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2009-10
Departmental Performance Report



Canada School of Public Service






The original version was signed by
The Honourable Stockwell Day
President of the Treasury Board






Table of Contents

Minister's Message

Section I: Departmental Overview

Section II: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Section III: Supplementary Information



Minister's Message

The Honourable Stockwell Day

As the Minister responsible for the Canada School of Public Service, I am pleased to present the 2009-10 Departmental Performance Report of the School.

As the common learning provider for the Government of Canada, the School helps deputy ministers address the learning needs of their employees. It also provides departments with the learning products and services they need to ensure their employees have the skills and knowledge to continue to serve Canadians and sustain government transformation efforts.

The School launched new initiatives aimed at delivering on public service renewal. Not only did the School support public service renewal within its organization; it played a key role in sustaining the efforts of deputy ministers in dealing with the current environment. Work was accomplished to further the professional development of managers, to build strong competencies for current and emerging leaders and to strengthen functional community learning across the Public Service.

I invite you to read this report and visit us on line at www.myschool-monecole.gc.ca to see the learning and development activities provided by the School to support a strong Public Service.





The Honourable Stockwell Day, P.C., M.P.
President of the Treasury Board




Section I: Departmental Overview

Raison d'être and Responsibilities

Raison d'être

The Canada School of Public Service (the School) is the common learning service provider for the Public Service of Canada.

The School has a legislative mandate to provide a range of learning activities to build individual and organizational capacity and management excellence within the Public Service.

The School is in a unique position to offer learning services to all public service employees at all levels and across the country, as well as functional communities and public organizations.

Responsibilities

Established on April 1, 2004, under the Public Service Modernization Act and operating under the authority of the Canada School of Public Service Act (CSPS Act), the School's primary responsibility is to provide a wide range of learning opportunities and develop a learning culture within the Public Service. The School has a direct effect on service to Canadians by increasing the skills of public service employees and the effectiveness public service organizations.

As a departmental corporation, the School is mandated under the CSPS Act to:

  • encourage pride and excellence in the Public Service;
  • foster a common sense of purpose, values and traditions in the Public Service;
  • support Deputy Heads in meeting the learning needs of their organizations; and
  • pursue excellence in public management and administration.

As set out in the legislation, a Board of Governors is responsible for the conduct and management of the affairs of the School. The Board of Governors is composed of an equal number of public and non-public (business and academic) sector members.

The School's program priorities are geared to delivering results in accordance with the Treasury Board's Policy on Learning, Training and Development (the Policy), which came into effect on January 1, 2006. The Policy highlights the value of learning and the importance of creating a learning culture within the Public Service.

The School supports deputy head accountabilities with respect to leadership development across the Public Service by identifying organizational needs and designing and delivering high-quality and practical leadership programming that addresses the key development needs of executives.

The School is integral to Public Service Renewal, offering a broad suite of courses to incrementally advance the renewal agenda. It supports all pillars of Public Service Renewal.

Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)

The School has a single strategic outcome: "Public servants have the common knowledge and the leadership and management competencies they require to fulfill their responsibilities in serving Canadians." Four program activities support this strategic outcome:

  • Foundational Learning
  • Organizational Leadership Development
  • Public Sector Management Innovation
  • Internal Services

Program Activity Architecture
[D]

Summary of Performance


2009-10 Financial Resources ($ thousands)
Planned Spending Total Authorities Actual Spending
111,924 150,558 138,270

2009-10 Human Resources (full-time employees - FTEs)
Planned Actual Difference
940 967 27

Performance Summary Table


Strategic Outcome
Performance Indicators Targets 2009-10 Performance
Number of learning activities that address leadership development, management competencies and common knowledge, and number of participants.

Percentage of public service employees who have attended School learning activities and feel that the training provided responded to their learning needs and was a worthwhile investment for their employer.
Approximately 900 learning activities.

Approximately 220,000 learner days (number of learners/participants multiplied by the number of days in training).

80% of learning activity participants feel that the training provided responded to their needs and was a worthwhile investment for their employer.
The School offered approximately 500 distinct learning activities (courses, events). This represents a total of nearly 3,000 deliveries in 2009-10.

A total of about 200,000 learner days were given across the School in 2009-10.

