This report presents the results of a study on the management and implementation of the Transformation of Pay Administration Initiative (TPA). The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (the Secretariat) hired GGI to conduct this study on behalf of both the Secretariat and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC). Our methodology consisted mainly of consultations to obtain perspectives from across the federal public service. We also conducted a document review to understand the context and validate what we heard.

The scope of the lessons learned study covers Government of Canada activities related to the TPA from 2008 to April 2016. The study identifies 17 lessons in 6 major areas:

• Initiative Definition (Lessons 1 and 2)
• Governance and Oversight (Lessons 3 to 5)
• Change Management (Lessons 6 to 8)
• Business Case and Outcomes Management (Lessons 9 to 13)
• Initiative and Project Management (Lessons 14 to 16)
• Capacity Management (Lesson 17)

The full report can be accessed here.

Under its standing officer with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), GGI and the CBSA evaluation team conducted an evaluation of the Agency’s Arming Initiative, a 10-year initiative to arm and train border services officers. The purpose of the evaluation was to examine the performance of the Arming Initiative, including the extent to which the arming of CBSA officers achieved expected outcomes, such as enhanced border security, improved officer ability to handle high-risk situations, and decreased Agency reliance on other law enforcement organizations. The evaluation was based on a review of documents and data, interviews and field research in three regions. Five recommendations were presented and accepted to CBSA managers related to training and equipping officers and addressing human resource issues associated with arming such as mental health supports and mitigating the impacts of arming-related accommodations on frontline service delivery.

The full report can be accessed here.

A GGI Senior Associate, Robert Vandenberg, led a team that undertook the Evaluation of Results-Based Management (RBM) in CGIAR from 2009 to 2017. CGIAR is a global agriculture partnership that implements research through a network of 15 autonomous Centres and their partners. The purpose of the evaluation was to learn lessons from CGIAR’s experience introducing and implementing RBM.

The evaluation report can be downloaded from CGIAR’s Independent Evaluation Unit.

April 26, 2018

GGI is keen to be attending and presenting at the CES National Conference in Calgary at the end of May. We’ll be represented by evaluators from our Vancouver and Ottawa offices and most are giving presentations. More to come on our presentation topics! And GGI will also be an Exhibitor for the first time. Stop by our booth to find out why!

April 26, 2018

Two GGI partners, Sandy and Janice, will be representing GGI at the annual PPX Symposium in mid-May. They’ll be joined by colleagues from the Internal Audit and Evaluation Bureau and the MAF Directorate to present the findings and next steps from the MAF evaluation. Keynote speaker Evert Lindquist will then share his own views on possible directions for the MAF.

February 20, 2018

GGI Consultant, Leah Simpkins, will be presenting at the Public Health 2018 conference in Montreal in May. Her presentation, entitled Organizational Stewardship and Well-being: Implications for Health Promotion will be based on research she conducted as part of her doctoral thesis at the University of Ottawa.

The Presentation will outline the value of stewardship, described as a shared responsibility for the public good, and its implications for organizational health. The results of this research can foster discussions among employees, government leaders and policy-makers concerning best practices and the evolving capacity of public organizations. Moreover, it advances knowledge on how organizational-level interventions may be best designed to address executive well-being and mental health.