Guide for the Preparation of 2005-2006 Part III of the Estimates: RPP and DPR

Foreword

"Canadians want good governance. They want to know that government programs are well managed. They want greater openness and transparency. And, they want to be able to hold Parliament, their Government, and public sector officials to account for results – good or bad. Reporting to Parliament and the public must become more timely, clear and useful, based on a "whole of government" perspective."

Strengthening Public Sector Management  –   An Overview of the Government Action Plan and Key Initiatives (2004)

The Government has committed to improving its reporting to Parliament on several occasions, most recently in Budget 2004. Work on meeting this commitment has been ongoing. However, continued calls over the years from Parliamentarians and Canadians to improve transparency and accountability of government suggest that the mechanisms through which government informs Parliament and Canadians about its financial and non-financial information still require improvement, especially as they impact on Parliament's ability to bring the government to account for its management of public funds.

Past reports from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) have been critical of the quality and relevance of the information contained in departmental planning and performance reports. The Government Operations and Estimates Committee also clearly called for greater Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) involvement in improving and reforming Estimates documents to better support decision-making of Parliamentarians and the Government. As per the Financial Administration Act (section 7.c), it is the responsibility of TBS to look after all matters relating to Estimates.

The departmental guidance for the preparation of the Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPP) and Departmental Performance Reports (DPR) is being integrated to reinforce the complementarities between the two documents and their parallel reporting requirements. The integrated guidelines should better support departments ^[1] in providing more consistent information on their plans, priorities, results and resources in relationship to the achievement of their strategic outcomes, which are the long-term benefits departments strive to achieve for Canadians.

The Treasury Board Secretariat has also embarked on a process to modernize its management of government expenditures through the Management Resources and Results Structure (MRRS) and will overhaul its approach to gathering and reporting of expenditure performance information through the new Expenditure Management Information System (EMIS).

The intention of MRRS is to provide a standard, government-wide approach to planning and managing the relationship between resource expenditures and results while serving as a consistent and enduring foundation for financial and non-financial reporting to Parliament.

Each department will develop its MRRS, which is in summary comprised of:

1. Clearly defined strategic outcomes that reflect the department's mandate and vision and that are linked to government-wide priorities and intended results. They also provide the basis for establishing horizontal linkages between departments.
2. A Program Activity ^[2] Architecture (PAA) that:
   1. Provides an inventory of the department's program activities to support executive and departmental decisions;
   2. Links program activities to strategic outcomes;
   3. Provides planned and actual information on resources and results for each element and level of the PAA;
   4. Enables departments to provide a consistent reporting structure to Parliament; and
3. Serves as the basis for resource allocation by Parliament, the Treasury Board and department management.

EMIS is a centralized information system that will allow government to integrate financial and non-financial information across departments and agencies. This system is expected to provide the basis for collecting better quality information (financial, management and results), thereby improving the department's ability to manage and the government's capacity to account for resources used and decisions made on behalf of Canadians. It will also better support the Management and Accountability Framework (MAF), which commits Deputy Ministers and their executive teams to collect relevant performance information and use this information for decision-making purposes, including allocation and reallocation decisions. As such, the PAA structure and related reporting instruments to Parliament are key sources of input to assess departmental management and use of performance information through the MAF process.

In shifting the reporting of Estimates from the previous business line structure to the new PAA, the intent is to have departments more closely reflect what they do and explain how they manage resources in support of the achievement of their Strategic Outcomes and the departmental priorities they identified for the planning period. It is expected that the RPPs and DPRs, once based on the PAA, will provide more in depth and systematic information on departmental expenditures and performance that is consistent with the department's MRRS. This structure should provide parliamentarians and Canadians with the proper tools to enhance their scrutiny of government expenditures.

The PAA structure will be used for the 2005-2006 Annual Reference Level Update, the Main Estimates and the RPP exercises, and it will support the expenditure framework's input into Budget 2005.

Although the 2004-2005 DPRs would normally report based on the old business line structure to ensure consistency with the related RPP, some departments or agencies may have accomplished sufficient progress to consider moving to reporting performance based on the new PAA structure one year earlier. In such cases, crosswalk(s) must be provided to explain performance reporting against previous RPP commitments and to support information presented in the financial tables. Accordingly, consultations with departments and agencies will take place over the fall/winter to assess their readiness . Further guidance will be posted on the TBS website early in 2005.

