ARCHIVED - Canada School of Public Service

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Minister’s Message

I am pleased to present the 2009-2010 Report on Plans and Priorities for the Canada School of Public Service (Canada School), the Government of Canada’s partner in learning. This report covers the period 2009-2010 to 2011-2012.

Since its creation in 2004, the Canada School has worked under the operational authority of the Canada School of Public Service Act to ensure that public servants at all levels and in all parts of the country have access to the knowledge and skills they need to perform effectively and deliver results for Canadians.

During the period 2009-2010 to 2011-2012, the Canada School will continue to play a vital role in the delivery of the Government of Canada’s Policy on Learning, Training and Development by focusing on four key areas: orientation and certification, management and professional development, leadership development, and second language acquisition and maintenance.

The Canada School will also implement the measures identified in the recent horizontal strategic review of central human resources organizations, ensuring that its programs remain effective and efficient.

By working collaboratively with public servants, the Canada School will continue to promote renewal of the public service to maintain a highly skilled and professional public service that all Canadians can be proud of, both now and in the future.

Section I – Departmental Overview

1.1 Summary Information

Raison d’être

The Canada School of Public Service (Canada School) contributes to the development of foundational knowledge, which allows public servants to perform in their current job and take on the challenges of the next job. Orientation sessions for both new employees and new senior leaders encourage a common understanding of public service values and ethics among public servants. Through its offerings, the Canada School helps to develop leadership, accountability and excellence in the delivery of services to Canadians — with pride and a clear understanding of the government context.

Canada School programs are developed and delivered to support public servants in performing their jobs effectively; to assist functional communities, which are comprised of public service employees who share common work purposes, functions and professional interests, in addressing their common issues and developing networks; and to assist managers in understanding and implementing their delegated authorities. The Canada School also helps disseminate key messages related to government priorities, such as Public Service Renewal, by incorporating elements of these priorities into its training programs.

Further, the Canada School supports deputy heads by staying current with new and updated policies and offering courses that meet organizational needs and address policy-related changes to departmental responsibilities. Mandatory training is offered in areas where standards must be met and professional development is available to support individual career progress, as well as government-wide competency requirements and succession planning.

Responsibilities

The Canada School was created on April 1, 2004 under the Public Service Modernization Act, combining three organizations that previously provided public service-wide learning, training and development: Language Training Canada, Training and Development Canada, and the Canadian Centre for Management Development. The Canada School is part of the Treasury Board of Canada portfolio. It operates under the authority of the Canada School of Public Service Act (CSPS Act) (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/c-10.13/text.html).

As set out in the legislation, a Board of Governors is responsible for the conduct and management of the affairs of the Canada School. This Board has a prominent role in the Canada School's governance structure and is integrated in its planning, reporting and strategic decision-making processes.  

 For additional information on the Canada School’s governance structure, go to http://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/aut/gst-eng.asp.

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

• Encourage pride and excellence in the public service;
• Foster a common sense of purpose, values and traditions in the public service;
• Support the growth and development of public servants;
• Help ensure that public servants have the knowledge, skills and competencies they need to do their jobs effectively;
• Support deputy heads in meeting the learning needs of their organizations; and,
• Pursue excellence in public management and administration

The Canada School achieves its mandate by ensuring that public servants have the foundational knowledge, through orientation and certification training, to perform their duties effectively; have the required skills and competencies through management and professional development; have access to leadership development programs; are aware of innovative management practices and techniques to deliver results for Canadians; and have access to language training and retention services.

Learning has been acknowledged as a means to improve the capacity, effectiveness and accountability of the public service. As the partner in learning for the public service, the Canada School provides learning opportunities in both official languages and in all regions of the country. It supports both deputy ministers in their accountabilities for determining the learning needs of their organizations and individual public servants in pursuing their learning objectives.

Acting as a rassembleur (one who gathers together people or things) for the Public Service of Canada, the Canada School engages people to generate ideas; ensures that organizations and their employees have the right learning tools, programs and methods available to them; and provides learning opportunities and tools that will allow public servants to support departmental mandates and meet their professional development needs.

All thirteen provinces and territories are served by the Canada School, in seven regions across the country:

• Pacific and Yukon
• Alberta, Northwest Territories and Nunavut
• Central Prairie
• Ontario
• National Capital
• Québec
• Atlantic

For additional regional information, including upcoming course offerings, go to http://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/reg/index-eng.asp.

On January 1, 2006, the Treasury Board’s Policy on Learning, Training and Development (the Policy) came into effect (http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=12405). The Policy highlights the value of learning and the importance of creating a learning culture within the public service. More specifically, it establishes employee, organization and employer learning responsibilities and outlines the employer’s specific training requirements. The Canada School’s identified program priorities are geared to help deliver on the Policy’s expected results.

