Policy on the Management of Projects

Each year, employees of the Government of Canada actively manage a wide range of projects- from constructing buildings to implementing new employment programs or opening new offices. In order to deliver priority programs and services to Canadians, these projects must be managed effectively and efficiently.

In 2007, the Treasury Board of Canada introduced a new policy geared towards improving the management of projects across the Government of Canada. With the new policy, the government is moving away from a “one size fits all” approach to one where the level of oversight is determined by the level of risk associated with a project.

Specifically, the Policy on the Management of Projects:

• Establishes clear responsibilities for deputy heads and supports their role as the “Accounting Officer” to manage their projects in an integrated, enterprise-wide manner rather than on a project by project basis;
• Emphasizes the people, systems and processes required to effectively manage projects;
• Allows departments the flexibility to tailor their project management processes and oversight to business operations and ensure they are in a position to keep up with best practices globally, as they evolve;
• Aligns Treasury Board (TB) oversight with an assessed level of project risk and a holistic understanding of the capacity of an organization to manage projects rather than a “one size fits all” approach; and
• Shifts the focus of the Treasury Board Secretariat from individual transactions to a more strategic view of departmental management practices.

Departments, through the deputy head, will have the flexibility to effectively make decisions about their projects supported by a sound risk management approach. By focusing on projects of higher risk and complexity at the planning stage, the Treasury Board Secretariat will be better able to provide strategic and targeted advice earlier in the process.

Implementation

As this represents a significant change in policy direction for the management of projects across the Government of Canada, TBS has adopted a four-year phased implementation approach, coupled with the phased implementation of the Investment Planning policy, beginning with an 18-month pilot in order to ease the transition to the new policy.

There are four departments currently piloting these policies and using the assessment tools, required by the policy, to determine their organizational capacity to manage projects and the complexity and risk of planned projects.

Following this pilot, groups of departments will be phased in so that by April 1, 2012, all departments and agencies will have the appropriate systems and processes in place to meet the policy requirements.