Directorates
·	Director General's Office
·	Data Development
·	Strategic Evaluations
·	Partnership and Continuous Evaluations
Publications
·	Evaluation Reports
·	Evaluation Briefs
·	Labour Market Development Agreement Series
·	Lessons Learned Series
·	Evaluation Tool Kit Series
·	Evaluation Forum Newsletter
·	From Theory To Practice

Lessons from Strategic Initiatives Formative Evaluations

The Strategic Initiatives (SI) program was set up in March 1994 to promote the development of innovative social programming to address the changing needs of Canadians. The emphasis was placed on testing new approaches to help Canadians develop skills, get work and participate more fully in society. This document reflects the lessons learned through the formative evaluations of nineteen projects funded under the Strategic Initiatives program. The lessons are grouped according to the type of project and the process of project implementation:

• projects to address barriers to employment and long term dependence on income support;
• projects to provide improved program supports;
• activities related to partnerships; and
• improved program design and delivery mechanisms.

Addressing Barriers to Employment and Dependence on Income Support

Many projects addressed barriers to employment and long term dependence on income support. These projects contributed directly to increasing employment opportunities, reducing reliance on government assistance and addressing barriers to long term attachment to the labour force.

Some projects provided general wage subsidies to employers to promote hiring of individuals facing barriers to accessing employment opportunities. The evaluations suggested that:

• general wage subsidies are more appropriate to support job creation in economies with significant potential for economic expansion than in other contexts and are particularly effective when tied to local economic development plans;
• linking the allocation of wage subsidies in the non-profit sector to local economic development plans helps to reduce the risk of funding “make work” projects;
• general wage subsidies offer limited benefits for job creation if not properly designed and targeted. Targeting reduces the risk that jobs would have been created even without program support (dead-weight loss) and increases the chances that these job opportunities go to those who are the focus of the program.

Other projects provided targeted wage subsidies and offered the following lessons:

• targeted wage subsidies are most effective when they focus on providing opportunities for employing those who have perceived (but not actual) employment disadvantages;
• conversely, targeted wage subsidies in isolation are not typically effective with truly unproductive individuals since their employment will end with the subsidy;
• the investment of wage subsidies for encouraging youth employment is successful because it encourages employers to take seriously the possibility of employing youth and helps them overcome their perceived disadvantages in the work force;
• targeted wage subsides are ideal for addressing the employment barriers faced by recent graduates in areas where the school to work transition is hard. They allow employers to offset the investment costs occasioned because of the graduates” higher salary costs and lack of experience.

Many Strategic Initiatives focussed on the employment-related needs of students and/or recent graduates and linked programs to continuing education. It was noted that:

• prolonged unemployment — particularly for those with limited barriers to employment — may have serious negative consequences on the risk of future income dependency;
• a relatively small investment by government can reduce the risk of future dependency of post-secondary graduates;
• tying wage subsides for students to the financing of their continuing education increases the likelihood that the participant will continue to attend a post-secondary education institution. The value of this education in avoiding future dependency is unknown;
• the commitment of employers to being partners in education and providing meaningful work-related experiences is critical to the success of targeted wage subsidies for students;
• providing income to participants in employment programs at above market-rate levels may have a negative impact on other workers. Providing alternate compensation forms (such as tuition vouchers) may reduce these negative reactions;
• realistic work experiences are more likely to be available to students if employers understand clearly the educational objectives of the targeted wage subsidies. A realistic work experience exposes the student to a structured employer/employee relationship which involves, among other things, job interviews, work planning and performance evaluations;
• self-employment programs which provide subsidies to individuals who would not otherwise be receiving government support — such as recent graduates — may not be cost-effective.

Some projects for individuals facing multiple barriers to labour force attachment provided single-faceted interventions and others provided multi-faceted interventions. Lessons suggest that:

• single-faceted interventions may not be particularly effective for those facing multiple barriers to employment;
• a multi-faceted approach is required to address the negative aspects of dependence on social assistance. Employment-related programs cannot overcome the negative incentives to work which are built into the social assistance system;
• clients with multiple barriers to labour market attachment need more monitoring, better planning and longer periods of support. They may require a sequence of training projects and work experiences;
• programs for clients with multiple barriers need to be individualised to allow them to take advantage of a range of services. Training and work experience projects cannot be seen as one-time interventions;
• programs for those with multiple barriers to labour market attachment need to address the barriers which prevent client participation in employment programs by providing support services.

Improved Program Supports

Some Strategic Initiatives contributed indirectly to improving employment opportunities. They addressed specific barriers to employment-related programming and employment by providing improved access to labour market information, career services and child care. Many lessons flow from these initiatives:

Improved Labour Market Information

• labour market information is key to improving employment prospects. Yet many clients face barriers in accessing such information, including: lack of time, lack of knowledge of where to find resources, lack of comfort with information technology, and information overload;
• there are particular problems in accessing information that is suitable for secondary school audiences, those with low literacy levels and specific groups such as aboriginal people and women. There are also problems accessing information on realistic entry-level job opportunities and vocational employment;
• strong partnerships among the federal and provincial governments and developers and users of labour market information are key to the success of these support programs. The challenges of partnerships are most successfully handled by involving partners in all stages of the program, and through effective communication, incorporating meaningful consultation, feedback of information, and follow-up.

