ARCHIVED - RPP 2006-2007
Public Works and Government Services Canada

Section II - PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

Introduction

This section of the Report provides information about PWGSC's Program Activities. The Program Activity Architecture (PAA) is an activity-based management system, which all government departments are moving towards, in accordance with TB directives. The PAA is part of the government's Management Resources and Results Structure (MRRS), which will provide a horizontal management framework across the federal government and will allow for enhanced reporting to Parliament and Central Agencies on performance. The MRRS replaces the Planning, Reporting and Accountability Structure.

As a management tool, the PAA is in its early stages and is being completed with program financial, performance and other management information, which is being placed into the TBS Expenditure Management Information System. In the long-term, with its full implementation, the PAA should provide a basis for year-by-year evaluation/assessment of activity performance and a guide to monitoring results over time.

The Program Activity Architecture for PWGSC's Government Services Program is divided into 26 activities. These activities support our strategic outcomes: Quality Services and Sound Stewardship.

To better reflect the PWGSC approach to services, the PAA's 26 activities have been grouped to highlight our key service areas:

• Real Property;
• Acquisitions;
• Information Technology;
• Receiver General and Public Service Compensation;
• Government Information and Consulting;
• Greening Government Operations;
• Business Integration; and
• Special Operating Agencies such as the Translation Bureau and Consulting and Audit Canada.

Corporate Management is an additional activity provided internally to support our government services. Due to its importance to PWGSC, Corporate Management is discussed as part of the overall reporting structure in this report with the financial budget allocated to PWGSC's service areas.

In each of the Government Service sections, which follow in this Report, plans and initiatives are identified for each service. The plans and initiatives focus on the immediate planning period. Descriptions are also provided with results statements and performance indicators for the PAA activities within each service. The PAA focuses on long-term and enduring outcomes for PWGSC.

REAL PROPERTY

PWGSC is one of the largest providers of office space in Canada. It is the custodian of a significant inventory of federal office space and common-use facilities, which makes up a good part of the critical infrastructure that enables the Government of Canada to effectively serve its citizens.

PWGSC provides office and common use accommodation to federal government departments and agencies, as well as a full range of real property services. It also contributes to the policy priorities that support the Government of Canada in the delivery of programs for Canadians. PWGSC demonstrates real property leadership by:

• Providing federal departments and agencies with affordable, productive work environments;
• Providing ongoing stewardship of national treasures such as the Parliamentary Precinct and other heritage assets across Canada and various engineered public works (such as bridges and dams);
• Administering the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program that strives for fair and equitable payments to real property taxing authorities; and
• Managing the Real Property Disposition Revolving Fund, which facilitates the disposal of properties surplus to government requirements.

Real Property provides strategic and expert advice to other federal departments and agencies for the acquisition, development, construction, management, operation, maintenance, repair and disposal of real property.

Plans and Initiatives

Real Property will support the following key strategic departmental priorities:

• The Way Forward;
• Real property savings;
• Sound stewardship and ethical management;
• Business transformation;
• Project performance;
• NCA Accommodations Strategy and office accommodations distribution between Ontario and Quebec (Ratio of 75/25);
• Ongoing mandate; and
• Long Term Vision and Plan for the Parliamentary Precinct.

The Way Forward

Real Property continues to be a significant contributor to the federal government's effort to achieve savings that can be reallocated to higher priorities. More specifically, The Way Forward initiative comprises two important elements:

• Saving money by maximizing efficiencies, taking advantage of economies of scale and leveraging existing expertise; and
• Doing these things in an open, transparent way so as to preserve the confidence of Canadians in the integrity and fairness of the Government of Canada.

Real Property Savings

PWGSC has developed a number of specific initiatives so that real property gross savings of $1,025 million will be achieved over a five-year period, starting in 2005-06:

Rigorous Application of Accommodation Standards: PWGSC will consistently apply fit-up and space standards, and optimize space utilization to be more in line with private sector norms. This is expected to achieve savings of $500 million over the five-year period. The aim is to reduce the average space per Full Time Equivalent from 21.4 square metres to 18 square metres. It is anticipated that it will be a challenge to achieve the five-year space savings targets. PWGSC will have to seek collaboration and commitment from our client departments and agencies in order to achieve the long-term program savings commitment and the related short-term projects.

Overall, the fit-up portion of the savings will be the result of less space requiring fit-up and more rigorous accommodation standards.

Improved Inventory Management: PWGSC will continue to focus efforts on longer-term program planning and the optimization of its accommodation portfolio. This will include:

• Improving the management of its leased portfolio and the rates negotiated through such means as long-term leases; and
• Increasing efficiencies and savings in managing facilities operation and delivering maintenance and repair projects, such as more effective scheduling and bundling of work.

This is expected to achieve savings of $300 million over the five-year period. We will be working closely with clients and TBS to achieve target savings.

Efficiencies in Program Management and Service Delivery: PWGSC is an industry leader in the area of outsourcing property management services. A new approach to program management and service delivery is expected to achieve savings of $175 million over the five-year period. We will assess further opportunities for outsourcing and, if appropriate, develop a related strategy and implementation plan. Real Property will reduce overhead by ceasing non-essential activities and reassigning resources to higher priorities.

One Time Capital Deferral: Real Property deferred $50 million investments in capital projects to reallocate to higher priorities in 2005-06. Capital deferral will not continue into 2006-07 and future years.

Investments at PWGSC: Investments are required in current and future years to transform Real Property's business and achieve the estimated savings.

The table "Government-wide Real Property Savings", as published in the Report on Plans and Priorities 2005-2006, summarizes the savings related to the reallocation process

The achievement of $1.025 billion in government-wide savings will require the full commitment of our colleague departments and policy-making agencies. In order to attain these savings, PWGSC will invest about $100 million over five years in initiatives to enhance real property management.

Sound Stewardship and Ethical Management

Real Property strives to ensure sound and ethical management and stewardship of the resources entrusted to it. This will be achieved by having sound management practices in place with assurance functions and oversight mechanisms respected and supported.

PWGSC will work with the Office of the Chief Risk Officer so that risk management and quality assurance are more fully integrated into the culture of Real Property.

We will continue to foster and build a strong culture of values and ethics by further implementing the Ten-Point Integrity Plan, which includes mandatory training in ethics. In addition, we will continue to address recommendations arising from the Auditor General and PWGSC's Audit and Evaluation Branch.

Business Transformation

Real Property is seeking to become an industry leader in business performance and best practices. In 2006-07, Real Property will implement an enterprise-wide business transformation agenda. We will develop and implement consistent and disciplined approaches to reflect industry standard practices. This will involve alignment of processes, people and systems with its new business direction. Capacity will be built-up in key areas of expertise.

While undergoing the business transformation process, Real Property is seeking access to financial advisory services from the private sector to provide innovative and useful recommendations to address challenges facing the management of PWGSC's Crown-owned real estate. These challenges include the condition and age of buildings, unrealized development potential, the limited flexibility of assets, outdated IT systems, project management performance, and inflated operating costs.

Although we are in the early stages of the transformation process, we have identified our key areas of activity for greatest value for money. With the implementation of pilot projects and by comparative analysis with real estate organizations, we will identify ways to improve our business processes. By implementing the business transformation process, we will be better able to provide quality services for our clients and sustainable value and savings for Canadians.

Project Performance

To provide improved service delivery and greater client satisfaction, Real Property will realign project governance and continue to make improvements in project delivery having more focus on key clients and major projects. Given the current volatility in construction costs, more rigour will be brought to project risk management and cost estimating through investment in real time project management systems. Real Property will identify and implement a single industry standard project management approach to deliver our projects on time, on budget and within their defined scope.

Deliver Ongoing Mandate

In 2006-07, Real Property will continue to devote the majority of its resources to provide safe, affordable workplace solutions to support the delivery of government programs, including: Federal Accommodation and Holdings, Real Property Services Revolving Fund and Real Property Disposition Revolving Fund. In 2005-06, a re-organization within PWGSC resulted in a realignment of the Service Integration Branch, e.g., elements of client services were transferred to the real property organization.

Long Term Vision and Plan for the Parliamentary Precinct

PWGSC is the custodian for the buildings in the Parliamentary Precinct. As important heritage assets, these buildings are in need of significant investment to protect their architectural integrity and to ensure that they remain safe and useful for future generations. PWGSC has developed a Long Term Vision and Plan (LTVP) - a detailed blueprint for renovations and new construction program. Real Property will ensure that the principles of the LTVP are effectively implemented. These include: preserving the historical structures, bringing them up to modern standards, and meeting accommodation requirements identified by the Senate, House of Commons, and Library of Parliament. The management of this important legacy program of work is supported through strong working relationships between PWGSC and our Parliamentary partners. Please see Section III - Table 11 for more information on individual LTVP major Crown projects.

Activities

PWGSC has four Real Property Services activities.

• Federal Accommodation and Holdings;
• Real Property Services Revolving Fund;
• Real Property Disposition Revolving Fund; and
• Real Property Stewardship.

The first three activities support the Quality Services strategic outcome, while the fourth activity supports our Sound Stewardship strategic outcome. The Strategic Outcome Tables for these planned activities provide descriptions, results statements and performance indicators for each activity.

Strategic Outcome: Quality Services

Federal Accommodation and Holdings

Real Property Services Revolving Fund

Real Property Disposition Revolving Fund

Strategic Outcome: Sound Stewardship

Real Property Stewardship

ACQUISITIONS

PWGSC is the government's primary procurement service provider offering client departments and agencies a broad base of procurement solutions such as specialized contracts, standing offers, supply arrangements and electronic marketplaces. Our role is the provision of timely value-added acquisitions and related common services to Canadians and the federal government. These services are provided within a framework that promotes and requires stringent ethical procurement standards. In greening government operations, we also play a key role in assisting client departments to identify and adopt environmentally-friendly "green" procurement alternatives by encouraging them to buy green products.

As a strategic partner with our clients, Acquisitions:

• Builds and manages supplier relationships, including those of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs);
• Strives to achieve best value purchases;
• Helps define client requirements;
• Looks for opportunities to improve the process of buying goods and services;
• Finds the best possible solutions for meeting client needs; and
• Closely oversees client and supplier relationships after contract award for stronger accountability throughout the procurement process.

Our role also involves military and Major Crown Projects procurement, and the offering of specialized services such as: marine inspection and technical services; management of seized property; travel management; standards for and certification of goods and services; surplus asset disposal; procurement of vaccines and drugs on behalf of provinces and territories; and registration of quality (ISO 9000) and environmental (ISO 14001) management services. We also support the development of professional procurement initiatives, such as certification standards for procurement professionals, through active participation in national organizations.

