ARCHIVED - Performance Measurement for the Government On-Line Initiative

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Institutional reporting on CLF implementation – The target date for implementation of CLF was December 31, 2002. Federal institutions used a self-assessment tool in 2003 to review the progress made in implementing CLF, to identify any remaining barriers, and to set a target date for achieving full implementation (if applicable). Their summary reporting on certain CLF components – navigation and format, accessibility, official languages, and important notices – is particularly relevant for this performance measurement exercise. In terms of the methodology or approach, each institution assessed either all or a representative sample of its Web sites against the various standards described in the CLF self-assessment guide. They assigned scores out of 100 for each CLF standard based on either their assessment of the progress thus far (e.g., towards having Web content in the plainest and simplest language possible), or the number of their Web pages/documents that were compliant (e.g., with HTML as the primary format). Institutional scores for each CLF component are a simple average of the standards belonging to it. The aggregate or "whole of government" scores reported in Section Four of this report are calculated in the same way; they represent the overall progress that federal government institutions subject to CLF have made to date, as opposed to the percentage of departments and agencies (or Web sites) that are fully compliant. (Note: because Web information is continuously being added and updated, it will be important to review the CLF progress of departments and agencies in the future.)

Citizen/client feedback – Departments and agencies that are involved in the development of gateways and integrated Web portals regularly evaluate their work using focus groups, surveys, and other citizen-/client-based research (in 2003, 26 such studies were done). In addition, TBS collects information on a range of issues – including ease of access and navigation, clarity of language, perceptions of privacy and security – through a GOL Internet Research Panel that it has established. TBS also monitors and, where appropriate, participates in public opinion research on ESD done by other government organisations and private sector consulting firms; research ranges from Statistics Canada's (Stats. Can.'s) Household Internet Use Survey to EKOS' Information Highway studies and the Institute for Citizen-Centred Service's Citizens First reports.

Other data sources – In addition to the above, the GOL measurement regime incorporates data from a number of other sources; for example,

• Web metrics;
• annual reports done by the Official Languages Commissioner and the Privacy Commissioner;
• external indices such as Stats. Can.'s Survey of Electronic Commerce and Technology, the Economist's E-Readiness Index, the World Economic Forum's Networked Readiness Index; and
• international comparisons of various e-government initiatives that are done by academic institutions like the Centre for Public Policy at Brown University, non-governmental organisations like the UN's Division for Public Economics and Public Administration, and private sector consulting firms like Accenture.

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