Internal Services: planned results

Description

Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of Programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct services that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department. These services are:

• Management and Oversight Services;
• Communications Services;
• Legal Services;
• Human Resources Management Services;
• Financial Management Services;
• Information Management Services;
• Information Technology Services;
• Real Property Management Services;
• Materiel Management Services; and
• Acquisition Management Services.

Planning highlights

A number of efforts and key deliverables will be the focus of FY 2022-23 across Internal Services programming. These include the following items:

Management and Oversight Services

The Departmental Litigation Oversight complex litigation management capability will continue to provide support to the Canadian Forces' Legal Advisor/Department of Justice and all DND/CAF instructing clients in progressing the various ongoing and emerging class actions in negotiation or implementation across the Department, with the aim of ensuring compliance with all requirements. This support extends through the spectrum of the litigation cycle, and will contribute to the interdepartmental management of, and approach to workplace litigation strategies. In enabling the holistic coordination and reporting of these class actions, including those which pertain to workplace harassment and discrimination such as the DND/CAF Sexual Misconduct Class Action lawsuit, those which pertain to compensation and benefits, and one which pertains to contaminated groundwater, the department will meet legal and moral obligations related to these and other settlement agreement orders and appropriately manage associated risks.

Review Services

In order to advance corporate priorities and fulfill Core Responsibilities, independent evaluations, audits, conflict of interest analysis and administrative investigations, including disclosure of wrongdoing under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act will continue to be conducted within the department to provide assurance on efficiency, effectiveness and economy of operations. To facilitate decision making, assurance activities will prioritize diversity and inclusion, professional conduct and culture, and delivery of Strong, Secure, Engaged: Canada's Defence Policy.

Security

The timely and efficient processing of security clearances in support of operations remains Director General Defence Security’s (DGDS) top priority. It will champion the effort to identify security risks through the execution of the DND Security program, enabling DND/CAF to make evidence-based security risk decisions that support the execution of the Defence Services Program. It will implement the new 2021-24 Departmental Security Plan, focusing on positive management of strategic security risks and their associated Risk Treatment Plans, in better alignment with Enterprise Risk Management. DGDS will continue to modernize business practices to improve the DND Security program, accounting for the fundamental changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. It will continue to energize and implement the updated Business Continuity Management program, focusing on the deliberate and efficient conduct of federated Business Impact Analyses at the Departmental level, leveraging automated solutions.

Communications Services

DND and the CAF use multiple formats and channels – digital and traditional – to communicate and engage with Canadians about the work the Defence Team is doing on their behalf. Clear and accurate information helps show how investments in defence not only keep Canada and Canadians secure, but also create jobs and economic growth in our communities. Transparency, inclusivity, and accountability in communicating are essential to improving public understanding of Canada’s defence priorities, and building and maintaining trust between Canadians and the institution of Defence.

In FY 2022-23, communications efforts will continue to support Defence priorities including:

• Strong, Secure, Engaged: Canada's Defence Policy – including advertising campaigns and marketing support for CAF recruitment efforts;
• Professional conduct and culture – by ensuring that the importance and seriousness of systemic misconduct is understood, as well as how it is addressed in DND and the CAF, including the realignment of policies, programs, and responsibilities that address misconduct;
• Diversity and inclusion – by demonstrating tangible and measurable progress towards creating a representative and diverse workforce within all levels of the organization through the recruitment of persons of diverse race, ethnicity and nationality; Indigenous identity; sexual orientation and gender identity; and disability status;
• CAF reconstitution – by prioritizing efforts and resources on people and culture, readiness, and modernization; and
• Enhancing operational and institutional communications – through developing public affairs practitioners at all levels; setting a new direction for social media engagement; and strengthening information management and the use of analytics to improve public affairs decision-making.

Human Resources Management Services

The focus for FY 2022-23 will be ensuring that employee experience continues to be front of mind and supported through sound people management and the public service Human Resources (HR) business model. In the COVID-19 context, ensuring the safety, health, and wellness of our people is at the core of our agenda.

