Foreword
Governments around the world have been
grappling with the concepts related to managing
for results (MFR) for a long time. Different
countries are striving to implement policies,
programs, and initiatives that provide measurable
benefits for their citizens. Canada is no
different.
With the tabling of Results for Canadians in
March 2000, the government committed itself to
management excellence in four key areas: a citizen
focus in designing and delivering the application
of sound professional and ethical values to guide
public service management; a focus on results as
an integrating principle of management in all
departments; and a continuous examination of its
expenditures to assure responsible spending. Tools
are being developed to facilitate the
understanding of the key elements of managing for
results and to support the commitments set out in
Results for Canadians.
With this aim in mind, the Treasury Board of
Canada Secretariat and the Office of the Auditor
General of Canada have developed the Managing for
Results Self-Assessment Tool. The tool responds to
the needs of departments and agencies to have
practical guidance on key elements of managing for
results. It may be used by an organization, a
directorate, a branch, or even a unit within a
government department or agency to take stock of
its ability to manage for results. The tool
clearly communicates the interconnected nature of
the key elements of managing for results by
emphasizing the need to view them in an integrated
fashion.
Throughout its development, several departments
were engaged in testing the tool to assure its
relevance and practicality. The tool also responds
to the most recent reports of the Office of the
Auditor General on the state of managing for
results, which highlighted the need for more
progress in this area.
It is our hope that departments and agencies
will use this tool to improve their ability to
manage for results. We invite ongoing feedback on
the tool and we intend to keep improving it as we
gain more experience in this area.
Introduction
What is managing for results?
"Managing
for results" (MFR) means focusing on results in every aspect of management.
Organizations that perform successfully have a clear vision of why they exist,
what they want to achieve and how well they are achieving it. They plan their
work keeping in mind a clear set of objectives, activities, outputs, outcomes
and measures. To take stock of their progress, they measure and evaluate as
they go. They adjust their plans and approaches as required, on the basis of
what they have learned. They also issue public reports on their results, making
them more accountable to Parliament and Canadians, and providing a basis for
dialogue about future decisions.
Managing for
results is not about achieving results at any cost. The methods used should
accord with Public Service values and ethics; the means should treat people
fairly, be undertaken with propriety and reflect good stewardship.
Why managing for results matters
Historically, governments have
focused their attention on resource inputs (what they spend), activities (what
they do) and outputs (what they produce). Accurate information at this level is
important, but more is required to meet the growing demand of Canadians for
information on results achieved with their tax dollars. In addition,
public-sector modern management initiatives (including Modern Comptrollership
and improved reporting to Parliament) require managers to look beyond
activities and outputs to the impact or effect of their programs. To deliver on
these expectations, departments and agencies must expand their traditional
views of management practices, with a focus on managing for results and
continuous improvement.
Increasingly, today's
public-sector managers have greater flexibility and discretion in deciding how
best to use resources and deliver services. Good results information enables
them to manage well in this environment. Better information on what is working
and what is not helps managers provide more effective services to Canadians.
Managing for results helps
staff in all departments/agencies and their key partners to understand the
difference that their programs are making for Canadians. It also helps them
communicate that information in a credible way to Parliament and Canadians.
This increased transparency is key to greater accountability, and helps
citizens to be involved in a constructive dialogue about their priorities and
needs. In turn, the dialogue enables the public sector to better allocate
resources and adapt programs and services appropriately. Managing for results
is thus a catalyst for learning, innovation and improvement.
MFR within the government's management
agenda
Managing for
results is not a new concept in the federal government. Starting in the 1980s
and continuing through the 1990s, various departments and agencies experimented
with results-based management practices. These tended to involve the use of
performance measurement strategies and periodic evaluations to help inform
decision making. The experiments achieved some success. However, improvement
across government requires, among other things, a coherent view of the most
important elements of managing for results.
The Managing
for Results Self-Assessment Tool presents those elements. It shows how managers
can make the transition from basic awareness of managing for results to full
implementation and continuous learning in essential management areas.
In 1997, the
Office of the Auditor General (OAG) assessed the existing state of
results-based management in the federal government. With a few exceptions, it
found that federal departments were not moving toward managing for results. In
2000 the Auditor General noted that, again with some exceptions, overall
progress toward managing for results was slow.
Departments were often stuck at the planning stage.