The Policy outlines the specific training requirements through three interconnected types of learning, each of which is an integral part of innovation and improvement across the public service:

• Individual learning
• Organizational leadership
• Innovation in public management

Through the delivery of Required Training (Orientation to the Public Service, Authority Delegation Training and Assessment, and Functional Community Programming), and the continued promotion of second language acquisition and maintenance, the Canada School contributes to ensuring that:

• New employees share a common understanding of their role as public servants;
• Managers at all levels have the necessary knowledge to effectively exercise their delegated authorities;
• Specialists in functional communities (e.g.: finance; human resources; internal audit; procurement, materiel management and real property; and information management) meet professional standards established by the employer; and
• Employees at all levels acquire and maintain the knowledge, skills and competencies related to their level and functions.

In addition, the Canada School is responsible for designing and delivering leadership development programs, including the educational components of the corporate leadership development programs, to:

• Help meet current and future human resources needs; and
• Support senior public service leaders in aligning learning with the management improvement objectives of government and departmental business priorities.

The Canada School supports all four pillars of Public Service Renewal:

• Planning — By developing a course on integrated planning and supporting the government planning community;
  
  
• Recruitment — By managing the Orientation to the Public Service program for new public servants and working with the Public Service Commission to implement Students Providing Aligned Research and Knowledge (SPARK), which recruits university graduate students to engage in research projects related to policy and public administration, potentially leading to entry into the public service upon graduation;
  
  
• Employee development — By launching the iLeadership program for aspiring managers and creating My Learning Planner, an online tool that helps public servants to create personal learning plans; and
  
  
• Enabling infrastructure — By continuing to support online learning and the availability of collaborative tools, and by implementing the Integrated Learner Management System (ILMS), which is expected to have broader implementation by other government departments.

A formative evaluation, The First Two Years of Implementation: Canada School Responsibilities Under the Public Service Modernization Act Learning Strategy, found that, although some improvements could be made in the cohesiveness of programs, appropriate, high quality training was offered and delivered on time and within budget.

The CSPS Act provides for the following authorities and flexibilities to enchance year-over-year stability and operational consistency in support of achieving the mandate of the Canada School:

• Revenue Respending Authority (CSPS Act, subsection 18(2))
  Subject to any conditions imposed by the Treasury Board, the revenue from fees received by the School in a fiscal year through the conduct of its operations may be spent by the School for its purposes in that, or the next, fiscal year.
  
  

• Appointment of the President (CSPS Act, subsection 13(1) and section 14)
  Subsection 13(1): The Governor in Council shall, after consultation by the Minister with the Board, appoint an officer, to be called the President of the School, to hold office for a term not exceeding five years, and the President has the rank and status of a deputy minister.
  Section 14: On the expiration of any term of office, the President is eligible to be reappointed for a further term.
  
  
• Staffing Authority (CSPS Act, subsection 15(2))
  … the President may, on behalf of the School, appoint and employ teaching and research staff and may, with the approval of the Treasury Board, establish the terms and conditions of their employment, including their remuneration.
  
  
• Intellectual Property Management Authority (CSPS Act, subsection 18(1)(b))
  The Board may, with the approval of the Treasury Board, prescribe the fees or the manner of determining the fees … to be charged by the School when selling, licensing the use of or otherwise making available any copyright, trade-mark or other similar property right held, controlled or administered by the School.

Strategic Outcome

The Canada School has a single Strategic Outcome: "Public Servants have the common knowledge and the leadership and management competencies they require to fulfil their responsibilities in serving Canadians." This Strategic Outcome is supported by four program activities:

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

Program Activity Architecture

The chart below illustrates the Canada School of Public Service’s complete framework of program activities, sub-activities and sub-sub-activities, which roll-up and contribute to progress in achieving the Strategic Outcome.

Program Activity Architecture Crosswalk

To ensure compliance with the Management, Resources and Results Structure, the titles of the Program Activities were simplified for 2009-2010 to eliminate descriptions. The new titles appear across the top of the table below and replace those appearing down the left side.

($ thousands)	Foundational Learning	Organizational Leadership Development	Public Sector Management Innovation	Internal Services	Total
Foundational Learning: Public servants able to perform in their current job, take on the challenges of the next job in a dynamic, bilingual environment	66,162	N/A	N/A	N/A	66,162
Organizational Leadership Development: Public Service has strong leaders delivering results for Canadians	N/A	12,783	N/A	N/A	12,783
Public Sector Management Innovation: Public Service organizations innovate to achieve excellence in delivering results for Canadians	N/A	N/A	11,268	N/A	11,268
Internal Services: Effective decision-making is supported through integrated advice and information strategies and the provision of high quality corporate services	N/A	N/A	N/A	21,711	21,711
Total	66,162	12,783	11,268	21,711	111,924

This did not affect the structure or the content of the Canada School’s Program Activity Architecture.

The sub-activities beneath the Internal Services program activity have also been amended to conform to the guidance provided by the Treasury Board to establish consistency across departments and agencies.

1.2 Planning Summary

Financial Resources

Financial Resources	2009-2010	2010-2011	2011-2012
($ thousands)	111,924	108,190	100,810

The financial resources table above provides a summary of the total planned spending for the Canada School of Public Service for the next three fiscal years. The variance in forecast between the years is mainly due to the reductions resulting from the horizontal strategic review of central human resources organizations.

Human Resources

Human Resources	2009-2010	2010-2011	2011-2012
Full-Time Equivalent - FTEs	940	940	940

The human resources table above provides a summary of the total planned human resources for the Canada School of Public Service for the next three fiscal years.

Planning Summary Table

Strategic Outcome: Public Servants have the common knowledge and the leadership and management competencies they require to fulfil their responsibilities in serving Canadians.
Performance Indicators	Targets
Number of learning activities that address leadership development, management competencies and common knowledge, and number of participants.	Approximately 900 learning activities Approximately 220,000 learner days (number of learners/participants multiplied by the number of days in training)
Percentage of public servants who have attended Canada School learning activities and feel that the training provided responded to their learning needs and was a worthwhile investment for their employer.	80% of learning activity participants feel that the training provided responded to their needs and was a worthwhile investment for their employer

($ thousands)

Program Activity	Forecast Spending 2008-2009	Planned Spending			Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		2009-2010	2010-2011	2011-2012
Foundational Learning	68,828	66,162	66,112	62,953	Government Affairs http://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/oao/index-eng.asp
Organizational Leadership Development	13,133	12,783	11,769	9,202	Government Affairs http://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/lde/index-eng.asp
Public Sector Management Innovation	14,640	11,268	11,249	10,929	Government Affairs http://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/pbp/index-eng.asp
Internal Services	--	21,711	19,060	17,726
Total	96,601	111,924	108,190	100,810
Increase of Revenue Forecast (Note 1)	18,000	--	--	--
Respendable Revenue (S) (Note 2)	14,413	--	--	--
Other Adjustments (Note 3)	579	--	--	--
Services received without charge (Note 4)	14,200	13,814	13,913	13,953
Total Planned Spending	143,793	125,738	122,103	114,763

Notes:

1. This increase brings the 2008-2009 revenue forecast to the same level as in the 2009-2010 annual reference level update (ARLU). Future required adjustments will be reflected in the Public Accounts and the Departmental Performance Report.
2. (S) Statutory item ― The revenue from fees received by the Canada School in a fiscal year through the conduct of its operations may be spent by the Canada School for its purposes in that, or the next, fiscal year.
3. Other adjustments are comprised of the collective bargaining funds (not yet approved by the Treasury Board), the operating budget carry-forward from 2007-2008, and the reprofile for the ILMS.
4. Includes the following services received without charge: accommodation charges (Public Works and Government Services Canada); and contributions covering the employer’s share of employees’ insurance premiums and expenditures (TBS).

Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome

Operational Priorities	Type	Links to Strategic Outcome	Description
The consolidation of ongoing initiatives:	Ongoing	This initiative contributes to public servants having the common knowledge and the leadership and management competencies they require to fulfil their responsibilities in serving Canadians.
Functional community learning		The development of functional community learning, including curricula development and functional community networking, contributes directly to the first program activity of Foundational Learning as it ensures that common knowledge and competencies are developed among community members. All courses are developed based on leading and innovative practices, thereby contributing to Public Sector Management Innovation, the third program activity.	This is a priority because Functional community learning contributes to common knowledge and competency development. Plans for meeting the priority Functional communities, which are at different stages, are consulted to identify common training needs.  These needs are then prioritized.
The launch of new initiatives to deliver on Public Service Renewal:	New	Each of these initiatives contributes to public servants having the common knowledge and the leadership and management competencies they require to fulfil their responsibilities in serving Canadians.	This is a priority because In his 15th Annual Report, the Clerk of the Privy Council highlighted the need to develop leadership skills, and more specifically human resources management skills, among public service managers. He also highlighted the importance of recruiting and developing the new generation of public servants for the future.
Learning for managers — professional development and management skills The identification of learning options for the new generation of public servants		Learning for managers contributes directly to the second program activity of Organizational Leadership Development, and the identification of learning options for the new generation of public servants contributes to the first program activity of Foundational Learning. All courses are developed based on leading and innovative practices, so both initiatives contribute to Public Sector Management Innovation, the third program activity.	Plans for meeting the priority The Canada School will work with central agency partners to support key learning components of Public Service Renewal (e.g.: Advanced Leadership Program and employee development). In addition, new learning options continue to be explored and courses are designed / updated to incorporate leading practices.

