HAFF Committee Report

Mr. Lenihan provided a brief description of the proposals under each major theme. Under the theme of making information more accessible and more usable for parliamentarians, the following changes might be anticipated:8

1. Higher level reporting on results achieved for Canadians. Departments would report on plans and priorities on the basis of key results and government priorities.
2. Performance evidence on results rather than activities - efforts would be made to demonstrate the role that government played in contributing to the reported results. Underachievements and lessons learned would also be included.
3. Development of government-wide standards for reporting costs in order to link costs to results and to related activities in other departments. Costs would be reported on the basis of functions or sector of activity that focus on results. The standards would clarify how to report on costs that span several years as well as how to factor in related activities in other departments.
4. Reporting would cover a three-year planning period - for each function or sector of activity, departments would start with the big picture, setting long-term goals over a three-year period, with short and medium-term indicators for the next annual report. The long-term portion would, when appropriate, use societal indicators both as context and trend information.
5. Increased reporting on "collective results" – initiatives that involve more than one department or jurisdiction. Also, over time, a series of linkages could be developed between functions and broader societal trends, identifying as a minimum, what role the federal government played or contribution analysis.
6. More context information using societal indicators to frame departmental planning and progress in a broader Canadian setting.

In representing the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, Mrs. Maria Barrados, presented the Office’s views of the IRPP proposals.

In general, the Auditor General has been supportive of the government’s efforts at improving reporting, while urging it to make faster progress. It views in a favourable light the current proposals, especially the focus on results and result commitments, but some proposals still require further clarification. In their view, the federal government needs to pay more attention to ensuring that the information it provides on results is both reliable and meaningful.

1. Specifically: There is a need for clearer and more concrete statement of results that departments are expected to achieve, in order to determine how well programs achieve their results and not just only what they are doing.
2. Better explanations supported by appropriate evidence on how activities undertaken contribute to the reported results are required.
3. To ensure greater credibility in reporting, it is necessary to have more balanced reporting that discusses problem areas and what is being done to improve them.
4. Improved information is needed on costs associated with the results the government is achieving.

In terms of the notion of collective reporting, the Sub-committee enquired if the federal government ever considered consolidating the reporting of the activities that span across several departments and agencies into a single entity or heading, in other words, reporting by "mission" or objectives. It was not clear whether the submitted proposals were directed solely to government departments, or whether they extended to other federal entities such as boards, agencies, crown corporations, and other federal government entities. This leads the Sub-committee to recommend the following: