Program evaluation
IDEaS underwent a formal program evaluation through DND’s Program Review Services Branch and in accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Results.
The evaluation focused on:
Long description
- The relevancy of the program;
- the program's ability to engage innovators;
- benefits of program outcomes to the defence and security community; and,
- the efficiency of the program for the period between Fiscal Years (FY) 2017/18 and 2021/22.
Also considered was the extent to which the program has achieved expected results, in line with its short-term and medium-term objectives. Over the short-term, the program aimed to engage innovators and solicit concepts and initiatives to solve the DND/CAF issued challenges (i.e., competitions in need of solutions to specific defence and security issues). In the medium-term, IDEaS aimed to engage Canadian innovators to solve defence and security challenges.
The findings of the evaluation show that the IDEaS program remains relevant in the evolving global defence and security environment and has effectively engaged small or medium-sized enterprises and academia, further cultivating those networks to strengthen the innovation ecosystem within Canada. The program has effectively facilitated the advancement of a range of solutions to address defence and security challenges and has had varying levels of success in delivering its allocated funding throughout the evaluation period.