ARCHIVED - Performance Reporting: Good Practices Handbook 2011

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Principle 1: Focus on the benefits for Canadians, explain the critical aspects of planning and performance, and set them in context

Why should public performance reports focus on the benefits for Canadians? When preparing the DPR, it is important to recall why Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPPs) and DPRs are prepared, how they are used, and by whom. These reports are key accountability documents that present the government’s financial and non-financial plans and performance, and they are subject to parliamentarians’ scrutiny. The government is spending taxpayers’ money, and parliamentarians represent Canadians. Departmental reports should therefore demonstrate how the lives of Canadians will be and are improved by departments’ plans and results.

Focusing on the few critical aspects of planning and performance enhances the usefulness of public reports by providing a concise picture of the information parliamentarians need to know. Parliamentarians do not have unlimited time to read through RPPs and DPRs and need to be able to get clear messages about departmental planning and performance quickly. Too much information impedes the ability of parliamentarians to hold the government to account.

Identifying critical aspects of planning and performance involves assessing what is relevant and significant for each strategic outcome and program activity. Information in RPPs and DPRs should be relevant to members of Parliament and to Canadians, and such information should explain the benefits for Canadians that the department aims to achieve through its strategic outcomes and program activities. Reporting on other critical items that have an impact on plans or performance is recommended; it could include a description and a discussion of how such items are expected to, or did, affect departmental plans and performance.

Establishing the context of plans and performance is important because it helps readers understand the range of considerations that must be taken into account when planning and that affect performance. It also helps to establish reasonable parameters for assessing plans and performance.

To apply this principle:

• Clearly present the program activity architecture.
• Discuss priorities within the context of the MRRS.
• Link to the whole-of-government framework.
• Demonstrate links to broader government priorities.
• Discuss challenges, risks, opportunities, and their impact on plans and performance.
• Discuss horizontal links.
• Describe delivery mechanisms.
• Include responses to parliamentary committees and findings of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada.

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