Plans and Initiatives

In 2006-07, we will continue the delivery of efficiencies, productivity gains, and cost reductions, thereby enabling the reallocation of resources to higher government priorities. The Way Forward is committed to achieving government-wide acquisition savings of $2.5 billion over 5 years.

PWGSC achieved savings almost immediately. For example, by making the use of standing offers mandatory for certain commodities and leveraging volume discounts, immediate savings were generated, in some cases, as high as 30%. Building upon this early momentum, the department established several initiatives, as identified below, designed to secure the long-term goals of the transformation agenda.

In addition to transformation, PWGSC will continue to support its clients' ongoing and special needs, e.g., support for the government's recent commitment to invest approximately $17 billion in military equipment and related services. As in all its procurement activities, PWGSC will follow processes that are fair, open and transparent.

Commodity Management

One of our key strategies involves taking steps in 2006-07 to embed our Commodity Management practices into our daily operations. Led by PWGSC, Commodity Management is a government-wide framework used to plan and manage the life cycle of various goods and services. It is aimed at establishing government-wide efficiencies and savings for reallocation. Using the Annual Government-Wide Plan for Commodity Management, approved in Winter 2005-06, we will support client departments as they manage their procurement requirements.

Under the direction of the interdepartmental Assistant Deputy Minister Steering Committee and also Commodity Councils (comprised of high-level client department representatives, industry representatives and, depending on the commodity, representatives from Small and Medium Enterprises), we will establish commodity plans. The plans will identify:

• Which contracting instruments are to be used;
• Opportunities for strategic sourcing for goods and services (e.g., travel services);
• Opportunities to reduce costs and buy smarter;
• Ways to manage relationships with vendors and how to better monitor their performance;
• How government material and assets are managed; and
• How the government disposes of its assets.

Commodity Councils will set savings targets for each commodity and monitor overall efficiency. In 2006-07, the government-wide savings target is $204 million. To reach the targets for 2006-07 and future years, we will:

• Complete and seek endorsement of 30 to 40 commodity plans by Fall 2006;
• Implement between 30 to 40 consolidated procurement instruments by March 2007; and
• Begin strategic sourcing for additional commodities by March 2007.

The successful generation of some of the savings is dependent upon implementation of new authorities accorded to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services identified in the Budget Implementation Act, 2005. PWGSC will continue to work with TBS to establish the necessary conditions to bring these authorities into force.

New processes, some of which we have begun to use in the development of our plans, will include analysis of commodity supply and utilization, market assessments and determination of life cycle costs. As part of our transformation agenda, we will continue to embed new processes into our current practices of delivering fundamental acquisition services to our clients.

We will also improve our consultation practices with respect to procurement transformation with Industry (including SMEs) and clients.

Government-wide savings, realized at the client department level, cannot be measured accurately without a reliable baseline to measure progress over time. To this end, we will continue to develop the Performance Measurement Framework, a cornerstone to solid performance management, to guide our clients' understanding of potential benefits obtained from The Way Forward. In the coming year, in addition to reporting on savings, we will report on progress on initiatives such as Small and Medium Enterprises, Green Procurement and vendor performance. We will also be using complex diagnostic tools to better enable the reporting of savings for custom procurements.

Client departments expect to achieve real dollar savings. These savings are projected to accelerate in later years. To mitigate possible impacts of savings shortfalls, PWGSC and Commodity Councils will monitor monthly savings achieved against targets. This governance will support continuous improvement and ensure early detection of problem areas, allowing PWGSC and client departments to take necessary corrective measures.

For more information on our transformation efforts, please visit: http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca/b2k5/text/public/staging_pp/rc-1-e.html.

E-Procurement

The Government of Canada Marketplace (GoCM), a key enabler of the transformation agenda, will help generate savings by delivering volume price discounts, consolidating procurement instruments such as standing offers, and improving and simplifying purchasing processes. PWGSC will continue to build upon progress it has already made to ensure effective and timely rollout. The GoCM, which received effective project approval from the Treasury Board in June 2006, seeks to make its services available to all government departments and agencies. It will include the ability to track and report on compliance on the use of mandatory supply arrangements, achieving savings objectives for government as a whole or as individual departments. In doing so, it will also support the government's efforts to improve accountability by: enhancing transparency into what the government is buying; standardizing processes for low dollar purchases; and establishing audit trails for what has been purchased, for whom, and for what price. Refer to Table 14 in Section III of this report for more information on the GoCM project.

Client Engagement

Focusing on procurement savings opportunities, the client consultancy team is driving towards tangible procurement transformation results such as comprehensive departmental procurement strategies and service level agreements. This is achieved through iterative review sessions, workshops, as well as departmental senior management involvement, including the Deputy Minister level in some instances. The work to date shows that the strategies and approaches developed by PWGSC, and deployed in client departments, can achieve the savings targets.

We have had initial review sessions with seventeen departments and are planning additional sessions with another seven departments. During these sessions, a Procurement Savings Opportunity Report (PSOR) is presented to client departments.

Follow-on in-depth sessions and workshops will be ongoing with targeted departments to refine the engagement process. From this early work, PWGSC has begun developing and implementing engagement strategies to establish procurement savings strategies and service level agreements for all departments.

Military Procurement

In support of the government's recent commitment to invest approximately $17 billion in military equipment and related support services, the department will work closely with the Department of National Defence to ensure timely contract awards, and delivery of equipment and services which satisfy the needs of the men and women in the Canadian Forces while ensuring best value for Canadians.

As in all its procurement activities, the procurement of military equipment for Canada's armed forces will be fair, open and transparent, in line with the Government's commitment under the Federal Accountability Act. In addition, rigorous requirements for each procurement process have been put in place to ensure openness and transparency while also enabling the government to meet the urgent operational requirements of Canada's armed forces.

Potential suppliers will have to demonstrate their ability to meet mandatory high level performance criteria. PWGSC will ensure that proposed suppliers, for each of the procurements, put in place the best possible package of industrial benefits for Canada.

Small and Medium Enterprises

The Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME) plays a key role in the departmental transformation initiatives. The mission of the OSME is to help ensure that Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) continue to have opportunities to compete for government business.

OSME will work to ensure that SME interests are considered in all aspects of the department's business. To this end, OSME will:

• Engage the SME community and assist SME suppliers in navigating the government supply system;
• Review government supply policies for opportunities for SME participation;
• Work with stakeholders so that federal government supply and related policies consider SME and related socio-economic interests; and.
• Open OSME offices in each region to facilitate fair and equitable access to procurement opportunities across the country.

OSME will hold policy discussions with key industry associations representing SME suppliers as well as information and training seminars to assist SMEs. Their goal is to increase SME participation in our supplier seminars and in procurement competitions. OSME is also developing a plan to establish a strategic approach to train and assist a wide range of suppliers with the goal of increasing SME participation in doing business with the Government of Canada. To ensure that SME concerns and considerations are taken into account, OSME will provide policy and operational recommendations and advice on future procurement approaches and solicitation documents, in order to leverage existing and emerging OSME capabilities.

In the context of the socio-economic impacts of procurement policy, OSME will develop strategic policy recommendations on the participation of SMEs in major crown procurements, and on industrial and regional issues, innovation and horizontal policy issues such as the contribution of SMEs to green procurement. Quantitative analysis capacity will be expanded within the OSME to support this work and to help address emerging SME issues and challenges.

For further information on OSME, please visit: http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca/acquisitions/text/sme/osme-e.html.

Accountability

PWGSC plays a key role in delivering accountability in the day-to-day operations of the government. One of the initiatives in 2006-07 to support accountability is the development of the Code of Conduct for Procurement. The Code will provide a comprehensive statement of the government's expectations for suppliers and public service employees related to procurement activities, and will complement integrity provisions that will be made part of solicitations and contracts. It is also aimed at increasing the level of transparency and guiding government dealings with the private sector.

The Code will be complemented by the government-wide promulgation of a revised Vendor Performance Policy (VPP). This policy will include more specific implementation processes, procedures and standards for evaluating performance in various commodity and service lines. It will help identify irregularities, and provide opportunities for more timely corrective measures. The VPP is expected to facilitate the dispute resolution process by seeking early resolution to disputes.

In addition, PWGSC will support the development of regulations with regard to the Procurement Auditor, a position mandated by the Federal Accountability Act and Action Plan. It is proposed that the Auditor will be responsible for: reviewing procurement practices across government; reviewing certain complaints; managing an alternative dispute resolution process; and, tabling an annual report in Parliament.

Employee training will be enhanced to ensure more rigorous contract management. To that end, during 2006-07, PWGSC expects to introduce a suite of customized contract management reporting tools, and offer related training, which will ultimately support accountability in government operations.

The Federal Accountability Act and Action Plan is a priority of government. PWGSC fully supports ensuring transparency and fairness of government procurement. Two such measures, which are already in place, include the publication of contract awards on the government electronic tendering system, and the publication of contract history. Please see the following websites for more details: http://www.contractscanada.gc.ca and http://www.merx.com.

Human Resources

In year one, The Way Forward savings were generated using procurement instruments such as existing standing offers. In future years, savings will be derived from more significant changes that are expected to impact the department's human resource capacity. To this end, the Acquisitions Branch will continue to work with the Human Resources Branch (HRB) to develop and implement a longer term Human Resources Plan to establish new business competencies and leadership through appropriate recruitment and retention initiatives. The Plan will also help to increase the department's bilingual capacity.

Green Procurement

PWGSC continues to lead the greening of government operations. One of our goals is to support the integration of environmental performance considerations into buying decisions.

PWGSC will work to ensure consistency of its procurement decisions and the Green Procurement Policy that took effect on April 1, 2006.

PWGSC plans to use a variety of means to facilitate government-wide green procurement practices. These include the provision of tools and programs such as green procurement training, and by hosting outreach sessions in 2006-07 to inform departments on green procurement practices and tools.

For more information, please visit: http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca/b2k5/text/public/staging_pp/rc-2-e.html.

Management Practices

While our transformation efforts are far reaching, demanding profound changes to the way procurement is conducted, PWGSC continues to deliver on its core business commitments. We serve our clients in a timely fashion, offering a broad base of solutions to bring the best possible value for the procurement dollar. We provide timely and value-added service to our clients, offering our clients the highest quality service.

Activities

PWGSC's Acquisition Services has four activities: the activities of Acquisition Services; Optional Services Revolving Fund; and Defence Production Revolving Fund support our Quality Services strategic outcome; and, Supply Operations Stewardship which supports the Sound Stewardship strategic outcome of the department. The planned spending for these activities is described in the ensuing financial table, followed by the strategic outcomes tables, which provide descriptions, results statements and performance indicators for each activity.

