Accountability - The obligation to demonstrate and take responsibility
both for the means used and the results achieved in light of agreed
expectations.
(Responsabilisation)
Activity - An operation or work process internal to an organisation,
which uses inputs to produce outputs. E.g., Training, research, construction,
negotiation, investigation, etc…
(Activité)
Attribution – the extent to which a reasonable causal connection can be
made between a specific outcome and the activities and outputs of a government
policy, program or initiative. (Attribution)
Canada’s Performance: A government-wide performance report tabled in
the fall of each year by the President of Treasury Board. Canada’s Performance
provides parliamentarians and Canadians with a whole of government perspective
from which to view the plans, results and resources reported by individual
federal departments and agencies in their spring planning and fall performance
reports. Example: Canada’s Performance 2003
(Le Rendement du Canada)
Departmental Performance Reports (DPR) - Departmental Performance Reports
(DPRs), tabled in the fall of each year by the President of Treasury Board on
behalf of all federal departments and agencies named in Schedule I, I.1 and II
of the Financial Administration Act, are part of the Estimates and Supply
process. Their fundamental purpose is to present a report on results and
accomplishments as established in the corresponding Reports on Plans and
Priorities (RPP) in order to provide Parliamentarians with knowledge and
understanding of the government’s stewardship of public resources.
(Rapports ministériels sur le rendement - RMR)
Effectiveness - The extent to which an organisation, policy, program or
initiative is meeting its expected results. Related term: Cost Effectiveness -
The extent to which an organization, program, policy or initiative is using the
most appropriate and efficient means in achieving its expected results relative
to alternative design and delivery approaches.
(Efficacité)
Efficiency - The extent to which an organisation, policy, program or
initiative is produces outputs in relation to resources used.
(Efficience)
Evaluation - the application of systematic methods to periodically and
objectively assess effectiveness of programs in achieving expected results,
their impacts, both intended and unintended, continued relevance and alternative
or more cost-effective ways of achieving expected results.
(Évaluation)
Expected Result – An outcome that a program, policy or initiative is
designed to produce.
Governance: The processes and structures through which decision-making
authority is exercised. E.g., An effective governance structure ensures
individuals or groups of individuals are responsible for setting policy
directions, priorities, taking investment decisions, re-allocating resources,
and designing programs.
Government of Canada Outcome: The long-term and enduring benefits to
Canadians that more than one federal department or agency are working to
achieve.
Example: An Innovative and Knowledge-based Economy
Horizontal Initiative: An initiative in which partners from two or more
organizations have established a formal funding agreement (e.g. Memorandum to
Cabinet, Treasury Board submission, federal-provincial agreement) to work toward
the achievement of shared outcomes. E.g., Canada’s Drug Strategy, Measures to
Combat Organized Crime Initiative.
Horizontal Results-Based Management and Accountability Framework(HRMAF):
A framework that ensures horizontal initiatives and policy-program domains have
adequate governance and accountability structures, are logically designed and
have in place the processes and structures necessary to measure and report on
performance. E.g., Measures to Combat Organized Crime Initiative RMAF
Initiative: A priority outcome and the means to achieve it articulated by
the government of Canada. It may involve one or more departments, and one or
more programs.
Performance criteria: A variable used to characterise or determine
success of an organisation, program, policy or initiative in producing outputs
or achieving outcomes. Eg client satisfaction
Examples of relationships between outcome/outputs, performance criteria and
performance measures:
Output/Outcome |
Performance criteria |
Performance measures/indicators |
Training sessions for clients |
Quantity |
# of training sessions held |
Reduced production of GHG in a certain industry |
Stakeholder support |
Number of stakeholders that have indicated they are
interested in participating in GHG reduction programs |
|
GHG reduction |
% reduction of GHG from 2004 levels |
Input – The financial and non-financial resources used by
organisations, policies, programs and initiatives to produce outputs and
accomplish outcomes. E.g., Funds, personnel, equipment, supplies, etc…
(Intrant)
Logic Model – A depiction of the causal or logical relationships
between activities inputs, outputs and the outcomes of a given policy, program
or initiative. Eg. (Enchaînement de résultats)
Management Resources and Results Structure (MRRS) – A comprehensive
framework that consists of an organisation’s inventory of activities,
resources, results, performance measurement and governance information.
Activities and results are depicted in their logical relationship to each other
and to the Strategic Outcome(s) to which they contribute. The MRRS is developed
from a Program Activity Architecture (PAA).
Outcome - An external consequence attributed, in part, to an
organisation, policy, program or initiative. Outcomes are not within the control
of a single organisation, policy, program or initative, instead they are within
the area of the organisation’s influence. Outcomes are usually further
qualified as immediate, intermediate, or ultimate (final), expected, direct etc:
(Résultat).
Three types of outcomes related to the logic model are defined as
:
- Immediate Outcome: an outcome that is directly attributable to a policy,
program or initiative’s outputs. In terms of time frame and level, these are
short-term outcomes and are often at the level of an increase in awareness of
a target population.
