Reports on Plans and Priorities

Departmental Performance Reports

2005-2006 Estimates
Report on Plans and Priorities

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Section III - Supplementary Information

Horizontal Initiatives

C. Government On-Line (GOL)

Government On-Line:

• GOL Services
• Accelerated Service Delivery Projects
• Gateways and Clusters

The overall objective of the Government On-Line (GOL) Initiative is to increase the availability of on-line federal services by putting the government’s most commonly used services on-line by 2005. The approach is both citizen/client-centered and "whole-of-government". In practical terms this means improving citizen/client satisfaction by designing services in response to their needs, rather than those of government organizations, while increasing the efficiency of service delivery. The Initiative was announced in the 1999 Speech from the Throne, “The Government will become a model user of information technology and the Internet. Our goal is to be known around the world as the government most connected to its citizens.”

GOL is an ambitious and complex initiative aimed at transforming and improving services to reflect the needs and expectations of Canadian citizens, businesses and non-Canadians. The progress of the GOL initiative is published in an annual report that is tabled in Parliament (http://www.ged-gol.gc.ca/progres/progres_e.asp). In the final year of the Initiative, emphasis will be on ensuring alignment of our collective efforts, reporting to Canadians and Parliament, continuous coordination and risk management to strengthen our results, increase adoption of services, and maintaining our national and international profile.

GOL has been laying the foundation for fundamental change in line with the Treasury Board Secretariat’s (TBS) evolving service transformation agenda - the integration of services federally and across jurisdictions to significantly increase benefits to clients, such as a reduction in the number of steps required to complete a transaction, and to generate further cost savings and/or cost avoidance for governments. Through the GOL Initiative, the Government of Canada (GoC) has implemented key enablers, such as convenient access points (known as “Gateways” and “Clusters”), a Common Look and Feel for all federal sites, and the government-wide Secure Channel. It has also encouraged departments and agencies to begin to rethink their services. In 2004, departments and agencies continued to do transformation work for about two-thirds of their services. In most cases this involved grouping related information or elements of a transaction together. GOL oversees the progression of the 130 most commonly used services. In 2005, 32 services are meeting the challenge of rationalizing their service; that is, eliminating the duplication, gaps and conflicts. Another 28 are integrating their services, and 10 are transforming to complete and seamless services.

The Government of Canada recognizes that the more fundamental transformation of services - their integration across program, departmental, and jurisdictional lines - is both possible and necessary if significant client benefits or federal savings are to be realized. In concrete terms, integration would mean:

• streamlined processes - simpler forms and less administrative effort;
• alignment of programs, policies, and regulations across the GoC and jurisdictions to eliminate gaps or inconsistencies in the level of service provided to clients;
• greater cost-effectiveness through the re-use of applications and systems, as well as the use of common business processes and shared service delivery networks; and
• access to comparable levels of service regardless of how clients decide to interact with the government.

The federal government will continue to explore and consult with individuals, businesses, and other governments on how service offerings and service delivery can be further improved to increase client satisfaction and value for money. It will design more comprehensive service offerings through a multi-channel approach with emphasis on self-service where it makes sense. We have a better understanding of what clients expect from their interactions with the government and what we can do to improve services and their delivery.

In 2005/06, the Government of Canada will also continue its efforts to ensure a successful conclusion to the GOL initiative, and build on its experience for the delivery of next generation services. Realizing the efficiencies of shifting routine transactions to the Internet channel will only be possible if usage of this channel increases. In line with the Treasury Board Secretariat’s multi-channel management strategy, the Government On-Line Initiative will continue to encourage departments and agencies to establish channel management strategies and to accelerate the migration of those clients who are willing and able to use on-line services. Also, GOL is contributing to the development of a government-wide marketing strategy led by the Government Information Services Branch (GISB) of PWGSC. An inter-departmental committee has been established to lead the efforts. This collective marketing approach will include developing marketing tools (such as a departmental capacity assessment checklist) and sharing best practices.

PWGSC will also focus its efforts on the sustainability of Gateways and Clusters that bring together related information and services from across different government departments and jurisdictions. As part of this sustainability strategy, responsibility for leadership of Gateways and Clusters has been transferred to the GISB. These portals are convenient on-line points of access to government information and services for Canadians, businesses, and international clients. At the present time, central GOL funding for Gateways and Clusters ends in 2005-06. Departments and agencies must cooperate to ensure their continued viability as a key platform for delivering on-line services. While their structure and content will change over time in response to the needs and interests of citizens/clients, the challenge in the short-term is to find new governance models that sustain and support them.