The RPP and DPR documents will remain closely linked to the President of Treasury Board's annual report " Canada's Performance ". The report serves as a roadmap to outline Government of Canada efforts to improve the quality of life in Canada. Through its themes and Government of Canada outcomes (i.e. long-term and enduring benefits that groups of federal departments are working to achieve.), Canada's Performance provides a whole-of-government perspective from which to view the plans, resources and results reported by individual federal departments. The electronic version of the report allows the reader to drill down from the themes and Government of Canada outcomes to specific planning, resource and results information contained in RPPs and DPRs, as well as to relevant audits and evaluations. It is another tool to enable parliamentarians and Canadians to see how departments are working together toward the realization of shared outcomes.

What's New

The Treasury Board Secretariat has embarked on a process to modernize its management of government expenditures through the Management Resources and Results Structure (MRRS) and will overhaul its approach to gathering and reporting of expenditure performance information through the new Expenditure Management Information System (EMIS).

The intention of MRRS is to provide a standard, government-wide approach to planning and managing the relationship between resource expenditures and results while serving as a consistent and enduring foundation for financial and non-financial reporting to Parliament.

As a result, this year the TBS has introduced new reporting requirements as well as refinements to format and presentation:

1. The departmental guidance for the preparation of the RPP and DPR has been integrated to reinforce the complementarities between the two documents and their parallel reporting requirements. The integrated guidelines should better support departments and agencies in providing more consistent information on their plans, priorities, results and resources in relationship to the achievement of their strategic outcomes.
2. Reporting principles have been revised for reporting in these documents. The four principles are to:
   • Focus on the benefits for Canadians and explain the critical aspects of planning and performance, and set them in context;
   • Present Credible, Reliable and Balanced Information;
   • Associate Performance with Plans, Priorities and Expected Results, Explain Changes and Apply Lessons Learned; and
   • Link Resources to Results.
3. The Overview section has been redesigned to provide departments with an opportunity to discuss priorities.
4. The Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome section has been redesigned to provide information on a "program-activity" basis and if required, at lower levels "key programs and services" as per the PAA.
5. Templates are being offered to reduce departmental workload and ensure that the proper structure is followed. The use of these templates is not mandatory. A suite of templates has been posted on the TBS web site. Once selected, the templates can be uploaded onto your computer in MSWord or WordPerfect. Departments can then fill-in the appropriate sections; delete any unnecessary tables or make any appropriate adjustments. Please note DPR templates will be posted closer to the exercise.
6. In addition, TBS has modified the Management Representation Statement instructions to inform departments and agencies that the Deputy Minister must sign the statement.

Introduction

This guide is designed to provide assistance to departments and agencies in the preparation of their 2005-2006 Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPP) and Departmental Performance Reports (DPR).

Both the RPP and DPR documents form part of the Government Expenditure. Further detail on RPP/DPR relationships to other expenditure documents is provided for in the latter portion of the guide.

The guide is divided into nine distinct parts:

1. Forward
2. What's New
3. Introduction
4. Effective Public Reporting
5. RPP and DPR Document Structures:
   • Section I – Overview
   • Section II – Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome
   • Section III – Supplementary Information
   • Section IV – Other Items of Interest
6. General Information
7. Electronic Reporting
8. RPP\DPR Relationship to Other Expenditure Management Documents
9. Contact List

It is suggested that RPP and DPR documents follow the same structure outlined in the "RPP and DPR Document Structures" section. This will ensure that the reader can find the same type of information in the same sections across all RPP and DPR documents.

In order to assist departments in maintaining that structure, the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) has provided a suite of templates for both the RPP and DPR documents. The use of these templates is not mandatory. The templates can be uploaded onto your computer in MSWord or WordPerfect. Departments can then fill-in the appropriate sections; delete any unnecessary tables or make any appropriate adjustments.

At any time should further assistance be required regarding the terminology being used in this document a lexicon can be located at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/estime.asp

For all other types of assistance or if you would like to pass along comments please direct your request to the appropriate individual on the contact list at the end of this guide.

Effective Public Reporting and Reporting Principles

What is it?

