Evaluation of the Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities

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Acronyms

CDEM: Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba
CDETNO: Conseil de développement économique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest
CEDEC: Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation
ESDC: Employment and Social Development Canada
NWT: Northwest Territories
OLMC: Official Language Minority Communities
PEI: Prince Edward Island
RDEE: Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité

Executive summary

The Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities aims to enhance the development and vitality of these communities by strengthening community capacity and promoting partnerships in the areas of human resources and community economic development.

Previous evaluation activities demonstrated strong program relevance particularly in relation to meeting Employment and Social Development Canada’s legal obligations under the Official Language Act and being a component of the Roadmap for Canada's Official Languages 2013 to 2018: education, immigration, communities. The program is credited with establishing a pan-Canadian network capable of carrying out human resources, community economic development and capacity building activities. Activities carried out by contribution agreement signatories are aligned with program objectives and lead to positive leveraging effects.

Building on lessons learned from previous evaluations and taking into consideration the difficulty in evaluating the impact and effectiveness of the program, the 2016 to 2017 evaluation of the Enabling Fund relied exclusively on a document review and focused on confirming that activities carried out by contribution agreement signatories continue to be aligned with the Enabling Fund’s objectives and eligible activities. Compared to previous evaluations of the Enabling Fund, the added value of this evaluation is to demonstrate that the program data collection instruments are capable of providing sufficient evidence to confirm that the program is achieving its intended objectives.

A preliminary document review of activity reports carried out in summer 2016 confirmed the capacity to carry out an evaluation of the Enabling Fund relying solely on a document review. The evaluation also aims to report on the extent to which implemented activities and reported results make a direct contribution to enhancing the development and vitality of Official Language Minority Communities.

Evaluation findings demonstrated that objectives and activities pursued and implemented by contribution agreement signatories in 2014 to 2015 and 2015 to 2016 continue to be aligned with the Enabling Fund objectives and eligible activities. As well, implemented activities and reported results contribute to enhancing human resources development, community economic development, community capacity building and to strengthening partnerships. Activities ensure that individuals, employers and organizations involved in these activities are better informed, skilled, resourced and served. Finally, within existing limitations, the Enabling Fund does contribute to enhancing the development and vitality of Official Language Minority Communities. These limitations are related to the enabling nature of activities and to the existence of important external factors.

Recommendations that arose from the document review are as follows:

Recommendation 1: It is important for Employment and Social Development Canada to consider reducing the reporting burden on contribution agreement signatories by balancing the needs between the management of contribution agreements and reporting requirements.
Recommendation 2: It is recommended that program officials continue to be involved in validating the relevance of activities carried out by contribution agreement signatories. Program officials should continue to encourage the sharing of lessons learned between all contribution agreement signatories regarding the type of activities and delivery approach.
Recommendation 3: It is recommended that program officials continue to carry out an annual validation exercise with contribution agreement signatories regarding their implemented activities and reported results. This is particularly important for verifying the number of participants and employers served, the number of individuals assisted in securing employment, contributions made to business and job creation, investments leveraged and clarifying the role played by the organizations in achieving the implementation of reported activities and results. Common definitions for outcomes of interest should be used.

Management response

The Skills and Employment Branch of Employment and Social Development Canada is pleased to note that the evaluation of the Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities (OLMC) confirmed continued strong program relevance and an important contribution to the establishment of a pan-Canadian network capable of carrying out human resources development, community economic development, community capacity building and to strengthening partnerships in communities.

The Skills and Employment Branch was particularly pleased that the program was found to have made progress with data collection and that instruments are now capable of providing sufficient evidence to confirm that the program is meeting its intended objectives. Making improvements in this area has been a priority for the program since the last evaluation identified room for improvement in this regard. Since that time, the Enabling Fund developed a new Performance Measurement Strategy. In addition, the program is piloting the use of a software-based outcomes and impact measurement system that will allow for better impact measurement and provides a practical solution for storing and analyzing program performance data. Through these tools, an evidence-base is beginning to emerge allowing for the assessment of whether activities are responding to OLMC local economic and human resources’ needs.

The Skills and Employment Branch agrees with the evaluation recommendations and is pleased to submit this management response.

Detailed responses to the evaluation recommendations

Recommendation 1: It is important for ESDC to consider reducing the reporting burden on contribution agreement signatories by balancing the needs between the management of contribution agreements and reporting requirements.