Strategic Outcome: Quality Services

Acquisition Services

Optional Services Revolving Fund

Defence Production Revolving Fund

Strategic Outcome: Sound Stewardship

Supply Operations Stewardship

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

PWGSC works closely with client departments and agencies to respond to their increasing Information Technology (IT) requirements by delivering reliable, cost-effective and secure IT services and solutions. PWGSC's IT Services business line provides a wide range of services to departments and agencies in the areas of: informatics and telecommunications services; professional training and development services in information and communications technologies; and electronic access to government information and services for Canadians. It brokers and manages: voice and data networks; computers, servers and communications services; application development; and e-Government Knowledge Centre services to federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations. It provides leadership in supporting government-wide initiatives such as Secure Channel, Government of Canada Marketplace, and Shared Travel Service Initiative.

In developing strategies and innovative solutions for the management of the government's telecommunications and informatics requirements, we conduct research and technological evaluations to assess opportunities for the introduction of new and innovative products and services, the application of new technologies and the use of alternative forms of delivery and partnering.

Plans and Initiatives

PWGSC is committed to achieving fundamental improvements in the way the federal government manages its information technology. Using our experience and current client base as "our foundation", ITSB will continue to deliver on its existing services, while working toward establishing an IT Shared Services Organization, to strengthen PWGSC's internal Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) capacity and to support the department's business transformation commitments.

Delivering on Existing Commitments

Existing Clients: During the transformation, PWGSC will continue to provide cost-effective management of telecommunications and informatics service requirements to departments and agencies. This will be further improved by: seeking economies of scale in IT infrastructure design and shared services; working with Acquisitions Branch Services on improving the procurement of IM/IT goods and services; rationalizing delivery services; and managing new, competitively priced and innovative business solutions for telecommunications services.

Funding for some initiatives (e.g. Secure Channel) is not reflected in the planned expenditures as they are following the Supplementary Estimates process. Pursuant to TB guidelines, they are not reported in the initial planned expenditures for the fiscal year. Thus, 2005-06 actuals appear much higher than 2006-07 planned expenditures.

Partnerships: Partnership approaches will be maintained on a number of major multi-year projects such as Government of Canada Marketplace, Travel Modernization, Pension Modernization and Service Canada.

SMIP: A Service Management Improvement Program (SMIP) was established to better position PWGSC's IT capabilities to lead the GoC to the enterprise IT shared services model and to provide more robust IT Service Management processes that support IT services provided to clients. The activities will focus on resources; processes and technology; the relationship between these components; and the ability, as an IT service provider, to support and maintain these activities in an optimum mix of consolidation and efficiencies within the new IT agenda. Architectures and standards frameworks for common IT services will be developed.

Secure Channel: The Secure Channel is at the heart of the transformation agenda for IT. It is part of the government's common IT infrastructure, which provides citizens and businesses with secure and private access to all of government's on-line services. It directly supports the government's goal of client-centric, cross-government service delivery anytime, anywhere, in both official languages. Funding for this project has been approved for 2006-07 and part of 2008, after which time Secure Channel will operate on a full cost recovery basis.

During this planning period, we will focus our efforts on:

• Increasing the government-wide adoption of the Secure Channel;
• Expanding program service offerings (both external and internal to the Government of Canada); and
• Pursuing the Secure Channel's multi-jurisdictional potential.

RDIMS: The Records, Documents, and Information Management System (RDIMS), which was launched as an IT shared service in September 2004, was designed to improve the collection and alignment of high quality information to fully support transparent, timely and informed decision-making. PWGSC's goal is to:

• Achieve significant adoption of the RDIMS solution by client departments so that by the end of 2007, there will be approximately 60,000 active licences and the involvement of more than 50% of departments and agencies.

Forwarding the Change Agenda

ITSB will continue to maintain a high quality of service and fulfill its existing service commitments while embarking on an ambitious change agenda. This change agenda consists of 3 components:

• Growing the IT Shared Services Organization;
• Strengthening Internal IM/IT Practices; and
• Supporting Business Transformation.

Growing the IT Shared Services Organization (IT-SSO)

PWGSC's IT agenda will focus on the promotion of IT Shared Services as part of the government's overall initiative to consolidate IT infrastructure services and facilities. This will complement the ongoing delivery of services currently provided to colleague departments and agencies in the areas of telecommunications, network and computing, application management, and other professional services. Under this approach, departments and agencies will continue to have the flexibility to deliver their programs and services, while the government as a whole will achieve more efficient, cost-effective operations by taking advantage of economies of scale and standardization. Through collaborative service and stakeholder partnerships, we will treat the Government of Canada as an enterprise with the goal of reducing technical complexity and increasing inter-operability and information exchange.

PWGSC already has begun the process of transforming its IT business into a Shared Services Organization (IT – SSO) within the Government of Canada. This transformation seeks to aggregate the Government of Canada's Information Technology infrastructure demands and resources to ensure effective, efficient and cost-conscious technology solutions for departments and agencies, thus allowing them to focus on their core programs and service delivery to Canadians.

In 2006-07, we will continue to leverage the investment already made in the existing IT services offered to our current client base, obtaining as much value from these services as we can. We will certify existing services for delivery at an enterprise-wide level – ensuring that they are scalable, policy compliant (security, privacy and information management) and respond to the needs of the GoC business community. This will allow for the eventual migration of existing services to the IT-SSO.

New business intake channels are being developed including:

• IQTT (Identify, Qualify, Transition, and Transform) - consolidating GoC IT services, assets, and accountabilities;
• Adoption - providing previously certified enterprise services to new clients; and
• Strategic Partnerships - working with major GoC partners to address critical business needs, while leveraging existing funds.

Strengthening Internal IM/IT Practices

Activities to strengthen internal IM/IT in 2006-07 include:

• Total Cost of Ownership - Establish an assets inventory, understand costs of IM/IT assets and functions (acquisition, operation and maintenance) and identify areas for cost reduction. This will provide senior management with a more comprehensive view of the total cost of ownership and activities of the IM/IT within PWGSC, contributing to better IM/IT investment decisions.
• IM/IT Governance - Design and implement a comprehensive Governance Framework for IM/IT in PWGSC. This will establish a managed process for prioritizing and monitoring business investment in IM/IT at PWGSC, and improved direction and priority setting.
• IT Security – Develop and implement the IT Security components related to the governance of IM/IT and management of the life cycles of systems. This will allow the management of IM/IT security risks and ensure compliance to the government's IM/IT Security Policy and standards.
• Enterprise Architecture – Provide the framework, processes, and tools to develop and maintain a PWGSC enterprise architecture that presents a whole-of-department view of our business information, supporting technologies and application portfolio. This program will facilitate decision-making when designing and implementing new departmental services and supporting IT systems, facilitate the reuse of existing processes and system components, improve data integrity, lead to reduced complexity and lower the cost of IT products and services.
• Client Relationship Management – This initiative will establish processes to define business requirements, develop life-cycle cost estimates, and provide quality of service operations and solution delivery in response to business requirements. This will contribute to the support of IM/IT planning and governance process.
• Information Management – This initiative will outline the overall vision and strategy for the IM program within PWGSC, align all major areas of IM and demonstrate how they relate to the department's business strategies and overall government direction. This will provide clearly defined and supported accountabilities for all stakeholders in the department in the pursuit of managing their information assets.

Supporting Business Transformation

The Shared Travel Services Initiative (STSI) was started by TBS and transferred to PWGSC's Information Technology Services Branch. TBS leads policy (e.g., travel) and the Office of the Comptroller General (OCG) is co-chairing the Senior Project Advisory Committee (SPAC) with PWGSC. STSI provides an end-to-end portfolio of corporate travel management services. It is aimed at achieving significant savings over the next several years on the government's annual expenses of $1.6 billion for travel and hotel accommodation and associated administrative support. STSI will result in a secure e-based travel reservation, expense claim, payment instrument, advisory and technical support service for traveling employees in almost all government departments and agencies.

In 2006-07, PWGSC will:

• Continue providing Travel Call Centre, Travel Card Services, Travel Portal, and On-line Booking Tool Services for government departments and agencies; and
• Roll-out the complete e-Travel Service to all government departments and agencies. This on-line component completes the "circle" of services, adding pre-trip authorizations, expense approvals, automatic workflows, policy compliance checks, and government-wide travel reporting.

Further information on this important Major Crown Project of PWGSC may be found in Section III, Table 11.

The Government of Canada Marketplace (GoCM), an innovative e-procurement service, is a key enabler in ensuring efficient and more simplified buying as well as in delivering cost and procurement related savings across government. The tools, provided as a part of the service, leverage information technology and promote electronic procurement as a faster and more economical way of doing business while ensuring high levels of transparency and accountability.

Over the next few years, we plan to:

• Introduce the GoCM service to more departments and agencies with additional commodities, enabling broader cost and administrative benefits government-wide.

To learn more about the Government of Canada Marketplace, refer to Section III, Table 14.

The Government On-Line (GOL) Initiative sunsets on March 31, 2006; however, certain activities will carry over to 2006-07 to meet legislative and policy requirements (such as Management of Government Information) and to complete appropriate closeout activities. For purposes of budget allocation, the following activities will be carried out in the first quarter of the fiscal year, under the current GOL leadership and management:

• Review and evaluation of Quarter 4 (FY 05-06) Project Status Reports for remaining GOL funded projects;
• Utilization of GOL databases for GOL reporting and analysis purposes;
• Preparation of GOL closeout report;
• Communications activities (final review and update of GOL Internet and Intranet Web sites, presentation of closeout report, and final communications to GOL communities);
• Information Management activities (cleansing, and archival and disposal of GOL-related information including inventory of key documents, filing in EDRM, cleansing, storage and disposal of e-mails, review of files names and renaming according to GOL naming convention to ensure easy retrieval of information, and completion of transfer of information to identified stakeholders);
• Update and report on Action Plan for GOL Audit; and
• Closure and transfer of financial and human resource files, and disposal/distribution of assets.

Competency-based HR Framework Model for the IT Community

To increase the government's ability to develop managers at all levels, improve the mobility of employees, and increase the transparency in staffing within the IT community, the Organizational Readiness Office (ORO) has developed an HR Framework Model based on Competency-based Management. Competencies are observable abilities, skills, knowledge, motivations or traits needed for successful job performance.

While the Organizational Readiness Office (ORO) is part of PWGSC, it takes functional direction from the Chief Information Office Branch of the Treasury Board Secretariat. This model provides a consistent, government-wide approach to optimizing the link between work and resources, and supports the development of Generic Work Descriptions, Competency Dictionaries, focused Learning and Development Programs and Collective Staffing initiatives within the IT Community, and across government.

