Evaluation of the National Child Benefit Initiative: Synthesis Report - February 2005
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2. Background
The NCB Initiative is an innovative arrangement that involves federal child tax benefits operating in a harmonized framework with provincial and territorial social assistance programs and other child-related services. The aim is to reduce poverty in families with children, with a particular emphasis on providing incentives for low-income parents to enter and remain in the workforce.
The Initiative has been described as an important example of how social programs are being delivered collaboratively within the Social Union Framework Agreement2. In this context, the Initiative combines two significant trends over the last 20 years — the trend towards delivery of social programs through income-tested benefits and the trend towards shared initiatives agreed to by the federal government and the provinces and territories.
As noted, an important characteristic of the Initiative is its strong emphasis on accountability through the public reporting of results. In addition to undertaking periodic in-depth evaluation activity, all of the parties are committed to producing ongoing (annual) joint progress reports. What is distinctive about this commitment is that all governments share responsibility for ongoing reporting of results and for undertaking evaluations. Consequently, the co-operative efforts undertaken to support the current evaluation activities represent a truly innovative and groundbreaking step in public accountability.
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