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There are two aspects of sustainability that were examined in the evaluation. One aspect bears on the need to provide lessons about what has worked and what has not worked, that can provide a legacy to others collecting and disseminating labour market information after the Initiative ends. The other aspect of sustainability pertains to the need for a process to determine what needs to be done in this area following the Initiative.

ISSUE:

Are there appropriate processes in place for planning for the long-term sustainability of the achievements of the Initiative, where warranted, both for the Initiative as a whole and for individual projects. Specifically, are there processes for:

• evaluating the effectiveness of individual projects to provide information on what works and what doesn't, with respect to collecting labour market information, improving products and enhancing access and integration into career planning, that may be useful for extension to further programming;

• determining whether the need addressed by the project is ongoing and whether continued work to address this need will be required after the Initiative ends;

• providing easy access to information on the lessons learned from individual projects about the effectiveness of methods of collecting, producing and disseminating labour market information to others involved in the collection, production and dissemination of labour market information resources;

• determining how labour market information can be kept current, including information in emerging areas, and products updated with this new information, once the Initiative ends to address ongoing needs;

• determining whether the distribution system is sustainable once the Initiative ends;

• considering the broader context of the provincial and federal governments, and community agencies in planning for long-term sustainability; and

• determining how these activities can be funded, with government or non-government funding, as appropriate?

FINDINGS:

There are two forms of legacy emerging that can be expected to remain after the end of the LMI Strategic Initiative:

• The first legacy is the method of working in partnership. The working relationships established through partners working together to deliver the Initiative can also be used to sustain the work of the Initiative after it ends. These partnerships include the federal and provincial partnership, which provided the mandate for the Initiative. Also included are the various other forms of partnerships that have occurred for specific projects, including those with other Strategic Initiatives and various branches of the Ministry, as well as other operating agencies and not-for-profit associations of career practitioners.

• The second legacy is the lessons that may be learned from the projects carried out by the Initiative, of what works and what doesn't in terms of improving products and enhancing access and integration into career planning that may be useful for extension to further programming. As indicated in Chapter 2.0, however, this legacy will not be realized unless an effort is made to systematically collect this information and make it available to those with an interest in collecting and/or disseminating labour market information. Those involved in delivering the Initiative have not been aware of the requirement to collect this information. When asked how this information is being collected, many acknowledge that it hasn't been, but that it needs to be. Others feel that this information will come from the evaluation.

The other aspect of sustainability examined in the evaluation pertains to the need for a process to determine what needs to be done in this area following the Initiative. Such a process is currently underway. Some of the larger projects, such as BC WorkInfoNet, are developing plans for ongoing sustainability. The Initiative as a whole will begin strategic planning for the sustainability of the achievements of the Initiative as soon as this evaluation is completed. The assumption of many involved is that if the work of the Initiative is meeting a need, the federal and provincial government will continue to support it.

CONCLUSIONS:

No explicit policy currently exists for reporting out on projects to ensure that lessons that have been learned by those carrying out the project are recorded for the benefit of others. A process is currently being developed for community-based projects. One is needed for the other components of the Initiative. The recognition of the need for such a process is only now beginning.

The process for determining what needs to be done after the Initiative ends is underway. As the Initiative was intended to test different ways of collecting and disseminating labour market information, it was only intended to fund projects on a trial basis only. If a project proves to be a success, it cannot expect ongoing funding through the Initiative. Alternative funding and delivery mechanisms will need to be determined.

Projects have varied from one time projects, which were intended for a very specific reason and will not need to be sustained. Other projects are pilot tests of research studies, such as the private training outcomes project. The purpose of the pilot test is to determine whether the methodology is feasible, and whether it is appropriate to continue with such research on an ongoing basis. If the pilot research suggests that there is value in continuing the research after the Initiative, those overseeing the project will need to determine an appropriate mechanism for ongoing delivery, as well as potential sources of funding.

Many of the projects have lead to a tangible resource for use by career practitioners, and their clients, in the career planning process. The usefulness of these products needs to be field tested with the intended audiences. With this information it will be possible to identify those resources which should be maintained after the Initiative ends. Maintenance will mean, at the very least, keeping the resource available by providing some mechanism for continued printing and distribution. For other resources, maintenance will also mean producing updated editions as the information in the resources becomes outdated. How often an update is needed will vary with the resource, as different information will have a different shelf life.

A big focus of the Initiative as been the use of the internet to distribute labour market information. A variety of resources have now been placed on the internet; the labour market information in these resources will need to be kept up to date. It will be easier to accomplish this than to keep the print versions up-to-date. The LMI Strategic Initiative has also created a web site, BC WorkInfoNet, to provide a "one-start, on-line shop" for career planning purposes. This site is under constant development as more and more relevant information comes on-line. The site will need ongoing maintenance, as well as occasional re-development, after its initial development is completed. The data bases it links to will also need to be kept up to date if the site is to remain useful. There are other internet sites also being developed with the aid of funds from the LMI Strategic Initiative. The same issues of maintenance, development and updating also apply to these.

The achievements of the Initiative, and its long term impact on labour market supply and demand and the process of social security reform, will be limited if ongoing work does not continue, at least to keep the resources that are useful current, and available.