Activities

Information Technology has three major activities: the activities of IM/IT Services, and the Telecommunications Services Revolving Fund support the Quality Services strategic outcome of the department; and IM/IT Stewardship supports the Sound Stewardship strategic outcome.

The planned spending for these activities is described in the ensuing financial table, followed by the strategic outcomes tables, which provide descriptions, results statements and performance indicators for each activity.

Strategic Outcome: Quality Services

IM/IT Services

Telecommunications Services Revolving Fund

Strategic Outcome: Sound Stewardship

IM/IT Stewardship

RECEIVER GENERAL AND PUBLIC SERVICE COMPENSATION

PWGSC manages the Receiver General (RG) and Public Service Compensation functions of the government.

The organizations supporting the RG function manage the operations of the federal treasury, including payment issue and revenue collection for all government departments, prepare the Public Accounts, and produce the government's Monthly Statements of Financial Operations.

The RG also plays a vital operational role in ensuring the government's financial stability and public confidence through accurate and timely reporting of the government's financial activities and the issuance of payments to Canadians. As a result of the RG's ongoing efforts, the Auditor General has named Canada a world leader in reporting financial information to Parliament and to the public.

As Canada's largest payroll and pension administrator, Public Service Compensation provides payroll, benefits and pension plan administration services for the Public Service of Canada. This includes: for departments and agencies – the administration of payroll, pension and health/disability insurance processes for public service employees and pensioners; for the RCMP – payroll services; for the federal judiciary – pension services; and for current and former Members of Parliament – pay and pension services. Public Service Compensation assists departments and agencies to achieve their objectives through automated compensation services and stronger integration of our central pay system with their human resources systems. This allows them to administer pay and benefits in accordance with collective agreements and compensation policies established by the Treasury Board and certain separate employers, as well as to fulfill the requirements of the Public Service Superannuation Act (PSSA).

Through our own initiatives and in partnership with other government departments and agencies, the RG and Public Service Compensation are central functions that contribute significantly to achieving government objectives by:

• Placing the highest priority on the quality of operations; and
• Developing and implementing new approaches to strengthen the integrity and efficiency of operations.

Plans and Initiatives

Business Transformation

Direct Deposit

Direct deposit offers recipients more reliable, convenient and secure service than cheque issue. Direct deposit saved about 43,700 trees in 2004-05 and allowed the Government of Canada to avoid spending $87.1 million. In conjunction with program departments, we have begun to offer direct deposit of RG payments to people outside Canada and the United States. Direct deposit pilot projects launched in 2005-06 in the United Kingdom and Australia have yielded promising returns and advantages to Canadian citizens abroad.

In 2006-07, we will continue the implementation of direct deposit throughout western Europe.

Receiver General Settlement Streamlining

We are working with Canada's financial institutions to eliminate the manual handling of cheques after they have been cashed. Full implementation of cheque imaging, for the Government of Canada, is scheduled for 2008. At the same time, we are taking the opportunity to increase the security in our cheques and to eliminate inefficiencies in their processing. Receiver General Settlement Streamlining improves process controls and data integrity.

In 2006-07, we will introduce a new cheque form, complete development and start testing with the financial institutions.

Improved Reporting to Parliament and to the Public

In 2006-07, PWGSC will continue to explore ways to improve government-wide financial reporting to Parliament and the public.

For example, in keeping with recommendations from the Auditor General, starting in 2005-06, a number of organizations will be consolidated within the government reporting entity. The financial statements of the Government of Canada will now reflect the assets, liabilities, expenses and revenues of these organizations. This represents a change in accounting policy, the government's financial statements of prior periods will be restated to give retroactive effect to this change in accounting treatment.

As well, the RG system used for the preparation of Monthly Statements of Financial Operations will support the new requirement of the Department of Finance to provide data on a gross basis for inclusion in its Fiscal Monitor and for the 2005-06 Annual Financial Report.

Thirdly, the RG will work closely with the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Department of Finance to support the information requirements of the new Parliamentary Budget Office.

Modernizing Compensation Systems and Processes

The need to replace our 40-year old pay and pension systems has also created the opportunity to modernize PWGSC's compensation function. The current systems use outdated technology and rely on the expertise of staff due to retire in the next few years. The systems are expensive to maintain and limit our ability to provide modernized services to customer departments and agencies, employees and managers. Replacement of the systems will, in turn, modernize the functions and processes that will be heavily geared toward self-service and call centres. This will facilitate implementation of the shared systems and services across government.

Pay Modernization Project

The Pay Modernization Project is focused on the renewal of payroll services. Of highest importance, PWGSC must sustain the long-term requirements for pay administration and operation services for the Government of Canada.

The Regional Pay System (RPS), the core component of the current payroll system, which is more than 40 years old, utilizes traditional technologies. The maintenance of the system is dependent on the specialized knowledge, skills and experience of employees, many of whom are due to retire within the next three to five years.

In addition to the risk of not being able to sustain the pay administration function, the capability of the legacy pay system and business processes is not sufficient to meet increasing employee and client demands for greater variety in service options. Employees and employers are demanding more flexibility in services, greater access to information and quicker access to expert representatives who can provide immediate assistance. They have become accustomed to 24/7 services available through web channels and call centres from other institutions, and expect comparable service from government.

Recognizing the intrinsic relationship between compensation and human resource management services, the Pay Modernization Project will align its services with industry best practices.

With an emphasis on providing increased services directly to employees and managers, the Pay Modernization Project will considerably broaden the existing payroll services currently offered to departments and agencies, generating significant government-wide operational savings from employee and manager self-service capabilities.

Pension Modernization Project

The objective of the Pension Modernization Project (which has received preliminary project approval) is to address the increasing risk to PWGSC's pension administration as a result of the loss of technical and functional experts, many of whom will retire in the next few years, and the limitations of its more than 40-year-old technology. Over an eight-year period, from 2005 to 2012, the intent is to implement a multi-plan solution that will replace outdated systems and business processes and enable PWGSC to provide best practice pension services to both active and retired plan members. Initially, the solution would be used for the PSSA administration. Other pension plans, such as those administered under the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act and the RCMP Superannuation Act, would be integrated once the implementation of the new system and business processes for the PSSA is completed. As well, the new pension solution would provide the critical modern technology and tools required to support the centralization of pension services to one organization, allowing services to be delivered more efficiently, cost effectively and consistently to all plan members from a single, central organization. The project achieved a major milestone in the Fall of 2005 with the award of a contract to develop and implement business process transformation and to implement a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software solution, thereby ensuring that the solution obtained for the Government of Canada is a readily available, proven solution that has already been used successfully for pension administration by other, similar organizations.

Enhancement of Current Pay Systems

Given the length of time it will take to modernize the systems and transform the business, improvements to the current infrastructure and processes will be ongoing. For example, our future web-based initiatives will allow all government employees to view their Statement of Pension and Group Benefit Plans and their pay stubs on-line. Employees will also be allowed to start, amend or stop deductions from their pay, such as certain credit union deductions.

Public Service Compensation is also taking advantage of current technology to give compensation advisors in departments across government access, via the Web, to certain reports. This means quicker access to pay verification information, which, in turn, enables the increased use of direct deposit in the future for supplementary payments, including overtime and retroactive payments. Additionally, it greatly reduces our paper usage contributing, directly to greening government operations.

Centralization of Pension Services

If approved, the centralization of the pension services, which are currently provided by compensation advisors in over 100 departments and agencies, would provide cost savings and administrative efficiencies, as well as consistent and improved services to PSSA contributors. In addition, centralization would help address the significant impacts of the attrition of compensation expertise across the government as approximately 42% of the compensation community reaches retirement age over the next few years. By leveraging the rich functionality of the new pension administration systems and business processes implemented by the Pension Modernization Project, centralized pension service delivery would be able to provide more consistent, efficient, and cost effective services to active and retired plan members.

Centralized pension services would be located in Shediac, New Brunswick. Following the transfer of some initial services in 2005-06, responsibility for the administration and quality of the delivery of Public Service Pension Plan Retirement Planning Information Sessions and the responsibility for the Service Purchase Services would be centralized in 2006-07.

New Services

We are exploring opportunities to provide new cost-effective services to government departments in Matane, Quebec, notably intelligent character recognition and document imaging solutions.

Sound Management

We contribute to enhanced accountability, integrity and transparency by maintaining the integrity and reliability of the government-wide, mission-critical, functions for which we are responsible. In the process, we generate significant savings for Canadian taxpayers, departments and for the government as a whole. The RG operation protects the integrity of the Consolidated Revenue Fund and the Accounts of Canada through the degree of control it provides. We increase the transparency of the government's financial statements by ensuring that all financial information is reported in the same way and that all Canadians have access to standard payment and banking services. We use our purchasing power to achieve the best available banking services at the lowest rates. Similarly, Public Service Compensation's central pay and pension administration provides the necessary checks and balances to ensure ongoing payment accuracy and timeliness. Together, these measures contribute to the continued confidence of Canadians in the government's ability to maintain the country's financial stability.

Our central systems and government-wide functions eliminate the duplication of efforts, systems and infrastructure across government. Public Service Compensation administers centrally, the pay accounts of 293,000 public servants in 104 departments and agencies, and pension accounts of 324,000 pensioners. This function provides an invaluable service to government as a whole, in terms of savings in salary dollars and work effort. The RG is a key operational arm of the Department of Finance and the Treasury Board Secretariat in the context of debt management and financial policy controls. The RG adds value by consolidating the management of the government's payments and revenue collection to achieve the most competitive rates for services available from Canada's financial industry.

The Receiver General and Public Service Compensation are playing an important role in helping to transform the government into a network of interconnected agencies. This transformation will allow individual organizations to retain their autonomy while operating under a single-enterprise vision of government.

Activities

RG and Public Service Compensation have five program activities: the activities of RG Services and Public Service Compensation support the Quality Services strategic outcome; and RG Stewardship, Public Service Pay Stewardship and Public Service Pension Stewardship support the Sound Stewardship strategic outcome of the department. The planned spending for these activities is described in the ensuing financial table, followed by the strategic outcomes tables, which provide descriptions, results statements and performance indicators for each activity.