Management Priorities	Type	Links to Strategic Outcome	Description
Continued efforts to  improve the learning infrastructure and assess learning programs to ensure relevance:	Ongoing	Each of these initiatives contributes to public servants having the common knowledge and the leadership and management competencies they require to fulfil their responsibilities in serving Canadians.	This is a priority because The ILMS will ensure that the Canada School’s registration system supports timely and accurate reporting. The annual Curriculum Review process is relevant in supporting client needs and public service priorities.
The Integrated Learner Management System (ILMS)		The ILMS will ensure that the Canada School’s registration system supports timely and efficient access to training and more strategic and accurate reporting.	Plans for meeting the priority ILMS will be fully implemented in phases, with completion anticipated for the fall of 2010.
Curriculum Review		The annual Curriculum Review process ensures programming is relevant in meeting client needs and public service priorities.	The Curriculum Review is now conducted annually.

Risk Analysis

While the Canada School receives appropriated funds for some foundational learning (notably, training required under the Policy on Learning, Training and Development), approximately 40 percent of its operating budget is based on revenues generated from fees charged to departments and agencies for learning products and services. During this time when departments and agencies may encounter pressures due to changing fiscal conditions, the Canada School will continue to emphasize the importance of learning as an investment to support public service productivity and effectiveness and engage in outreach activities to identify and address the learning needs of departments and agencies.

The Canada School has a planning horizon that is longer than the standard fiscal year given the process associated with planning, developing, designing, testing and implementing learner-ready products. The Canada School’s statutory ability to respend revenues earned in the current fiscal year in the next fiscal year provides the flexibility to support ongoing investments in the design and update of learning products and services over fiscal periods. However, there remains a challenge for the Canada School to improve its identification of key training needs of departments and agencies and respond to those needs in an increasingly timely manner. The Canada School’s planning framework will continue to evolve to support these business imperatives.

Technology trends, such as webcasts and video-conferences, provide a significant opportunity for effective methods of delivery. Blended learning solutions, which combine different learning methods such as classroom courses with online learning, are also an important trend that involves modular course designs that are more easily scalable to client needs. The Canada School continues to experiment and evolve its offerings and learning methods to meet client expectations and provide increased flexibility. Investments in technology and the development of skills and building of capacity in these areas are critical for maintaining program relevance and lowering client training costs.

The Canada School is focusing on talent management, both by encouraging the development of competencies and skills among existing employees and by forging relationships with post-secondary institutions to attract recent graduates to the public service as part of Public Service Renewal. At the same time, the number of subject matter experts and candidates with course design and teaching expertise is limited, and there is intense competition among departments and agencies to attract functional experts in certain professional fields. To address these challenges, the Canada School is transforming its human resources services and working to maintain an adequate balance of in-house expertise and external resources for program delivery.

The Canada School is replacing its legacy registration systems with a new Integrated Learner Management System (ILMS). The implementation of the ILMS is a major strategic initiative for the Canada School and sound governance mechanisms are in place to ensure effective project management. The ILMS will provide improved information for decision-making and will support the Canada School’s efforts to integrate and streamline its business processes for the registration, management and administration of learning. It will also enhance the Canada School’s ability to compile registration information and generate reports on a timely basis.

Expenditure Profile

The actual spending and the revenue earned for 2005-2006 to 2007-2008 are based on the figures presented in the Canada School’s Departmental Performance Report for each of those years.

The 2008-2009 forecasted spending is based on the forecasts presented in the business plan for fiscal year 2008-2009, and the 2008-2009 forecasted revenues are based on the forecasts as at November 30, 2008. The planned spending is based on the figures presented in the annual reference level update (ARLU) for the Canada School for 2009-2010 to 2011-2012, net of the reductions resulting from the horizontal strategic review of central human resources organizations. The planned revenues are based on the figures presented in the annual reference level update (ARLU) for the Canada School for 2009-2010 to 2011-2012.

Voted and Statutory Items
($ thousands)

Vote # or Statutory Item (S)	Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording	2008-2009 Main Estimates	2009-2010 Main Estimates
40	Program expenditures	58,529	58,330
(S)	Contributions to employee benefit plans	6,072	5,860
(S)	Spending of revenues pursuant to subsection 18(2) of the Canada School of Public Service Act	32,000	50,000
Total		96,601	114,190

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¹ Revenue is forecasted based on the previous year's business level and does not take into account potential growth.

² This table is based on the 2009-2010 Main Estimates tabled in Parliament in February 2009 and does not reflect adjustments made for the horizontal strategic review of central human resources organizations.

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