Management continues to make efforts to refine processes and develop tools with a view to reduce the reporting burden on organization. The program agrees that there remains room for improvement and commits to working with the relevant units within the department.

Recommendation 2: It is recommended that program officials continue to be involved in validating the relevance of activities carried out by contribution agreement signatories. Program officials should continue to encourage the sharing of lessons learned between all contribution agreement signatories regarding the type of activities and delivery approach.

Validating relevance of activities

ESDC currently provides oversight and ongoing validation of activities through the review of quarterly activity reports and through periodic monitoring discussions on programmatic milestones. The department will continue to conduct this oversight and will increase the regularity of bilateral meetings with recipient organizations. More regular discussions will allow for input to be received from the local organizations and program officials will have opportunities to seek clarification where required. This will allow for re-evaluation and re-validation of activities to ensure they align with Enabling Fund terms and conditions and are meeting the needs of communities.

While critical review of the relevance of activities is important for sound programmatic management, methods of validation need to consider local conditions and capabilities. The sustained investment in community capacity through the Enabling Fund has helped develop OLMC economic and workforce development leaders and professional technical staff with knowledge and networks to promote economic growth in a systematic and organized manner at the local level. As such there may be more value in engaging with Enabling Fund stakeholders at the level of strategy and not only at the level of individual activities. This will help ensure that validation and decisions are guided by a strategy allowing program officials to assess the larger initiative and the likelihood that individual activities will produce concrete results and contribute to broader objectives. As such, the validation process will include engagement with Enabling Fund organizations on their strategic plans to ensure there is an understanding of the areas of economic opportunity and obstacles to overcome and what will guide the direction of initiatives and potential activities.

Sharing lessons learned

As a matter of practice, the Enabling Fund for OLMC creates a supportive environment to ensure the successful sharing of lessons learned and best practices. The program has a good track record of coordination, integration and information exchange. It does this through a range of processes and tools designed to share knowledge such as newsletters, reports and meetings. Sharing best practices is a good way to improve the performance of the Enabling Fund by replicating successes throughout the network and scaling promising approaches where appropriate. Other benefits include avoiding the duplication of effort and increasingly both efficiency and impact of initiatives.

The Economic Action Network for OLMC, that the Enabling Fund supports through Secretariat Services, brings Enabling Fund signatory organizations, economic development stakeholders and government officials together to identify problems, develop solutions and exchange with a view to learn from one another and collaborate.

Recipient organizations are also increasingly working across jurisdictions in a network-wide manner on common projects and in the sharing of resources and services. A number of bottom-up approaches have been put in place to encourage more learning within the network. For example, the implementation of pan-Canadian thematic expert groups on priority issues where technical staff have regular opportunities for exchange. Increasingly the network has developed systematic processes to share lessons and good practices which are more effective.

The program will continue to help build capacity in communities in this regard and will look for ways to create tools and incentives for organizations to share. This will include reciprocal commitments to take the time needed to identify, document and share lessons learned and best practices.

Recommendation 3: It is recommended that program officials continue to carry out an annual validation exercise with contribution agreement signatories regarding their implemented activities and reported results. This is particularly important regarding verifying the number of participants and employers served, the number of individuals assisted in securing employment, contributions made to business and job creation, investments leveraged and clarifying the role played by the organizations in achieving the implementation of reported activities and results. Common definitions for outcomes of interest should be used.

As efforts in this evaluation have demonstrated, there are ongoing challenges with attributing reported outputs and outcomes solely to activities carried out by contribution agreement signatories with funding provided solely through the Enabling Fund. This is described as common given the program’s enabling nature and the diverse number of activities and initiatives undertaken with involvement from other stakeholders.

In considering this recommendation, program officials have had to consider the dearth of data generally and the variability among Enabling Fund organizations, services, and systems. It has been difficult to find reasonable and appropriate ways to impose a common methodology when each organization has its own assumptions and preferred ways of tracking results. Despite the challenges, the program agrees that there are many reasons why it is important to create common definitions for outcomes of interest to the Enabling Fund and to create more standardized reporting on key indicators. This is not to say that organizations will be required to have the same culture or undertake the same activities but the program will need to find ways to better understand and accommodate differences among them while developing more compatible results measures.

Over the next twelve months, the Enabling Fund will work in collaboration with signatory organizations in the design of a framework that will allow for a common method for collecting data on key indicators as well as a common methodology for analyzing and interpreting results and impacts.