In March
2000, the President of the Treasury Board tabled Results for Canadians: A
Management Framework for the Government of Canada. This document sets out
an agenda for improving and modernizing management practices in federal
departments and agencies. Four broad management commitments form the foundation
for the government's delivery of services and benefits to Canadians: citizen
focus, values, results and responsible spending.
Under Results
for Canadians the government aims to delegate authority to the front line,
where initiative and creativity can help achieve gains in program performance
and citizens' quality of life. But the government must also ensure due
diligence, proper stewardship, and accountability in the use of public funds.
Accordingly departments and the Treasury Board Secretariat must work together
to actively monitor management practices and controls, and make improvements as
necessary.
In June 2003, the Treasury Board Secretariat
introduced the Management Accountability
Framework. This framework provides Deputy Heads
with a clear statement of management expectations
in support of the vision of a modern public
service set out in Results for Canadians.
The Self-Assessment Tool supports the
implementation of the Framework by helping
organizations apply a more results-focused
approach when assessing their management practices
and reporting to Parliament on how well their
services and programs respond to the needs of
Canadians.
Relationship with the Modern Comptrollership Initiative
The government's Modern
Comptrollership initiative is designed to support management improvement in the
four "pillars" of sound management practice:
- results-based management, particularly the integration
of financial and non-financial performance information;
- the application of values and ethics in the workplace;
- the design and implementation of appropriate controls;
and
- the application of integrated risk management.
Modern
comptrollership is not a specialist function. It deals with the core practices
that all managers must apply to achieve sound stewardship and results when they
are using public funds.
Managers
must understand that they are responsible for integrating all four pillars in
decision making throughout the normal life cycle of their work, from planning
through implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting on results.
Managers must have support and guidance on each of the four pillars. They must
have practical tools to help them understand what needs to be done and how to
make progress in their workplace. Finally, those with an interest in modern
management practices and controls must work together to develop, test and
provide the tools that will support managers. The aim of this Self-Assessment
Tool is to do exactly that.that.
The Tool has
been designed specifically to help departments and agencies assess their
strengths and weaknesses in using results to support decision making and
improvement. As part of any implementation plan for modern management, managers
need to integrate MFR into decision making throughout the management cycle of
their work.
Key points about the Tool
-
The Tool describes the transition or improvement path
toward managing for results.
- The Tool is flexible and can be applied at a
departmental, program, directorate, branch or unit level. In any particular
case, however, some categories may not be relevant to the level at which the
Tool is being applied. It is critical that the assessment make sense to those
managing at the organizational level being assessed.
- The Tool takes into account the Office of the Auditor
General's most recent reports on managing for results, as well as the
requirements for results-based management set out in Results for Canadians.
- The Tool will continue to evolve on the basis of
experience and feedback from user groups.
- The Tool is based on using results to manage and on
its five key supporting functions: commitment of the organization;
results-based strategic
planning; operational/business planning; measuring
results and reporting on results.
- The worksheets have been developed to help
organizations assess their current status in managing for results. Findings can
help them develop and prioritize an action plan for improving their ability to
manage for results.
New features
The Managing for Results
Self-Assessment Tool aims to help managers identify the gaps between existing
and desired management practices. On the basis of what they learn, they can
then develop sound remediation plans. The Tool departs from conventional
capability models by focusing on the characteristic behaviours of an
organization as it makes the transition to effective MFR.
In an effort to move beyond the
theoretical, we have suggested possible measures or indicators to
help assess where an organization is with respect to the stages in the proposed
Tool -- that is, to determine whether it exhibits the proper
attributes/characteristics. In addition, to further clarify the Tool,
percentages have been added to help quantify terms such as "few," "some,"
"frequently" and "regularly." These defined percentages are intended to act as
guideposts and convey a sense of the level of MFR activity at any given stage.
A
collaborative effort: The Managing for Results Self-Assessment Tool reflects
several viewpoints, including those of the Treasury Board Secretariat and the
Office of the Auditor General, as well as Public Service managers who have
championed managing for results in their organizations. These viewpoints have
been invaluable.
In the development of the Tool, a focus group of people working in the
areas of evaluation and results-based management played an important role in
refining the Tool. We gratefully acknowledge the donation of time and useful
feedback received from this group and others consulted.
(list of participants.)
Work in progress: While the
categorizations, definitions and attributes presented here reflect current MFR
thinking, this is an "evergreen" tool. It will be
modified as experience accumulates.
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