In 2009-10, 81% of respondents indicated that the learning activity met their learning needs, while 80% of respondents felt that the learning activity was a worthwhile investment for their employer. [1]

($ thousands)
Program
Activity
2008-09
Actual
Spending
2009-10 [2] Alignment to Government of Canada Outcome
Main
Estimates
Planned
Spending
Total
Authorities
Actual
Spending
Foundational Learning 99,091 66,162 66,162 94,470 52,159 Well-managed and efficient government operations
Organizational Leadership Development 20,382 12,783 12,783 18,505 14,179
Public Sector Management Innovation 20,255 11,268 11,268 12,988 8,253
Internal Services - 21,711 21,711 24,595 63,679  
Total 139,728 111,924 111,924 150,558 138,270  

Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome
Operational Priorities Type Status [3] Linkages to Strategic Outcome(s)
The consolidation of ongoing initiatives:
Functional community learning Ongoing Mostly Met
  • Priorities were met in the delivery of training for functional communities, and also through the engagement of priority functional communities such as finance, information management and human resources in the development of training that meets their needs.
  • Progress has been made in engaging emerging functional communities such as program evaluators to define their learning needs.
  • This initiative contributes to public service employees having the common knowledge and the leadership and management competencies they require to fulfil their responsibilities in serving Canadians.
  • The development of functional community learning, including curricula development and functional community networking, contributes directly to the first program activity of Foundational Learning as it ensures that common knowledge and competencies are developed among community members.
  • All courses are developed based on leading and innovative practices, thereby contributing to Public Sector Management Innovation, the third program activity.
The launch of new initiatives to deliver on Public Service Renewal:
Learning for managers — professional development and management skills

Identification of learning options for the new generation of public service employees
New Met all
  • The Management Excellence Series for assistant deputy ministers and other senior executives was launched in November 2009.
  • The new Performance Management Curriculum (training for mid-level managers) has met expectations by providing shorter, targeted learning interventions for managers.
  • Work began on a new blended-learning fundamental skills course for managers: training for experience in response to emerging gaps.
  • A workshop on Managing Intergenerational Diversity was created for and delivered to the National Managers' Community.
  • Each of these initiatives contributes to public service employees having the common knowledge and the leadership and management competencies they require to fulfil their responsibilities in serving Canadians.
  • Learning for managers contributes directly to the second program activity of Organizational Leadership Development, and the identification of learning options for the new generation of public service employees contributes to the first program activity of Foundational Learning.
  • All courses are developed based on leading and innovative practices, both initiatives contribute to Public Sector Management Innovation, the third program activity.
Management
Priorities
Type Status Linkages to Strategic Outcome(s)
Continued efforts to improve the learning infrastructure and assess learning programs to ensure relevance:
The Integrated Learner Management System (ILMS)
Ongoing Mostly Met
  • During 2009-10, a detailed, costed project plan was developed, followed by the commencement of installation and configuration of the system starting in the summer of 2009.
  • The project plan is for implementation over two phases starting in April 2010.
  • Each of these initiatives contributes to public service employees having the common knowledge and the leadership and management competencies they require to fulfil their responsibilities in serving Canadians.
  • The ILMS will ensure that the School's registration system supports timely and efficient access to training and more strategic and accurate reporting.
Curriculum Review Ongoing Somewhat Met
  • Progress has been made towards reviewing the full curriculum of the School to ensure relevance and accuracy.
  • The annual Curriculum Review process ensures programming is relevant in meeting client needs and public service priorities.

Risk Analysis

The cost-recovery portion of the School's operating budget increases every year. The School recovers its costs based on fees charged to departments and agencies for learning products and services. During the 2009-10 fiscal year, departments and agencies encountered pressures due to changing fiscal conditions. While a slower increase in the course registrations was anticipated, the School continued to emphasize the importance of learning as an investment to support public service productivity and effectiveness, and engaged in outreach activities to identify and address the learning needs of departments and agencies.

The continued relevance of the School's learning products is key to sustaining its cost-recovery operations and supporting deputy heads in their responsibility for the development of their employees. In response to client feedback, an integrated marketing strategy was implemented, including engagement strategies with key stakeholders of the federal Public Service. Notable recommendations included the development of shorter, sharper learning interventions to respond to economic pressures faced by departments, and the implementation of seasonal discounting to shift learner behaviour and demand for learning during off-peak periods.

Through the horizontal strategic review exercise, the School has identified ways to be more efficient and effective and to fully align its programs with department and agency learning needs. A number of programming changes were identified and their implementation is being phased in over a three-year period. These changes will assist in maintaining a modern public service with a knowledge-based workforce and a forward-looking, productive work environment.

A key risk that remains for the School is the management of its human resources in a complex environment that requires specialized skills and a unique understanding of government context. To mitigate this risk the School has focused on talent management, both by encouraging the development of competencies and skills among existing employees and by attracting recent graduates to the public service as part of Public Service Renewal.

At the same time, the number of subject matter experts and candidates with course design and teaching expertise is limited, and there is intense competition among departments and agencies to attract functional experts in certain professional fields. To address these challenges, the School continued to modify its human resources services during 2009-10, and worked to maintain an adequate balance of in-house expertise and external resources for program delivery. By securing additional expertise on a permanent basis, the School was able to gain efficiencies while simultaneously reducing its reliance on external consultants.

An important risk for the School has been the management of its legacy registration systems. During 2009-10, work continued on the implementation of a new Integrated Learner Management System (ILMS) to support the integration of the registration, management and administration of learning. When the implementation of the ILMS is completed, the legacy systems of the School will no longer be required and will be archived.

