The Management Accountability Framework
(MAF) establishes the standards for management in the Government of Canada and is the basis for
management accountability between departments/agencies and the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency (PSHRMAC). The 10
elements of the MAF collectively define "management" and establish the expectations for good management of a department or agency. MAF is prominently displayed in
Guidance
for Deputy Ministers.
MAF can further be described in three ways:
First, MAF is a vision for good management. It establishes the framework of accountability for deputy heads to ensure that the conditions for good management are put in
place in order to achieve Results for Canadians.
Second MAF is a process. This process includes annual MAF assessments of most departments and agencies, engagement between deputy heads and TBS/PSHRMAC where warranted,
joint agreement on specific management improvement actions plans and ultimately public reporting on the state of management.
Third, MAF is an analytical tool. The hierarchy of MAF expectations and indicators allow for focused analysis within the broader context of MAF in order to identify
management strengths and weaknesses both in individual departments and agencies and on a government wide basis.
Flowing from Results for Canadians and the Comptrollership Modernization initiative, MAF was originally created in 2003. At that time, a
MAF booklet
was published to further define MAF concepts. MAF has continued to evolve from this initial starting point. While the expectations for MAF will likely not change over
time, the evolution continues with how the MAF is used and how it applies to management in government.
Since its initial introduction, MAF evolution has been progressing along a continuum...
- … from a framework for a conversation to a basis for rewards,
consequences and investments
- … from ad hoc process and timing to an established place in the annual planning, reporting and expenditure cycle
- … from a TBS/PSHRMAC-centred assessment process to one in which departments routinely assess themselves against MAF measures and TBS/PSHRMAC plays the
challenge function
- … from the selective release of some management information to the comprehensive release of integrated information on the state of public service
management.
MAF is an important component of TBS/PSHRMAC central agency responsibility for management oversight.
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