COVID-19 has emphasized the importance of a sufficiently agile, responsive, and resilient public service workforce to respond to future uncertainties and ensure the Defence Team including the CAF is supported. Providing services to support our workforce in these unprecedented times is crucial to ensure continuity in the services that the public service workforce provides. Identifying the future public service workforce requirements of the Defence Team and developing strategies to achieve the workforce needed to deliver on Strong, Secure, Engaged will be critical to the department’s success.

Public service HR will continue to modernize its tools and processes through digital HR initiatives and through the increased use of data and analytics, which will enable better, smarter, faster HR and alleviate HR administrative burdens to create the space for good people management. Our public service employees and military managers of public servants will have increased access to direct HR support that provides excellent user experience and solutions that are tailored to their specific needs.

Employee experience will be monitored through the Public Service Employee Survey as will the performance of employee-centric programs including the Civilian Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan. Looking forward, we will increase the understanding of DND’s future of work through interactive workforce analytics, HR business intelligence and future thinking for informed workforce insights and decision making.

In FY 2022-23 the department will build off progress already made, and will continue to reduce the backlog of pay cases, with the ultimate objective of ensuring timely and accurate pay. To achieve this, DND’s compensation team will continue to design, develop and implement personalized client centric services to support employees and managers. The service design philosophy will be to put the client first, build trust, and provide excellent services that lead to positive pay outcomes.

Events have brought systemic racism and discrimination to the fore across the world, and the Defence Team recognizes the urgent need to examine and identify actions to address and eliminate racism, hateful conduct and discrimination. Diversity and inclusion are long-standing priorities at DND, and civilian HR will continue to partner with supporting stakeholders to review and adjust current HR policies and processes to identify barriers and systemic discrimination, apply GBA Plus to all new HR policies, develop resources and tools for employees and managers, and promote cultural awareness, racism, discrimination, and harassment-related learning opportunities for public service employees. This includes continued implementation of the action plan to meet the objectives identified in the Directive to increase diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

The implementation of Bill C-65 and the changes to the definition of violence and harassment necessitate a consistent and comprehensive workplace harassment and violence program. While we recognize the nature of their work, note that the efforts of the Chief, Professional Conduct and Culture are overarching across the department, more information is found under Core Responsibility 3 – Defence Team where their impact reflects their intent along with other Defence Team efforts.

Financial Management Services

Strong, Secure, Engaged established a detailed way forward for the current and future needs of the CAF and the Department of National Defence (DND). Work continues across Defence to implement the 20-year, multi-billion dollar policy, and the DND/CAF financial community continues to provide oversight for the implementation of Canada’s Defence Policy through the ongoing sound stewardship of resources. Canada’s Defence Policy commits to greater openness regarding how Defence investments are managed, to make sure the additional resources provided will achieve the expected results. Increased transparency through regular reporting on major investments will strengthen the confidence of Canadians that their tax dollars are well spent and that members of Canada’s military have the tools and resources they require to do their jobs.
As a transformational leader in financial management planning and practices, DND/CAF regularly seeks to transform and modernize systems and processes. In FY 2022-23, the department will continue to enhance awareness about financial management obligations and business processes, and will also continue to streamline and automate business processes by leveraging technology and creating efficiencies. Driven by budget accountability and results delivery on behalf of all Canadians, data accuracy and evidence-based analysis leads the effective resource management function at DND/CAF.

Information Management Services

The department will continue to support the Government of Canada’s information and data management priorities that are included in the Treasury Board's Policy on Service and Digital, as well as continue to support the Treasury Board’s Directive on Open Government. Pursuant to evolving policy direction, emergent technologies and implementation of Defence 365 to support a remote and mobile workforce, the department will focus on enabling DND/CAF Operations by leveraging Defence 365 to deliver a centralized, unified, cloud platform where information can be managed and accessed from anywhere, anytime to advance decision-making capabilities.

Service Management

In order to advance and meet the requirements of the Policy on Service and Digital, the Department will continue to evolve our client-centric service design and delivery for external facing services to Canadians. We will look for ways to continue to incorporate client feedback mechanisms, mature our end-to-end online services, evolve our service standards, and provide snapshots of departmental services and related data through our service inventory. In FY 2022-23, the department will:

• Develop and communicate a service management strategy to promote an integrated, consistent approach to service management across the Department; and
• Capture and support service improvement, a move towards end-to-end digital service delivery and a client-centric approach.