Expenditure Profile ($ thousands)


Expenditure Profile
[D]

The School's total expenditures in 2009-10 decreased slightly from $139.7 million to $138.2 million. As part of the effort to reduce reliance on consultants, the School continued its shift towards the development of internal resources for the delivery of course products. This resulted in an increase to salaries of $2.6 million and a reduction in operating and maintenance in the area of Professional Services and Temporary Help Services.

Revenue identified in the Main Estimates and Planned Spending was $50 million while Total Authorities include actual earned revenue of $70 million, as well as the following items:

  • re-spendable revenue and carry forward of $10.5 million from the previous year; and
  • new funding received throughout the year for signed collective agreements and from Treasury Board submissions: Advanced Leadership Program (ongoing) and Leadership Development Framework (one-year funding).

Actual Spending includes additional expenditures related to the collective agreements, new Treasury Board submissions, and revenue amount earned above the $50 million in Planned Spending.

Revenue Trend ($ thousands)


Revenu Trend
[D]

The revenue trend shows that total learner enrolments and revenue growth peaked in 2008-09 and are now stabilizing in 2009-10.

Canada's Economic Action Plan (CEAP)


($ thousands)
Funding for Enhancing Federal Public Service Student Employment
Planned Spending
Total Authorities
Actual Spending
29 29 29

The School received $29,000 under the Canada Economic Action Plan to increase student employment during 2009-10. In addition to this amount, $927,000 of the School's resources were spent on student employment.

Voted and Statutory Items


($ thousands)
Vote # or Statutory Item (S) Truncated Vote or
Statutory Wording
2007-08
Actual
Spending
2008-09
Actual
Spending
2009-10
Main
Estimates
2009-10
Actual
Spending
40 Operating expenditures 59,643 57,962 58,015 57,729
40 Grants and contributions 375 375 315 288
(S) Contributions to employee benefit plans 9,613 10,304 5,860 12,238
(S) Spending of revenues pursuant to Subsection 18(2) of the CSPS Act 52,543 71,085 50,000 68,013
(S) Spending of proceeds from the disposal of surplus crown assets 3 2 0 2
Total 122,177 139,728 114,190 138,270




Section II: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome

The School has a single strategic outcome:

Public servants have the common knowledge and the leadership and management competencies they require to fulfil their responsibilities in serving Canadians.

By achieving this strategic outcome, the School provides long-term benefits for Canadians by ensuring that employees of the Public Service of Canada across the country have the required knowledge and competencies to serve them with excellence.

In 2009-10, the School delivered on its targets by offering approximately 500 distinct learning activities (courses, events) which accounted for nearly 3,000 individual deliveries. The School's total deliveries resulted in about 200,000 learner days being made available to the Public Service (see Performance Summary Table in Section I).

The School receives appropriated funds for some foundational learning, notably training required under the Policy on Learning, Training and Development, including the Orientation to the Public Service program and Authority Delegation Training. For the most part, other learning products and services developed and delivered by the School are provided on a cost-recovery basis.

The School's products and services are available to all public service employees and organizations through various methods, such as classroom courses, online products, unique learning events and customized delivery. The School has noted a growing interest in customized delivery, which provides federal organizations with the flexibility to meet organizational learning needs by using a blend of existing quality products and services while adapting the approach and content to their needs. This typically results in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with client organizations.

In 2009-10, revenues generated from MOUs for the School's learning and training products increased from $14.8 million to $16.9 million. These MOUs included the delivery of calendar courses to a group of departmental employees, language teachers providing services within departments, events delivered within departments to address specific departmental learning needs, and change management interventions.

The current economic and fiscal situation had an impact on the School throughout 2009-10, as spending restraint was experienced across client departments. The School is a service provider to federal organizations that consider value for money in their spending on training. In response, the School has responded by reviewing its pricing strategy, establishing incentives for early registrations, and implementing a marketing strategy. While the School forecasted an increase in demand for its programs in 2009-10, due in part to the Public Service Renewal Action Plan, delivery actually stabilized at a level comparable to 2008-09.

From a management perspective, 2009-10 brought an additional financial challenge. After five years of existence, the School has faced increased expenses incurred by the need to redesign some courses and programs, and by adapting to new technologies. This, combined with the implementation of the 2008 horizontal strategic review of the Government of Canada's central human resources organizations (including the School), the School had to reduce its spending and reallocate resources within the organization.