Effective public reporting ensures that the public is provided with timely, accurate, clear, objective and complete information about government policies, programs, services and initiatives. In the Canadian system of parliamentary democracy and responsible government, the government has a duty to explain its policies and decisions, to inform Canadians of its national priorities and demonstrate how they will benefit. Information is necessary for Canadians - individually or through representative groups or Members of Parliament - to participate actively and meaningfully in the democratic process.

RPPs and DPRs are primary instruments of accountability to Parliament . They are planning and performance documents written by each department and as such, reflect the responsibility of ministers and their organizations to explain to Parliament their plans and expected results and account for the assessment of performance achieved. Explaining how the expected results are to be achieved and the means used to achieve them provides a basis for confidence in the government's stewardship of public resources.

What are Effective RPP/DPR Reports?

For the RPP to be an effective public planning report, it must provide clear and concise information on plans, priorities, expected results and resources over a three-year planning period.

For the DPR to be an effective public performance report, it must provide clear, concise and balanced information on what has been achieved with respect to plans, priorities, expected results and resources originally identified in the RPP. DPRs report on the most recently completed fiscal year.

Accordingly, both documents must:

• Provide complete and credible information on a department's financial and non-financial status;
• Demonstrate value for money and sound management;
• Provide the foundation for dialogue between Canadians and their government; and
• Reflect a department's internal planning and performance measurement systems that are based on and are consistent with the PAA.

The two documents complement each other, first by reporting on plans and expected results, and then by reporting on actual results and accomplishments. They should provide enough information to demonstrate how resources and activities, as well as programs and services, logically support the achievement of strategic outcomes. The knowledge gained from the performance reporting exercise should be applied to the next set of plans as a means of ensuring that the department learns from its experiences.

Who is it for?

The target audience for planning and performance reports consists mainly of parliamentarians who rely on these reports to perform their role of holding the government to account for the public funds entrusted to them. Parliamentarians need reports that respond directly to their key questions, provide high quality information, and are expressed in ways that enable them to easily absorb the information. While a wide-range of other audiences use these reports, their needs can also be met by reports that fully meet the same requirements of parliamentarians. Both reports must logically demonstrate to both Parliamentarians and Canadians how departmental achievements will make a difference in their lives.

How does it work?

Through its reporting guidance for RPP and DPRs, the Treasury Board Secretariat seeks to ensure that each department can present to Parliament a coherent and effective picture of its three-year plan and associated performance.

Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPPs) provide planned spending information on a strategic outcome and program-activity basis as per the PAA and describe departmental priorities, expected results and the associated resource requirements covering a three-year period.

Departmental Performance Reports (DPRs) provide accounts of accomplishments and results achieved in the most recently completed fiscal year against the performance expectations as set out in the corresponding RPP and explain the progress made towards the department's strategic outcomes.

Principles for Effective Reporting to Parliament

Over the last decade, reporting principles have been suggested to departments and agencies to assist them in the development of their reports to Parliament. These principles have evolved based on experience, the needs of federal departments and agencies, as well as consultations with parliamentarians, the Office of the Auditor General and the CCAF-FCVI Inc.

The Secretariat is proposing the following set of integrated reporting principles as the basis for preparing RPPs and DPRs. These revised principles reflect all key elements highlighted in previous TBS guidance. They have been integrated to reflect the complementarities of the RPP and DPR documents. Taken together, they show the link between plans, performance and achievements, and they demonstrate departmental commitments to managing for results. Fundamentally, the content of these reports should be relevant, reliable, balanced and comparable to provide Parliamentarians and Canadians with a comprehensive and effective picture of government's plans and use of taxpayers' money.

The reporting principles are intended to support departments in fulfilling their reporting responsibilities without being overly prescriptive. It is important, however, that the principles be applied in each report. With careful adherence to them, RPPs and DPRs will be valuable tools for departments, Parliamentarians and Canadians alike. It is anticipated that these reporting principles will continue to evolve through time to further support improvements.

Principle 1: Focus on the benefits for Canadians and explain the critical aspects of planning and performance, and set them in context

Information in a RPP and a DPR should be relevant to members of Parliament and to Canadians. The reports should provide a comprehensive but succinct picture of the department's endeavours and accomplishments over the reporting period. They should help parliamentarians bring government to account for voted appropriations and engage in an ongoing dialogue around the setting of government priorities and the allocation of resources.