Strategic Outcome: Quality Services

Receiver General Services

Public Service Compensation

Strategic Outcome: Sound Stewardship

Receiver General Stewardship

Public Service Pay Stewardship

Public Service Pension Stewardship

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION AND CONSULTING

PWGSC's Government Information Services Branch's (GISB) programs and services aim to enhance government communications and public sector management of key communications activities such as advertising and public opinion research. Established on April 1, 2004, GISB encompasses most of the programs and services transferred to PWGSC from the former Communication Canada. Since then, the Public Access Programs Sector was transferred to Service Canada, including 1 800 O-Canada, the Canada Site (Canada.gc.ca Internet site), Gateways and Clusters, and Publiservice (the Government of Canada Intranet).

Finally, in October 2005, the Treasury Board announced the realignment of Consulting and Audit Canada's (CAC) services to reinforce the internal audit function within government to ensure appropriate levels of segregation between the two services. CAC's Government Consulting Services were transferred to GISB, while Audit Services remained with CAC.

In February 2006, the Deputy Minister announced further organizational changes. These included the transfer of the Industrial Security Sector and the Shared Services Integration Sector (SSIS) to GISB. This change fits well within GISB's client-oriented service offerings.

The structural changes have already been implemented at an operational level. However, to conform to the TB-approved Program Activity Architecture reporting structure, this report outlines plans and initiatives for GISB's original functions. It also outlines GISB's expected transformation, which integrates elements of the former CAC and transfers the Public Access Programs to Service Canada (HRSDC). Priorities related to the Industrial Security and Shared Services Integration Sectors will be outlined in detail in Business Integration's section of this report. It is anticipated that the PAA structure and the related funding mechanism will be modified to reflect these changes in future years.

Plans and Initiatives

To support the Government's transformation agenda and government-wide service delivery structure, GISB will support the transition of the Public Access Programs to Service Canada (HRSDC), while integrating the former CAC's Government Consulting Services, and Industrial Security and Shared Services Integration Sectors into its organization. During this transition, we will continue to support PWGSC's strategic objectives, including delivering consistently high quality services to Canadians and client departments and agencies.

We will support PWGSC's business transformation agenda (The Way Forward) on two fronts: by working to achieve procurement efficiencies; and by assisting client organizations to implement business transformation. In addition, we will act as the technical coordinating authority for government-wide communications programs and value-added assistance to clients of Government Consulting Services.

GISB intends to create internal efficiencies that will:

• Demonstrate sound management, including support to the Federal Accountability Act and Action Plan;
• Promote accountability and transparency; and
• Increase the quality of services across government by sharing expertise and by maintaining frameworks, guidelines and best practices in government communications programs and services.

We will assist departments and agencies in delivering quality advice and strengthening management controls, while improving our management control framework in 2006-07.

Government Information Services

Government Information Services supports the government-wide approach to service delivery, with services for Canadians such as the Canada Gazette, Exhibitions Program, and the Publishing and Depository Services program. Other services for government include electronic media monitoring and technical coordinating authority for advertising and public opinion research.

The purpose of Government Information Services is to deliver programs that promote well-integrated, cost-effective government communications to Canadians. These services are provided based on the authority defined in the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada and include:

• Carrying out the role of the coordinating and technical authority for the government's advertising and public opinion research activities;
• Providing advice, best practices and information sessions to government public opinion researchers and communicators to enhance knowledge;
• Contributing to transparency of government operations by tracking and reporting on activities and expenditures through electronic monitoring tools and by publishing annual reports on public opinion research and advertising;
• Serving official notice to Canadians of new and proposed federal laws and regulations by publishing the Canada Gazette;
• Managing communications activities such as the Exhibitions, Publishing and Depository programs; and
• Providing Government of Canada institutions with access to electronic versions of Canadian news sources.

While delivering on our legislated and mandatory policy responsibilities, we will pursue the following priorities for Government Information Services during the 2006-07 fiscal year:

• Advance quality information services to the Government of Canada; and
• Practice sound stewardship through shared knowledge and expertise.

Advance Quality Information Services to the Government of Canada

GISB's programs supporting the delivery of quality information services to the Government of Canada include Publishing and Depository Services, the Canada Gazette, and the Canada Exhibitions program. These programs ensure that the government fulfills its responsibilities of informing Canadians of decisions affecting their daily lives, as well as informing them of programs and services offered by various departments and agencies and how to access them.

In 2006-07, GISB will:

• Continue to deliver communications programs that promote well-integrated, cost-effective government communications to Canadians by implementing service enhancement initiatives. For example, the Canada Gazette will launch an interactive on-line tool to enable students to further their knowledge of the democratic process.
• Consult clients and stakeholders to identify and address ongoing improvements for communications services. We will begin implementing a system to measure GISB performance in terms of client satisfaction to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Focus on stabilizing the organization, including retaining current expertise and strengthening capacity in key areas.
• Review business and service delivery models employed by Publishing Services to adapt the business line to new trends on how Canadians access information. Increased emphasis on electronic publishing and information dissemination through the internet will allow Publishing Services to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its services to Canadians. And,
• Continue to deliver communications programs providing common services to other government departments. For programs such as the Canada Exhibitions Program, Electronic Media Monitoring and Depository Services, generate efficiencies for other government departments by:
  • creating economies of scale;
  • ensuring a common look and feel for messages from the Government of Canada; and
  • promoting a consistent government-wide management approach.

Sound Stewardship through Shared Knowledge and Expertise

Sound stewardship includes support for sound management practices, enhanced accountability and improved integrity across government. As a key element of sound stewardship, PWGSC will fully support the Federal Accountability Act and Action Plan.

In 2006-07, GISB will:

• Continue assisting departments and agencies to build their capacity by providing advice, information on best practices and information sessions to government public opinion researchers and communicators and by supporting the communications community of practice;
• Implement Public Opinion Research's management response to the Auditor General's audit on the quality of surveys (see http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/reports.nsf/html/20051102ce.html) by:
  • Establishing an expert technical advisory panel that will involve participation from Statistics Canada;
  • Conducting a study of best practices to provide advice and information to departments on improving the quality of public opinion research in government; and
  • Providing contracting process tools that will be developed and made available to departments for the procurement of public opinion research.
• Launch an independent review of Public Opinion Research's practices in government to ensure that issues raised by the Auditor General's report of November 2003 have been addressed (see: http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/reports.nsf/html/20031103me.html);
• Provide ongoing advertising coordination including advice and guidance to government departments and agencies on the consistent application of the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada; and
• Continue dialogue with official minority and ethnic media representatives to promote cost-effective use of these media in government advertising.

Public Access Programs

The control and supervision of PWGSC's Public Access Programs Sector (PAPS) were transferred to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), the Minister responsible for Service Canada. PWGSC is working with Service Canada (HRSDC) to transfer Public Access Programs spending authority to Service Canada.

During 2006-07, Public Access Programs Sector will pursue the following priorities:

• Ensure a smooth transition from PWGSC to Service Canada (HRSDC); and
• Deliver quality services to Canadians and the Government of Canada.

Ensure a Smooth Transition to Service Canada

To ensure a smooth transition, PAPS will continue to maintain its open lines of communication with employees and stakeholders on the progress of the transition, meet regularly with officials from both PWGSC and Service Canada (HRSDC) on the details and documentation related to the transfer, and work closely with Service Canada (HRSDC) colleagues for a seamless integration of these services into their corporate structure and service vision.

Deliver Quality Services to Canadians and to the Government of Canada

As part of the new Service Canada (HRSDC) organization, PAPS will take a government-wide approach to identify opportunities to create efficiencies and support the continued delivery of quality services across government.

Government Consulting Services

Specific priorities for Government Consulting Services are outlined in the Special Operating Agency section of this report. However, GISB has identified two broad objectives for Government Consulting Services for 2006-07:

• Ensure a smooth transition from the former CAC to the new GISB organization; and
• Refocus Government Consulting Services.

Ensure a Smooth Transition from the Former CAC to the New Organization

In 2006-2007, GISB will:

• Continue to integrate the Government Consulting Services into the branch, forming a new organization; and
• Ensure smooth transfer of services from CAC by:
  • maintaining communications with clients and staff on progress on the transition;
  • engaging stakeholders in the transition planning; and
  • monitoring progress made on integrating these services into the new organization.

Refocus Government Consulting Services

Government Consulting Services provides added value by offering specialized advice and solutions to improve public sector management and operations.

In 2006-07, GISB will:

• Align its Government Consulting Services to meet the Government of Canada's priorities and management agenda. This will ensure that services are relevant to clients and are focused on priority areas for the federal public service.
• Support the department's business transformation agenda (The Way Forward) by creating capacity and expertise internally to assist clients in implementing this initiative. And,
• Strengthen the quality assurance process for Government Consulting Services.

Refocusing Government Consulting Services service lines will support the department's transformation agenda by ensuring that its service offering is efficient and that private sector expertise is leveraged effectively.

The New GISB Organization

GISB is a significantly changed organization now, comprised of the following four business lines: Government Consulting Services; Industrial Security; Shared Services Integration Sector; and Communications Program Management.

In 2006-07, GISB will re-structure its organization by reviewing its business model and funding mechanisms to determine the sustainability of its programs and services in the long term. This review will assess existing services to identify appropriate levels for corporate services support, and assess funding options for service delivery.

Corporate services for CAC and GISB will be combined and reviewed in the context of the new service delivery mechanisms. GISB corporate service will continue to offer support to Consulting and Audit Canada (Audit Services) pursuant to a Service Level Agreement outlining service levels and their costs and this will be renegotiated as required. GISB will focus on implementing these changes while continuing to provide seamless, high quality, value-added services to both client departments and Canadian citizens.

Activities

PWGSC's Government Information Services encompasses two activities: the Government Information Services activity supporting the Quality Services strategic outcome; and Government Information Stewardship supporting the Sound Stewardship strategic outcome. Planned spending for these activities is described in the ensuing financial table. This is followed by the strategic outcomes table, which provides descriptions, results statements and performance indicators for each activity.

Information about the Consulting and Audit Canada Revolving Fund program activity that includes Government Consulting Services is presented in the section on Special Operating Agencies of this report. Information on Industrial Security Sector and Shared Services Integration Sector is presented in the section on Business Integration of this document.

Strategic Outcome: Quality Services

Government Information Services

Strategic Outcome: Sound Stewardship

Government Information Stewardship

GREENING GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

PWGSC is committed to leading the government in the greening of its operations. In April 2005, the Office of Greening Government Operations (OGGO) was created to lead and facilitate a government-wide approach to this agenda.

OGGO's mandate is to accelerate the greening of the government's operations by working closely with other federal departments and agencies, particularly, Treasury Board Secretariat and Environment Canada.

Greening of government operations is an opportunity to establish government-wide priorities, accountabilities, targets, timelines and reporting requirements to assist the government in becoming a model of environmental excellence in its own operations.