The main efficiencies resulting from review decisions implemented in 2009-10 were:

  • $2.52 million from delivering the redesigned Orientation to the Public Service Program. In 2008-09, the School successfully redesigned this program from a two-day to a one-day session, while increasing regional delivery in cities across Canada and reducing required travel expenses. This approach allowed the School to reach targeted efficiencies and helped reduce required travel, which is now paid by Departments.
  • $90,000 from eliminating the Senior Leaders Network for deputy ministers
  • $132,000 from reducing development support for the Assistant Deputy Ministers (ADMs) Seminar Series. Offerings for ADMs will be delivered on a cost-recovery basis.
  • $360,000 from reducing work on the acquisition and dissemination of best practices, including grants and contributions. Reductions were made to research into best practices and to the delivery of the Innovative Public Management Research Fund.

Government-wide changes, such as the Treasury Board Policy Suite renewal and efforts announced to address the current economic environment, require the School to update its course material on an ongoing basis. These changes also make it necessary for the School to focus on the retraining of public service employees and specialists to ensure they maintain the required skills and competencies to do their jobs effectively.

The School is taking steps to address these changes, including greater outreach to departments and functional communities and increased use of technology. The curriculum review process currently underway will provide for strong course-calendar planning, monitoring and trend analysis for early identification of adjustments to capacity within the School.

The financial situation also had an impact on budget planning. Senior management adopted a distribution of available funds coupled with a business case approach to respond to financial pressures. This change in methodology allowed for earlier discussions and progress towards a more efficient allocation internally. Consequently, it created a closer alignment of available resources to the School's priorities.

Program Activity by Strategic Outcome

The School's strategic outcome is supported by four program activities:

  • Foundational Learning
  • Organization Leadership Development
  • Public Sector Management Innovation
  • Internal Services

foundational learning

The Foundational Learning Program Activity aims to provide the common knowledge required by employees of the Public Service. Four initiatives support this program activity:

  • Required Training
  • Professional Development Training
  • Official Languages Learning
  • Online Learning

Program Activity: Foundational Learning
2009-10 Financial Resources
($ thousands)
2009-10 Human Resources
(full-time employees - FTEs)
Planned Spending Total Authorities Actual Spending Planned Actual Difference
66,162 94,470 52,159 443 416 -27
Expected
Results
Performance
Indicators
Targets Performance
Status
Performance
Summary
Public service employees are able to apply the foundational knowledge provided by the School in their workplace. The School will identify the percentage of participants who intend to apply, are able to apply, and/or have applied the knowledge acquired in foundational knowledge learning activities to their current or future workplace. The target level of participants able to apply their acquired knowledge is 80%. Unable to determine In 2009-10, 93% of questionnaire respondents indicated that they have applied or would be able to apply the knowledge acquired from learning activities. [4]

Unfortunately, limitations associated with the data collection methodology have not allowed the School to separate individual learning activities based on program activity areas.

Required Training

Orientation to the Public Service
Orientation programs are offered to new public service employees to provide a foundational understanding of government and the values, ethics and responsibilities that they will draw upon throughout their careers. The School uses a blended learning approach, with a one-day classroom session complemented by prerequisite online training.

Breakdown of Orientation to the Public Service Deliveries
Fiscal
Year
Courses Delivered in the
National Capital Region
Courses Delivered
Regionally
Courses Delivered
Nationally
Offerings Learners Offerings Learners Offerings Learners
2007-08
40 4,804 22 2,456 62 7,260
2008-09 55 5,568 47 4,916 102 10,484
2009-10 44 4,935 44 4,188 88 9,123

The School worked closely with three public safety agencies - the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Correctional Service of Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency - to help them align their own orientation programs with the Orientation to the Public Service program.

Authority Delegation Training (ADT)
In accordance with the Policy on Learning, Training and Development, the School continues to deliver Authority Delegation Training to four groups of employees: supervisors, managers, executives (EX-01 to EX-03 levels) and Assistant Deputy Ministers to ensure that these groups are equipped to exercise their delegated authorities. The School was successful at meeting the demands for ADT.

Breakdown of Authority Delegation Training Deliveries
Fiscal
Year
Courses Delivered in the
National Capital Region
Courses Delivered
Regionally
Courses Delivered
Nationally
Offerings Learners Offerings Learners Offerings Learners
2007-08
178 4,051 123 2,616 301 6,667
2008-09 234 5,259 138 2,931 372 8,190
2009-10 257 5,891 157 3,147 414 9,038

Professional Development Training

Functional Communities Programming
The School has been working closely with a number of functional communities. In the context of the Policy Renewal Initiative, the entire Information Management curriculum was reviewed and updated to reflect new policies, directives and guidelines.

The School and the Office of the Comptroller General have worked jointly on the development of a core curriculum for the financial management community. The first three fundamental courses of the new curriculum have been developed and validated. These courses will become mandatory for all financial professionals with less than five years experience and for all new community members beginning in September 2010. A new series of workshops and seminars on strategic issues for senior financial officers has also been piloted and will be part of regular programming.

A learning needs analysis has been conducted with the evaluator's community following the launch of the new Treasury Board Secretariat evaluation policy, and a first learning curriculum has been drafted and discussed with heads of evaluation in March 2010.