• There should be a focus on program activities and if applicable, key programs and services and their expected results as per the PAA and how they support strategic outcomes that directly benefit Canadians and Canadian society;
• The information reported should be straightforward, flow logically across key reporting elements (i.e. priorities, program activities, and their expected/actual results) and explain how they support or ultimately contribute to strategic outcomes;
• The operating environment and the strategic context of the department for the reporting period should be well described. Internal and external challenges, risks and opportunities (including capacity considerations) should be identified at the departmental level along with an explanation of how these will affect your plans and performance and be addressed in the delivery of program activities and/or key programs and services;
• Important horizontal linkages and involvement in government-wide initiatives ^[3] should be identified and their implications surrounding planning and performance should be explained;
• The principal mechanisms by which programs and services are delivered to Canadians e.g., policies, programs, regulations, grants, public participation, advocacy, etc., should be highlighted. The methods to achieve performance should be employed with propriety, sound stewardship of resources and fair treatment of people. This should be demonstrated in both the planning and performance reports;
• In response to the recommendations outlined in the 6 ^th Report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates , both the RPP and DPR reports should include a short summary of parliamentary committee reports that pertain to the department's work, along with a link or reference to more information. In addition departments are to summarize important recommendations made by the Auditor General and reference significant findings from any internal or external audits or evaluations.

Principle 2: Present Credible, Reliable and Balanced Information

Readers should be confident of the validity and reliability of the information presented in RPP and DPR documents.

In particular, it is important that a coherent and balanced picture on performance be presented in DPR. This requires the department to acknowledge where performance did not meet expectations and provide the necessary explanations as to why. Readiness to acknowledge performance that did not meet expectations shows an ability to adapt, which should be reflected in following RPPs.

• Information and departmental structures presented in the reports should be consistent with the Management Resources and Results Structure (MRRS), specifically the Program Activity Architecture (PAA) component;
• Expected results and performance indicators should be drawn from internal departmental management systems used for planning, budgeting, and measuring performance and should be the same as those used in the PAA;
• Both positive and negative aspects of performance should be reported and explanations on how the organization uses results to make adjustments and to continue progress towards its Strategic Outcomes should be provided;
• Changes in plans, priorities, resource allocation and adapting to lessons learned should be explained, as well as ways it might affect measuring and reporting on performance;
• Financial tables should be accurate and thorough as they link to the financial appropriations given to departments. They are essential components of accountability to Parliament;
• There should be confidence in the methodology and data used to substantiate reported performance results. Use factual and/or independently verifiable information such as those from audits or evaluations of programs, policies, or initiatives. The DPR should clearly summarize and reference information from the evaluations and include electronic links to these reports;
• Do not take for granted that the reader fully understands all the issues involved or the workings of the department. Instead, supply the information required for such understanding. To avoid overloading the reports, this information can be provided by using links to departmental publications or to the departmental web site.

Principle 3: Associate Performance with Plans, Priorities and Expected Results, Explain Changes and Apply Lessons Learned

Information in an RPP and a DPR should facilitate comparisons between reports and over time.

• Planning information (strategic outcomes, priorities, program activities, expected results and resources) should lay the foundation for departments to report on in their performance document;
• Performance information should compare past expectations and commitments from the previous RPP to actual results and resources and apply that knowledge to the next planning document. Revising and improving plans is an indication of sound management practices. Departmental plans are expected to change in response to changing environment or further to lessons learned from past performance.   Departments may also compare their performance with baseline information and that of similar organizations to help understand the significance of results achieved;
• Reporting should be consistent from year to year. If the basis for comparison changes (i.e. internal reallocations, shift in priorities), the reasons for and the amendments should be explained in both reports and made clear to the reader.

Principle 4: Link Resources to Results

At the most basic level, accountability means explaining what has been accomplished with the resources entrusted to a department. Planned and actual spending should be outlined in sufficient detail for the reader to understand the linkages between program activities; expected and actual results; and the resources available in support of the department's priorities and strategic outcomes.

The linkage between financial and non-financial information is key in ensuring meaningful reporting to Parliament. It is important to demonstrate that the resources are being used efficiently and effectively and that the quantity of resources expended corresponds to the departmental priorities being pursued and the outcomes being achieved.