The program wishes to implement an outcome-based framework with clear definitions in order to measure the aggregate performance of the Enabling Fund while continuing to provide flexibility to organizations so that they can measure what is meaningful in their respective communities.

1. Introduction

This report presents the findings and conclusions from a limited-scope evaluation of the Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities (OLMC) of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). The report is organized as follows:

Section two presents an overview of the program
Section three describes the evaluation scope and methodology
Section four summarizes the evaluation findings
Section five summarizes the key conclusions
Section six outlines the recommendations

2. Program description

The Enabling Fund for OLMC aims to enhance the development and vitality of these communities by strengthening their capacity in the areas of human resources and community economic development, and by promoting partnerships at all levels, including federal partners, in order to consolidate resources and take concerted action . The program is a component of the Government of Canada’s strategy for official languages as expressed in the Roadmap for Canada's Official Languages 2013 to 2018: Education, Immigration, Communities.

The Enabling Fund and its predecessor program, the 1999 to 2005 Support Fund, represent ESDC’s key instrument to meet its legal and mandated obligations under Section 41 of the Official Language Act. Pursuant to subsection 41(1) of the Official Languages Act, the “Government of Canada is committed to enhancing the vitality of the English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada and supporting and assisting their development; and fostering the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society.” Subsection 41(2) requires that positive measures be taken for the implementation of these commitments.

The Enabling Fund represents an investment of $69M over 5 years. An annual budget of $12M is allocated through contribution agreements to 14 organizations with more than 100 employees working in 50 different locations across the country. An annual operational fund of $1.8M is managed by ESDC.

Contribution agreements signatories are expected to carry out activities related to:

Community Economic Development: Promoting businesses (for example trade missions, supporting development of supply-chains), promoting the communities as tourist destination, holding events to recruit workers, implementing revenue-generating events (for example tourism products).
Human Resources Development: Developing learning tools, facilitating learning events (for example, workshops, training sessions, camps), and providing guidance and support to jobseekers and assistance to employers in meeting their skill needs (for example job fairs, matching services).
Community capacity: Leading processes to encourage community participation (for example community economic planning, leveraging stakeholders’ efforts and priority setting), providing business-networking opportunities, assessing local needs, and planning/sustaining development activities.

The Enabling Fund also supports the Economic Action Network. The Network is the result of collaborative work between the Enabling Fund staff and representatives from the Francophone and English-speaking minority community organizations who are contribution agreement signatories under the Enabling Fund. It brings together federal and community representatives with economic and human resource development mandates to discuss cooperation mechanisms and initiatives aimed at improving the vitality and economic development of OLMC.

The Economic Action Network also allows for collaboration on joint projects known as Signature Projects that are expected to:

Expand on existing projects (for example best practices) or bridge a gap between existing projects.
Have national, regional or multiregional scope and/or impact.
Support the development and/or deepening of co-operation and partnership across sectors.
Help identify and test better ways of helping persons prepare for, return to or keep employment and be productive participants in the labour force.
Have significant learning implications for multiple stakeholders.

Appendix A presents the logic model for the Enabling Fund and Appendix B provides the list of contribution agreements signatories.

3. Evaluation approach and methodology

3.1 Evaluation scope and methodology

Evaluation scope

Influenced by a number of key factors and considerations described in section 3.2 below, the 2016 to 2017 evaluation of the Enabling Fund is of limited scope, based solely on a document review and focused on addressing the following three questions:

As established in previous evaluations, do objectives and activities carried out by contribution agreement signatories in 2014 to 2015 and 2015 to 2016 continue to be aligned with the Enabling Fund’s objectives and eligible activities?
Do reported results demonstrate the extent to which contribution agreement signatories implemented their activities?
Do implemented activities and reported results make a direct contribution to enhancing the development and vitality of OLMC?

As well, the evaluation intends to report on the quality and integrity of the data collection and reporting instruments.

Compared to previous evaluations of the Enabling Fund, the added value of this evaluation is to demonstrate that the program data collection instruments are capable of providing sufficient evidence to confirm that the program is achieving its intended objectives.

Evaluation methodology

The evaluation relied exclusively on a document review in the following five of fourteen contribution agreement signatories.

Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (CEDEC).
Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité (RDEE) de l’Île du Prince Édouard.
RDEE Ontario.
Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba (CDEM).
Conseil de développement économique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest (CDETNO).