Statistical data on functional communities include courses for functional specialists as well as non-specialists (managers and employees)

Breakdown of Functional Community Deliveries
Fiscal
Year
Courses Delivered in the
National Capital Region
Courses Delivered
Regionally
Courses Delivered
Nationally
Offerings Learners Offerings Learners Offerings Learners
2007-08
358 7,226 255 5,647 613 12,873
2008-09 458 9,222 256 4,177 714 13,399
2009-10 470 8,794 281 3,166 751 11,960

Professional Development Programming
The School enhances the performance and effectiveness of the Public Service by integrating the individual development of public service employees with organization-focused solutions for learning, change management and management innovation. Based, on the National Manager's Community feedback, the School introduced Performance Management Curriculum workshops, leading to more than 60 deliveries across Canada.

The School also offers a variety of courses designed to enable public service employees to enhance their skills in generic competencies such as writing, negotiating, interpersonal communication, etc.

Breakdown of Professional Development Training Deliveries [5]
Fiscal
Year
Courses Delivered in the
National Capital Region
Courses Delivered
Regionally
Courses Delivered
Nationally
Offerings Learners Offerings Learners Offerings Learners
2007-08
305 6,262 198 2,792 503 9,054
2008-09 271 5,628 196 3,066 467 8,694
2009-10 375 7,6864 261 3,843 636 11,529

Official Languages Learning

Access to Language Training Services
The School facilitates on-time access to quality-assured language training for public service employees in order to assist them in acquiring and maintaining second official language skills. In 2009-10, 80,550 learner days were delivered by external pre-qualified providers and 30,561 learner days were offered by the School.

In addition, 84 qualified language teachers and facilitators from the School worked on-site in departments across the country. The School also provided language training to 34 students with disabilities in the National Capital Region (NCR).

In 2009-10, 1,600 language learning plans were delivered across the country. These plans include elements such as the estimated number of training hours required by the learner to meet their targeted language proficiency.

In collaboration with Public Works and Government Services Canada, which serves as the contractual authority, the School continued to provide its technical expertise to develop a National Master Standing Offer (NMSO) for the delivery of standardized French and English language training on a national scale.

As part of the Roadmap for Linguistic Duality 2008-2013: Acting for the Future, the School has initiated a number of activities, such as agreements with ten universities across Canada to provide their students with access to 16 second-language learning tools. As of March 31, 2010, there were 193 students participating in this initiative.

Language Retention Services
Over 70 language training products are available online and were accessed 68,360 times in 2009-10. The Language Maintenance and Acquisition Cycle was officially launched in April 2009. The Cycle offers a means of self-directed learning to help employees maintain and even improve their competencies in their second official language.

Online Learning

Online Course Program
The School noted an increase in the number of active Campusdirect accounts between 2008-09 and 2009-10 from 141,155 to 158,915. The total number of times courses were accessed has also increased during this time period from 221,191 to 248,017. This increased use of Campusdirect demonstrates a growing interest in online training delivery. As well, there is an increased focus on reducing travel in order to increase efficiency and control costs. In 2009-10, the School has prepared Campusdirect courses for migration to the ILMS infrastructure. The migration of associated classroom course content is underway.

lessons learned

  1. The development and implementation of the NMSO for language training is a complex project, as this is the first time that there has been an attempt to standardize language training delivered by the private sector across the country. Approval was received in 2006, and the School started work in collaboration with Public Works and Government Services Canada. Since its approval, the context of the project has changed and deputy heads' accountability for determining the appropriate training approach for their employees has been reinforced. The School is currently conducting consultations to clarify the needs and expectations of departments in establishing an NMSO.

  2. In an effort to continue to integrate leading practices in its offerings, the School is expanding its use of case studies on current issues in public administration and public policy. It is leveraging and improving existing in-house capacity and building partnerships with other government departments and non-governmental organizations to expand its knowledge of what works, what doesn't, and why.

  3. While approximately 60% of public service employees work in regions outside the NCR, about 40% of the School's learning activity takes place in these regions. While the School has increased its regional offerings, it did not succeed in significantly increasing the number of regional participants. The School is working with its regional clients to re-examine the learning needs of regional employees and to determine if the School's curriculum is sufficiently targeted to the individual needs of each region.

benefits to canadians

Through the delivery of Foundational Learning, the School provides long-term benefits for Canadians by ensuring that public service employees have:

  • the language competencies to serve them in the official language of their choice;
  • the leading-edge knowledge in their sector of expertise to better serve Canadians;
  • full knowledge, references and tools to manage financial, material and human resources effectively; and,
  • competency for good management practices.

organizational leadership development

The School strengthens the Public Service and contributes to Public Service Renewal by building the leadership competencies of existing and emerging leaders.

