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ARCHIVED - Evaluation of the Public Service Modernization Act Strategic Investment Framework
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4.0 Lessons Learned
Many of the lessons learned from this evaluation relate to the issue of performance measurement and reporting. Although the reorganizations of PSHRMAC and the CPSA highlighted the issue of information management, greater awareness is needed more generally regarding the importance of establishing performance measurement strategies and reporting frameworks in advance of implementing government initiatives in order to provide senior management with the information needed on the impact of large initiatives.
- Large funding initiatives such as the SIF should, whenever possible, be implemented from within a stable organizational structure. Reorganizations that take place simultaneously with the implementation of large initiatives run the risk of preventing a new initiative from measuring and evaluating the achievements of its intended outcomes. If this cannot be avoided, an information management strategy specific to the reorganization initiative, notwithstanding the organizational location, should be developed that includes all the relevant contacts for specific responsibilities of the initiative.
- Reporting frameworks should be designed in such a way as to balance expenditure and outcome (not just output) reporting with the administrative demand. These frameworks should be designed in consultation with all stakeholders well in advance of implementation.
- Performance measurement strategies need to be developed before the implementation of initiatives in order to provide the information needed for evaluations.
- Conducting a baseline assessment at the initial stage of the implementation of an initiative would provide program managers with a basis for comparison with results that could measure the impacts of a policy, program or initiative.
- When planning for an evaluation, consideration should be given to evaluating all related funds that contribute to a single outcome. In this case, for instance, the PSMA Reserve Fund ($238 million) included the SIF ($200 million), both of which contributed to the same desired outcomes. It is difficult to isolate the impact of the $38 million used for the start-up phase from the rest of the SIF funds, since they were all part of the implementation of the PSMA.
- Developing a system to follow up on an initiative after its conclusion will help program managers track long-term benefits of long-term initiatives and their implementation mechanisms such as the PSMA and the SIF.