Additional challenges in 2005/06 and beyond revolve around the use of the Secure Channel. The GoC will only realize the full benefits of Secure Channel when all departments and agencies use its services. As part of the accelerated take-up strategy, increasing departmental use of the Secure Channel is also key to enabling the next generation of secure interactions with clients.

Finally, all activities that are properly considered part of the GOL Initiative will continue to be performed in its final year. Such activities include:

• leadership, through strategic advice, coordination and general administration;
• communication, outreach and reporting on behalf of the GoC to citizens and Parliament;
• oversight of funded projects, including facilitation and monitoring;
• information gathering and oversight of GOL Services; and
• coordination of international representation.

At the same time, options for a potential evaluation of the GOL Initiative will be explored in 2005/06. The objectives of such evaluation could be to measure the effectiveness of the Initiative, its impacts (both intended and unintended), its value relative to alternatives, and to help determine the degree to which the Gateways and Clusters component of the GOL strategy have achieved their intended objectives.

Partnering Efforts
Government On-Line is a government-wide service initiative to put the most commonly used services on-line for citizens and businesses. To that extent, 34 federal departments and agencies have been involved in identifying individual and collective goals for GOL. In 2005/06, where considerable work remains to be done to meet GOL objectives, the GOL Initiative will continue to work with departments and agencies to ensure the momentum in horizontal, integrated and multi-jurisdictional efforts are maintained. Where risks are identified, mitigation strategies will be developed

PWGSC, the GoC lead for GOL, is also working with key stakeholders (including the Treasury Board) in the strategic management of Gateways and Clusters and the GOL catalytic projects. The GOL catalytic projects are aimed at transforming the products and services that are already offered on-line to meet the evolving needs of Canadians. Departments and agencies partnering with us include the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) and Social Development Canada (SDC), Industry Canada (IC), and Foreign Affairs Canada (FAC). Such partnerships are essential to the development of solutions that are integrated and portable. PWGSC and CRA are also working closely on several GOL catalytic projects and are co-managing the development of a Common Business Authentication Model.

GOL continues to fund 20 projects aimed at accelerating service delivery. Most of these projects are interdepartmental and/or multi-jurisdictional. For example, the Electronic Client Relationship Management (e-CRM) solution will implement a highly integrated electronic system to streamline service delivery to Canadian businesses that are or are planning to export. The solution will leverage technology to deliver international business development services more effectively to clients, better understand, anticipate and manage client needs, as well as improve information sharing and knowledge building. The project, led by International Trade Canada, involves Foreign Affairs Canada, Export Development Canada, Heritage Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and the Canadian Commercial Corporation.

The e-Contact project led by PWGSC is a collaborative multi-jurisdictional project seeking to improve access to government services across multiple service channels (Internet, telephone or service counters). The eContact requires the use of a search engine to interpret citizens’ queries and then locate similar questions from a database of questions and contact data provided by jurisdictions across Canada. Pilots aimed at discovering requirements with Manitoba and Ontario jurisdictions are well established, and another is underway with Service New Brunswick.

In addition, 91% of GOL Services will have established some type of partnership by the end of 2005. And 77 of the 130 services will be engaging in multi-jurisdictional service delivery, that is, with provinces, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, international governments, etc.

Gateways and Clusters also involve an increasing number of partnerships both federally and across jurisdictions. For example, the Persons with Disabilities Cluster, in partnership with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), has developed an interactive Mapping for the Visually Impaired (MVI) site that provides on-line access to tactile and audio-tactile maps and digital map files. It enables visually impaired clients to learn to navigate spaces and routes they take on a regular basis, such as a trip to a bus stop or to work. The maps enhance the mobility of users by providing information about streets, buildings and other features of a travel route and destination area. This is a multi-jurisdictional project performed in partnership with several federal government departments, private industry, academia as well as the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

Planned Spending

* pending approval of TB Submission

Roles, Responsibilities, and Governance Structures
PWGSC is responsible for the overall management of the GOL Initiative (GOLI). It oversees and provides strategic leadership to departments and agencies in implementing the GOL initiative through investment strategies, monitoring of projects and services, Gateways and Clusters leadership, and outreach strategies. It is responsible for the overall funding and monitoring of GOL projects. In 2005/06, GOLI will continue to provide the necessary oversight of GOL funded projects to ensure their successful completion.