The organizations managing the contribution agreements in Prince Edward Island (PEI) and Northwest Territories (NWT) were randomly selected among the eastern and northern organizations. The organization in Ontario was selected given the size of the francophone community it serves and the organization in Quebec was selected because it is the only one serving Anglophones in Quebec.

The documentation reviewed included:

The 2014 to 2017 contribution agreements signed with the five organizations.
Eight quarterly activity reports per organization covering fiscal years 2014 to 2015 and 2015 to 2016 for a total of 40 quarterly reports.
One annual report produced by each organization for fiscal year 2014 to 2015, for a total of 5 annual reports.

Results (outputs and outcomes) reported in the activity reports and annual reports were classified in relation to each objective and planned activities outlined in the 2014 to 2017 contribution agreements. From these quarterly reports, detailed matrices were produced summarizing all the reported results for 2014 to 2015 and 2015 to 2016. Results reported for 2014 to 2015 were compared and complemented with information provided in the 2014 to 2015 annual reports. Appendix C provides a summary of all objectives, activities and reported results for each organization for 2014 to 2015 and 2015 to 2016.

3.2 Evaluation strenghts, weaknesses and limitations

The Enabling Fund was the subject of significant evaluation activities since its inception in 1999 with three evaluation reports published in 2004, 2010 and 2013. Lessons learned from these evaluations informed the design of the 2016 to 2017 evaluation of the Enabling Fund. Previous evaluations have confirmed:

Strong program relevance: The Enabling Fund is ESDC’s main program to meet its legal obligations under the Official Language Act. As well, ESDC funding for the Enabling Fund is considered part of the 2013 to 2018 Roadmap on Official Languages. Finally, community consultations ensure the relevance of activities to local needs.
Program is credited with establishing a pan-Canadian network of 14 organizations capable of carrying out human resources, community economic development and capacity building activities.
Program objectives, delivery approach and activities carried out by contribution agreement signatories have remained stable over time and focused on supporting human resources and community economic development as well as building community capacity and strengthening partnerships.
Activities carried out by contribution agreement signatories are aligned with program objectives and lead to positive leveraging effects.

A preliminary document review of activity reports carried out in summer 2016 confirmed the capacity to carry out an evaluation of the Enabling Fund relying solely on a document review.

Lessons learned from previous evaluations and the preliminary document review confirmed that:

There are ongoing challenges with attributing reported outputs and outcomes solely to activities carried out by contribution agreement signatories. This issue is not uncommon given the enabling nature of the program and the context in which contribution agreement signatories operate. They lead or participate in a large and diverse number of activities and initiatives with involvement from other stakeholders.
The Enabling Fund is a program that does not lend itself to an impact evaluation given particularly the difficulty in identifying a counterfactual. At the same time, designing an evaluation with the perspective of validating that all results have been achieved and that they make a direct contribution to meeting the program objectives may not be the most cost-effective approach, considering the number and nature of wide range activities, and importantly the existence of significant external factors that can influence the development and vitality of OLMC. External factors are over and beyond the control of contribution agreement signatories.

4. Evaluation findings

4.1 Alignement of objectives and activities

The first evaluation question aimed to confirm whether objectives and activities carried out by contribution agreement signatories in 2014 to 2015 and 2015 to 2016 continue to be aligned with the Enabling Fund’s objectives and eligible activities.

Figure 1 demonstrates that the stated objectives of the five selected organizations, outlined in their 2014 to 2017 contribution agreements, are aligned with the objectives of the Enabling Fund. These objectives are centered on capacity building, community economic development and human resources development.

**Figure 1: Enabling Fund Objectives Compared to those of the Five Selected Organizations**

Table 1 provides an overview of key activities planned and implemented by contribution agreement signatories in relation to Enabling Fund objectives and activities that are eligible for funding. The information provided in Table 1 confirms that planned and implemented activities are aligned with the activities that are eligible for funding under the Enabling Fund. The five selected organizations did:

Contribute to human resources development in OLMC by:

Providing training and workshops to persons with disabilities, youth and newcomers in support of labour market integration.
Gathered relevant labour market information on jobs and businesses to guide their activities.
Promoted local job openings to youth and immigrants to support retention or recruitment.
Participated in job fairs and hosted networking events between employers and job seekers.
Encouraged and sensitized employers to hire youth and francophone immigrants.
Provided entrepreneurial training.

Contribute to community economic development by:

Supporting cooperative development and projects.
Promoting tourism projects and activities, and developing tourism products.
Promoting entrepreneurship.
Providing services to employers: business plans, marketing, recruitment, human resources tools, access to capital.
Organizing events for employers to facilitate networking.