Three initiatives support this program activity:

  • Leadership Competencies
  • Leadership Development Programs
  • Leadership Community Building

Program Activity: Organizational Leadership Development
2009-10 Financial Resources ($ thousands) 2009-10 Human Resources
(full-time employees - FTEs)
Planned Spending Total Authorities Actual Spending Planned Actual Difference
12,783 18,505 14,179 102 100 -2
Expected Results Performance Indicators Targets Performance Status Performance Summary
Public service managers, executives and senior leaders are satisfied with the leadership development courses, programs and activities received. The School will measure the degree of satisfaction of public service employees with the leadership activities provided. Leadership activities receive an average rating of 4 on a 5-point scale on overall satisfaction. Exceeded In 2009-10, the average satisfaction rating was 4.4 on a 5-point rating scale.
Public service managers, executives and senior leaders are able to apply their leadership competencies in the workplace. The School will determine the percentage of public service employees who intend to apply, are able to apply and/or have applied the knowledge acquired through leadership development activities in their workplace. The target level of participants able to apply their acquired knowledge is 80%. Unable to determine In 2009-10, 93% of questionnaire respondents indicated that they have applied or would be able to apply the knowledge acquired from learning activities. [6]

Unfortunately, limitations associated with the data collection methodology have not allowed the School to separate leadership development activities based on program activity areas.

performance analysis

Leadership Competencies

Throughout 2009-10, the School continued to provide a range of leadership training activities to supervisors, managers, executives and senior leaders. A total of approximately 22,400 learner days for leadership training activities were recorded.

In response to demands for additional programming related to the international context in which public service employees work, progress was made on expanding the suite of training activities to include courses such as How the EU Works and How Washington Really Works.

Leadership Development Programs

In 2009-10, the School continued to successfully deliver leadership development programs such as Direxion, Living Leadership and the Advanced Leadership Program designed to provide structured and comprehensive career development to high-potential public service employees. The School also continued to develop a number of "how to" management skills courses such as Providing Effective Feedback and Effective Two-Minute Briefings.

2009-10
Leadership Development Program Breakdown Offerings Learners Learners
Days
Career Assignment Program / Direxion 25 143 1,430
Management Training Program / i-leadership 14 317 1,494
Advanced Leadership Program 2 52 1,250
Living Leadership - Executive Excellence Program 14 125 2,002

Leadership Community Building

In 2009-10, emphasis was placed on building leadership communities across the Public Service and advancing leadership through partnerships, which resulted in discussion of the learning and development needs of the various communities.

A new Learning Roadmap for Managers was launched and distributed widely to assist managers and departments in planning their development. This product was strongly endorsed through the 2010-11 Public Service Renewal Action Plan.

lessons learned

  1. Through its work with the community of senior leaders, the School has altered its approach to leadership training. The growing demand is for shorter, sharper interventions rather than longer-term courses, and for more programming on mastering the job at hand. Feedback received from partners indicates that programming for senior leaders needs to be more focused on the fundamentals.

  2. The School has worked with central agency partners to support key learning components of Public Service Renewal (e.g.: the Advanced Leadership Program and employee development). In addition, new learning options were explored and courses were designed and updated to incorporate leading practices.

benefits to canadians

Through the delivery of Organizational Leadership Development, the School provides long-term benefits for Canadians by ensuring that the existing and emerging leaders of the Public Service:

  • are highly-skilled, forward-thinking, and global-minded;
  • have access to coaching, training and development programs to help build and reinforce their leadership skills;
  • are ready to fill executive positions and lead key government initiatives; and,
  • are equipped to serve the needs of elected officials effectively.

public sector management innovation

The School enhances the performance and effectiveness of the Public Service by integrating the individual development of public service employees with organization-focused solutions for learning, change management and management innovation.

Two initiatives support this program activity:

  • Organizational Learning Services
  • Innovative Management Practices

Program Activity: Public Sector Management Innovation
2009-10 Financial Resources
($ thousands)
2009-10 Human Resources
(full-time employees - FTEs)
Planned Spending Total Authorities Actual Spending Planned Actual Difference
11,268 12,988 8,253 77 69 -8
Expected Results Performance Indicators Targets Performance Status Performance Summary
Public service organizations have access to the tools and services to help them integrate learning, manage change and innovate. The School will track the number of organizations provided with Public Sector Management Innovation services. The target is 25 departments and agencies. Mostly Met The School's Strategic Change Group worked with 29 organizations from 21 distinct departments and agencies.
Public service organizations integrate learning, manage change and innovate by adapting leading practices. The School will measure the degree of satisfaction of public service organizations with the School's Public Sector Management Innovation services. The target is an 80% satisfaction rate. Unable to determine The School did not measure this degree of satisfaction.

performance analysis

Organizational Learning Services

The School has worked closely with management teams in other federal departments that are looking for organizational change management advice. In 2009-10, the School's Strategic Change Group worked with 29 organizations from 21 departments to support organizational change management initiatives that affected 15,000 employees.