Governance Structures
The GOL initiative relies on oversight by the Deputy Minister-level Treasury Board Senior Advisory Committee - Information Management Subcommittee (TIMS) and Assistant Deputy Minister-level Service Management Board (SMB). A network of GOL leads in the 34 participating departments and agencies, ensures consistency of approaches and initiatives for the whole of government strategy. Deputy Minister champions provide strategic direction for the development of the Gateways and Clusters. Specific project funding is subject to the scrutiny of Treasury Board Secretariat and respects related Treasury Board policy requirements.

Individual GOL funded projects are the responsibility of the accountable Ministers. Separate governance structures are developed as required for these projects. Such structures ensure that departments work closely together to develop new and integrated services (such as a National Routing System for vital statistics data) that can be used by several, if not all, federal departments and possibly other levels of government.

Three key governance committees oversee the ongoing development and management of the Gateways and Clusters:

• The Gateway Working Group (gateway managers plus subject experts) is responsible to develop coordinated operational recommendations across the clusters.
• The Gateway Directors’ Committee, comprised of the directors from Gateways and Clusters Directorate, the Canada Site and its three gateways (Canadians, Canadian Businesses, non-Canadians) for strategic planning, to develop funding recommendations that further horizontal principles and to coordinate leadership across the 34 federal departments and agencies involved.
• The Gateway Steering Committee (Members of the Gateway Directors’ Committee and their directors general) drives cross-gateway decisions, considers recommendations for funding allocations and makes recommendations for the evolution of the “Cluster Blueprint”. The “Cluster Blueprint” is a framework for the Government of Canada’s Internet presence, and was developed based on extensive public opinion research. The Cluster Blueprint presents government information and services beyond traditional organizational boundaries according to the needs and preferences of the users - primarily by subject and audience categories. It includes 3 major client-segmented gateways (Canadians, Non-Canadians, and Businesses) which provide citizens/clients with access to numerous subject and audience clusters that integrate related content to provide users with easier and more intuitive access to comprehensive government information and services.

Shared Outcome(s)

Key Programs, Resources and Results

Contact:
Christine Desloges, Director General, Government On-Line Initiative, Information Technology Services Branch

Organizational Readiness Office (ORO)

The mandate of the Organizational Readiness Office is currently under review and discussions are underway with TBS\CIOB regarding an appropriate host organization. The outcome of those discussions may impact its plans and priorities in 2005/06.

Working with departments, agencies and strategically important communities within the public service, ORO has developed and begun to implement competency-based human resources frameworks made up of proven practices and approaches. ORO chose a “community-led” model as an effective means of providing the necessary horizontal, whole-of-government perspective while respecting the vertical accountability of departments and agencies. This model and the frameworks have been designed

Planned Spending

Roles, Responsibilities, and Governance Structures
ORO is a strategic unit that leads horizontal initiatives to improve capacity, agility and the management of human capital in the Public Service, working through the Information Technology (IT), Information Management (IM) and Service Delivery (SD) Communities. These initiatives are critical to the success of IT shared services, Management of Government Information (MGI) and other policy and change agendas.

ORO engages senior leadership through Committees of Community Champions at the Director-General and Assistant Deputy Minister level. The IT and IM Champions Committees are sub-committees of the Chief Information Officer Council (CIOC), and the Service Delivery Champions Committee reports to the Service Management Board (SMB). In addition to championing various initiatives and the influence they have on whole-of-government decisions, the Champions individually play key roles in leading department-specific change-management initiatives within their respective organizations. The understanding they develop of broader “enterprise” and community objectives helps ensure the decisions they make or influences are well aligned with government goals.

Shared Outcomes and Key Results

Contact:
Ed Fine, Executive Director, Organizational Readiness Office, Information Technology Services Branch

Departmental GOL Initiatives

In addition to Government-wide GOL activities, the following section outlines PWGSC’s departmental initiatives that support the overall vision to connect Canadians with government, each other and the world.

Marketing the Canada Site (www.canada.gc.ca): The Government of Canada Internet Portal

The goal of this Government On-Line initiative is to increase the visibility of the Government of Canada Internet portal through planned and targeted marketing activities and to promote the quality and quantity of information, services and communication technology providing Canadians with enhanced access to improved citizen-centred, integrated services, anytime, anywhere and in the official language of their choice.

The Canada Site is the primary Internet portal for information on the Government of Canada, its programs, services, new initiatives and products, and for information about Canada.

