ARCHIVED - Performance Measurement for the Government On-Line Initiative

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Perhaps the most important of these principles is developing a broad perspective of success. This is because the number of services available on-line does not matter if clients have difficulties in accessing them; and similarly, the sophistication of these services is not relevant if clients do not like and do not use them. Another important principle is recognising that the development of on-line services is only an intermediary step towards a larger goal. This is to say, GOL is not simply about meeting a deadline; rather, it is about enabling departments and agencies to better achieve their mandated objectives. Further, it is necessary to ensure that the approach taken is flexible. Measurement strategies need to recognise, and account for, the significant differences that exist among departments and agencies – those offering primarily information services versus those offering large transaction services, and those providing benefits versus those ensuring regulatory compliance.

With this foundation, a set of shared expected outcomes was established:

• increased citizen/client focus through convenient on-line service delivery, accessibility for persons with disabilities and in both official languages, and the provision of credible and reliable information;
• better service quality through a critical mass of on-line services and transformation (or rethinking) of services from the citizen's/client's perspective, as well as greater take-up of, and satisfaction with, these services;
• increased trust and confidence in on-line service delivery through good security and privacy safeguards; and
• positive economic impacts through greater efficiency in service delivery and innovative services.

These expected outcomes are consistent with the "commitments to Canadians" made in the first overview report on the GOL initiative. They also incorporate the original set of expected outcomes articulated in 2000 (see Appendix #1).

The final step was to determine the techniques that would be used to assess progress towards these expected outcomes, and the levels at which they would be assessed. In terms of technique, the GOL measurement regime combines self-assessment data from departments and agencies with citizen/client feedback. Self-assessments allow the individuals who are closest to, and thus have the clearest understanding of, the on-line services being developed to measure their progress. They are also relatively inexpensive and quick to do. Even so, departments and agencies sometimes have a different understanding than their clients of, for example, the benefits of a particular on-line service. There are also aspects of e-government that they are not in a position to accurately assess, such as confidence in transacting securely on-line. For these reasons, it is necessary to balance departmental self-assessments with data from citizen/client surveys as well as focus groups. This use of multiple types of data also ensures a full and robust gauge of results achieved to date.

In terms of level of measurement, the focus is on services, departments and agencies, and/or the "whole of government", as appropriate. For example, client take-up is always measured at the service level; implementation of CLF is a departmental way of improving recognition and accessibility of Web sites, and thus should be measured at the departmental level; integrated Web portals are a "whole of government" tool to improve convenience, and thus should be measured at that level.

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