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Canada

Embed Transparency Requirements in the Federal Service Strategy (CA0048)

Overview

At-a-Glance

Action Plan: Canada Action Plan 2016-2018

Action Plan Cycle: 2016

Status: Inactive

Institutions

Lead Institution: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Support Institution(s): NA

Policy Areas

Capacity Building, E-Government, Public Service Delivery

IRM Review

IRM Report: Canada End-Term Report 2016-2018, Canada Mid-Term Report 2016- 2018

Starred: No

Early Results: Pending IRM Review

Design i

Verifiable: No

Relevant to OGP Values: Access to Information

Potential Impact:

Implementation i

Completion:

Description

Embed Transparency Requirements in the Federal Service Strategy Why do this: Excellence in service delivery is at the core of citizens’ expectations for their governments. For a government to truly be open and accountable, it must deliver responsive services and be transparent on results. How will it be done: The Government is developing a Service Strategy that will transform service design and delivery across the public service, putting clients at the centre.

IRM Midterm Status Summary

7. Embed Transparency Requirements in the Federal Service Strategy

Commitment Text:

The Government of Canada will develop a new Clients-First Service Strategy that embeds requirements for openness and transparency in the delivery of government services.

Milestones:

7.1. Develop a Government of Canada Clients-First Service Strategy that aims to create a single, user-centric online window for all government services.

7.2. Establish new performance standards and set up a mechanism to conduct rigorous assessments of the performance of key government services, and report findings publicly.

Responsible institution: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Supporting institutions: Service delivery departments and agencies.

Start date: Not specified

End date: Not specified

Editorial Note: The text of the commitment was abridged for formatting reasons. For full commitment text, visit: http://www.opengovpartnership.org/sites/default/files/Canada_AP3.pdf.

Context and Objectives

According to the action plan, the aim of this commitment is to ensure rigorous assessments of key government services and publicly report the findings. Milestone 7.1 is reasonably clear and would provide Canadians with a single place to obtain information on government services and programs, thus making it somewhat relevant to the OGP value of access to information. Milestone 7.2 also has some relevance to the OGP goal of access to information, by promoting transparency in government functions through public reporting, though the vagueness of the deliverable here makes potential impact difficult to assess. For example, it does not specify the nature of the mechanism by which the assessment will be carried out, nor the degree to which it will be public facing (beyond merely reporting its findings).

Completion

Canada’s self-assessment reports substantial progress towards Milestone 7.1. The new service strategy was developed and was highlighted in the Clerk of the Privy Council’s Twenty-Fourth Annual Report to the Prime Minister on the Public Service.[Note65: See: https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/pco-bcp/documents/pdfs/clerk-greffier/24rpt-eng.pdf.%5D The milestone is on track for completion.

For Milestone 7.2, Canada’s self-assessment reports that 'the new Service Strategy includes performance measures to enable public reporting on progress.'[Note66: The draft self-assessment for Commitment 7 is available at: http://open.canada.ca/en/mtsar/commitment-7-embed-transparency-requirements-federal-service-strategy.%5D In response to follow-up queries from the IRM researcher, a representative from the Treasury Board Secretariat said that they are 'currently in the process of defining [their] KPIs and determining what data [they] can leverage.'[Note67: Email received on 11 October 2017.] The government reports this as substantial progress, though in the absence of clearer and more concrete deliverables a score of limited progress seems more appropriate.

Next Steps

As it is currently drafted, this commitment is of questionable value to Canada’s OGP progress, as the milestones are only very generally related to access to information. The IRM researcher recommends not to carry it forward to future action plans. Establishing performance standards and public reporting programs is an area which shows some promise, though it is unclear how this milestone is distinct from Milestone 5.1.

IRM End of Term Status Summary

7. Embed Transparency Requirements in the Federal Service Strategy

Commitment Text: The Government of Canada will develop a new Clients-First Service Strategy that embeds requirements for openness and transparency in the delivery of government services.

Milestones:

7.1. Develop a Government of Canada Clients-First Service Strategy that aims to create a single, user-centric online window for all government services.

7.2. Establish new performance standards and set up a mechanism to conduct rigorous assessments of the performance of key government services, and report findings publicly.

Responsible institution: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Supporting institutions: Service delivery departments and agencies

Start Date: Not specified

End Date: Not specified

Editorial Note: The text of the commitment was abridged for formatting reasons. For full commitment text, visit http://www.opengovpartnership.org/sites/default/files/Canada_AP3.pdf.

Commitment Aim

This commitment aimed to ensure rigorous assessments of key government services. It also entailed publicly reporting the findings of such assessments. It would create a single online window for all government services and establish standards and a mechanism to assess and report on their performance.

