Government, policy and performance management

A policy is created; a program designed and then launched. What comes next? First comes short term performance measurement which seeks to answer questions around efficiency: “How are we doing?” and “What needs improvement?” Then, after a longer period, normally five years, it is time for an evaluation to assess effectiveness, which seeks to answer “How did we do? and “Were we successful?” Over time, various levels of governments have parceled off performance measurement and evaluation to the back corner of a department, often separating it from the specific program under review. This workshop seeks to provide policy analysts and program and community managers with a set of integral tools to assess their own programs and make adjustments as the need arises. The goal is increased efficiency, effectiveness, and economy.

This two-day workshop will provide you with an overview of the structures, processes and players of the Government of Canada – the machinery of government. It presents the current context, government plans, priorities and the relationship between government and the Public Service. You’ll also learn about the history, traditions and values that have shaped the Canadian parliamentary system.

These all rely on good data: policy analysis, programme design, risk assessment, and performance measurement. All these disciplines need to be sensitive to the nature of the people involved through the lens of Gender-Based Analysis-Plus (GBA Plus, formerly GBA+). Policies and programmes are often developed and evaluated without a full and wide appreciation of actual needs or impacts. An increasing schism between the political centre and the periphery points to the need for a heightened care in gathering and giving meaning to data. GBA Plus provides us with a framework within which we can undertake our inquires, research and analysis, using quantitative and especially qualitative techniques. We will start the workshop with a general framework for evidence-based decision-making and public involvement, then segue into ideas for improved critical thought. We will examine bias from various vantage points. After that, we will briefly address quantitative analysis before drilling into the core of the workshop which is qualitative research and analysis and the associated tools of interviews and surveys. When it comes to GBA Plus, we’ll look at gender, but also study the value of the + reached through intersectional or diversity analysis. In general, morning activities will be information-sharing through lecturettes and discussion; afternoon activities will feature group work related to research-, interview-, and survey-design and delivery.

 This workshop will provide both policy analysts and subject-matter experts with some effective tools that will help them to formulate good public policy. Starting with perceptions of a problem, such as what might flow from a risk assessment, a minister’s office, or media reports, this workshop will help participants to apply an analytical framework and use tools with which they can formulate credible policy options. Part 1 deals with problem-solving and the first part of options-identification. Part 2 looks at assessment of options and making a recommendation. This workshop will maximize the amount of hands-on learning through the use of case studies and group work.

This workshop follows Policy Analysis Toolbox Part 1 and will provide both policy analysts and subject-matter experts with several tools that will help them to make smart recommendations to management. Starting with a review of problem-identification techniques, this part looks at assessing and selling of options, program planning and contingencies, and performance measurement and evaluation. This workshop will maximize the amount of hands-on learning through the use of case studies and group work.  Designed and delivered by a consultant with more than 20 years of experience in policy analysis, this workshop is suitable for those working with strategic or program-level policies.

Risk is something we face every day. We deal with most day-to-day risk at a subconscious level; however, many risks require a little more consideration. Some risk takes us well out of our comfort zone and so we avoid it – sometimes at all costs. But risk is something that can and should be embraced; risk management is actually a very useful toolset for thought in everyday decision making and often the risk of not doing something can be greater than the risk of doing something. IRM is a systematic and holistic approach to understand, communicate and manage risk across the organization allowing more timely, appropriate and effective responses. It is about the right people having the right information to guide strategic and tactical decisions that contribute to the achievement of an organization’s overall objectives. This course is intended to provide an initial overview of integrated risk management – sometimes known as ‘joined-up thinking’ about risk. The story builds by firstly developing an understanding of risk itself and our attitudes to it, next we look at how we bring risk under our control by means of risk management, and finally we look at how we can take a more strategic view of risk and develop a consistent pan-organizational approach. All the way through, we will build the concepts into practical examples so that attendees can take away real experience of having ‘managed’ risk. While not specifically a course on the Government of Canada’s Framework for the Management of Risk, this workshop will cover many of the same principles using the same terminology. And so, this course will be eminently suitable for anyone wishing to understand and apply the Framework.

Public servants, whether they are policy or program analysts or managers, work in a complex evolving policy environment, consisting of multiple stakeholders with different mandates, agenda, plans and priorities. The issues they have to tackle are multidisciplinary and cut across jurisdictions. Policy development work requires a sound understanding of all these factors and their relationships. This two-day workshop provides a framework for effective public policy development, which includes: the dynamic nature of the public policy arena, the factors that influence decision makers, as well as an understanding that public policy in Canada involves a number of players who contribute to it. This workshop is different from our sister workshops, Policy Analysis ToolBox Parts I and II. Those workshops are concerned with the analysis that you would personally undertake to create a policy or program, whereas the workshop described here explains at a higher level how policies are developed.