Public Involvement Policy of the Veterinary Drugs Directorate
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Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Definitions
III. Why public involvement matters to
VDD
IV. Principles of good public involvement
V. Inventory of involvement mechanisms
VI. How will VDD conduct public involvement
VII. Who coordinates public involvement
in VDD
VIII. Key References
Public Involvement Policy of the Veterinary Drugs
Directorate
Health Products and Food Branch
Health Canada
September 2003
Prepared by Strategic Planning and Stakeholder Relations
September 30, 2003
I. Introduction
Health Canada is committed to public involvement which is integral to
decision making and providing quality service. The departmental vision
is that Canadians are informed on health issues and engaged on key federal
decisions that affect health. The Veterinary Drugs Directorate is part
of Health Canada and its mandate is to ensure the safety of foods such
as milk, meat, eggs, fish, and honey from animals treated with veterinary
drugs as well as to ensure that veterinary drugs sold in Canada are safe
and effective for animals. This is the basis for VDD's strategic objective
to create an open, transparent, leading-edge, proactive organization that
will enable its stakeholders/partners and the public to understand and
contribute to VDD's priorities, capacity and performance. It also contributes
to VDD's statutory responsibilities as a regulator.
Recognizing that an innovative organization needs to consult and take
into consideration other opinions and other points of view on key issues,
the aim of this public involvement policy is to create and foster a consultative
culture within the Veterinary Drugs Directorate and among its stakeholders.
A further intent is to develop an understanding among stakeholders as
to how their input is considered in the decision-making process at VDD.
II. Definitions
Terms such as "consultation," "public involvement,"
and "citizen engagement" are often used interchangeably, although
they mean different things to different people. The following Health Canada's
definitions should help to develop a common understanding of the usage
of language.
Public: individuals, consumers, citizens,
special interest groups and/or stakeholders.
Stakeholder: an individual, group or organization
being affected by or having an interest in an issue and its outcome (e.g;
specific matters relating to health, environment, consumers, volunteers,
industry, science)
Consultations: techniques for engaging stakeholders
in a two-way flow of information to exchange ideas and concerns, offer
options for consideration and encourage feedback, such as additional ideas
or options from the public.
Citizen Engagement: the techniques that facilitate
an informed dialogue among citizens and government officials, elected
and/or non-elected, and encourage participants to share ideas or options
and undertake collaborative decision making, sometimes as partners.
Public Involvement: the level of participation
by the public, or the extent to which the public is actively involved,
in understanding, assessing or resolving issues of public concern.
III. Why public involvement matters to VDD
Since its establishment in 2001, one of the main strategic priorities
for VDD has been to develop linkages that contribute to enhanced partnerships
and continuous exchange of information with stakeholders. With public
health issues becoming increasingly complex, and the public requesting
a more direct role in policy and program development, public involvement
represents an opportunity to:
- Build positive relationships with the public and encourage cross-stakeholder
deliberations;
- Reflect a wider range of public concerns and solutions in decision-making;
- Increase public confidence and trust in the directorate's work and
decisions;
- Ensure that decisions and policies incorporate knowledge and expertise
that otherwise would have not been available;
- Build broader understanding and support for the directorate mandate,
strategic priorities and initiatives.
IV. Principles of good public involvement
The following principles drive Veterinary Drugs Directorate's public
involvement activities:
Inclusiveness
- Public involvement activities will encourage the participation of
people affected by or interested early in the process in defining the
issue and before decisions are made.
- Affected and interested parties will be given equal opportunity to
participate in the public involvement activities and receive equal access
to information.
- Public involvement activities will be sensitive to the needs of particular
groups to maximize their ability to contribute.
Openness and Transparency
- Information relating to the consultation will be made publicly available
to allow stakeholders to make informed and timely contributions.
- Information relating to the consultation can be readily accessed by
all those involved before key decisions are made.
- Relevant information is presented in an easily understood format.
- In some instances certain information can not be fully disclosed because
of provisions of Privacy Act.
Responsiveness
- VDD will consider and respond to contributions from all participants.
- Public involvement activities will be transparent. All stakeholders
will have a clear understanding of how their feedback and comments are
to be used.