Among its features are three audience-based gateways that provide access to information and services for: Canadians, Non-Canadians and Canadian Businesses. These gateways were developed in response to users' needs and to the Government of Canada's goal to make on-line information readily available and easily accessible. To further facilitate navigation, the gateways are organized by clusters, leading users to various information areas and a range of functionality, based on their needs, irrespective of their knowledge of the government's organizational structure. The goal of the clusters is to ensure seamless, one-stop access to information by transcending organizational boundaries. This is done by first aggregating, and then organizing information in ways that resonate with the situational needs and expectations of different audiences.

Policies and guidelines such as the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, the Federal Identity Program and the Common Look and Feel for the Internet Guidelines establish key standards on marketing, accessibility, privacy and official languages for Government of Canada Internet Web sites.

Roles, Responsibilities and Governance Structure
The Internet portal of the Government of Canada is part of the Canada On-Line Services of the Public Access Programs Sector of Government Information Services Branch (GISB) within PWGSC.

The Government of Canada Internet portal delivers GOL initiatives that are governed by the following committees:

• TIMS -Treasury Board Senior Advisory Information Management Subcommittee
• SMB - Service Management Board
• GSC - Gateway Steering Committee

Shared Outcomes and Key Results
Investing in marketing activities will provide Canadians and the international public with continued enhanced access to Government of Canada information, including services, initiatives and products, through the Government of Canada Internet portal. In return, Canadians and the international public, relying on self-serve and on-line options, will be better informed through a cost-effective client centric approach.

Contact
Dave Thompson, Director, Canada On-Line Services, Public Access Programs, Government Information Services Branch

Government of Canada Publications On-line (e-Bookstore)

The Government of Canada e-Bookstore is an initiative designed to leverage the cataloguing expertise of the Depository Services Program (DSP) and the publishing and marketing expertise of Canadian Government Publishing (CGP) to create “one-stop-shopping” for Government of Canada publications. This project was initiated in strategic response to several studies and reviews conducted throughout 1999 and 2000 that revealed:

• A public need for centralized government information
• A public need for improved access to that information, both over the phone and through the Internet
• A public need for improved searching of the publications database
• An internal need to streamline operations and improve customer service

The e-Bookstore is intended to support the other Government of Canada Primary Portals (Canada Site, 1 800 O-Canada, Service Canada in-person centres), with the valuable link to publication information, to complement the already rich information compiled on Government of Canada programs and services. Whether users choose to call, to visit in person, or to visit virtually through any of the Government of Canada Internet sites of their choice, they will be able to find the government documentation they are looking for. Users with special access needs can also locate publications in different formats such as braille, large print and audiocassettes.

The e-Bookstore is accessed by many constituencies and offers a variety of products, services, and special features that will continue to evolve and grow based on dynamic, constituency-centric business needs.

Building on the current e-Bookstore framework, we have an opportunity to offer a number of value-added services through the creation of a web-enabled self-serve module. With this new module, clients will be able to receive electronic notifications and by clicking on the provided link would be able to immediately place an order or terminate a subscription without manual interaction or time delays. These types of services are currently only available through traditional channels (i.e. mail, fax, phone) and could, therefore, be better provided to clients through cost-effective service delivery channels. Significant financial and time savings could be realized with the implementation of this module.

Roles, Responsibilities, and Governance Structures
The e-Bookstore’s governance structure is as follows:

The e-Bookstore Steering Committee provides overall strategic direction for the project, and liaison with key stakeholders, such as the Canada site, Service Canada and Treasury Board. It is chaired by the Director General, Public Access Programs, as the GOL lead for GISB, and comprised of the Director General, Communications Services, the Director, Publishing and Depository Services, the Director of Online Service and member of the Gateway Steering Committee, the Senior Financial Officer (SFO) and the Corporate Senior IM/IT Advisor. It ensures and expedites the resolution of issues that may be raised during the course of the Project and provides recommendations regarding the tasking of activities. The Committee provides the primary forum for cross-organizational communications.

Shared Outcomes and Key Results

Contact
Christine Leduc, A/Director, Publishing and Depository Services, Government Information Services Branch

Common Business Authentication (CBA)

This project will define a common authentication solution across all government jurisdictions and government departments. It will define the common business information template (common information to be collected to define a business), and the common template to support business delegation.

The need for a common authentication method for business with the Government of Canada has emerged as a key enabler to the successful production of business-facing on-line applications. Businesses would prefer to authenticate themselves once and once only, to the Government (or Governments), rather than providing the same, or similar information to each on-line Government of Canada, provincial or municipal program or service. Complete authentication of a business requires three specific criteria: authentication of the business (confirming the existence of a valid business); authentication of the owner of a business (that the valid business does indeed have this exact person as a listed director or owner); and authentication of other persons, associated with a business, who are permitted to transact on behalf of that business (delegation). A template to support business delegation for transactions will be included in this project.

