Canadian Business Service Centres
in Western Canada:
Evaluation Report 2002

4.3 Mandate

EVALUATION ISSUE	RELEVANCE
EVALUATION QUESTION	Is the mandate relevant?

As mentioned earlier, the CBSC mandate is described in the CBSC Annual Report 2000 - 01 (page 3) as having five aspects:

to serve as the primary source,
of timely and accurate business-related information and referrals,
on federal programs, services and regulations,
without charge,
in all regions of the country.

Primary source
A precise meaning of the phrase 'primary source' needs to be established before this aspect of the mandate can be evaluated. People seem to use the term somewhat loosely, sometimes meaning 'pre-eminent' and at other times meaning 'elemental'.

The Institute has concluded that the first aspect of the stated mandate is relevant, provided that 'primary source' is taken to signify 'a source of basic information and knowledge.' This interpretation accords well with the description of Service Objectives outlined in Appendix A of the 1998 Canada - Manitoba Agreement on a Business Service Centre which states that the Centre's focus "will be on efficiently meeting those types of basic business information requests which are commonly directed toward the public sector" (page 21). Business Infosource (Saskatchewan) also exemplifies this approach - its website describes the Centre as "your first stop for business information." The Information Services Curve developed by the Manitoba CBSC (reproduced in this Report as Figure 5 at page 10) provides a succinct illustration of how the phrase "primary source" is applied in practice.

Timely and accurate business-related information and referrals
Both clients and potential clients reported a need for business-related information (Figure 22, page 25), and referrals are an integral part of providing much of the information. The Institute finds this aspect of the mandate to be relevant.

The National Evaluation Framework has included "sounder / improved business planning and market research" and a "stronger SME community" in CBSC outcomes and impacts, and the Institute has identified improved business literacy in the SME sector as the Centres' overall outcome. All of these outcomes presuppose a degree of knowledge transfer and application. However, the mandate prescribed in the CBSC Annual Report 2000 - 01 refers neither to services nor to knowledge transfer.

A distinction needs to be drawn between information and knowledge. Information has been defined as "data presented in readily comprehensible form, to which meaning has been attributed within a context for its use", whereas knowledge is considered to be "information that has been comprehended and evaluated in the light of experience, and incorporated into the knower's understanding of the world." (ODLIS) Indeed, the Business Link has captured the essence of the distinction (and elegantly articulated its outcomes) in a brochure that proclaims:

MAKE THE LINK. In business, knowledge truly is power. What you know and what you do with it makes all the difference in the world. To help you make a difference, explore the services of The Business Link - a place where small businesses and promising entrepreneurs across Alberta can find the information, support and advice they need to succeed.

Alberta's brochure raises another point - the focus on small business. All four CBSCs in western Canada have concentrated on the SME sector. BC's Strategic Plan 2001 - 2004 is typical of its counterparts when it says the Centre's purpose "is to support the development and success of small and medium-sized enterprises" (page 2). Yet the mandate described in the current CBSC Annual Report fails to mention SMEs.

The Institute is therefore of the opinion that the stated mandate, although relevant, does not fully describe a CBSC's function.

Federal programs, services and regulations
CBSCs in western Canada are governed by four parallel agreements signed by the federal government and by each of the provincial governments, respectively. All agreements stipulate that the Centres are to provide "a framework for federal and provincial cooperation" and clearly envisage dissemination of both federal and provincial business information.

The Institute has concluded that a joint federal/provincial aspect of the mandate is relevant, given the fact that provincial governments have a major impact on business operations (Figure 11, page 15) and deliver many fundamental services such as incorporation and workers' compensation.

Without charge
This aspect of the mandate appears to the Institute to be superfluous. Although there appears to be little appetite for paying market value fees for service (a subject which is addressed in more detail in connection with the issue of alternatives), on-line business registries typically require users to pay a processing fee, and some CBSCs are in fact charging fees for customized reports (BC is an example).

All regions of the country
The need for business information and services arises wherever a business is located. Accordingly this final aspect of the mandate is relevant.

All four of the CBSCs in western Canada have adopted regionalization as part of their mission. As Saskatchewan stated in its Operational Plan 2000 - 2004, the purpose is to extend "comprehensive access to government and business information ... to smaller communities throughout" the province (page 11). Impetus for adding regional nodes to the network accelerated during the Canadian Rural Partnership consultations in 1998, in which support to rural communities "was seen, in many ways, as revolving around the question of how to improve access to information" (page 6). Organizations already delivering business information services have become regional access centres. The delivery mechanism for electronic materials is known as REACH, the acronym for Regional Economic Access and Community Help.

4.4 Intended Outputs

EVALUATION ISSUE	SUCCESS
EVALUATION QUESTION	Have CBSCs produced their intended outputs?

Information Services
CBSCs produce an array of intended outputs, summarized in Table 7. New products are being added each year.

Table 7: Core CBSC Products and Services (1999 - 2002)

* Note: full interactive registrations are not available, due to a requirement (imposed by the provincial Corporations Branch) that paper copies of applications be filed in addition to electronic registration.

Marketing
CBSCs produce a number of outputs such as brochures, media releases, promotional ads, telephone directory listings and trade show materials. All such outputs are intended to catch the attention of potential customers. To assess the effectiveness of these outputs, the Institute asked both clients and potential clients how they first learned of the Centres. Their replies are summarized in Figure 25.

Figure 25: Awareness of CBSCs by Source

By far the most clients and potential clients heard of the Centres by word of mouth and networking, neither of which are directly influenced by CBSC outputs. The least successful marketing outputs are trade show materials. The Institute has concluded that, although CBSCs are producing intended outputs, few are particularly effective.

Partnerships
Intended outputs related to Partnerships include regional access centres, partnership contributions and agreements among a variety of Partners.
Figure 2 (page 6) shows that satellite offices and regional access centres have been established in every province. Table 4 (page 8) lists the financial contributions of Managing Partners. In addition, the Centres access and refer to a wide array of materials provided by all types of partner. Agreements between the Managing Partners in each province have all been renewed beyond their original term. The Institute has therefore determined that CBSCs are producing their intended outputs.