Canadian Government Executive - Volume 23 - Issue 07

12 / Canadian Government Executive // October 2017 Public Service Transforming a Department to Focus on Results I f you are a member of a public orga- nization, you may be trying to figure out how to promote the measurement of results in a way that ensures pro- gram management decisions are based on evidence. If you are, this article describing the approach being taken at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), should be of interest to you. Improving performance and delivering results is a central focus and core mandate of every department and agency of the Ca- nadian Government as exemplified in the new Policy on Results (July 2016). It reflects the current emphasis on the Results and Delivery approach of the Government. One element of the Policy on Results focuses on Performance Information Profiles (PIPs), which include ten elements describing each program including their logic model, narrative, indicators and data. To achieve this, ESDC created a Maturity Model (see Figure 1 ) with four phases in- Michael J. Miner Melinda MacDonald, PhD John Morris, PhD Yves Gingras tended to complete quality PIPs and build towards development of an integrated Department-wide system. It provides the scaffolding for which outcomes, ulti- mately delivered to Canadians, are based on evidence that will be understood by a wide audience. Each phase builds on the preceding one and includes operational tactical changes which match intended or- ganizational culture changes. This article describes Phase 1 – work completed in 2016-17 - and plans for carrying out Phases 2, 3 and 4 in the years to come. This article presents an inclusive ‘whole of department’ overview of ESDC’s com- mitment to implementing the Results and Delivery approach. It describes how em- ployees have been mobilized in the early stages of this initiative. It also suggests that to implement improved and better integrated performance measures within the PIPs constitutes a substantial culture change across the Department. Phase 1 - Completion and Alignment of PIPs The objective of Phase 1 was to assist all 40 programs in ESDC to complete PIPs and submit them to the TBS by November 2017. To be compliant, PIPs needed to have a common format, look and feel, use stan- dardized language and consistent defini- tions for PIPs elements (e.g. activities, out- puts, outcomes), comply with all aspects of completeness, be aligned with the De- partment’s core responsibilities through tagging results, and be internally coherent with respect to alignment of indicators within a program’s logic model. As the culture of performance measure- ment varies from one area to another in the Department, ESDC developed an ap- proach to address resistance to change. To do this, seven steps were carried out by key stakeholders across ESDC between October 2016 and October 2017: Step 1: After a kickoff with program of- ficials (who are Director-Generals), the De- partment reviewed existing performance measurement documents and, using a ‘cut and paste’ approach’, placed them into a PIPs template. An initial review of each PIP demonstrated a wide variety of levels of completeness for programs; Step 2: Established an internal gover- nance structure including management representatives, technical groups and sub-groups with members from: Corpo- rate Management, Evaluation, Chief Data Office and Audit, as well as a Director- Department-wide evidence based system IntegraƟon of standardized pracƟces Improvement in Quality of Profiles Completeness/Alignment of Profiles Embracing change across the organizaƟon Profiles Phase Program Phase Inter-program Phase Department Phase InsƟtuƟonalizaƟon of Change Reaching for SoluƟons/ Working Through Dawning Awareness/ Sense of Urgency OperaƟonal and TacƟcal Change OrganizaƟonal and Culture Change Compliance Quality through Engagement StandardizaƟon IntegraƟon ESDC Maturity Model for Program Evidence-Based Decision-Making Figure 1