Roles, Responsibilities, and Governance Structures
A catalytic projects’ governance structure has been created to manage the Common Business Authentication (CBA) along with three other related catalytic projects within Canada Revenue Agency (CRA My Account for Individuals, CRA My Business Account and CRA Third Party Privilege Management).

• CRA My Account for Individuals: Involves the creation and epass enablement of an account that groups together services that an individual would like to have grouped into one location for ease of access.
• CRA My Business Account: Involves the creation and epass enablement of an account that groups together services that a business would like to have grouped into one location for ease of access.
• CRA Third Party Privilege Management: Involves the creation and epass enablement of a system that allows tax preparers to register with CRA and then allows a client to authorize the tax preparer to work on their behalf. The tax preparer can be an individual or a member of a business.

Governance in the catalytic projects encompasses the structures and processes that, together, provide steering and progress functions on behalf of all the governance partners across the projects. These include clear linkages of the actions of agencies and programs with specific outcomes. The governance structure provides for broad yet decisive representation by governance partners in various departments and programs by discipline and technical orientation to ensure responsiveness to the user community.

Shared Outcomes and Key Results

Contact
Paul Jean, Senior Project Manager, Strategic Infrastructure Services, Information Technology Services Branch

Government of Canada Marketplace (GoCM)

The GoCM is a project of the Electronic Supply Chain (ESC) Program. This end-to-end purchasing service will allow participating departments and agencies to shop for and buy a wide variety of goods and services on-line. It will also support electronic payment and settlement within an efficient and secure electronic environment, and, capture and make available the purchasing information of the Government of Canada (GoC). The GoCM Service will enable the GoC's Procurement Reform transformation through automated and simplified purchasing processes, while maintaining the highest levels of transparency and accountability.

Roles, Responsibilities, and Governance Structures
PWGSC, in addition to being responsible for the development of the economic and business models to support this initiative, is conducting oversight for the various elements of the GoCM Service throughout its implementation and operational lifecycle. Electronic Acquisitions Program Sector (EAPS), under the auspices of the GoCM Project, is supporting the requirement for potential policy and legislative changes as opportunities arise for doing business in a different manner through the GoCM. Other government departments and agencies are responsible for participating in the service in accordance with the Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs). The Electronic Supply Chain Steering Committee, the Business Design Coordination Team, the Directors of Supply E-Business Management Committee and the GoCM Management Board are key groups involved in the GoCM.

Shared Outcomes and Key Results

Contact
Jack Lazaruk, Director, Electronic Projects Management, Acquisitions Branch

Gateway and Cluster Content Management Solution (CMS)

A key component to the GOL strategy is the initiative that aims to simplify access to government information and services by gathering information from thousands of federal Web sites and partner Web sites (such as communities) into subject-based clusters and gateways. The purpose of the Gateway and Cluster Content Management Solution is to:

• Provide a common repository and tools to clusters and gateways to enhance their content management capabilities and share common and overlapping content holdings more effectively.
• Improve access by Canadian businesses, citizens and non-Canadians to information across thousands of federal Web sites through more effective cluster metadata content management.

Roles, Responsibilities and Governance Structures
PWGSC is responsible for the evaluation and acceptance of a content management solution and the overall management of the initiative. The Gateway and Cluster managers are responsible for articulating and defining acceptable common requirements, in addition to managing product integration within their departmental Web environments.

The Gateway and Cluster CMS requires strong horizontal governance with a collective approach to risk management, evaluation and reporting. A strong governance and accountability framework will articulate common objectives, expected results and risks, while at the same time allowing sufficient flexibility for innovation. Gateway and Cluster managers, PWGSC project managers and Central Office for GOL comprise the current governance structure.

Shared Outcomes and Key Results

Contact
Sue Hardy, A/Director, Web Innovation and Technology, Information Technology Services Branch

GOL Procurement Office

The GOL Procurement Office provides information about the procurement options available to meet clients' GOL needs.

Roles, Responsibilities, and Governance Structure
Ongoing activities carried out by the GOL Procurement Team include procurement services, refreshing supply arrangements and supporting the Business Opportunities and Contract Reporting System (on-line tendering service).

The GOL Procurement Office is highly visible to all stakeholders. It has the support of, and reports regularly to, PWGSC and the Central Office for GOL.

Shared Outcomes and Key Results

Contact
Sandra Labbé, Acting Manager, GOL Procurement Office, Acquisitions Branch