As part of its commitment to management innovation, the School continued to support the programming of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in governance and public sector reform in developing countries. In 2009-10, the School managed three CIDA-funded projects with Mali, Brazil and Russia.

Innovative Management Practices

Sound public administration training requires a strong connection with the Canadian academic community. In 2009-10:

  • The annual University-Public Service Symposium was held in May 2009 and was attended by more than 70 academics and senior officials.
  • As part of the School's Public Servant-in-Residence Program, six senior public service employees were approved to proceed with an assignment at a university.
  • The Deputy Minister University Champion Program was expanded to include 10 additional champions and 11 universities, for a total of 33 champions for 40 institutions.

lessons learned

  1. The School is a resource for public service departments, agencies and communities, supporting them in the acquisition and dissemination of leading-edge management practices. Management challenges can be addressed in part by integrating leading practices into learning across the School's suite of offerings. This will require the development of an agenda of leading practices related to emerging challenges.

benefits to canadians

Through the delivery of Public Sector Management Innovation, the School provides long-term benefits for Canadians by ensuring that the public service has:

  • the capacity to manage organizational change in a concrete environment;
  • management teams that are competent to lead change effectively and to collaborate; and
  • a more effective management in addressing emerging challenges.

internal services

Internal Services are comprised of groups [7] of activities and resources that are administered to support corporate obligations of the organization.

Performance Analysis

Program Activity Highlights
Activity Status on Performance and Results
Management Priorities
  • The School delivered several initiatives supporting government-wide public service renewal priorities, which were reported to the Clerk of the Privy Council.
  • In the past year, the School used the results of the Management Accountability Framework assessment to develop management actions and to improve its decision-making.
  • Information technology infrastructure was established for ILMS, including the pre-production and production environment. The launch was delayed until early 2010-11.
Support to the Board of Governors
  • In 2009-10, the School's Board of Governors held two meetings, in May and October 2009, to discuss key issues and priorities facing the School.
  • The School regularly informed the Board of Governors of the School's activities to ensure understanding and to support the decision-making process.
Audit
  • The School's Departmental Audit Committee met four times in 2009-10.
  • An Annual Audit Plan was developed, and the School continued the implementation of its approved three-year risk-based audit plan.
  • An audit of the statement of financial position of the School as of March 31, 2009 was undertaken by an external audit firm. The audit determined that the financial position of the School was reported accurately.
  • An audit of internal controls over financial reporting was conducted and determined that these controls were generally operating efficiently. Deficiencies were related to a lack of documentation and review as well as an inadequate segregation of duties.
  • The School participated in one horizontal audit, conducted by the Office of the Comptroller General, one audit conducted by the Office of the Auditor General and two studies by the Public Service Commission.
Evaluation
  • The School's five-year Evaluation Plan was revised to reflect current priorities. In 2009-10, three program evaluations were undertaken to support decision-making, and one was concluded.
  • The School provided learner evaluation materials for its offerings resulting in 2,876 evaluations.
  • The School also launched two learning evaluations to measure knowledge gain and three learning evaluations to measure behaviour change resulting from a learning activity.
  • Nine ad hoc evaluation reports were completed on various courses and programs offered by the School, and a five-year trend report on evaluation results is in progress.
Communications and Marketing
  • The School continued enhancement of communications by improving its intranet site.
  • To improve communications with employees and external stakeholders, the communications function was reinforced to provide support to senior management, programs and services.
  • Marketing approaches were developed for the Finance and Procurement and Material Management Communities through the client analysis program.
  • A support tool that provided business intelligence nationally was developed to improve decision-making and allowed for more effective marketing.
  • Outreach activities were strengthened in order to increase awareness of the School products and services, maintain revenue targets and seek new business.
Human Resources Management
  • The School's compensation and benefits services, which were previously out-sourced, were transferred to the Human Resources Branch to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
  • A comprehensive suite of staffing options were used, resulting in 340 staffing actions.
  • Human resources service standards were developed, implemented and evaluated, and communicated to all employees.
  • As a follow up to the 2008 Public Service Employee Survey, the School developed a consolidated action plan that focuses on four key areas: 1) Delegations; 2) Time management; 3) Tools to support work; and, 4) Feedback from staff to management.
  • Individual branch action plans were created to address specific issues identified. A committee was established to monitor progress on the action plans.
Review of Policies
  • The Human Resources Branch monitored policy instrument revisions from the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer and made appropriate adjustments to the School's human resources policies and programs as required.
  • The internal policy on contracting and the contracting desk guide were updated, while the terms of reference for a quality assurance function were also completed.
  • The Internal Audit Charter and the Departmental Audit Committee Charter were updated in 2009-10.
  • The School's Authority Delegation Training for senior leaders, along with other leadership courses, were updated to ensure alignment with Treasury Board policies.
  • In 2009-10, the School's Corporate Risk Profile was updated using input from designated risk owners and was approved by the School's Management Committee in Fall 2009.
Financial and Asset Management
  • The School has successfully implemented the Chief Financial Officer model and continues to review its internal policies and processes to ensure that they align with Treasury Board policy updates.
  • An automated Integrated Planning Tool has been implemented, incorporating all relevant planning elements within a corporate framework.
  • In April 2009, the School successfully completed the transition to a new service provider, Health Canada, for its financial system (SAP) support.
  • The School developed new procedures for tracking capital assets and its asset inventory was updated to reflect new investments.
  • In 2009-10, the School, in collaboration with Public Works and Government Service Canada, developed a strategy that seeks to minimize reliance on, while optimizing the use of, rented spaces.