Data Management

DND/CAF will continue to prioritize electronic data management, governance and analytics throughout the Department in order to execute Defence Policy initiatives aimed at increasing strategic advantage for our CAF operations and improving the management of the business of Defence.

In FY 2022-23, the department will:

• Continue to build our capacity for enterprise-wide data management, following the direction of the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) Policy on Service and Digital, and in accordance with the DND/CAF Data Strategy;
• Action the Data Strategy Implementation Plan and track its progress;
• Pursue the development of the eight core data capabilities identified in the Direction on Core DND/CAF Data Capabilities;
• Capture and manage conduct-related data in support of developing a plan to improve Defence culture in accordance with the Chief of the Defence Staff/Deputy Minister Initiating Directive for Professional Conduct and Culture;
• Develop processes and analytical tools to enable us to connect data across the Defence enterprise, with other national agencies, and with our allies and partners;
• Actively promote a culture that recognizes the value of data as an asset, build data literacy, and develop analytical skills at all levels of the Defence Team in line with the Analytics in DND/CAF: Vision and Guiding Principles;
• Leverage data management and data-driven innovation to mature reporting of real-time performance information in accordance with TBS direction and guidance;
• Manage data as a strategic asset by maturing its quality, breadth, accessibility, and timeliness to support decision-making and operations;
• Lay the foundations of an Artificial Intelligence Strategy, coordinate existing initiatives, and leverage promising avenues to position Canada as a leader in the field; and
• Provide guidance on management and access requirements of data stored within information technology systems to ensure it is secure and reliable.

Digital Enterprise Modernization

The rapid advancement of information management and technology will allow the Department to use modern business practises to improve our processes and the business of Defence in general. In FY 2022-23, DND and the CAF will build the capacity for Digital Enterprise Modernization, which will:

• Initiate transformation projects that update and improve business processes and policies across the Defence enterprise, taking advantage of innovative software upgrades to improve business information and decision flows;
• Establish a digital business architecture dedicated to providing an enterprise view of digital capacities and capabilities related to transforming the business of Defence in the short, medium, and long terms. In doing so, it will ensure that the development of new business processes, policies, and practices is aligned with the Government of Canada (GC) modernization goals and digital transformation strategy;
• Improve the results of (and reporting on) the Defence Policy initiatives that require improved data sharing and increased integration;
• Increase business resource management efficiency and consistency;
• Contribute to future force development;
• Increase trust and reliability of data and information; and
• Enable a modern workforce and workplace. 

Information Technology Services

The department will continue to mature its Enterprise Architecture practice, and as a result will enhance alignment and oversight of technical solutions within DND/CAF. The department will work closely with TBS to ensure the department is aligned with GC Information Management/Information Technology directives and standards, such as GC’s Directive on Service and Digital and GC Enterprise Architecture Review Board reviews.

DND/CAF will continue to maintain and assess its IM/IT investments in its Application Portfolio Management (APM) program to ensure quality application and business data is captured. This will enable DND/CAF to better manage our IM/IT investments and for our partners to provide necessary support services.

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Key Corporate Risk(s)

IT Management – There is a risk that DND/CAF may have difficulty maintaining its information technology capabilities at the right level to support operations.

The risk above can affect the department’s ability to achieve the Departmental Results of this the Internal Services Core Responsibility.

As the Defence Departmental Results Framework reflects a chain of delivery from conceiving of the required armed forces, to developing them and then executing operations, the activities to mitigate the risks of the Internal Services Core Responsibility can also be found in other Core Responsibilities which deliver building blocks that enable the results Internal Services.

Planned budgetary spending for Internal Services

2022–23 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates)	2022–23 planned spending	2023–24 planned spending	2024–25 planned spending
1,220,365,624	1,220,365,624	875,321,829	888,996,604

Planned human resources for Internal Services

2022–23 planned full-time equivalents	2023–24 planned full-time equivalents	2024–25 planned full-time equivalents
4,284	4,277	4,296

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