Status

Midterm: Substantial

The government developed the new service strategy in the first year of implementation. It published the strategy in the Privy Council Office's Twenty-Fourth Annual Report to the Prime Minister on the Public Service (Milestone 7.1).[Note55: See Michael Wernick, Twenty-Fourth Annual Report to the Prime Minister on the Public Service of Canada (Ottawa, Ontario: Privy Council Office), https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/pco-bcp/documents/pdfs/clerk-greffier/24rpt-eng.pdf.%5D As of June 2017, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat was in the process of defining its key performance indicators and determining what data it could leverage for the assessment mechanism in Milestone 7.2.

End of term: Complete

According to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), the online window is still under development and is viewed as a longer-term goal. The TBS considers Milestone 7.1 complete, with the publication of the service strategy document. The strategy discusses the creation of this online window. The specific language of the milestone supports this interpretation of the commitment as complete. As written, it promises a development process rather than the window itself as a deliverable. Under Milestone 7.2, the self-assessment cites the TBS's Guideline on Service Management, published on 23 March 2017.[Note56: See “Guideline on Service Management,” Government of Canada, https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=28422.%5D The guideline's policy on service outlines the process for establishment and management of service standards and real-time performance information to support service delivery. According to the government's self-assessment, in summer 2017, the TBS launched a pilot project on service standards assessment of key service departments. In that period, it also established a new tool to help departments assess existing—and develop new—service standards.[Note57: The self-assessment is available at https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/9da9faf5-deb1-48db-8f16-91055d942d65.%5D

Did It Open Government?

Access to Information: Marginal

The 2017 midterm assessment noted that this commitment had questionable value to Canada's OGP progress. The milestones are vague and only very generally related to access to information. Though the government did make some additional material public as a result of this initiative, the overall level of progress in terms of access to information in Canada is relatively small. Moreover, while the public has access to the assessments, the public does not appear to have opportunity to actually hold officials accountable for their actions. The lack of opportunity there limits the commitment's relevance to the public accountability value. Also worth noting, the online window which is the focus of Milestone 7.1 does not appear to be close to launch.

Carried Forward?

This commitment, as written, was fully completed under the current action plan. In Canada's fourth action plan, Milestone 4.5 builds on this commitment to create a performance dashboard to track service delivery performance.