lessons learned

  1. The collection of data to determine whether the School has met its targets established in its performance measurement framework continues to be a challenge. Moving forward, the School will have to review its data collection methodology to ensure its relevance in assessing performance and targets.

  2. The School will work towards achieving the proper balance between maximizing the efficiency of its offerings while providing participants with a range of timing options. The School has determined that, in some cases, increasing its number of offerings has lead to a decrease in the number of participants per session. The School will continue to examine this trend in an effort to identify areas where improvements can be made.

  3. The implementation of the ILMS has brought many challenges related to the management of change within the School and with its clients. Challenges included planning and working in an integrated fashion. In response, the School conducted a review of the ILMS governance to ensure that work was proceeding in an integrated fashion. As a result of this review, a number of working groups were disbanded and the integration of the project was refocused on the ILMS Integration Committee whose membership includes the School's vice-presidents and directors general. This governance review and related changes improved shared decision-making and served to advance the project.

benefits to canadians

The work performed under this program activity assures Canadians that the School's operations are managed in a transparent, accountable and effective manner through the provision of advice and analysis related to the School's activities.



Section III - Supplementary Information

Financial Highlights

($ thousands)
Condensed Statement of Financial Position
At End of Year (March 31, 2010)
% Change 2009-10 2008-09
Financial assets 25% 2,080 1,664
Non-financial assets 141% 8,0 3,326
total assets 102% 10,089 4,990
Liabilities 1% 32,092 31,818
Equity -18% (22,003) (26,828)

total 102% 10,089 4,990

($ thousands)
Condensed Statement of Financial Operations
At End of Year (March 31, 2010)
% Change 2009-10 2008-09
Total Expenses -4% 157,744 157,828
Total Revenues 5% 70,000 66,817

net cost of operations -10% 81,744 91,011

Financial Highlights Chart/Graphs


Financial Highlights Chart/Graphs
[D]

Financial Statements

The financial highlights presented within this Departmental Performance Report are intended to serve as a general overview of the School's financial position. More information is available on the School's website at: http://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/aut/cdo/index-eng.asp.

List of Supplementary Information Tables

The following tables are located on the Treasury Board Secretariat website:

  • Sources of Respendable Revenue
  • User Fees
  • Status Report on Projects operating with specific Treasury Board Approval
  • Green Procurement
  • Response to Parliamentary Committees and External Audits
  • Internal Audits and Evaluations

Other Items of Interest


 


[1] Due to a change in methodology, data related to this performance target was collected from April to December 2009 only. The performance results reflected above have been calculated using this time period.

[2] Commencing in the 2009-10 Estimates cycle, the resources for Program Activity: Internal Service is displayed separately from other program activities; they are no longer distributed among the remaining program activities, as was the case in previous Main Estimates. This has affected the comparability of spending and full-time employees information by Program Activity between fiscal years.

[3] Exceeded: More than 100 per cent of the expected level of performance (as evidenced by the indicator and target or planned activities and outputs) for the expected result or priority identified in the Report on Plans and Priorities ( RPP) was achieved during the year.

Met All: 100 per cent of the expected level of performance (as evidenced by the indicator and target or planned activities and expected outputs) for the expected result or priority identified in the RPP was achieved during the year.

Mostly Met: 80 to 99 per cent of the expected level of performance (as evidenced by the indicator and target or planned activities and expected outputs) for the expected result / priority identified in the RPP was achieved during the year. Somewhat Met: 60 to 79 per cent of the expected level of performance (as evidenced by the indicator and target or planned activities and outputs) for the expected result or priority identified in the RPP was achieved during the year.

Not Met: Less than 60 per cent of the expected level of performance (as evidenced by the indicator and target or planned activities and outputs) for the expected result or priority identified in the RPP was achieved during the year.

[4] Due to a change in methodology, data related to this performance target was collected from April to December 2009 only. The performance results reflected above have been calculated using this time period.

[5] Data include calendar courses as well as courses offered under Memoranda of Understanding.

[6] Due to a change in methodology, data related to this performance target was collected from April to December 2009 only.  The performance results reflected above have been calculated using this time period.

[7] These groups are: Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Materiel Services; Acquisition Services; and Travel and Other Administrative Services.