OneNote is proving valuable for tablet use, he noted, and contributes to paper reduction. "It's also searchable so people can organize themselves much better and because it's well linked to things like Exchange and the mail system, it's a fantastic way to link the notes you want to take at a meeting to the meeting event itself," he said.

The Live Meeting videoconferencing tool is supporting government efforts to reduce travel, according to Nikoljesin. The B.C. Government is planning to save roughly $10 million in travel-related expenses this year, he pointed out. Savings are coming in the form of reduced expenditures on airfare, hotels, per diems and a significant area often overlooked -- cabs.

But instant messaging platform Office Communicator is the top tool in use, according to Nikoljesin. "That has probably been the one thing we've been congratulated on the most," he said.

The broad licensing agreement is inspired by Being the Best, a corporate HR plan for BC public service first issued in 2006 by Jessica McDonald, deputy minister to the Premier and head of BC Public Service.

The plan encouraged government to look forward, think about how to change the way we collaborate and "stop just talking about being innovative but do something innovative and try to change the game," said Nikolejsin.