charge.

This session relates the experience of Transport Canada’s award-winning Power Apps Centre of Excellence (PACE) navigating how to climb those steps one (or perhaps two) at a time; building support, establishing sound justifications, getting the best team you can with the optimal mix of skills and roles, and ultimately the right “pitch” that approves the COE. Target audience of the session is anyone trying to contend with the administrative and managerial challenges of guiding a COE from great idea to reality.