In particular

• Explain significant internal reallocations to meet emerging internal priorities or higher government priorities, or to better sustain progress toward the achievement of the strategic outcomes (i.e. amounts and areas affected, including both the source of funds for the reallocation and the program or initiative that received the funding). Appropriate references should also be made in the financial tables.
• Departments and agencies whose non-statutory programs were reviewed, as part of the expenditure management review exercise should address the findings of these reviews in their report and the effect it will have on their operations.

RPP and DPR Document Structures

Both the RPP and DPR documents should follow the same structural format in order to allow the reader to find similar types of information in the same sections, no matter which document they are reading.

In order to assist departments in preparing their documents, we have provided a suite of templates on the TBS web site. Once selected, the templates can be uploaded from the web into a word document (MSWord or WordPerfect). The use of these templates will ensure the proper structure is followed, however the use of the templates is not mandatory. Please note that departments can delete unnecessary sections from the templates and can add additional sections/information as necessary.

Section I – Overview – Mandatory Requirement

The Overview section is designed to provide the reader with a high level understanding of:

• The department's vision;
• The departmental priorities over the next three-years as set out in the RPP and to report on departmental performance for the most recent fiscal year in the DPR; and
• The expected results that support the progress towards strategic outcomes.

Minister's Message

In the RPP, the Minister's Message should reflect his or her personal vision for the department over the planning period. It should briefly summarise the department's plans for serving Canadians and how the department plans to contribute to government-wide objectives.

In the DPR, the Minister's message should summarize the department's performance against the plans and the priorities outlined in the RPP.

The message is to be limited to one or two pages in length and must be signed by the Minister ^[4].

In the case of agencies that operate at "arms-length", this message may originate from the Agency Head rather than the Minister. However, the Minister must sign the covering page.

Summary Information

In the RPP, the summary information must be displayed in table format and is designed to provide Parliamentarians with a quick view of:

• A department's mandate; an explanation as to why the department exists and how it benefits Canadians (i.e. through its strategic outcomes);
• The department's total financial and human resources it manages; and
• A listing of departmental priorities . Departments are to provide a clear distinction between: New; Ongoing; or Previously committed to priorities. This will provide the reader with a status of the priorities over the planning period and help explain where and why the department will devote its attention and resources.

Departments should reflect both program and management priorities in their RPP. Departmental program and management priorities are those critical undertakings over the planning period that the department must accomplish if it is to make significant progress towards the realization of its strategic outcomes. Program priorities should focus on ways to improve value for money in the department's program base, thus achieving better results for Canadians. Management priorities focus on improving management practices, controls or infrastructure within the organization in such areas as human resources, risk management, real property management, corporate services, etc.

This should not be an exhaustive list of every initiative within the department, but instead should be focused on those half dozen or so strategic items that the Minister and Deputy Head have identified as crucial to the organization's progress. Reporting on the accomplishment of these priorities will be mandatory in the related DPR document.

RPP Sample - Summary Information:

Financial Resources ^*

Human Resources ^*

Departmental Priorities

All priorities listed in this table must be addressed in the Departmental Plans and Priorities section.

The planned spending for the priorities need not add up to the financial resources shown above. This is an estimated resource allocation.

_____________________________

^*   The financial and human resources must be consistent with the total financial and human resources displayed in the planned spending table.

^**   Identify the priority as new; ongoing; or previously committed to (meaning it was reported on in a previous RPP or DPR document).

Departmental Plans and Priorities (for the RPP)

The "Departmental Priorities" section is designed to explain and provide high-level departmental information on each priority identified in the summary table and to explain how these priorities contribute towards achieving the department's strategic outcomes.

For each priority, the department is to provide a plan it intends to follow. Plans are an articulation of how the department intends to achieve its priorities and provides an explanation of the logic behind the strategies chosen to reach them. These plans should be explained based on the program activities identified in the department's PAA (reporting requirements regarding program activities are detailed in Section II).

In order to better explain a department's plans and priorities it is recommended to set the stage for the reader by explaining the department's operating environment and to identify internal or external factors that can influence the department's decision-making process.

The operating environment explains the conditions under which a department manages itself on a day-to-day basis.

