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SECTION II – ANALYSIS OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES BY STRATEGIC OUTCOME

Detailed Analysis of Performance

Strategic Outcome

Multilateral intergovernmental meetings of First Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers are planned and conducted flawlessly.

Program Activity Name

Conference Services

Program Activity Description

Provision of expert, impartial support services for the planning and conduct of First Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers level federal-provincial-territorial and provincial-territorial conferences.

Total Financial Resources for the Agency ($ millions)

2008-2009
Financial Resources ($ millions)			Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending	Planned	Actual	Difference
6.5	7.0	5.4	36	30	61

 

Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Performance Status	Performance Summary
Flawlessly planned and conducted events, including the effective addressing of unforeseen challenges.	Satisfaction of parties with the various aspects of the planning and conduct of events.	90 % or higher positive rate.	Exceeded	95% of planners surveyed indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with CICS services overall. Individual features of the services evaluated received ratings of satisfaction between 89 – 97%. Only one indicator fell below the targeted range of satisfaction. Corrective actions are planned for this element in as much as possible within our control. Similarly, 91% of conference delegates indicated that they were also satisfied or very satisfied with CICS services overall. Individual features of the on-site service received by our clients showed satisfaction ratings between 90 – 100%.
Needs of all parties involved in intergovernmental conferences served by CICS are understood and addressed/met.	Extent to which parties involved in intergovernmental conferences believe that their needs were understood and addressed by CICS.	90% or higher positive rate.	Exceeded	A survey of conference planners asked respondents how satisfied they were with CICS in this regard. They indicated that their needs were understood and addressed by CICS 94% of the time. In addition, 97.4% of planners surveyed used CICS for all of their conferences during the year. This would indicate that CICS is viewed as the provider of choice for senior level intergovernmental conference services.

Benefits for Canadians

The planning and conduct of multilateral meetings of First Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers is a service which elevates a core principle of democratic society, communication, and is a critical component of the workings of the Canadian federation.

By skillfully and professionally executing planning and delivery of these meetings, CICS allows the federal, provincial and territorial governments to address pertinent issues without getting distracted by process, with significant risk of error and omission taken out of the equation, by tapping into the agency's experience and impartiality, and with efficiency and effectiveness enhanced by technical expertise and an understanding of what should be done and when.

The interests of every Canadian are represented by several levels of government within their respective jurisdiction. The success of each level in meeting their mandates is dependent on the successes of the whole in determining the course on national and/or provincial/territorial policies, and addressing these needs through cooperation and negotiation.

As a multilateral body dedicated to supporting events that give rise to, and support the spirit of cooperation and negotiation among governments, CICS seeks to execute its part in these processes to maximum effect, producing an environment wherein the opportunity for rational discourse and optimal decision-making is at its highest, to the benefit of all governments and Canadians.

Performance Analysis

In the early Fall 2008, CICS approved its draft performance measurement framework (PMF), based on its PAA. The PMF outlined that the Secretariat's measurement strategy should include internal data and documents as well as two surveys, one of conference planners and a second of conference delegates. It was decided that the strategy would be pilot tested in the 2008-2009 fiscal year. The results of the pilot test would be used to finalize the PMF, including determining targets for relevant results indicators.

Expected Result: Flawlessly Planned and Conducted Events, Including Effectively Addressing Unforeseen Challenges

The survey of planners shows that those using CICS conference planning services are highly satisfied with most aspects of CICS services. On a scale of 1 (not at all satisfied) to 5 (very satisfied), average ratings are all over 4.5 out of 5 except for the continuity of CICS staff where the average rating is still high (4.3 out of 5). The PMF indicated that the performance target for CICS is that 90% respond positively every year. It was concluded the performance target was achieved in most cases.

Expected Results: Needs of All Parties Involved in Intergovernmental Conferences Served by CICS are Understood and Addressed/Met

The survey of planners addressed this by asking respondents how important this was to them and how satisfied they were with CICS in this regard. Overall this is very important to planners and they are very satisfied with CICS on this objective with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5.

