Canadian Government Executive - Volume 21

Special Report

/ Canadian Government Executive

// November 2015

n March of this year, the Prime Min-

ister’s Advisory Committee on the

Public Service, co-chaired in 2015 by

former Senator, the Honourable Hugh

Segal, and Rick Waugh, former CEO of

Scotiabank, released its Ninth Annual Re-

port to the Prime Minister of Canada. The

Advisory Committee was established in

2006 to give advice to the Prime Minister

on the renewal of the Public Service. The

Committee’s objective is to help shape

the Public Service into a more effective

and efficient institution, distinguished by

highly-engaged and highly-skilled peo-

ple performing critical tasks with profes-

sionalism and efficiency.

After five years of contracting bud-

gets, Canada’s Public Service is in a

position where it must achieve highly

complex objectives with significantly

fewer resources. The federal govern-

ment should be applauded for its use of

technological advancements and other

methods of maximizing the return on

its programmatic investments; how-

ever, long-term program success can

only be achieved in today’s economic

environment through the implementa-

tion of modern project management

approaches, which includes the recog-

nition that a project’s success relies on

a commitment on talent management.

This was specifically identified by the

Advisory Committee, which noted four

major elements on its agenda, two of

those being:

• “Operational pace and the effective

implementation of government deci-

sions, including reducing cycle time

and introducing modern project man-

agement techniques;

• Recruitment, and career and leader-

ship development.”

At a time when funding is scarce, gov-

ernmental agencies must function at the

height of efficiency in order to serve the

public effectively. How much is at stake

if project management within the federal

Public Service is merely average? Glob-

ally, organizations in the public and pri-

vate sectors waste some C$109 million

for every C$1 billion invested in projects

and programs due to poor project per-

formance, according to research results

reported in the Project Management In-

stitute’s (PMI) Pulse of the Profession®

report.

While the dollars and cents tell a com-

pelling story, so do statistics on equally

important measures. Nearly half of proj-

ects are over budget, a third don’t meet

their strategic objectives and fifteen per-

cent are deemed failures.

It is essential for governmental leader-

ship to understand that all strategic ini-

tiatives are delivered through projects

and programs. Too often, highly moti-

vated professionals with noble intentions

concentrate on generating positive out-

comes without first creating the structure

necessary to deliver the desired results –

and without comprehending how their

outcomes can and should drive broader

organizational achievement.

Two years into the federal government’s

Blueprint 2020 – the bid to modernize

and renew the federal Public Service and

position it for 21st Century success – it

is reassuring to see that the Prime Min-

ister’s Advisory Committee recognizes

that modern program management re-

mains instrumental to its ultimate suc-

cess. In its Ninth Annual Report, the Ad-

visory Committee on the Public Service

stated: “To do what Canadians need and

expect of them, public servants require

Prime Minister’s

Advisory Committee Report

on the Public Service

Embraces the Value of Project Management

Craig Killough,

Vice President,

Organization Markets,

Project Management

Institute (PMI)

By Craig Killough