PWGSC's Management Response to TBS' MAF Assessment – Round VI

November 5, 2009

Every year, Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) compares departments’ and agencies’ performance against pre-established expectations. These expectations are set out in TBS’ Management Accountability Framework (MAF)—a tool designed to help public service managers set their organization’s goals, evaluate their progress, and strengthen their ability to be accountable in the future. TBS’ assessments help departments identify not only management practices that need improvement, but also the areas in which they are doing well.

Overall, the 2008-2009 assessment recognizes PWGSC’s steady progress since TBS adopted the MAF system government-wide in 2004-2005.

Key Points

For 2008-2009, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) was rated as “strong” in five areas of management and “acceptable” in fourteen. TBS noted that in two areas of management only, there were “opportunities for improvement.” A notable improvement over past years’ assessments, no “attention required” ratings were awarded.

This year’s observations by the Treasury Board Portfolio related to Public Works and Government Services Canada indicate overall improvement. This is a significant achievement given PWGSC’s diverse range of common services (e.g., real property, procurement, and information technology shared services) that are subject to different rules, legislation, policies, and business considerations.

The Department has in fact demonstrated significant improvement in five areas of management, and was given a combination of "strong" or "acceptable" ratings in the following 19 areas:

Values-based Leadership and Organizational Culture;
Utility of the Corporate Performance Framework;
Effectiveness of the Corporate Management Structure;
Extra-organizational Contribution to Government-wide Priorities;
Quality of Analysis in TB Submissions;
Quality and Use of Evaluation;
Quality of Performance Reporting;
Managing Organizational Change;
Effectiveness of Corporate Risk Management;
Extent to which the Workplace is fair, Enabling, Healthy and Safe;
Extent to which the Workforce is Productive, Principled, Sustainable and Adaptable;
Effectiveness of Information Technology (IT) Management;
Effective Project Management;
Effective Procurement;
Effectiveness of Financial Management and Control;
Effectiveness of Internal Audit Function;
Effective Management of Security and Business Continuity;
Citizen-Focused Service; and
Alignment of Accountability Instruments.

Key Actions

The Department supports TBS’ conclusion that ongoing and sustained efforts are required in order to fully integrate these improvements into PWGSC’s ongoing business activities, and will continue seeking innovative solutions as it carries out its mandate. This assessment provides valuable information on areas that will help PWGSC make further improvements. As a result, the Department is implementing a comprehensive Action Plan to address all of the findings.

Based on this assessment, the Department will pay particular attention to the following three areas:

Effectiveness of Information Management
Effectiveness of Asset Management; and
Effective Management of Security and Business Continuity.

PWGSC has reviewed the assessment in detail, including the key highlights and opportunities. The Department has crosschecked these with the business plans of its program areas, and has developed targeted action items to improve management performance for each area of management.

In addition to the Action Plan, PWGSC is taking a broad approach by engaging executives and middle managers to improve the Department’s management and organizational capacity. To this end, Executive Champions have been identified for each MAF area. By making each MAF action item the responsibility of direct business lines, PWGSC will improve departmental accountability.

Furthermore, the Department has established a MAF network of expertise to enhance policy and strategic capacity, not only to support the MAF exercise, but also for general planning and reporting purposes. This network will not only enhance PWGSC’s ability to more effectively plan and report on its activities but also increase its accountability to Canadians.

As for specific actions PWGSC is taking in response to the three areas identified by TBS, the following key measures will result in noticeable improvements in the coming year:

Information Management: The Department has solid Information Management (IM) governance structure and processes that effectively support PWGSC’s business lines. The department’s IM strategy is active and supports the effective management of information and records to meet program and service outcomes, operational needs and accountabilities. To align PWGSC with TBS IM direction, PWGSC has begun to consider IM Service evolution and direction. The department is also implementing a comprehensive IM Action plan as well as Records Management (RM) strategy and plan. As a result of the three-year ATIP Improvement Plan’s aggressive strategies initiated in December 2007, PWGSC successfully achieved the overarching goal of 95% compliance in 2008-2009 and is enjoying the productivity benefits of continuous improvement. As of November 2009, PWGSC responded to over 98% of the ATIP requests on time, mainly due to the increased human resource capacity and active performance monitoring, including a zero tolerance approach to delays in processing requests. In addition, a MAF action plan was developed in June 2009 to specifically address the gaps identified in the MAF Round VI results relating to ATIP.
Asset Management: PWGSC plans to implement an integrated Investment Plan over the next five years, which will include the necessary elements of an effective Asset Management Framework. These elements include a governance structure, rules and guidance, integrated information, asset performance indicators and shared best practices. The Department will also take the opportunity to simplify and integrate information systems in order to better support decision-making in a more timely fashion. The introduction of a common departmental financial, materiel and project management tool—SIGMA—has already dramatically increased the integrity of this important information. In addition, the Real Property Branch—one of the most significant asset holders in the country—plans to undertake a business process and information management project that will consolidate information currently residing in approximately 18 branch and departmental systems into one system. These measures will complement and enhance the improvements already achieved through SIGMA.
Management of Security and Business Continuity: Public Works and Government Services Canada has established and is managing a fully developed departmental security program that is based on the TB Policy on Government Security. The program is designed to ensure the coordination of all the functions identified in the Policy on Government Security and the implementation of the policy’s requirements. PWGSC continues to strengthen its capacity and improve its processes in the IT Security Area to maintain its compliance to the Management of Information Technology Security (MITS) Operational Standard. PWGSC has made several changes to improve the management of IT Security in areas such as governance, policy, incident management and vulnerability management. Over the past year, PWGSC has continued to focus on completing a number of major initiatives directly related to the department’s compliance with the Government Security Policy and associated Operational Standard. In September 2009, PWGSC established a Business Impact Analysis Guide. Extensive work has resulted in the timely completion of the Business Continuity Plans (BCP) for those organizations that support the department’s Top Twelve Critical Services.

Conclusion

Improved management performance is a continuous and evolving process at PWGSC. The Department will continue to ensure elements of the MAF Action Plan are integrated into management plans for fiscal year 2010-2011.