In some cases, it may be necessary to explain major program delivery mechanisms that impact on the department's working environment, such as:

• The department's main activities largely consist of funding external organizations and/or individuals through grants, contributions and/or other transfer payments and as a result must adhere to the terms and conditions of those grants or contributions; or
• The department may manage themselves through the use of a revolving fund; or
• The department may have authority to spend revenue received during the year (net voting) etc.

Internal and External factors can affect a department's plans and priorities or the delivery of its programs and services. These may include but are not restricted to:

• Internal restructuring;
• Changing economic, technological, social or political conditions;
• New or changing policies or government-wide priorities;
• Reliance or dependence on key partners, clients or stakeholders;
• Recommendations made by parliamentary committees or the Auditor General
• Changes in patterns of demand for goods and services.

It is important to discuss the risks, challenges and opportunities associated with these factors and how they impact the department.

Similarly for the DPR, summary information must be presented in table format. It should provide Parliament with a quick comparison of planned and actual resources for the most recently completed fiscal year.

DPR Sample - Summary Information:

Reason for Existence – Insert the departmental mandate and explain how this department benefits Canadians and/or Canadian Society.

Financial Resources

Human Resources

Departmental Priorities

All priorities listed in this table must be addressed in the Departmental Performance section.

Departmental Performance (for the DPR)

In this section departments are to summarize their overall performance for the most recently completed fiscal year in relationship to the accomplishments of the priorities identified in the previous RPP. This section should also include an assessment of the extent to which the priorities have been met or supported (e.g. Successfully met; Not met; Exceeded expectations) and explain the progress made towards the strategic outcomes.

The context in which the department has worked to support these priorities should also be explained as it might have affected the department's overall performance. This might include a brief environmental scan highlighting relevant statistics or societal indicators, as well as explanations of internal or external factors (e.g. internal restructuring, changing economic conditions etc.), risks and horizontal linkages that have affected performance. In particular, if there are any major changes to the plans or the priorities from the previous RPP, the DPR should provide an explanation for those changes, lessons learned and how these will affect future plans.

Section II – Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome – Manadatory Requirement

This section is designed to allow departments to provide detailed information on each program activity and where appropriate , provide additional information on key programs or services (found below the program activity level of the PAA).

In the RPP, departments must explain for the reporting period how each program activity, and if applicable the key programs and services, support the plans and priorities identified in section I.

In the DPR, departments must explain how each program activity, and if applicable the key programs and services, performed as per their expected results in the most recently completed fiscal year, including meeting the priorities identified in the RPP.

Departments must adhere to the following requirements for this section of the reports:

• Identify all strategic outcomes included in the department's PAA;
• Under each strategic outcome, identify all program activities as displayed in the Main Estimates that support it.   For each program activity:
  • Provide a description as per the Main Estimates (Part II), however, more information may be provided if it permits a better understanding of the program activity's scope and nature of operations.
  • Describe the expected results and explain in the RPP how it supports the priorities and strategic outcomes identified in Section I. In the DPR explain if results achieved were successful with regards to the expected results and if they supported the accomplishments of the priorities identified in the RPP.
  • In order to ensure each program activity and its expected results are being achieved it is necessary to monitor the progress. Based on the PAA, identify the performance measurement strategy and the performance indicators the department will be using to report on expected results. These indicators will form the basis for reporting on performance in the DPR and to explain if the results achieved were successful.
  • Provide financial and human resource requirements. In the RPP both these requirements are to be displayed over the three-year planning period and must be identical to those displayed in the Planned Spending table (Section III). In the DPR the requirements should correspond to the most recently completed fiscal year.
  • The program activity "Corporate Services" is not shown in the Main Estimates as a separate activity and is, therefore, not addressed in Section II.   However departments can address corporate services in Section IV – Other Items of Interest.
    
• If applicable , for the reporting period identify key programs or services and the expected results (found below the program activity level) that are significant in supporting the priorities and in explaining the departmental performance.
  
  It is up to the department to determine what constitutes a key program or service . This should not be an exhaustive list of every program or service within the department, but instead should be focused on those half dozen or so items identified as crucial to the organization's progress over the planning period. In identifying a key program or service the following criteria may be applied:
  • Size – a program or service that consumes a large portion of finances or attention;
  • High profile – the general population or the media may be interested in a particular program or service;
  • Internal importance – the minister or deputy minister may be interested in a particular program or service;
  • New – a new program or service has been introduced; or
  • Termination – a program or service has been discontinued.