Improved Career Services

• government and community partnerships, involving information sharing and joint-service delivery are key to improving career-related services;
• private sector involvement and focus in the provision of support services were critical to their success;
• addressing service-delivery gaps requires the involvement of all partners in the identification, planning and delivery of services;
• clients facing multiple barriers to self-sufficiency need a continuous package of services. Employment-related programs for this target group need to be linked to local community economic needs;
• to achieve positive impacts from the provision of support services, such as assessments and counselling, it is important that clients” expectations for follow-up programs are met.

Improved Access to Child Care

• the lack of affordable, high quality child care is a barrier to accessing employment opportunities;
• although community consultation is time-consuming, it is critical to the establishment of child care programs. Early and in-depth community consultation is necessary to assess needs accurately, provide adequate information and build community support.

Partnerships

Partnerships among public, private and non-profit sectors formed a key element of the Strategic Initiatives program. Each partner brings different strengths to the partnerships:

• the federal government brings its funding and human resource development delivery expertise. It also contributed to the evaluation of these new Initiatives;
• the provincial and/or local governments (supported by community organisations), on the other hand, contribute their understanding of the local community — both in terms of the supply and demand for labour and client needs;
• community partnerships are particularly important for an appropriate program design, identification of local needs and assessment of the job readiness of clients. However, the process must be (and be perceived to be) open and fair, perhaps through the involvement of local advisory committees;
• in order for clients to meet their income needs from employment rather than through government assistance, it is important to involve the private sector in both the design and implementation of activities.

Types of Partnerships

• true partnerships involve shared vision and objectives, open communications, shared responsibility and power, and the ability to acknowledge and support differences between partners. By this definition, not all Strategic Initiatives partnerships are true partnerships. However, many Initiatives did involve a range of stakeholders.
• effective collaborations — if not true partnerships — involved a range of partners, including partners from the public, private and non-government sectors;
• although too early to assess, co-management and integration of services may reduce the overlap and duplication in the provision of services to client populations and increase the efficiency in the use of resources;
• third-party delivery mechanisms may be effective vehicles for providing client and community-oriented services, reducing duplication and improving participant access.

Impact and Challenges of Partnerships

• effective partnerships evolve when the selection of the partners is based on the needs defined by the program objectives. When partnerships are established in the absence of program objectives, there may be a lack of agreement among partners as to the role and objectives of the program and this may result in weakness in program design and delivery and conflict among the partners;
• lack of clarity on objectives may mean that partners have to spend considerable time identifying shared principles and approaches rather than on ways to pool their expertise and resources;
• when partnerships do not evolve naturally, considerable resources are required to develop the partnership infrastructure and this requires extensive commitment from program staff;
• the involvement of non-profit organisations in partnerships with government requires a commitment of resources which needs to be recognised.

Improved Program Mechanisms

Lessons were learned with respect to improved program design and delivery mechanisms, including innovative approaches to programming and the lessons learned about the process of implementing new initiatives. The impact of the improved mechanisms for employment programs will only be known when the summative evaluations are carried out.

Programming Lessons

• sufficient time needs to be allowed for the process of designing and developing new programs, establishing partnerships, developing pilot projects and testing innovative approaches to third-party delivery. Not allowing sufficient time can result in confusion, frustration and breaks in communications with program stakeholders;
• programs for clients facing barriers to labour force attachment need to be appropriately tailored for individual needs and this individualised planning should be reflected in personal action plans;
• individual action plans should include a range of preparatory programs (assessments, counselling, literacy and life skills training and academic upgrading) and training and/or work experience programming. Programs need to be paced to meet individual needs;
• programs need to address barriers to program participation. This may require providing financial assistance for day care, transportation or a daily allowance in addition to their income assistance;
• when individual plans are developed, tools have to be put in place to support the implementation of these plans;
• development of individualised plans which shift from supply-side to demand-side identification of services to be offered at the community level is particularly important for clients with disabilities;
• individual action plans need to reflect realistic job expectations for clients. These are often more important in achieving program success than the career-relatedness of a job placement. Program exposure can contribute to the development of more realistic job expectations;
• the continuum of interventions reflected in the individualised plan needs to include program follow-up, including an on-going training plan;
• programs for those facing long term dependency on government assistance must offer incentives for program participation which are adequate to overcome the benefits of government assistance;
• programs for those facing barriers to labour market attachment need to be flexible. Rigidity can work against the implementation of individualised action plans and may prevent some clients from accessing the program and other services;
• programs for those dependent on government assistance need to be designed to allow for a gradual withdrawal of support to ensure that they do not create a new dependency. Clients can become dependent on the program support or the program participant groups;
• flexibility allowed some programs to respond rapidly to clients and industry needs by offering an open and inclusive structure and a non-bureaucratic management style. Flexibility was reflected in flexible schedules, non-traditional training environments and the innovative use of new technologies;
• the cost-effectiveness of new programs may be compromised when they are implemented on a small-scale and for a limited time period.

Programming Tools

• flexibility is needed to adjust existing administrative systems and supports to meet the needs of new programming approaches;
• the role of program counsellors or facilitators was key to the success of some programs to reduce dependency on government assistance. In addition to their program delivery role, they also serve as positive role models and may contribute to the development of realistic career goals and reductions in program drop-out rates;
• the appropriate skills for these counsellors/facilitators include counselling skills, access to information, understanding of local client and employer needs, and expertise in business, training and community economic development;
• innovative technologies provide opportunities for improving client services and increasing access to services.