Contribute to community capacity building by:

Supporting the development of community plans and projects.
Supporting community organizations to build their capacity and to apply for funding.
Deliver community self-evaluations.
Developing strategic and operational plans for businesses and projects.
Developing and managing social enterprises.
Organizations various networking events.

Maintain and develop partnerships with local economic development organizations, municipalities, federal and provincial departments, youth organizations, schools and universities as well as chambers of commerce.

Table 1: Alignment with enabling fund eligible activities and objectives
Organization	Human Resources Development	Community Economic Development	Community Capacity
CDEM - Manitoba	Provided training activities and support services targeted to persons with disabilities, youth and newcomers. Gathered labour market information on labour market needs, job vacancy, green economy and businesses for sale. Provided entrepreneurial training.	Supported cooperative development and projects. Contributed to promoting and developing tourism. Raised awareness about entrepreneurship. Supported wind farm development and developed action plans on climate change. Developed business plans and supported marketing and access to capital. Contributed to businesses and job creation.	Partnered with a significant number of community stakeholders such as local development organizations, rural municipalities, Quebec and Manitoba departments and agencies, youth organizations, schools, one university and chambers of commerce. Supported development of community plans and projects.
CDETNO – Northwest Territories	Provided entrepreneurship training. Recruited qualified workers to the francophone labour market of NWT (information sessions, job fairs and a recruitment campaign). Built the human resource capacity of businesses through workshops. Assisted job seekers with their job search and networking. Encouraged employers to hire immigrants and advertised the new immigration candidate selection system “Express Entry”.	Built the capacity of new businesses (networking and workshops). Facilitated a business trip for entrepreneurs from outside NWT. Promoted NWT in national and international job fairs. Provided investors with information on business opportunities. Developed promotional material for the tourism industry and shared information on funding opportunities in a newsletter.	Held strategic planning meetings with community organizations and supported some to submit request for funding. Developed a Francophone business database. Carried out consultations with members and participated in community events.
CEDEC – Quebec	Developed tour guide and event planning skills for participants through practical experience. Produced 9 community statistical profiles. Delivered entrepreneurial workshops to 278 participants. Hosted networking events between 175 employers and 900 job-seekers. Delivered employability skills workshops to 37 participants. Developed a Workforce Development Strategy for Quebec’s OLMC.	Held a tourism event and developed two tourism packages for a community. Developed an agriculture market plan in consultations with stakeholders. Took responsibility for the delivery of the Workplace Essential Skills Co-op Vocational Training Program to fill skills positions in high-demand sectors. Promoted entrepreneurship to youth.	Conducted 8 community capacity assessments and completed 4 community revitalization plans. Received funding for community development project proposals.
RDEE Prince Edward Island	Delivered entrepreneurship and employment programs to youth. Secured work placements for 20 youth and internships for 25 students. Recruited French speaking Work Holiday Visa holders and encouraged employers to hire those recruited. Promoted the recruitment and integration of French speaking immigrants to employers. Delivered business start-up training to youth.	Supported the development of the tourism industry (strategic and action plans, bilingual community signs and training for tour operators). Built the capacity of entrepreneurs through learning, networking and sharing activities. Contributed to the identification of gaps in community economic development. Coordinated a business trip to Quebec for entrepreneurs. Provided support to businesses. Supported tourism development.	Developed on-line tools and a database to support the coordination among partners involved in the integration of immigrants. Supported community organizations and governance (training executives, planning and networking). Supported a school renovation project and the organization of the 2015 Acadian games. Enabled PEI’s Francophone and Acadian Chamber of Commerce to deliver activities to entrepreneurs.
RDEE Ontario	Provided employability services to integrate new Francophone immigrants in tourism. Encouraged employers to hire French speakers, including immigrants. Built an inventory of businesses. Delivered employability training workshops. Promoted local employment opportunities to local youth. Advertised job postings. Facilitated local employers to advertise jobs during a trip to Europe. Coordinated the development of human resource tools for RDEE Canada. Established a social enterprise, a recruitment agency.	Promoted francophone tourism, attended tourism summits and developed a tourism product. Promoted agro-tourism and eco-tourism. Initiated and managed agro-tourism products. Secured government funding to develop a strategic and operational plan for a food industry network. Raised awareness about the agriculture sector and available food products. Connected entrepreneurs with economic development players in France. Supported women to start a business plan, purchase a business or access funding. Organized small economic missions for employers. Developed a guide on business succession for social enterprises. Supported business start-ups. Assisted businesses to access micro-credit. Promoted a mentorship program. Organized an international forum on business alliances in natural resource sector.	Contributed to the development of francophone-wide plans on immigration and economic development. Carried out two community self-evaluations. Supported the management of 4 Concertation Tables in 4 regions. Supported the management of the Chamber of Commerce. Devoted efforts to build a francophone house in Toronto.

