ARCHIVED - Assisted Human Reproduction Canada - Report

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Section II - Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome(s)

Strategic Outcome

This section describes AHRC's program activities for 2011-12, identifying the expected results, performance indicators and targets. It outlines how the Agency plans to achieve the expected results and identifies both financial and non-financial resources that will be dedicated to each Program Activity.

These include:

• Regulatory Compliance
• Knowledge Transfer
• Internal Services

Program Activity: Regulatory Compliance Program

Note: This reflects authorized spending and staffing levels. Forecasts for 2011-12 and future years will be lower.

Planning Highlights

In order to achieve the expected result, the Agency is focusing on activities that support delivery of its compliance and enforcement mandate with respect to the prohibitions of the AHR Act. This includes:

• Continuing to respond, in a timely and accessible manner, to all allegations of violation of the prohibitions of the AHR Act that are brought to its attention;
• Continuing to monitor compliance through various activities such as monitoring internet/Web sites for sites promoting activities that are in violation of the prohibitions;
• Continuing to interact with provincial Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons and law enforcement authorities to formalize the process for referring to them allegations of violation of the prohibitions of the AHR Act; and
• Increasing the number of communications to relevant parties and public about compliance.

Benefits for Canadians

Promotion and enforcement of the AHR Act's prohibitions will confirm the Government's commitment to ensuring that assisted human reproduction is carried out in Canada within a sound ethical framework that upholds Canadian values.

Program Activity: Knowledge Transfer Program

Note: This reflects authorized spending and staffing levels. Forecasts for 2011-12 and future years will be lower.

Planning Highlights

In order to achieve the expected results, AHRC plans to undertake the following activities:

• Continued Horizon Scanning and reviews of the scientific evidence in AHR by the Science Advisory Panel, and increased efforts to convey the expertise of the Science Advisory Panel to the public via the redesigned AHRC Web site.
• Continued facilitation of committees dedicated to updated and improved evidence-based practice of AHR in Canada, including the Healthy Singleton Birth Committee, whose primary goal is to promote healthy singleton births and use of single embryo transfer (eSet) in AHR procedures.
• Implementation of Stakeholder Outreach Program with a focus on the delivery of the Patients/Clients Outreach Strategy to understand their needs and concerns, thus serving as a national centre of expertise for Canadians.
• Analysis and dissemination of the CCHS Infertility module data, the first data gathered on rates of infertility in Canada in almost 20 years. In collaboration with other government departments, agencies and organizations, AHRC will integrate the results into their health promotion and educational activity planning.

Benefits for Canadians

Serving as a national Centre of Expertise, new knowledge generated through research and domestic and international collaborations will be exchanged with policy makers and practitioners to keep professionals and patients apprised of AHR options, the latest scientific developments and ethical considerations associated with them. Moreover, AHRC will keep abreast of research and innovations in AHR to promote the safest and healthiest technologies for Canadians who will build their families using AHR and will increase the application of knowledge for society leading to improved health outcomes.

Furthermore, ongoing education and outreach efforts will also increase awareness among all Canadians of risk factors associated with infertility and mitigation strategies, as well as potential health risks to patients and offspring of various AHR practices and procedures. As the 2010 Speech from the Throne noted, "regardless of profession or trade, of industry or region, Canadians have always striven toward a common objective - to make a home and nurture a family." Canadians who turn to AHR to achieve this objective can rely accurate, unbiased information relating to assisted reproductive technologies in order to assist them in making informed choices; and they can take comfort that its facilitation of the uptake of best practices by clinics and professional associations across the country can play a critical role in protecting their health - and the health of the Canadian population.

Program Activity: Internal Services

Note: This reflects authorized spending and staffing levels. Forecasts for 2011-12 and future years will be lower.

Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. These groups are: Management and Oversight Services; Policy and Planning Services; Board of Directors’ Management Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Material Services; Acquisition Services; Security; and Other Administrative Services. Internal Services include only those activities and resources that apply across the organization and not to those provided specifically to a program activity.

AHRC, as a small Agency, receives its Internal Services through a combination of Agency-supplied services provided through various Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with other departments. For example, the Agency maintains a multi-faceted MOU with Health Canada for the provision of operational and corporate support services covering areas such as finance, human resources, security, IM/IT, and material management services in an effort to minimize Agency expenditures while using expert services in Health Canada.

Planning Highlights

AHRC responds to the challenge of providing sustainable Internal Services through its establishment of policies, processes and service delivery in the areas of finance, procurement, human resources, information management (including Access to Information and Privacy), and information technology. Wherever practical, this includes consideration and use of best practice models including alternative service provision methods. The Agency continues to improve its Internal Services performance to ensure delivery of service in a transparent, cost effective, and timely manner.

In the area of human resources, AHRC has integrated its business planning and human resource planning and will continue to integrate its resourcing strategy in accordance with Public Service Commission and other relevant Central Agency policies.

In order to achieve Internal Services objectives, planning highlights include:

• Implementing an integrated management system that covers such areas as human resources, risk management, performance management, and financial management.
  
  
• Renegotiating MOU's with service providers to update services as required.
  
  
• Acting on feedback from employees related to their satisfaction with the Agency work environment to sustain a workplace of choice.
  
  
• Refining the Internal Financial Control Framework to encompass financial management, risk management, financial delegation and contracting.

The highlights of the Internal Services program activity are linked to AHRC's management priorities, which include Internal Management, Human Resources, and Risk Management.

Benefits for Canadians

As a small organization, AHRC receives its internal services through a combination of Agency-supplied corporate services as well as services provided through Memoranda of Understanding with other departments. This efficient use of financial and human resources ensures well-managed government operations and the diligent use of authorized funding. It also allowed the Agency to staff only essential positions, thus diligently reducing costs while ensuring services were provided in accordance with the Agency’s objectives and responsibilities.

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