• Provide financial requirements over a three-year planning period in the RPP and for the most recently completed fiscal year in the DPR.
• Describe the program or service and its expected results (as per the PAA).
• In order to ensure each program or service remains on track and their expected results are being achieved it is also necessary to monitor their progress. Based on the PAA, identify the performance measurement strategy and the performance indicators that the department will be using to report on expected results. These indicators will form the basis for reporting on performance in the DPR.
• When the financial amount for key programs and services does not add to the total program activity, departments are to provide a sentence to identify the balance. For example "Other programs and services that contribute to this program activity total $XX million, for further information on these programs and services see Annex X". Departments are to insert an annex in the printed document and list by program activity, all the other programs and services.

In the DPR, if the results are not unfolding as expected, it is important to explain why. If certain elements are problematic, outline the corrective action the department intends to take in light of the results achieved and indicate how that will be applied in the next set of departmental plans and priorities and if they will affect what has been identified in your PAA. Departments are encouraged to report on their risk management practices. Public service employees must make choices, and these involve assessing risks and managing them. Describing some of the department's internal and external risks help demonstrate that the organization is aware of them and has strategies to manage them. Note, that discussions of risks and challenges are expected in both Sections I and II.

Departments must also demonstrate that resources are spent efficiently and effectively by comparing actual resources to planned resources and by linking those actual resources to the actual results.

Finally, when drafting the content of this section, departments should ensure to apply the reporting principles presented earlier in this guidance and accordingly identify elements that affect their overall planning or performance over the reporting period.

Section III – Supplementary Information – Mandatory Requirement

Management Representation Statement

The Deputy Minister must sign the Management Representation statement.

The Deputy Minister signs this attestation to reinforce the department's commitment to present consistent, comprehensive, balanced and accurate information to Parliament by:

• Adhering to the reporting principles and requirements outlined in TBS guidance;
• Reporting based on the department's approved accountability structure as reflected in its MRRS;
• Providing a basis of accountability for the results pursued or achieved with the resources and authorities entrusted to it; and
• Reporting finances based on approved planned spending numbers from TBS in the RPP and from estimates and public accounts in the DPR.

Organizational Information

The Organizational Information outlines the department's organizational structure down to the program activity level and identifies who is accountable at each level.

Where appropriate, major internal restructuring should be reflected using a crosswalk that displays the relationship of the previous structure to the new structure. RPP and DPR documents must balance the requirement to present concise planning and performance information with the need to provide related financial information.

Due to the level of information required to complete the RPP and DPR tables the following section has been divided into two sub-sections "Instruction on How to Complete RPP Tables" and "Instructions on How to Complete DPR tables".

Instructions on How to Complete RPP Tables

RPP tables are generally displayed over a three-year planning period and are followed by a brief explanation as to the rationale for the allocation of resources and/or spending trends. Financial data can be presented in either thousands or millions of dollars (to one decimal point). Whichever value is chosen must be used consistently throughout the RPP.

If relevant to the department, the following 17 tables must be displayed in the RPP document:

1. Planned Spending and Full Time Equivalent (FTE)
2. Program Activities
3. Voted and Statutory Items listed in Main Estimates
4. Net Cost of Department
5. Summary of Capital Spending by Program Activity
6. Loans, Investments and Advances (Non-Budgetary)
7. Source of Respendable and Non-Respendable Revenue
8. Revolving Fund - Statement of Operations; Statement of Cash Flows; and Projected Use of Authority
9. Resource Requirement by Branch or Sector
10. User Fees
11. Major Regulatory Initiatives
12. Details on Project Spending ^*
13. Status Report on Major Crown Services ^*
14. Details on Transfer Payments Programs (Grants, Contributions and Other Transfer Payments) ^*
15. Foundations (Conditional Grants) ^*
16. Alternative Service Delivery ^*
17. Horizontal Initiatives ^*

If tables 12 to 17 are relevant to the department, the department must provide summary information in the printed RPP document and reference the following TBS web site http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/estime.asp

Departments are required to fill-in templates that are available on the TBS web site (along with the guidelines) http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/estime.asp . Once the template is completed, departments are to post them on their web site at the same time they post their tabled RPP document.