4.2 Implementation of planned activities

Each contribution agreement signatory identified in its contribution agreement a list of objectives and related activities and sub-activities that were planned for the 2014 to 2017 period. In the quarterly activity reports and annual reports, organizations reported results (outputs and outcomes) by objective and activity/sub-activity identified in the contribution agreement or in a subsequent amendment. Annex C provides detailed summary tables outlining what results were reported as being achieved by contribution agreement signatories in 2014 to 2015 and 2015 to 2016.

Overall, the five organizations devoted efforts to implement the vast majority of their planned activities. Some activities were dropped or failed often due to lack of funding while others were added as opportunities arose. It is noted that some activities are:

Implemented on an ongoing basis such as services to employers and employability services provided through an entity managed by the organization itself.
Related to an event or activity carried out annually while others are related to specific events or projects.

4.3 Contribution to enhancing the development and vitality of communities

The evidence summarized in Table 1 and documented in Annex C demonstrates that activities carried out by the 5 selected organizations contribute to enhancing human resources development, community economic development, community capacity building and to strengthening partnerships.

Activities and reported results demonstrate that the contribution agreement signatories have delivered on expected outputs as outlined in the Enabling Fund logic model (see Appendix A). Consequently, contribution agreement signatories have contributed to ensure that individuals, employers and organizations involved in these activities are better informed, skilled, resourced and served as expected in the program’s immediate outcome.

Within existing limitations, there is a plausible link between the Enabling Fund activities and reported results that contribute to enhancing the development and vitality of OLMC. These limitations are related to the enabling nature of activities, the existence of important external factors and the attribution of reported results solely to efforts devoted by contribution agreement signatories:

Contribution agreement signatories were expected to diversify their funding sources so that they can carry out a wide range of diverse and relevant activities that may not be supported under the Enabling Fund. Table 2 provides an overview of the level of funding received by the five selected organizations from the Enabling Fund in comparison to all other sources. Despite being very relevant to community development and vitality, some activities reported by the selected organizations are not directly funded by the Enabling Fund (for example, integration of immigrants).
The enabling nature of activities carried out by contribution agreement signatories requires that communities undertake further or complementary actions in order to harvest the full benefits of these activities and interventions. This is reflected in the short, medium and long term outcomes of the Enabling Fund that are presented in its logic model:

Immediate outcome: Communities are better informed, skilled, resourced and served.
Intermediate outcome: Communities make use of this increased capacity to strengthen their communities by shaping their Community Economic Development and Human Resources Development.
Ultimate outcome: Communities have sustainable economic and human resource development which contribute to inclusive local labour markets and enhanced community vitality.

External factors can also influence the development and vitality of these communities and can be over and beyond the control of contribution agreement signatories. These factors can include the economic cycle, the level of community infrastructure, socio-economic trends such as youth exodus as well as geographic location of OLMC (rural versus urban).
The document review confirmed that there are ongoing challenges with attributing reported results solely to activities carried out by contribution agreement signatories, especially since they participate in a large and diverse number of activities and initiatives with involvement from other stakeholders.

Table 2. Funding Sources for the five selected contribution agreement signatories

Organization	2014-2015		2015-2016
Organization	Enabling fund	Other sources	Enabling fund	Other sources
CDEM	$520,000	$2,001,157	$545,000	$2,136,136
RDEE Ontario	$2,000,000	$1,144,539	$1,931,711	$1,625,768
CDETNO	$334,000	$577,120	$330,990	$566,746
RDEE IPE	$507,571	$315,501	$484,431	$431,453
CEDEC	$2,664,050	$286,212	$2,544,495	$757,889

Sources: Audited Financial Statements submitted by the five selected contribution agreement signatories.

5. Conclusions

The evaluation evidence presented and discussed in this report demonstrated that objectives and activities pursued and implemented by contribution agreement signatories continue to be aligned with the Enabling Fund objectives and eligible activities.