Overall Agency Performance

Again in 2008-2009, requests for CICS services were lower than expected from levels of previous years, due to the slow down of the economy, several provincial elections impacting meeting opportunities and sectors reacting to the on-going minority federal government by adopting a ‘wait-and-see' perspective. Federal-provincial-territorial relations moved into a period where developing significant new initiatives would require majority support before they could be planned, funded and executed, in many cases.

CICS took advantage of the reduced pace of intergovernmental activity to implement new central agencies policies and directives, to study resources usage and cost optimalization, to review its conference operating procedures and implement and document best practices, and to continue cross-training of employees for the purpose of risk mitigation.

Notwithstanding progress in the overall management of the agency, CICS will continue to move forward with its modernization agenda especially with regard to its management activities to reinforce accountability and strive for process effectiveness and transparencies.

Conference Highlights

CICS provided its services to seventy senior level intergovernmental conferences in 2008-2009. Of these meetings, three were held at the First Ministers level and three at the level of Premiers and Territorial Leaders. These meetings require significantly more effort than standard, in terms of planning and execution:

• 2008 Western Premiers' Conference
  May 28-30, 2008 - Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
• 2008 National Aboriginal Women's Summit
  July 30-31, 2008 - Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
• 32^ndsAnnual Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers
  September 15-16, 2008 - Bar Harbor, Maine
• First Ministers' Meeting
  November 10, 2008 - Ottawa, Ontario
• Meeting of First Ministers' and National Aboriginal Leaders
  January 15, 2009 - Ottawa, Ontario
• First Ministers' Meeting
  January 16, 2009 - Ottawa, Ontario

Number of Conferences Served

While there was a decrease in the overall number of meetings served in 2008-2009, there was an increase in the number of meetings at the level of First Ministers, Premiers and Territorial Leaders. Of the many conferences served, 37 percent were at the Ministerial level and 54 percent were at the Deputy Ministerial level.

Lessons Learned

The enhanced program evaluation of conference services conducted this year not only confirmed the importance of the various services CICS currently offers to its clients but also showed a very high level of satisfaction with these services by its clients including both conference planners and conference delegates. There were no areas that emerged as requiring major corrective action, however, the data clearly showed the importance of consistency in the quality of service we provide at each and every conference. Management priorities including a variety of initiatives under the Modernization Project as well as operational priorities for the continuous improvement and documentation of practices and procedures for conference planning and delivery will certainly serve to ensure consistency of the quality of CICS services from year to year and from sector to sector despite staff turnover.

One area worthy of note emanating from the program evaluation this year is that the importance of continuity in CICS personnel from one event to another in the same sector was ranked of higher importance by our clients than would have been assumed. While CICS does have in place practices to ensure this continuity for the larger government sectors, it had, over the years, used a certain flexibility in this area in order to ensure equity of workload among employees. In light of this new information, CICS will make efforts in its organization of the conference calendar to provide as much continuity for each sector as feasibly possible.

Letters of Appreciation

While there are no formal performance targets yet in place to assess such anecdotal information, appreciation letters are often received from our clients and serve to confirm our positive client survey results. Of those received, we have chosen the following extracts:

"Je désire vous remercier tous les cinq pour le service de haute gamme que vous nous avez offert. Vous avez su trouver la façon de répondre aux attentes de tous les délégués…"

"…The professionalism and dedication of your staff was critical to the success of these meetings, especially given the very limited time that was available to coordinate the logistical arrangements…"

"Thanks for all that you did to make the First Minister's Meeting such a great success. It was a smooth efficient and well-run two days. Thank you for being so accommodating..."

"Once again I'd like to thank you and your team for the terrific support you provided for the Council's meeting… I am always impressed by, and grateful for, your professionalism, organization and efficiency…."

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