PWGSC is committed to ensuring that the principles of sustainable development are reflected in all aspects of its role as a landlord for public servants and custodian of real property, as the primary purchaser of goods and services on behalf of government departments and agencies, and within its own internal operations.

By being recognized as a model of environmentally and economically sustainable government operations, the Government of Canada will have the credibility to lead Canada to a long-term competitive advantage, based on environmental sustainability.

OGGO is the main source of advice and functional guidance for government departments and agencies regarding the greening of their operations. It is strongly committed to upholding the highest ethical standards, based on excellence, transparency, integrity, respect and accountability.

Plans and Initiatives

OGGO is continuing to align resources to meet Government of Canada priorities, goals, and needs in the area of greening government operations. OGGO will provide high-quality, affordable and timely environmental services to federal departments and agencies. The following components will be the main focal points of the strategy for OGGO in the short and mid-term:

Leadership and Centre of Expertise - Provides government-wide leadership, guidance and services with regard to greening government operations and sustainable development, while developing enabling policies, tools and a management framework.

Improving the Government of Canada's Internal Environmental Performance –Leads the Government of Canada's improvement of its internal environmental performance in key priority areas:

• Resource consumption and air pollution emissions;
• Green procurement;
• Management and remediation of contaminated sites;
• Environmental regulatory compliance; and
• Green stewardship.

Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) –Identifies government-wide greening of government operations priorities and develops and provides related guidance to the whole of the federal government. Plans and develops PWGSC's fourth SDS and leads the coordination, implementation, and maintenance of appropriate supporting tools and management framework within the organization.

Partnerships –Works horizontally to increase awareness and visibility of government-wide initiatives with key stakeholders.

Aligning Resources –Continues to consolidate and strengthen the human and financial resources capacity of OGGO to deliver on commitments and take advantage of opportunities to advance the greening of government agenda, while ensuring the development and support of a sustainable, efficient and professional organization.

Delivering on each of these components of the overall strategy will enable the government to realize rapid progress in the greening of government operations. Each component is described in more detail as follows.

Leadership and Centre of Expertise

OGGO is mandated to be the centre of expertise for greening operations in the Government of Canada through the provision and demonstration of leadership. In 2006-07, OGGO will demonstrate this through the following initiatives:

• Lead interdepartmental steering groups to address and manage key operational areas (e.g., energy efficient buildings and vehicle fleet, and green procurement);
• Partner with TBS to further refine the government-wide performance management framework for greening government operations; and
• Support and monitor the implementation of government-wide policies on greening of operations, such as the TB Policy on Green Procurement.

As a centre of expertise, OGGO will establish management tools and provide guidance for greening government operations initiatives. It will also facilitate the management and reporting of cross-government initiatives.

We will continue to provide high quality, affordable and timely environmental services to PWGSC and other departments and agencies in the areas of environmental regulatory compliance, contaminated sites remediation and management, hazardous materials management and storage tank management.

Improving the Government of Canada's Internal Environmental Performance

Resource Consumption and Air Pollution Emissions

We are focused on the reduction of energy consumption, and related air pollutants, including greenhouse gases (GHG), from government real property and vehicle usage.

Buildings

As one of the largest landlords in the country, the Government of Canada is working to reduce the environmental footprint of its operations related to real property.

In 2006-07, OGGO will:

• Develop specific guidance to assist departments in ensuring that all new government office buildings and long-term leases meet Canada Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED – Canada) Gold level;
• Assist Real Property (RP) in implementing the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Go Green Plus (system for operating and managing buildings in an environmentally sustainable manner) for its Crown-owned buildings;
• Develop a guidance document to provide direction and encourage the appropriate application of the green lease; and
• Support RP in seeking innovative means of modernizing the central heating and cooling plants.

Vehicle Fleet

The Government of Canada is the largest vehicle fleet owner and manager in Canada. Its fleet consists of approximately 26,000 vehicles and includes an executive fleet of over 70 vehicles. PWGSC is part of a government-wide effort to reduce fleet emissions and improve management practices and fiscal responsibility. In collaboration with partners such as TBS and NRCan, OGGO provides advice and guidance to departments and agencies to make significant progress to further green their fleets.

During 2006-07, OGGO will:

• Develop guidance and share best practices and tools to help departments and agencies continue to improve their fleet management practices and reduce GHG emissions through methods such as fleet rationalization/audit/review tools, fleet management review processes, fleet performance report cards; and
• Investigate and pursue new opportunities with key stakeholders and departments with large fleets to further green the overall fleet.

Green Procurement

The Government of Canada is committed to systematically embedding sustainable development considerations in its operations. A major step in achieving this objective was the approval of the Policy on Green Procurement, which came into effect on April 1, 2006. The policy objective is to support sustainable development by integrating environmental performance considerations into the procurement decision-making process. Application of the policy is expected to result in many benefits, one of which is the promotion of the competitiveness of Canadian businesses through the demand for greener goods and services.

During 2006-07, OGGO will support the Acquisitions Branch in the ongoing implementation of the Policy on Green Procurement. OGGO will also work within PWGSC and with partners externally, so that environmental considerations are embedded in the commodity management plans for those commodities being considered under The Way Forward for 2006-07.

Management and Remediation of Contaminated Sites

The Government of Canada is actively involved in environmental management and remediation of contaminated sites across Canada. The recently established Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan includes major long-term funding commitments for the remediation of federal contaminated sites and shared responsibility sites. PWGSC, which is the custodian of some 230 contaminated sites, has an oversight role in the implementation of the $400 million Sydney Tar Ponds remediation project and is working with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to provide support for the cleanup of several abandoned gold mines in the Northwest Territories and former military sites in Nunavut.

Environmental Regulatory Compliance

OGGO will provide assistance to federal government departments in meeting their environmental regulatory requirements. This includes the provision of training and advice to operational managers in the areas of storage tanks, hazardous materials, ozone-depleting substances, air emissions, solid waste, effluents and more.

Green Stewardship

The government's Code of Environmental Stewardship commits all federal employees to be more environmentally responsible during their workday. OGGO will inspire and support employees to be proactive stewards of the environment by improving their awareness of the environmental risks and impacts of daily government operations, and encouraging and supporting them to reduce consumption (energy, water, materials, goods and services) in the workplace.

Sustainable Development Strategy

Every three years, a number of departments and agencies are required to prepare and table their Sustainable Development Strategies (SDS) in Parliament, subject to the Auditor General Act. OGGO will identify government-wide greening of government operations priorities and will develop related guidance and enabling tools for other government departments and agencies to ensure that the Government of Canada makes a concerted effort and achieves significant results in priority areas.

OGGO is also responsible for the development of PWGSC's next SDS, which will be tabled in Parliament in December 2006. As well, OGGO will monitor and report on the status of PWGSC's SDS commitments (past and current) to Parliament through the Sustainable Development Performance Report.

We are putting in place measurement strategies to assess the progress and to quantify the impact of these initiatives.

Partnerships

OGGO will act as a beacon of greening government operations by working government-wide to increase awareness and visibility of its initiatives. It will also work in other jurisdictions and within the private sector to increase the sharing of knowledge and best practices.

In 2006-07, OGGO will continue to build upon its relationships with its valued partners by engaging and coordinating with: federal departments and agencies; provincial, territorial and municipal governments; and other key stakeholders.

Aligning Resources

OGGO, which was created by consolidating existing environmental experts and activities within PWGSC, is primarily funded from existing internal resources. OGGO is currently aligning resources to deliver on commitments and its new mandate of government-wide leadership. Throughout 2006-07, OGGO will continue to increase its capacity and capabilities, and develop a professional, efficient and sustainable team of highly qualified individuals.

Activities

There are two OGGO activities: Services and Stewardship. The OGGO Services activity supports PWGSC's Quality Services strategic outcome; while the OGGO Stewardship activity supports the Sound Stewardship strategic outcome. The planned spending for these activities is described in the ensuing financial table, followed by the tables for strategic outcomes, which provide descriptions, results statements and performance indicators for each activity.

Strategic Outcome: Quality Services

Office of Green Government Operation services

Strategic Outcome: Quality Services

Office of Green Government Operation stewardship

BUSINESS INTEGRATION

Service Integration Branch (SIB) is being realigned into other branches for 2006-07 but the strategic plans and initiatives outlined here are retained.

Customer Relationship Management and Engagement

Gaining an in-depth knowledge of customer requirements and developing a repository of customer intelligence are critical to driving PWGSC's corporate and operational business planning as well as improving service delivery.

During the course of the next three years, PWGSC will apply new and improved customer relationship management (CRM) tools, to provide dynamic intelligence on our clients' business requirements. This information will help us to better identify opportunities to significantly improve customer satisfaction.

We will also continue to build and integrate sound performance measurement systems into our operational activities and service delivery frameworks to support PWGSC's accountability, transparency, integrity and reporting on return on investment.

Standardized Service Menus and Fees

Standardized service menus and fees will support delivery of goods and services in the right quantity, quality and price and at the right time.

As part of their ongoing service delivery operations, branches will:

• Help to educate our stakeholders and build a constituency of client support with respect to our service offerings;
• Continue to shape customer expectations, increase the usage of PWGSC services and reduce government duplication of effort;
• Provide tangible tools, service definitions, service standards and benchmarks by which business lines can define service components, improve performance measures and track progress; and
• Provide the department with a mechanism to compare our service offerings with those of other jurisdictions to ensure that PWGSC is a competitive and cost effective provider of common and shared government services.

Industrial Security

SIB's industrial security programs and services have been transferred to Government Information Services Branch (GISB) as of February 2006. Industrial security programs and services support a key accountability of PWGSC under the National Security Policy and help to advance The Way Forward. They will continue to play a vital role to:

• Safeguard federal government's classified and protected information and assets entrusted to Canadian and international private sector organizations; and
• Support Canada's anti-proliferation, public safety, security and global security priorities by safeguarding the possession, transfer and disposition of controlled goods from unauthorized access.

In addition to ensuring a smooth transition to GISB, priorities for industrial security programs and services will focus on increasing productivity by modernizing and streamlining operational activities. Short-and medium-term action plans will be initiated to achieve faster and more accurate customer services, based on recommendations from a March 2006 business transformation study. This should result in measures to eliminate duplication and error rates, and to remove activities that are no longer needed. Internally, activities will directly support the efficient and timely delivery of Acquisition and Real Property Services by reducing processing times.

Externally, our efforts will continue to focus on supporting the National Security Policy, to enable industry to safely and rapidly serve the needs of the government and its citizens, while contributing to the overall safety and security of Canadian citizens at home and abroad. Improvements implemented as a result of the business transformation study will lead to more timely industry registration and inspections, contributing, in turn, to the government's ability to adequately protect Canadian and foreign sensitive information, assets and controlled goods.