Canada's Commitments

  1. User-friendly open government

    CA0064, 2018, Capacity Building

  2. Financial transparency and accountability

    CA0065, 2018, E-Government

  3. Corporate transparency

    CA0066, 2018, Beneficial Ownership

  4. Digital government and services

    CA0067, 2018, Capacity Building

  5. Open science

    CA0068, 2018, Capacity Building

  6. Healthy democracy

    CA0069, 2018, Civic Space

  7. Access to Information

    CA0070, 2018, Capacity Building

  8. Feminist and inclusive dialogue

    CA0071, 2018, Capacity Building

  9. Reconciliation and open government

    CA0072, 2018, Capacity Building

  10. Open government community

    CA0073, 2018, Capacity Building

  11. Enhance Access to Information

    CA0042, 2016, Legislation & Regulation

  12. Streamline Requests for Personal Information

    CA0043, 2016, E-Government

  13. Expand and Improve Open Data

    CA0044, 2016, E-Government

  14. Provide and Preserve Open Information

    CA0045, 2016, E-Government

  15. Define an Approach for Measuring Open Government Performance

    CA0046, 2016, Capacity Building

  16. Develop Open Government Skills across the Federal Public Service

    CA0047, 2016, Capacity Building

  17. Embed Transparency Requirements in the Federal Service Strategy

    CA0048, 2016, Capacity Building

  18. Enhance Access to Culture & Heritage Collections

    CA0049, 2016, Capacity Building

  19. Enhance Openness of Information on Government Spending and Procurement

    CA0050, 2016, Capacity Building

  20. Increase Transparency of Budget and Other Department of Finance Information

    CA0051, 2016, Capacity Building

  21. Starred commitment Increase Transparency of Grants and Contributions Funding

    CA0052, 2016, Capacity Building

  22. Improve Public Information on Canadian Corporations

    CA0053, 2016, E-Government

  23. Increase the Availability and Usability of Geospatial Data

    CA0054, 2016, Capacity Building

  24. Increase Openness of Federal Science Activities (Open Science)

    CA0055, 2016, Capacity Building

  25. Stimulate Innovation through Canada’s Open Data Exchange (ODX)

    CA0056, 2016, E-Government

  26. Align Open Data across Canada (Open Data Canada)

    CA0057, 2016, Capacity Building

  27. Implement the Extractives Sector Transparency Measures Act

    CA0058, 2016, Capacity Building

  28. Support Openness and Transparency Initiatives around the World

    CA0059, 2016, Aid

  29. Engage Civil Society on Open Government

    CA0060, 2016, Public Participation

  30. Enable Open Dialogue and Open Policy Making

    CA0061, 2016, Capacity Building

  31. Promote Open Government Globally

    CA0062, 2016, Capacity Building

  32. Engage Canadians to Improve Key Canada Revenue Agency Services

    CA0063, 2016, Civic Space

  33. Implement Directive on Open Government

    CA0030, 2014, Open Data

  34. Starred commitment Open Data Canada

    CA0031, 2014, Open Data

  35. Canadian Open Data Exchange (ODX)

    CA0032, 2014, Capacity Building

  36. Open Data for Development

    CA0033, 2014, Capacity Building

  37. Open Data Core Commitment

    CA0034, 2014, Open Data

  38. Starred commitment Open Science

    CA0035, 2014, Science & Technology

  39. Starred commitment Mandatory Reporting on Extractives

    CA0036, 2014, Extractive Industries

  40. Open Contracting

    CA0037, 2014, Open Contracting and Procurement

  41. Open Information on Budgets and Expenditures

    CA0038, 2014, Fiscal Transparency

  42. Digital Literacy

    CA0039, 2014, Capacity Building

  43. Open Information Core Commitment

    CA0040, 2014, Right to Information

  44. Consulting Canadians

    CA0041, 2014, Marginalized Communities

  45. Starred commitment International Aid Transparency Initiative: Publish plan to make CIDA activities available and accessible

    CA0010, 2012, Aid

  46. International Aid Transparency Initiative: Implement plan

    CA0011, 2012, Aid

  47. Opening Government of Canada Records: Increase access to archived federal documents at Library and Archives Canada

    CA0012, 2012, Records Management

  48. Opening Government of Canada Records: Issue new mandatory policy on document classification

    CA0013, 2012, Records Management

  49. Opening Government of Canada Records: Make classified information available online

    CA0014, 2012, E-Government

  50. GCDOCS: Deploy wave one of electronic record and document management solution

    CA0015, 2012, E-Government

  51. GCDOCS: Deploy across federal government

    CA0016, 2012, E-Government

  52. GCWEB: Develop consolidated web presence

    CA0017, 2012, E-Government

  53. GCWEB: Implement new platform

    CA0018, 2012, E-Government

  54. Data.gc.ca: Expand number of datasets available

    CA0019, 2012, E-Government

  55. Data.gc.ca: Implement data.gc.ca portal

    CA0020, 2012, E-Government

  56. Data.gc.ca: Improve standardization of data

    CA0021, 2012, E-Government

  57. Government of Canada Resource Management Data: Publish resource management and performance data

    CA0022, 2012, E-Government

  58. Government of Canada Resource Management Data: Enhance search and data tools

    CA0023, 2012, E-Government

  59. Consulting Canadians: Develop new platform for consultation

    CA0024, 2012, E-Government

  60. Consulting Canadians: Develop standard approach to use of social media

    CA0025, 2012, E-Government

  61. Consulting Canadians: Pilot a crowdsourcing initiative

    CA0026, 2012, E-Government

  62. Consulting Canadians: Enable use of common online tools

    CA0027, 2012, E-Government

  63. Open Regulation: Federal regulators to post forward regulatory plans

    CA0028, 2012, Legislation & Regulation

  64. Open Regulation: Simplify engagement activities

    CA0029, 2012, Legislation & Regulation

  65. Open Government Directive: Issue Directive on Open Government

    CA0001, 2012, E-Government

  66. Open Government Directive: Implement Directive on Open Government

    CA0002, 2012, E-Government

  67. Starred commitment Open Government Licence: Issue Open Government Licence

    CA0003, 2012, Legislation & Regulation

  68. Starred commitment Open Government Licence: Adopt Open Government Licence

    CA0004, 2012, Records Management

  69. Modernising Administration of Access to Information: Pilot of online request and payment service

    CA0005, 2012, Fiscal Transparency

  70. Modernising Administration of Access to Information: Implement ATI Solution

    CA0006, 2012, Fiscal Transparency

  71. Modernising Administration of Access to Information: Make completed ATI request summaries searchable

    CA0007, 2012, Right to Information

  72. Virtual Library: Begin design of virtual library

    CA0008, 2012, E-Government

  73. Virtual Library: Launch virtual library

    CA0009, 2012, E-Government