_______________

^*    Special instructions apply to these tables.

Departments are also to provide a URL address for the above-mentioned templates and submit it to the appropriate TBS contact along with their RPP print-ready material.

The templates are not to be inserted into the printed document. They will be posted individually on the department's web site and TBS will link to them .

Table 1: Departmental Planned Spending and Full Time Equivalents

The Departmental Planned Spending table summarises the Main Estimates then applies adjustments to arrive at the total planned spending requirement for an entire department.

The Main Estimates amount must be identical to that printed in current Main Estimates. The adjustment may consist of Supplementary Estimates, the Minister of Finance's Budget or any other associated adjustments.

The departmental planned spending table must reflect the total planned spending figures conveyed to the department from TBS in early January . It must also identify the department's planned Full Time Equivalent (FTE) levels over the planning period.

Departments can present their financial information in either thousands or millions of dollars (to one decimal point). However, the department must use the same value consistently throughout the RPP document.

Under the Forecast Spending column:

• The program activity breakout must reflect the same breakout as the recently tabled Main Estimates document. All adjustments are to be made under the "Adjustments" heading.
• The "Adjustments" section is to be used to report a department's funding requirements in addition to the Main Estimates.

As a result, the department must identify the initiative and the associated funding. For example if adjustments were received through Supplementary Estimates, then the department is to first identify that the adjustment was made through Supplementary Estimates and then identify each adjustment using the same terminology displayed in the Supplementary Estimates under the "Explanation of Requirements" section like the following example:

Under the Planned Spending Columns - Any new items that have not yet been approved should be marked and a brief statement provided as to when the department expects approval.

Example of a Departmental Planned Spending Table

Departments must provide a short paragraph with the Planned Spending table explaining the spending trend, particularly as it relates to its plans and priorities over the next three years.

* Note this adjustment can only be applied to the Forecast Spending column.

Table 2: Program Activities

The following table provides resource information for the Estimates year only. Once completed only the columns with content need to be displayed. The Total Main Estimates and Total Planned Spending amounts must be identical to the amounts displayed in table 1.

The following example of voted and statutory items basically replicates the ministry summary table listed in the Main Estimates. This table provides the reader with an alternative display of resource information. Resources are presented to Parliament in this format. Parliament approves the voted funding and the statutory information is provided for information purposes.

Departments are to provide a brief explanation of any major differences between the current and previous year.

Table 4: Net Cost of Department

This table is designed to show the net cost of a department. It begins with the gross planned spending and adds services received without charge, and then adds or subtracts respendable and non-respendable revenue to arrive at the net cost of the department.

Table 5: Summary of Capital Spending by Program Activity

Note: Departments must identify capital expenditures for revolving funds whether or not they are hidden within a program activity.

Table 6: Loans, Investments and Advances (Non-Budgetary)

This table is designed to display the Loans, Investments and Advances (the non-budgetary planned spending) a department is responsible for. Enter the non-budgetary information first by program activity and describe the loan, investment or advancement.

Table 7: Sources of Respendable and Non-Respendable Revenue

For those departments that generate revenue, the following table identifies the source(s) of respendable and non-respendable revenue at the program activity level.   Respendable revenue consists of all non-tax revenue that will be credited to either the department's Vote.   Non-respsendable revenue consists of all non-tax revenue that will be credited to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).

Table 8: Revolving Funds

Statement of Operations

This table refers to the operating surplus or deficit of a Revolving Fund and not to cash.

 
Since the table above refers to the Revolving Fund's operating surplus or deficit and not to cash requirements, the Fund has been calculated through accrual accounting. Therefore, the cash expenditures in the estimates do not affect the operating balance, and other items that must be considered when calculating the surplus or deficit do not require a direct cash outlay. The two can be reconciled as follows:

Statement of Cash Flows

* Repeat the Surplus (Deficit) line from the table above

Projected Use of Authority

**The line "Projected surplus (Drawdown)" matches the Cash surplus line from the table above. 

*     $8 million is the maximum amount that may be drawn down at anytime from the Consolidated
Revenue Fund.

Table 9: Resource Requirement by Branch or Sector

This table is designed to explain the distribution of funding to a department at the Branch or Sector level.