As well, implemented activities and reported results achieved by contribution agreement signatories contribute to enhancing human resources development, community economic development, community capacity building and to strengthening partnerships. Activities provided do ensure that individuals, employers and organizations involved in these activities are better informed, skilled, resourced and served.

Within existing limitations, the Enabling Fund does contribute to enhancing the development and vitality of OLMC. These limitations are related to the enabling nature of activities and to the existence of important external factors.

6. Recommendations

A total of three recommendations emerge from the evaluation findings. They are as follows:

The quarterly activity reports are required by ESDC for the management of Grants and Contributions and allow ESDC to issue payments over the fiscal year. These activity reports can also be used to inform the extent to which contribution agreement signatories implemented planned activities. Considering the frequency of reporting, there is little added value in terms of reported results (outputs and outcomes). Annual reports can be sufficient to inform performance measurement, program reporting and evaluation activities as long as the reporting of activities and results are validated with contribution agreement signatories. Evaluation staff had to carry out additional research activities in order to understand and fully appreciate the relevance of reported activities and how they are delivered.

Recommendation 1: It is important for ESDC to consider reducing the reporting burden on contribution agreement signatories by balancing the needs between the management of contribution agreements and reporting requirements.
Recommendation 2: It is recommended that program officials continue to carry out an annual validation exercise with contribution agreement signatories regarding their implemented activities and reported results. This is particularly important regarding verifying the number of participants and employers served, the number of individuals assisted in securing an employment, contribution to business and job creation, leveraging investments and clarifying the role played by the organizations in achieving the implementation of reported activities and results. Common definitions for outcomes of interest should be used.

The document review confirmed that objectives and activities pursued and carried out by contribution agreement signatories continue to be aligned with the Enabling Fund objectives and activities that are eligible for funding. This is achieved by design since objectives and activities are validated by program officials at the stage of reviewing the request for funding under the Enabling Fund. The evaluation did not intend to examine the relevance of activities planned and carried out by contribution agreement signatories. However, it was difficult to understand and fully appreciate the relevance and the theory behind the provisions of some activities such engaging youth as young as 8 years old in activities such as business start-up and raising their awareness about entrepreneurship.

Recommendation 3: It is recommended that program official continue to be involved in validating the relevance of activities carried out by contribution agreement signatories. As well, program officials should continue to encourage the sharing of lessons between all contribution agreement signatories regarding the type of activities and delivery approach.

References

Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation. Activity Reports: April-June 2014, July-September 2014, October-December 2014, January-March 2015, April-June 2015, July-September 2015, October-December 2015 and January-March 2016.

Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation. Annual Activity Report 2014 to 2015.

Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba. Activity Reports: April-June 2014, July-September 2014, October-December 2014, January-March 2015, April-June 2015, July-September 2015, October-December 2015 and January-March 2016.

Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba. Annual Activity Report 2014 to 2015.

Conseil de développement économique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest. Activity Reports: April-June 2014, July-September 2014, October-December 2014, January-March 2015, April-June 2015, July-September 2015, October-December 2015 and January-March 2016.

Conseil de développement économique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest. Annual Activity Report 2014 to 2015.

Employment and Social Development Canada. Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities Funding Agreement with Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation: 2014 to 2017. April 2014.

Employment and Social Development Canada. Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities Funding Agreement with Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba: 2014 to 2017. April 2014.

Employment and Social Development Canada. Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities Funding Agreement with Conseil de développement économique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest: 2014 to 2017. April 2014.

Employment and Social Development Canada. Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities Funding Agreement with RDEE Ontario: 2014 to 2017. April 2014.

Employment and Social Development Canada. Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities Funding Agreement with RDEE Île-du-Prince-Édouard: 2014 to 2017. April 2014.

Employment and Social Development Canada. Enabling Fund Performance Measurement Strategy, Skills and Employment Branch. October 2014.

RDEE Île-du-Prince-Édouard. Activity Reports: April-June 2014, July-September 2014, October-December 2014, January-March 2015, April-June 2015, July-September 2015, October-December 2015 and January-March 2016.

RDEE Île-du-Prince-Édouard. Annual Activity Report 2014 to 2015.

RDEE Ontario. Activity Reports: April-June 2014, July-September 2014, October-December 2014, January-March 2015, April-June 2015, July-September 2015, October-December 2015 and January-March 2016.

RDEE Ontario. Annual Activity Report 2014 to 2015.

