ARCHIVED - Evaluation of the Public Service Modernization Act Strategic Investment Framework

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3.0 Conclusions

Relevance

SIF-sponsored activities were undertaken throughout departments and agencies to support the development of HR management capacity needed to implement the PSMA. The evidence showed that these activities were relevant. In fact, all key informants stated that there remains an ongoing need for the types of activities that SIF funded.

• 1. The evaluation found evidence to suggest that there is a continuing need to support departments and agencies in developing HR management capacity.
• 2. The evidence was consistent in indicating that SIF objectives and activities were aligned with the objectives and spirit of the PSMA.

Efficiency

Evaluation questions relating to efficiency were mainly focused on how effectively the initiative had been implemented. In this regard, the evaluation results indicate that the SIF was organized and implemented as expected. Ninety-four percent of SIF funding was disbursed to departments and agencies, and 83.4 per cent of the funds approved were invested by departments and agencies.

Although the Master Plan^[27] was issued a year later than the SIF, the first progress report indicated that the PSMA Secretariat developed and maintained project implementation timetables to identify key activities and critical milestones. Status and summary reports were used later on to inform the commitments and achievements. Evidence shows

• 3. The role of the Project Office was well articulated and communicated in SIF documentation; however, it is unclear to what extent it was well understood among departments and agencies. The evaluation found that the Project Office effectively managed the SIF's implementation.
• 4. The evidence suggests that mechanisms were in place for the effective implementation of the project plan.
• 5. The documentary evidence indicates that the project plan was effective in guiding horizontal work across departments and agencies. Most interviewees, however, were unable to comment on this.
• 6. There appears to have been sufficient IT capability and functionality for the SIF's implementation. However, there were no users available to interview, which would have provided another line of evidence to support this conclusion.
• 7. The evaluation found that the PSMA legislative requirements were met to a significant degree.
• 8. Although leveraging generally took place, there was insufficient evidence to clearly indicate the extent to which linkages and leveraging with non-PSMA modernization activities occurred or that were the objective of SIF activities.

Economy

• 9. Although results from the document review and key informant interviews showed that SIF funding did indeed provide value, the evaluation could not determine if this could have been accomplished with fewer resources.
• 10.  The evidence shows that the level and nature of uptake of SIF funds was appropriate. Eighty-eight per cent of departments and agencies were assisted either directly or indirectly through SATST or parent departments with their PSMA implementation requirements.

Effectiveness

The evaluation could not make a firm conclusion on the extent to which the SIF investment strategy contributed to achieving the medium- and long-term outcomes of the PSMA, in part because of the lack of informants and reduced reporting among funding recipients.

Nonetheless, the expected outputs and most immediate and short-term outcomes were achieved. Outputs such as guidelines, communications and training led to the immediate outcomes, thus resulting in departments applying and receiving funding for projects that aligned with the PSMA priorities and principles, although timeliness of implementation was identified as a potential issue. The short-term outcomes, for the most part, also appear to have been achieved as evidenced by institutional change^[28], HR IT systems, people preparation events, and new HR functions to support PSMA implementation. However, the evaluation was unable to conclude on the extent to which these, in turn, supported public service HR needs, resource processes, cultural change and accountabilities. Similarly, conclusions could not be drawn regarding the long-term outcomes of hiring the right people, collaborative labour–management relations, increased focus on learning and training for employees at all levels, and improved clarity in roles and accountability—a significant limitation of the evaluation.

• 11.  The application of the SIF investment strategy appears to have been effective in facilitating the achievement of PSMA objectives; however, due to limited lines of evidence, it is unclear to what extent this was the case.
• 12.  Information analyzed from the five case studies and key informant interviews demonstrate that all SIF outputs and most intended immediate and short-term outcomes were to some extent achieved.
• 13. Although the evidence shows that the short-term outcomes were achieved, it was too limited to be definitive regarding to what extent this was the case.

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