PWGSC’s Management Response to MAF Assessment: Round VII (2009-2010)

December 23, 2010

The annual Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) Management Accountability Framework (MAF) assessments provide the Treasury Board's expectations of senior public service managers for good public service management. The MAF is structured around 10 key elements that collectively define “management” and establish the expectations for good management of a department or agency. Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) uses this framework as a tool to benchmark its own progress towards management excellence. PWGSC’s 2009-2010 MAF assessment confirms the progress the Department has made since government-wide MAF assessments began in 2004-2005.

Key Points

For 2009-2010, out of 19 areas of management (including the assessments “carried over” from Round VI), Public Works and Government Services Canada was rated as “strong” in five areas of management and “acceptable” in fourteen areas of management. No “opportunity for improvement” or “attention required” ratings were received. This achievement is particularly notable considering the size and diversity of PWGSC’s business activities, the complexity of its internal financial structure, the extent of its IT operations, and its geographical diversity within the NCA and throughout five regions.

The Department has demonstrated significant improvement in four areas of management, moving from “opportunity for improvement” to “acceptable” in two areas (Information Management and Asset Management) and from “acceptable” to “strong” in the other two (Internal Audit and Citizen-focussed Service), and was given a combination of "strong" or "acceptable" ratings in all of the 19 MAF areas.

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 also to continue seeking innovative solutions as it carries out its mandate. The Department is implementing a detailed Action Plan to address all findings. As in previous years, each MAF area of management has an Assistant Deputy Minister MAF Champion, who is accountable for leading the development of the department’s submission for that area of management, collaborating with colleagues, and cross-referencing with their work to ensure a robust and complete departmental response.

Based on the recommendations from TBS, PWGSC is paying special attention to the following two areas:

• Quality of Treasury Board Submissions – PWGSC will improve the management and quality of TB submissions. The department has established a Quality Management Framework (QMF). It will continue to improve the QMF through enhanced guidance documents, tools and risk management to reflect evolving requirements. In order to improve timeliness, Real Property Branch and Acquisitions Branch business process reviews with CSPB will identify methods of reducing overall development time.
• Effectiveness of Financial Management and Control – The PWGSC goal for this round is that the organization's financial management and control is strong as evidenced by: very well-documented systems of monitoring compliance with policies, comprehensive internal and external financial reporting with minor control weaknesses and a highly developed financial management capacity that provides management with proactive and comprehensive support through the presentation of options, analysis and advice on resource utilization. As a consequence, financial information and advice is comprehensive, timely and sound leading to informed decision-making and good accountability.

In addition to the detailed action plan to address these areas of management, and ensure continuous improvement in all others, the Department has established a MAF network of expertise to enhance planning 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 improve its overall performance on behalf of Canadians.

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 2011-2012.