ARCHIVED - Deputy Head Consultations on the Evaluation Function - Summary Report

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
•  

This page has been archived.

Appendixes

Appendix 1

List of Deputy Heads Interviewed

Department or Agency	Name of Deputy Head
Canada Economic Development for Quebec Region	Suzanne Vinet
Canadian Heritage	Judith Anne LaRocque
Canadian International Development Agency	Margaret Biggs
Citizenship and Immigration	Neil Yeates
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada	Ian Shugart
Industry Canada	Richard Dicerni
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada	Michael Wernick
Public Safety	William V. Baker
Public Works and Government Services Canada	François Guimont

Appendix 2

Pre-Interview Information Forwarded to Deputy Heads

Objective

Consultations are being held with deputy heads of 10 federal departments/agencies to get their perspective on the evaluation function.

This initiative is being led by the Centre of Excellence for Evaluation at TBS to get a better understanding on how the function is progressing across departments and the level of decision support it provides to deputies and senior management.  Insights gained from the consultation will provide input to the first annual Report to Treasury Board on the Health of the Evaluation Function.

Format for the consultation:

In-person interviews of between 30 and 60 minutes will be conducted from now to mid- September 2010.

The Treasury Board Secretariat has engaged a consultant, Mr. Robert Lahey, to conduct individual in-person consultations with deputy heads. Mr. Lahey is a retired executive from the federal public service who possesses extensive knowledge of the evaluation function and of results-based management.

Lines of enquiry for the consultation

The consultation with deputy heads will explore four broad lines of enquiry:

1. How evaluation is used by the department/agency;
2. How the Expenditure Management System Renewal (including Strategic Reviews) and the 2009 Policy on Evaluation has influenced the conduct, resourcing and planning for evaluation;
3. How TBS could best support the organization vis-à-vis evaluation and the new requirements of the new Policy;
4. How well evaluation and ongoing performance monitoring are providing a comprehensive picture of ‘performance’ of the organization.

TBS is seeking top-of-mind reactions to questions about the evaluation function and no advance preparation is expected prior to the interview. All the names of the participants will be listed in the consultation report and a copy will be shared with them.

Prepared by:

Centre of Excellence for Evaluation (CEE), Expenditure Management Sector. Specific questions can be directed to Anne Routhier, Senior Director (613-952-7447) or Rob Chambers, Director (613-952-3112) at the CEE.

---

[1]. In preparation for the meetings, the consultant reviewed the most recent MAF assessment and Evaluation capacity assessment conducted by TBS so as to provide some insight into use and capacity for Evaluation within each organization. 

[2]. Other contracting issues, including problems created by the ‘standing offer’, were mentioned by some Deputies.

[3]. As defined in the Policy on Evaluation, neutrality is an attribute required of the evaluation function and evaluators that is characterized by impartiality in behaviour and process.

[4]. As mentioned earlier though, the more significant contribution of Evaluation to Strategic Review discussions will likely come with the next round of review.

[5]. Potential problems with hiring via ‘standing offer’ were noted.

[6]. Auditor General of Canada, Chapter 1, ‘Evaluating the Effectiveness of Programs’ in ‘2009 Fall Report of the Auditor General of Canada’, Ottawa: 2009

[7]. ‘Quality and Use of Evaluation’ is one of the Areas of Management (AoM 6) that serves as part of the annual rating criteria under the Management Accountability Framework (MAF) exercise.

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
•