- Intermediate Outcome: an outcome that is expected to logically occur once
one or more immediate outcomes have been achieved. In terms of time frame and
level, these are medium term outcomes and are often at the change of behaviour
level among a target population.
- Final Outcome: the highest-level outcome that can be reasonably
attributed to a policy, program or initiative in causal manner, and is the
consequence of one or more intermediate outcomes having been achieved. These
outcomes usually represent the raison d’être of a policy, program or
initiative. They are long-term outcomes that represent a change of state of a
target population. Ultimate outcomes of individual programs, policies or
initiatives contribute to the higher-level departmental Strategic Outcomes.
Output - Direct products or services stemming from the activities of an
organisation, policy, program or initiative, and usually within the control of
the organsiation itself. E.g., Pamphlet, research study, water treatment plant,
training session, etc…
(Extrant)
Performance – What a government did with its resources to achieve its
results, how well those results compare to what the government intended to
achieve and how well lessons learned have been identified.
(Rendement)
Performance Indicator; see Performance measure
Performance measure : A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an
output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an
organisation, program, policy or initiative. Quantitative performance measures
are composed of a number and a unit. The number provides the magnitude (how
much) and the unit gives the number its meaning (what). e.g number of written
complaints received;
(Mesures du rendement)
Performance Measurement - The process and systems of selection,
development and on-going use of performance measures to guide decision-making.
Performance Monitoring - The ongoing, systematic process of collecting,
analyzing and using performance information to assess and report on an
organization’s progress in meeting expected results and, if necessary, make
adjustments to ensure these results are achieved.
(Suivi du rendement)
Performance Reporting - The process of communicating evidence-based
performance information. Performance reporting supports decision-making,
accountability and transparency.
(Rapport sur le rendement)
Policy - Government legislation, regulation, official guidelines or
operating principles that influence behaviour towards a stated outcome. Example:
Canada Health Act
Plans – the articulation of strategic choices, which provides
information on how an organisation intends achieve its priorities and associated
results. Generally a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen
and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result..
(Plans)
Priorities (for RPP) – Specific areas that an organisation has chosen
to focus and report on during the planning period. They represent the things
that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of
the desired Strategic Outcome(s).
(Priorités)
Program – A group of related activities that are designed and managed
to meet a specific public need and often treated as a budgetary unit.
Program Activity Architecture (PAA) – An inventory of all the
activities undertaken by a department or agency. The activities are depicted in
their logical relationship to each other and to the Strategic Outcome(s) to
which they contribute. The PAA is the initial document for the establishment of
a Management Resource and Results Structure (MRRS).
Program Activity Architecture, Horizontal – An inventory of all
programs and intiatives in a horizontal policy-program domain and their
relationship to outcomes.
Reach: The target that a given program or organization is intended to
influence, including individuals and organizations, clients, partners, and other
stakeholders (see Target Group).
Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPP) - As part of the Main Estimates,
the RPPs provide information on departmental plans and expected performance over
a three-year period. These reports are tabled in Parliament each spring, after
resource allocation deliberations. They include information on the department or
agency’s mission or mandate, strategic outcomes, strategies, plans and
performance targets.
(Rapports sur les plans et les priorités - RPP)
Result – Results are the same as outcomes. See outcome defintion..
Result Chain – See Logic model.
Results for Canadians - Describes the management framework for the
federal government of Canada. Published in early 2000, this key document
outlines the four management commitments for the federal government: citizen
focus, values, results and responsible spending.
(Des résultats pour les Canadiens et les Canadiennes)
Results-based Management - A comprehensive, lifecycle, approach to
management that integrates strategy, people, resources, processes and
measurements to improve decision-making and drive change. The approach focuses
on getting the right design early in a process, foussing on outcomes,
implementing performance measurement, learning and changing, and reporting
performance.
(Gestion axée sur les résultats)
Results-based Management and Accountability Framework (RMAF) - A document
which outlines the rationale, theory, resources and governance and
accountability structures of a program policy or intiative and sets out a plan
to measure, monitor and report on results throughout the lifecycle of the
policy, program or initiative. RMAFs are intended to assist departments in
achieving the expected results of their policy, program or initiatve.
(Cadre de gestion et de responsabilisation axé sur les résultats - CGRR)
Strategic Outcome - A long-term and enduring benefit to Canadians that
stems from a department or agency’s mandate, vision and efforts. It represents
the difference a department or agency wants to make for Canadians and should be
a clear measurable outcome that is within the department or agency’s sphere of
influence.
(Résultat stratégique)
Target: A measurable performance or success level that an organization,
program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets
can be either quantitative or qualitative and are appropriate for both outputs
and outcomes. E.g., 70% of Canadian households will own their own home in 2006
Target Group (Target Population) - The set of individuals and /or
organisations that an activity is intended to influence.
(Groupe Cible)
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