Policy on Results
The Policy on Results sets out the fundamental requirements for Canadian federal departmental accountability for performance information and evaluation, while highlighting the importance of results in management and expenditure decision making, as well as public reporting.
Date modified: 2016-07-01
Hierarchy
Archives
This policy replaces:
- Reporting of Federal Institutions and Corporate Interests to Treasury Board Secretariat, Policy on [2016-07-01]
- Evaluation, Policy on [2016-07-01]
- Management, Resources and Results Structures, Policy on [2016-07-01]
Glossary
- Centrally-led evaluations (évaluations effectuées par l'administration centrale)
- Evaluations initiated by the Secretary of the Treasury Board of Canada.
- Core Responsibility (Responsabilité essentielle)
- An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a Core Responsibility are reflected in one or more related Departmental Results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.
- Departmental Result (Résultat ministériel)
- Departmental Results represent the changes departments seek to influence. Departmental Results are often outside departments' immediate control, but they should be influenced by Program-level outcomes.
- Departmental Result Indicator (Indicateur de résultat ministériel)
- A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a Departmental Result.
- Departmental Results Framework (Cadre ministériel des résultats)
- Consists of the department's Core Responsibilities, Departmental Results and Departmental Result Indicators.
- effectiveness (Efficacité)
- The impacts of a program, policy or other entity, or the extent to which it is achieving its expected outcomes.
- efficiency (Efficience)
- The extent to which resources are used such that a greater level of output/outcome is produced with the same level of input or, a lower level of input is used to produce the same level of output/outcome. The level of input and output/outcome could be increases or decreases in quantity, quality, or both.
- evaluation (Évaluation)
- In the Government of Canada, evaluation is the systematic and neutral collection and analysis of evidence to judge merit, worth or value. Evaluation informs decision making, improvements, innovation and accountability. Evaluations typically focus on programs, policies and priorities and examine questions related to relevance, effectiveness and efficiency. Depending on user needs, however, evaluations can also examine other units, themes and issues including alternatives to existing interventions. Evaluations generally employ social science research methods.
- input (Intrant)
- The financial and non-financial resources (e.g., funds, personnel, equipment and supplies) used by organizations to implement policies, programs and other activities to produce outputs and influence outcomes.
- neutral (Neutre)
- Impartiality in behaviour and process, ensuring that official, professional, personal or financial relationships or interests do not have an impact on evaluations. Neutrality also requires that preconceived ideas, prejudices or biases do not affect the decision whether to evaluate; analysis; findings, conclusions, recommendations; and the tone and content of evaluation reporting.
- organizational profile (Profil de l'organisation)
- Basic data used to identify organizations included in the institutional and corporate composition of the Government of Canada (e.g., name, appropriate Minister, enabling instrument, etc.).
- output (Extrant)
- Direct products, services or similar stemming from the activities of an organization, policy, program or initiative, and usually within the control of the organization itself.
- Performance Information Profile (Profil de l'information sur le rendement)
- The document that identifies the performance information for each Program from the Program Inventory.
- Program (Programme)
- Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.
- Program Inventory (Répertoire des programmes)
- Identifies all of the department's programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department's Core Responsibilities and Results.
- program of grants and contributions (Programme de subventions et de contributions)
- Refers to the definition of “program” in subsection 42.1(2) of the Financial Administration Act, which defines program as a program of grants or contributions made to one or more recipients that are administered so as to achieve a common objective and for which spending authority is provided in an appropriation Act
- program outcome (Résultat du programme)
- A change or consequence attributable to outputs or to which outputs or other outcomes of the program contribute. Program outcomes may be a hierarchy of short-, medium-, or long-term, and are generally more directly influenced by departments and within their immediate control than Departmental Results. Program outcomes are found at the Program level, whereas Departmental Results are found at the Core Responsibility level.
- relevance (Pertinence)
- The extent to which a program, policy or other entity addresses and is responsive to a demonstrable need. Relevance may also consider if a program, policy or other entity is a government priority or a federal responsibility.
- resource alignment review (Examen de l'alignement des ressources)
- Cyclical or targeted exercises that consider the alignment with priorities, resources, and results of government programs in support of management excellence, good expenditure prioritization and innovation.