The end result is to protect the government and Canadians against potential malicious acts of espionage, theft and terrorist activities, and to support the competitiveness of Canadian industry.

Shared Services Integration Sector

Shared Services Integration Sector (SSIS) has been transferred to GISB as of February 2006. These shared services are provided to departments and agencies through integrated program support and management on a full cost recovery basis. From a strategic and operational perspective, SSIS supports the Corporate Administrative Shared Services initiative within government and contributes to achieving efficiencies through economies of scale.

In addition, SSIS offers fully cost recovered transactional, shared human resource (HR) services. The intention, over the course of the next year, is to transition HR services to a cluster model so that customers can take advantage of economies of scale and function, and to ensure a smooth and seamless transition of these services to GISB.

Activities

Business Integration is composed of three activities: Business Integration Services supports the Quality Services strategic outcome; Business Integration – Performance Management supports the Sound Stewardship strategic outcome. The costs of Business Integration – Client Relations Management have been re-allocated and are reflected in the other departmental program activities. Therefore, this activity is not shown in the financial table. The planned spending for these activities is described in the ensuing financial table, followed by the strategic outcomes tables, which provide descriptions, results statements and performance indicators for each activity.

Strategic Outcome: Quality Services

Business Integration Services

Strategic Outcome: Sound Stewardship

Business Integration – Performance Management

SPECIAL OPERATING AGENCIES

PWGSC has two Special Operating Agencies (SOAs): Consulting and Audit Canada and the Translation Bureau. An SOA is one of several potential options for improving the delivery of government services within the broader context of alternative service delivery efforts. Since their mandates are derived from the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act (1996, c.16), they are not independent legal entities. The SOAs remain part of the departmental organization. Unlike other departmental units, SOAs operate under tailor-made, written understandings with the department. These understandings (consisting of a framework agreement and a business plan) cover results and service levels expected, the flexibilities granted and resources made available to do the job.

The SOA concept is designed to achieve a balance between the notion of strong internal oversight (and risk avoidance) and encouragement of innovation and initiative. In essence, the SOA structure gives service delivery units increased management flexibility in return for agreed-upon levels of performance and results.

CONSULTING AND AUDIT CANADA

Consulting and Audit Canada's (CAC) mission is to contribute to public sector management and operations and achievement of the Government of Canada's priorities by providing consulting, audit and assurance services to public sector managers in Canada and abroad. CAC clients include central agencies, federal departments and agencies, as well as Aboriginal and international governments.

The Government of Canada announced a realignment of CAC's functions to strengthen internal audit capacity across government. As a result, CAC will continue to provide Audit Services, while Government Consulting, International and Corporate Services were transferred to the Government Information Services Branch (GISB), as previously discussed in that section of this report. This change requires the refocusing of Government Consulting, International and Corporate Services business lines towards those services that are most relevant to the government. It will also require changes to its funding and service delivery models and corporate support arrangements.

Notwithstanding the realignment of functions, both CAC's Audit Services and Government Consulting Services are addressed in the SOA portion of this report.

CAC supports the "government-wide approach" to service delivery by providing audit (and formerly, consulting) services to government departments and agencies so that they may improve their service to Canadians, provide better value for money to the Crown, and support and achieve the priorities and the management agenda of the government.

Plans and Initiatives

The transition to the new organizational structure will continue into 2006-07. CAC Audit Services will support the implementation of the TB Policy on Internal Audit. It will support the audit and assurance obligations of PWGSC and other client departments and agencies. CAC's Audit Services will also focus on developing a new business model and will continue to operate on an optional, fee-for-service basis.

CAC's Audit Services

By providing consistent audit practices and standards across government, CAC Audit Services helps client departments to more effectively achieve departmental and government-wide objectives, and contributes to ensuring that public funds are managed in accordance with the Financial Administration Act and associated policies and regulations.

In the context of the TB Policy on Internal Audit, CAC Audit Services will build a strategic partnership with the Office of the Comptroller General (OCG). This will enable CAC Audit Services to give strong support to the OCG in exercising its authority for the internal audit function in each government department and agency, as outlined in the proposed Federal Accountability Act and Action Plan. Concurrently, it will work with PWGSC to strengthen risk management for PWGSC procurement activities.

Support for Implementation of the New Policy on Internal Audit

CAC's Audit Services will work closely with and provide strong support to the OCG to implement the TB Policy on Internal Audit by providing audit, assurance and audit-related services.

Specifically, in 2006-07, CAC will:

• Increase its internal audit capacity by recruiting, and training and developing new auditors through the Audit Professional Development Program;
• Target hiring and training to maintain a critical mass of accredited auditors within the organization;
• Ensure adherence to stringent professional standards so that CAC Audit Services remains a service provider of choice; and
• Focus on improving morale and team-building within the new organization.

Quality Assurance

CAC Audit Services will:

• Develop, in partnership with the OCG, standard audit methodologies; and
• Implement a robust agency-wide quality assurance process, which will include peer reviews of work.

These measures will reassure clients that audit products they receive conform to the requirements of the TB Policy on Internal Audit and other applicable professional auditing standards.

Internal, Cost and Contribution Audit Services

In 2006-07, CAC Audit Services will:

• Continue to assist departments and agencies with limited capacity to meet the requirements of the TB Policy on Internal Audit, support larger departments and agencies to supplement their internal capacity to implement the new policy, and support the OCG in horizontal audits, where required;
• Continue to provide services to its clients as they relate to cost audits, and continue to grow its contribution audit service line, as these two services have historically represented over two- thirds of CAC Audit Services' overall business.(in doing so, and in continuing to grow its internal audit business line, CAC Audit Services will contribute to enhancing accountability, integrity and transparency);
• Continue to support the departmental ethics program and promote its own Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct to its employees and clients; and,
• Provide targeted audit services to clients in support of the proposed Federal Accountability Act and Action Plan.

Transition to New Structure and Charter

CAC Audit Services will complete the transition to its new structure and will develop a new charter to realign the organization's functions. It will also continue to define its new financial model, making sound investments to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization while maintaining a strong regional delivery network.

Government Consulting Services

Government Consulting Services will continue to support PWGSC's strategic objective of providing quality services to improve management in the Canadian government and abroad.

In 2006-07, the focus will be on:

• Completing the transition of these services to the GISB;
• Completing a review to refocus government consulting services on specialized advice and solutions to improve public sector management and operations; and
• Developing a strategy to use private sector expertise, primarily Small and Medium Enterprises, to supplement government consulting teams.

In addition, during 2006-07, Government Consulting Services will:

• Develop quality assurance processes (e.g., documented methodologies and professional accreditations) to enhance management controls;
• Support the Consulting Professional Development Program to maintain a critical mass of skilled and knowledgeable consultants;
• Continue to foster an environment that will promote high ethical standards by supporting the ethics officer and providing training to staff on the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct; and
• Continue to support the government-wide objectives related to official languages and diversity.

Initiatives related to transition are described in the Government Information and Consulting section of this report.

Activities

CAC's Program Activity Architecture (PAA) reporting structure currently has one activity: the Consulting and Audit Canada Revolving Fund. This activity supports PWGSC's Quality Services strategic outcome. The approved planned spending for 2006-07 is described in the ensuing table.

Strategic Outcome: Quality Services

Consulting and Audit Canada Revolving Fund

TRANSLATION BUREAU

The Translation Bureau is a key component of the government's service delivery infrastructure. It helps the government serve Canadians and communicate with them in the official language of their choice by: using standardized terminology within the public service; and providing translation, editing, interpretation, terminology and technolinguistic services for Parliament, the judiciary, and federal departments and agencies.

The Bureau ensures that a critical mass of skilled language professionals – employees and suppliers – is available, enabling the government to operate smoothly, meet its official languages obligations and promote the values of linguistic duality and multiculturalism that make up the Canadian identity. The Bureau also provides services in more than 100 languages to support the government in its international relations, and to communicate with those Canadians who have difficulty communicating effectively in either official language.

Plans and Initiatives

The Bureau will continue to deliver high-quality services at a fair price and reposition itself to allow the government to leverage its unique expertise. This will strengthen Canada's presence in the language arena and secure a quality supply of translation and interpretation services.

Providing High-Quality Services

Over the next few years, the Translation Bureau will continue to move from a transaction-based management approach to a value-added strategic management approach. It will focus its in-house professional resources on translating core and public interest documents and on revision and quality assurance.

The Bureau will:

• Speed up the implementation of its new business model, which aims to improve quality, customize service and provide optimal response to clients' needs by assigning or dedicating translators to clients or relocating them to work on site with the client in "translation boutiques";
• Explore a new risk-based demand management approach and launch a certification program to ensure that core documents, those that are critical to the government's decision?making process and those for use by the public are of the highest quality; and
• In addition to its 24/7 service, it will set up a Quick Response Team that will provide uninterrupted access to its services and an immediate response to national emergencies affecting Canadians' health and safety.

For continued service to Parliament and the government, the Bureau will:

• Pursue its workforce renewal programs in interpretation, terminology and translation in specialized and critical sectors; and
• Strengthen its multilingual capacity in order to meet the growing demand for translation from Aboriginal and foreign languages into English and French.

The Bureau will work in partnership with central agencies and client departments to establish a comprehensive procurement and quality assurance framework to ensure that translations for the government are of the highest quality (in order to make up for the current lack of common standards and guidelines governing the procurement of translation services within the government).

In collaboration with Parliament, the Bureau will set up a debates captioning program that will allow more Canadians to experience the work of their democratic institutions in the language of their choice.

In addition, the Bureau will:

• Review its financial model in order to simplify access to its services and adopt new management and reporting tools that will allow clients and the government to better see the value of its services; and
• Continue streamlining its costs and its operational optimization program by implementing new technolinguistic tools, reducing its accommodation costs even further and rationalizing its asset purchases (as of April 2006, the savings are being passed on to clients in the form of a 17% rate reduction for administrative work).

Standardizing Terminology to Benefit the Government and Canada

The Translation Bureau helps the government maintain the quality and effectiveness of its communications by standardizing terminology. It also helps to maintain an exemplary public service by providing government employees with tools to help them work in both official languages.

