Canadian Government Executive - Volume 23 - Issue 07

October 2017 // Canadian Government Executive / 21 A Knowledge Café was held in the morning which provided participants a forum in which to discuss and exchange information on performance and planning topics in smaller, more focused groups. Concurrent speaker sessions were held during the morning and afternoon, show- casing a broad range of approaches to delivering on results from various per- spectives. For example, one session high- lighted how successful practices in in- ternal audit can contribute to the results agenda with case studies from several federal organizations. Another session discussed the principles of effective and compelling data presentation in results reporting as applied at Immigration, Refu- gees and Citizenship Canada. In addition, representatives from the science com- munity used multiple sessions to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities in enabling the results agenda for science based programs and policies. Day Two The second day opened with an invigo- rating presentation by Marc Kielburger, a Toronto-based internationally acclaimed speaker and co-founder of WE Day, WE Charity and ME to WE. Marc inspired the crowd by sharing his experiences in leadership, social enterprise, and how ME to WE plans for, measures, manages and reports on its impacts on international development and within North America. In particular, their “Track Your Impact” feature on their website www.we.org al- lows the user to enter the unique code for a product they have purchased (such as a bracelet) and see exactly what effect their contribution has made to the local com- munity in a developing country A Knowledge Café was held in the morn- ing which provided participants a forum in which to discuss and exchange infor- mation on performance and planning topics in smaller, more focused groups. Topics discussed included the effective use of performance information, improv- ing reporting, leadership and culture impacts on performance and planning, and supportive information technologies. Other concurrent sessions highlighted the challenges of linking budget measures to program / project results, an evaluation approach by a collaborative network sup- porting drug safety and effectiveness re- search, and the City of Edmonton sharing their award-winning experience in build- ing a results-based culture. Day Two’s luncheon keynote speakers included a video address from Sir Michael Barber and a presentation by Nick Ro- driguez, both well-known leaders in the theory and practice of results and deliv- ery, and the creators of the Deliverology approach. This session focused on their work with governments and other organ- isations to help them deliver improved outcomes for citizens. The symposium closed with an inter- active session led by a panel of three departmental Chief Results and Deliv- ery Officers: Neil Bower, previously with Natural Resources Canada and now with Treasury Board Secretariat; Cheryl Grant from Health Canada; and Sheryl Groe- neweg from Innovation, Science, and Eco- nomic Development Canada. The session was moderated by Francis Bilodeau from the Privy Council Office and Tolga Yalkin from Treasury Board Secretariat and fo- cused on sharing experiences thus far in implementing the Government’s Re- sults and Delivery Agenda. Key messages aimed at the importance of good leader- ship, commitment and coordination in advancing the results agenda. This year the PPX Symposium show- cased multiple concurrent speaker ses- sions highlighting work being undertaken by our new Science Community of Practice (CoP). This CoP aims to address the specific requirements in improving performance stories for science-related government and not-for-profit organizations. Watch for more events coming from the PPX Science CoP, as well as other Communities of Prac- tice in focused areas the PPX plans to estab- lish over the coming years. K atie E. B rown is an Internal Audit Manager at the Office of the Superin- tendent of Financial Institutions. She is a PPX Board member and Symposium Planning Committee Chair. katie.brown@osfi-bsif.gc.ca Performance Many of the presentations referred to in this article can be accessed through The Exchange on the PPX website www.ppx.ca by registering as a PPX member – registration is free. A selection of sessions were video recorded and are also available on the website.