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Session Title: Evaluating Policy Functions: Emerging Practice in the Canadian Federal Government
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Panel Session 478 to be held in Huntington C on Thursday, Nov 3, 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
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Sponsored by the Government Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Brian Moo Sang, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, brian.moosang@tbs-sct.gc.ca
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| Abstract:
The 2009 Canadian federal Policy on Evaluation expanded the universe of evaluation coverage. As a result, some federal departments/agencies are now looking at ways to evaluate their policy functions. To assist departments in meeting this new evaluation challenge, the Treasury Board of Canada's Centre of Excellence for Evaluation launched an interdepartmental working group to explore approaches and methods for evaluating policy functions. In this panel session, the lessons emerging out of the working group - including approaches and conceptual models for understanding the evaluation of policy functions - will be presented. The challenges and practical application of these lessons will then be explored in presentations by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Department of Finance which will focus on their pilot evaluations of policy functions, which both informed and were informed by the working group.
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Concepts and Approaches in Evaluating Policy Functions
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| Brian Moo Sang, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, brian.moosang@tbs-sct.gc.ca
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| Anne Routhier, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, anne.routhier@tbs-sct.gc.ca
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A 'policy function' (also sometimes called a 'policy program') refers to a set of activities undertaken in an organization in which the primary outputs/outcomes relate to: the provision of advice; policy development; and/or support for/monitoring of policy implementation. In 2009, the Treasury Board of Canada's Centre of Excellence for Evaluation (CEE) established an interdepartmental working group to explore concepts, approaches, methods and challenges in measuring the performance of and evaluating policy functions in federal departments/agencies. In this presentation, CEE will provide an overview of the concepts and lessons learned emerging from the working group with an emphasis on the challenges related to determining the various roles of policy functions for evaluation purposes. This session is intended to contextualize the presentations of 'pilot' evaluations of policy functions that will be made by the other panelists.
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Preparing for Evaluation of the Policy Function at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
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| Paule-Anny Pierre, Public Health Agency of Canada, paule-anny.pierre@phac-aspc.gc.ca
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| Mary Frances MacLellan-Wright, Public Health Agency of Canada, mary.frances.maclellan-wright@phac-aspc.gc.ca
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| Nancy Porteous, Public Health Agency of Canada, nancy.porteous@phac-aspc.gc.ca
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Understanding the nature of policy work - the activities, outputs and desired outcomes - is the first step in preparing to evaluate this important government function. In this case study, interviews with policy staff were used to map out the policy function at the Public Health Agency of Canada. This presentation will present the policy staff perspective on what is important to measure and the implications for evaluation methods and approaches that might be suitable to evaluating the policy function's processes and impacts.
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Evaluating the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency's Policy, Advocacy and Coordination Function
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| Tonya Furlong, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, tonya.furlong@acoa-apeca.gc.ca
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| Natalie Doiron, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, natalie.dorion@acoa-apeca.gc.ca
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| Julie Nadeau, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, julie.nadeau@acoa-apeca.gc.ca
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The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is responsible for the Government of Canada's economic development efforts in Atlantic Canada. Over the last year, ACOA's Evaluation Unit has undertaken its first evaluation of the relevance and performance of the Agency's Policy, Advocacy and Coordination (PAC) function. ACOA's PAC function is expected to result in: "Policies and programs that strengthen the Atlantic economy" that reflect the economic reality and potential of Atlantic Canada; and in a coordinated and coherent approach to addressing the region's priorities. As a member of interdepartmental Policy Program/Function Evaluation Working Group (PPEWG), ACOA's evaluation unit has applied the knowledge and understanding generated through this group to the design and implementation of its PAC evaluation. This paper provides an overview of ACOA's PAC function, and details the lessons learned through the evaluation process. It also examines the conceptual model developed within the PPEWG through a practical lens.
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Evaluating the Policy Function at Finance Canada
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| Nazish Ahmad, Finance Canada, nazish.ahmad@fin.gc.ca
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| Christian Kratchanov, Finance Canada, christian.kratchanov@fin.gc.ca
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The Department of Finance (Canada) conducted extensive research into the "evaluability" of the policy advice and research function and the degree to which it is possible to assess the contribution of this function to the departmental decision-making process. The research was shared with a working group of federal government representatives as theirs was shared with us. Our presentation outlines the practical application of our research findings to the evaluation of a key government function that conducts policy research and gives policy advice to decision-makers. The approach involved a systematic assessment of the function's relevance and performance by reviewing: alignment of clients' expectations; analysts' perspectives; internal processes; and financial and human resources management. We examined the extent to which key objectives and results were achieved, including the provision of timely, high-quality policy research and advice. The presentation outlines the detailed methodology, challenges encountered, findings, opportunities for improvement and best practices.
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