To optimally manage the Government of Canada's terminology expertise, strengthen the federal government's role in the language field on the national and international scenes, and showcase Canada's collective wealth of linguistic and terminological knowledge, the Bureau will:

• Actively represent Canada at national and international language fora and in standardization networks and committees such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO);
• Strengthen the Bureau's multilingual capacity in terminology to address the increasing demand in translation in Aboriginal and foreign languages and better support Canadian business products and services exports;
• Ensure close alignment of its terminology program with the government's strategic priorities;
• Continue working on a project that will allow all Canadians to benefit from the terminological and linguistic resources developed by public institutions in Canada;
• Offer international organizations the possibility of using TERMIUM; and
• Launch a new version of TERMIUM designed to enable client departments and agencies to store, standardize and update terminology specific to them.

Providing the Government and Canada with a Secure Supply of Translation Services

As a bilingual nation whose prosperity is closely linked with international trade, Canada requires a reliable, efficient, high-quality supply of translation and linguistic services.

The security of supply in translation is at risk because of industry fragmentation, an aging population of translators and a decline in enrolment in translation schools. This situation threatens Canada's ability to function as a bilingual country and hinders access of Canadian businesses to foreign markets, since they must rely on external sources for their translation needs.

To address this issue, the Bureau plans to:

• Use its expertise, reputation and knowledge of the language industry to the government's advantage and propose a comprehensive strategy to develop and maintain the bilingual and multilingual translation capacity that the government and Canada require to support the country's social, economic and international objectives;
• Collaborate with other levels of government, universities, professional associations and regional economic development organizations to put in place initiatives aimed at creating jobs in the linguistic field for immigrants and young Canadians;
• Work with the department and other federal partners to implement initiatives that will attract more youth to the language professions, train them and prepare them for the job market more quickly, while helping the translation industry enhance its professional standards and restructure itself so that it can grow and compete with foreign suppliers;
• Ensure that its own buying power and that of other federal agencies in the area of translation is managed in a way that ensures the quality of the services delivered to the government and promotes restructuring of the industry through the creation of larger, economically viable translation firms that are able to train and maintain their workforces. Accordingly, by March 2009, the Bureau plans to increase the number of its high dollar value contracts to over 50% of the total value of contracts awarded;
• Continue its current partnership programs with universities to develop a skilled capacity for the government and for Canada, programs that have largely benefited the translation industry to date; and
• Pursue its objective to build, in partnership with the industry, a shared infrastructure for professional development, which will leverage the language resources of Canada's official language minority and multicultural communities to create a high-calibre bilingual and multilingual translation capacity while creating jobs within these communities.

Activities

The Translation Bureau supports the department's Quality Service strategic outcome through three major activities: Translation and Interpretation for Parliament; Conference Interpretation and Terminology; and Translation for departments and agencies (Translation Bureau Revolving Fund). With respect to the Sound Stewardship strategic outcome, the Translation Bureau is responsible for the Translation Stewardship activity, which comprises initiatives to build translation capacity for the government and Canada. The planned spending on these activities is described in the financial table below. This table is followed by strategic outcome tables, which contain a description of each activity, as well as the associated results statements and performance indicators.

Strategic Outcome: Quality Services

Translation and Interpretation to Parliament, Conference Interpretation, Terminology

Translation Bureau Revolving Fund

Strategic Outcome: Sound Stewardship

Translation Stewardship

CORPORATE MANAGEMENT

Corporate Management provides support to all of PWGSC's branches and special-operating agencies. The Corporate Management function includes the following: Corporate Services, Policy, Communications, Human Resources, Finance, Strategic Transformation, Information Technology Services, the Office of the Chief Risk Officer and the regional offices.

Due to a reorganization of the department's governance structure during 2005-2006, the following branches are now responsible for providing the Corporate Management function: Corporate Services, Policy and Communications (CSPC), Human Resources (HR), Strategic Transformation (ST), and Information Technology Services (ITS).

Additionally, the following PWGSC entities contribute to the Corporate Management function: Office of the Chief Risk Officer (OCRO), Audit and Evaluation (AE), Finance (FIN), Legal Services, Pacific Region, Western Region, Ontario Region, Quebec Region, and Atlantic Region.

Plans and Initiatives

The key Corporate Management priorities for 2006-2007 are:

• Coordinating and monitoring the implementation of the Business Transformation Agenda;
• Improving the delivery of corporate services, including human resources and communications;
• Monitoring and assessing the implementation of the Management Accountability Framework (MAF) – a management tool that sets indicators and measures;
• Liaising with Central Agencies;
• Providing corporate leadership and alignment with the government's key policy areas; and
• Developing and implementing an integrated management framework.

During 2006-07, PWGSC will support major government initiatives (e.g., the Federal Accountability Act and Action Plan) and will continue integrating the MAF into its internal business planning and accountability processes to ensure the highest standards in management practices. We will continue to collaborate with provinces and territories to develop standards, shared services and best practices in the areas of real property, procurement, and sustainable development.

Financial Services – Advice will continue to be provided to the Minister and senior government officials on financial management based on the department's Financial Management Framework. To improve sound stewardship, Corporate Management will fully implement the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) function. The CFO is responsible for: overall financial management and control; enhanced management practices; provision of advice for effective use of resources; and, sound policy implementation. The capacity of the financial management framework and related services will be enhanced due to a planned financial system upgrade, improvements to PWGSC's costing processes, and an update of its financial reporting tools. These enhancements will improve financial accountability and risk management. Corporate Management will also assist with the integration of PWGSC's Way Forward and ongoing priorities.

Corporate Information – Corporate Management will fully implement a Chief Information Officer function to improve PWGSC's strategic decision-making processes related to information management/information technology (IM/IT) investment.

Information Technology – PWGSC, in meeting its internal IT requirements, will seek cost-effective IT solutions, including supporting the evolving role of ITSB and related shared service initiatives.

Communications – PWGSC will continue to embrace a proactive communications approach with Canadians and Parliamentarians. We will provide more information about the value-added services that PWGSC brings to the Government of Canada and Canadians. PWGSC will continue supporting effective, communication of The Way Forward business transformation agenda.

Human Resources (HR) – In the coming years, PWGSC will continue to build on and improve HR management to meet our business transformation needs, and be consistent with the spirit of the Public Service Modernization Act (PSMA). PWGSC will:

• Focus on creating a work force that is representative of the Canadian population, placing emphasis on increasing the representation of visible minorities and implementing the department's official languages strategic action plan;
• Respond to the concerns of the Commissioner of Official Languages and take on a leadership role in the application of the Official Languages Act;
• Improve integrated, business-based HR planning and support the development and implementation of strategies to address HR management gaps, including succession planning and knowledge transfer;
• Consult meaningfully and work together with the unions;
• Focus on the department's core learning agenda which includes ethics and ethical decision-making and management accountabilities under the PSMA; and
• Conduct fair, transparent and effective staffing.

PWGSC will continue to make improving the delivery of core HR services a key priority.

Health and Safety – PWGSC will continue to ensure that its employees are safe and secure, and that it can respond rapidly to any emergencies and, within PWGSC' mandate, those of other government departments and Canadians.

Business Transformation Agenda

The Transformation Agenda is a high priority for PWGSC. It focuses on improving the way that PWGSC, and the government as a whole, does business by finding innovative ways to deliver services smarter, faster and at a reduced cost in the areas of real property, acquisitions, and information technology. There are two fundamental, interrelated objectives at the core of the Transformation Agenda:

• Saving money by maximizing efficiencies and taking advantage of economies of scale; and
• Pursuing these initiatives in an open and transparent way so as to preserve the confidence of Canadians in the integrity and fairness of the Government of Canada.

The overall objectives of the proposed Strategic Transformation Branch are to strengthen the department's analytical function and integrated reporting capacity in the context of our business transformation. This reliable information helps the proposed branch provide the Minister and senior management with timely, accurate information and advice to enable them to make well-informed decisions regarding the Business Transformation Agenda. Specifically, the proposed Strategic Transformation Branch will:

• Provide government-wide financial, economic and business analysis and advice on savings targets;
• Act as project management and coordination office for the core transformation activities;
• Facilitate a coordinated, rigorous and regular reporting mechanism for measuring progress on transformation;
• Provide a single window entry point for central agencies and other government departments on transformation; and
• Support a coordinated, nationally consistent departmental strategy to manage and communicate change within PWGSC, with emphasis on people and cultural issues.

Risk Management

As part of ongoing efforts to improve the way PWGSC does business and assures quality services to our clients, the Office of the Chief Risk Officer (OCRO) was introduced, independent of the operating branches, having the following responsibilities:

• Integrating and embedding risk management into PWGSC's decision-making processes;
• Managing the Ethics program and strengthening the internal disclosure process;
• Collaborating with the branches and regions to develop appropriate strategies and departmental risk management tools; and
• Assessing and ranking critical departmental risks.

The Corporate Risk Information System will be PWGSC's main tool to report on identification, assessment, mitigation and monitoring of key risk areas.

In 2006-07, OCRO will:

• Continue to raise awareness of the department's roles and responsibilities relating to risk management;
• Establish a departmental Risk and Ethics Oversight Committee;
• Develop standards, methodology and electronic tools for risk management;
• Continue to implement Fairness Monitoring and Internal Disclosure programs;
• Continue with ongoing elements of the department's Ten Point Integrity Plan;
• Continue ethics training for managers and employees;
• Integrate ethics with risk management, business planning and decision-making at an operational level;
• Conduct a review of OCRO's program objectives, operations and results, and develop a three-year plan; and
• Establish strong links with the risk management experts in the government and private sector to ensure the employment of appropriate methodologies.

OCRO's success will be measured by the integration of risk management tools and risk information into the planning and decision-making processes.

Audit and Evaluation

Audit and Evaluation – PWGSC re-focused its audit and evaluation capacity to strengthen its system of independent, internal checks and balances. As a key provider of assurance in support of oversight by the DM and TBS/OCG, the Audit and Evaluation Branch provides independent assurance on business performance, program effectiveness and management controls to provide information for decision-making.

On April 1, 2006, TB approved a new Internal Audit Policy. The policy is designed to provide deputy ministers and the Comptroller General with added assurance, independent from line management, on risk management, control and governance processes.

PWGSC will incorporate the government's new direction for Internal Audit and will continue to strengthen its internal audit capacity. To reinforce the integrity of audit and oversight over the three year planning period, PWGSC will:

• Increase the representation of private sector members on PWGSC's Audit, Assurance and Ethics Committee;
• Improve audit and evaluation coverage; and
• Continue to monitor and follow up on the implementation of management action plans developed to respond to audit recommendations.

Activities

Corporate Management has one program activity titled Corporate Management that supports all activities across PWGSC. Corporate Management costs have been re-allocated and are reflected in the other departmental program activities. Therefore, no financial table is shown here. The strategic outcomes table provides descriptions, results statements and performance indicators for each activity.

Strategic Outcome: Sound Stewardship

Corporate Stewardship