5. EVALUATION AND REPORTING

Data collection and analysis

Accountability and reporting

Data collection and analysis

The HRMAF establishes mechanisms for the collection of information related to performance measures at the immediate, intermediate and ultimate results levels. This is important because information on activities and investments together with their impact in communities provides the basis of the evaluation process. This information allows senior officials and elected government representatives to base their decisions on facts.

The government-wide evaluation and performance measurement process will use, to the greatest extent possible, information already collected by a variety of processes. The Official Languages Branch of the Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat in the Privy Council Office will continue to act as the central agency for the Official Languages Program as a whole, compiling selected departmental data, coordinating horizontal data collection initiatives, setting research priorities, analyzing information and drawing conclusions from the input of individual federal institutions. Treasury Board Secretariat already requires that federal institutions submit Results-based Management and Accountability Frameworks (RMAFs) before funding is approved. Future RMAFs will have to include information on performance indicators and measures relating specifically to the Official Languages Program. Other key information-gathering organizations include Canadian Heritage, the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency (PSHRMA) and Statistics Canada (through census data). Federal institutions have their own data-collection mechanisms that contribute to the government-wide process.

Information from beneficiaries, stakeholders and other partners, such as provincial and territorial governments, will be collected on an ongoing basis so that comparisons will be possible and will help to identify gaps and trends. Other important sources of data include special studies, audits, program evaluations, targeted research initiatives, general social surveys and the Post-Censal Survey. Data collection initiatives can be conducted by departments, individually or collaboratively.

Accountability and reporting  

Canadian Heritage and PSHRMA are required by virtue of specific sections of the Official Languages Act to assume certain coordination and monitoring functions. They prepare annual reports to Parliament based on information provided them by designated federal institutions. The Official Languages Program goes beyond the application of simple legal obligations. The oversight role of PSHRMA and of Canadian Heritage will facilitate integrated evaluation and reporting cycles, coordinated by the Privy Council Office.  

Numerous performance reports on the Official Languages Program are scheduled to be produced between 2005 and 2008. They include:  

·         midterm (2005) and final (2008) reports on the implementation of the Action Plan and the Official Languages Program in general prepared by Official Languages Branch of the Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat in the Privy Council Office);  

·         annual reports by Canadian Heritage, PSHRMA and the Commissioner of Official Languages that will provide aggregated information related to the Official Languages Program and the Action Plan based on input from individual federal institutions;  

·         a formative evaluation report on the Privy Council Office’s coordination function; and  

·         formative and summative evaluation reports on individual elements and the general implementation of the Action Plan.  

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