- VDD will maintain openness and take into consideration new ideas when
developing a course of action in the interest of public health.
V. Inventory of involvement mechanisms
VDD public involvement activities are guided by Health Canada's Public
Involvement Continuum. Health Canada has defined five levels of public
involvement, which are highlighted in the following chart. The continuum
is intended to guide the planning process by highlighting the main objectives
of public involvement process. Combinations or hybrids of techniques may
be required depending upon objectives, available resources and other factors.
Level 1 - Inform/educate
the public with balanced and objective information to assist them in understanding
the issues, alternatives, and/or solution by using the web site, fact
sheets, info kits and exhibit; and to enable them to make informed choices
by emphasizing our health promotion role.
Level 2 - Gather information/views
to obtain public feedback on analysis, alternatives and/or decisions through
focus groups, surveys, public meetings, web site consultation.
Level 3 - Discuss
the work directly with the public throughout the process to ensure that
public issues and concerns are consistently understood and considered
using such tools as advisory committees, issue conferences, and workshops.
Level 4 - Engage
the public in components of the decision-making including the development
of alternatives and the identification of preferred solutions by organizing
such mechanisms as meetings, retreats and round table discussions.
 Enlarge
the Health
Canada Public Involvement Continuum image
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Level 5 - Partner
with the public on decision-making through mechanisms such as consensus
conferences, citizen's panel, study groups and think tanks.
All the above levels of public involvement contribute to more informed
decision-making. However, final decisions rest with VDD, as the regulator.
VI. How will VDD conduct public involvement
Every public health and health protection theme or issue requires a unique
process for informing and engaging the public. Public involvement (PI)
plans are an important part of the process of addressing, establishing
or reviewing new policies, programs and/or legislation. They lay-out the
mechanisms of public engagement in the decision-making process and define
the scope and the level of involvement.
In planning for a successful public involvement activity, VDD designs
a public involvement plan that builds on the issue analysis and environmental
scan prepared by policy and science experts. The plan consists of:
- The issue identification that defines
clearly the nature and scope of the issue that is the basis for the
consultations. This document also describes the legislative, legal and
jurisdictional context of the issue.
- The purpose for the public involvement process,
which lists the benefits of public involvement and provides the reasons
why the public should be involved in that particular decision-making
process.
- Target Audience Profile. This is a key
part of the plan where affected and interested stakeholders are identified.
This list also includes stakeholders that are perceived to have an interest
in the issue at stake. The complete list should reflect a balance of
interests based on geography, sector, gender, culture, language and
relevant experience or expertise.
- Public Involvement Activities. Based
on the Public Involvement continuum mechanisms are identified to be
used in meeting the specific objectives.
- Identification of time frames and resources.
In establishing timelines for the project, VDD strives to strike a balance
between the need for timely results and the equal need for stakeholders
to engage meaningfully with each other on the issue.
Funding of a public involvement process is important in respect to enabling
all the stakeholders to be involved equally. Funding of stakeholder
participation would be decided on a case by case basis but generally
only for the voluntary sector.
- Evaluation of results. This section describes
the criteria to measure the participation in, and satisfaction with
the process, and recommendations for a set of best practices for future
reference. Feedback from stakeholders is assessed and incorporated into
the policy document.
VII. Who coordinates public involvement in VDD
Since the early establishment of VDD, Strategic Planning and Stakeholder
Relations Division (SPSRD) coordinates all VDD public involvement activities
to achieve consistent and quality consultation. Also, since various VDD
divisions may need to consult with stakeholders within the same time frame,
it is important that SPSRD coordinates and manages the public involvement
process. In addition, SPSRD is the contact point for Branch, Departmental
level and Government of Canada public involvement activities
VIII. Key References
A number of documents and web sites were consulted for this policy. The
key documents that guide the planning and implementation process at VDD
are:
- OCAPI Public Involvement Framework and Guideline
- Health Canada's policy document "Policy Toolkit for Public Involvement
in Decision Making
- Government of Canada Policy on consulting and Engaging Canadians
- VDD Strategic Plan
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