Appendix A – Logic model

Inputs

Enabling Fund resources made available to support recipient organization’s activities: Contribution funding; Secretariat services for the Network for Economic Action; and expertise in Community Economic Development and Human Resources Development.

Contribution agreements signatories' activities and outputs

Recipient organizations lead, coordinate and/or support community economic development and human resource development in-line with Official Language Minority Communities priorities.

Products (plans, reports, studies, tools)
Engagement (committees, meetings, learning events)
Services (guidance, expertise, training, supports to job seekers)

Immediate outcome

Communities are better informed, skilled, resourced and served.

Intermediate outcome

Communities make use of this increased capacity to strengthen their communities by shaping their Community Economic Development and Human Resources Development.

Ultimate outcome

Communities have sustainable economic and human resource development which contribute to inclusive local labour markets and enhanced community vitality.

ESDC strategic outcome

A skilled, adaptable, inclusive labour force and an efficient labour market.

Appendix B – List of contribution agreements signatories

Province/Territory	Organization
National level	Réseaux de développement économique et d’employabilité Canada
Quebec	Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation
Prince Edward Island	Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité de l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard
Nova Scotia	Le Conseil de développement économique de la Nouvelle-Écosse
Newfoundland and Labrador	Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador
New Brunswick	Conseil économique du Nouveau-Brunswick
Ontario	Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité Ontario
Manitoba	Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba
Saskatchewan	Conseil économique et coopératif de la Saskatchewan
Alberta	Conseil de développement économique de l’Alberta
British Columbia	Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britannique
Yukon	Association Franco-Yukonnaise
Northwest Territories	Conseil de développement économique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest
Nunavut	Carrefour Nunavut

Appendix C – Objectives, activities and reported results for 2014 to 2015, and 2015 to 2016

Table C1: Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba (CDEM)
Objectives and activities	Reported results
Objective 1: Improve the required skills of OLMC in order to address the needs of the labour market in Manitoba.
Allow new immigrants to acquire skills required for the labour market and to find employment.	Provided 11 training sessions to 110 new immigrants in starting a business, taxation, elevator speech and how to manage a meeting effectively.
Provide employability training to OLMC aligned with the needs of the labour market in Manitoba.	Provided 15 Destination Emploi^{Footnote 2} sessions to 138 participants with 90 employed. Premier-Choix^{Footnote 3} agency assisted 11 Persons with Disabilities in 2015. Some found employment. Participation at the 2014 Salon des carrières of the Division Scolaire Franco-Manitobaine with 265 students (grades 9 and 10) in attendance. Participation at the 2015 Espace Emploi: Assisted 28 youth with resume preparation and introduced them to 12 employers.
Develop and encourage partnership in order to continuously develop further knowledge of the Manitoba labour market, provide excellent employment resource services especially in rural areas, and support skills development of youth in OLMC.	Visited 16 bilingual municipalities to develop an inventory of jobs and businesses for sale. Through tracking available jobs in bulletins and social media and its services at Division Scolaire Franco Manitobaine and Saint-Boniface University, CDEM identified the labour market needs in order to determine what training to put in place in trades. Delivered 3 skills development workshops to 112 secondary and postsecondary students and young professionals with the Saint-Boniface Francophone Chamber of Commerce.
Provide strategic support to the francophone training program on specialized trades provided by the University of Saint-Boniface: Summer camps for grades 7 and 8; trade exploration courses for grades 9 and 10 and apprenticeship program for grades 11 and 12.	Delivered 23 Programme Apprentis au Secondaire to 46 students (grades 11 and 12) in 8 schools. Summer Camps on specialized trades attended by 44 participants (grades 7 and 8). Offered 23 courses on trade exploration in 8 schools to 340 students (grades 9 and 10). Surveyed 79 employers and organizations employing 22,000 people in surrounding CDEM communities on attitudes and policies related to green jobs. This will support developing trade training programs.
Objective 2: Improve the economic development capacity of communities to develop and implement planning and priority setting processes as well as economically viable projects.
Develop an integrated strategy for regional development in rural OLMC areas by implementing a pilot project bringing together the main community stakeholders and supported by the network of 14 existing Community Development Corporations of the 17 bilingual municipalities	Environmental scan and survey completed. A project was identified regarding the creation of footpaths with recreation stations in 4 municipalities. An agreement was signed between Santé en français, Société Franco-Manitobaine, Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities and CDEM. A contractor will develop strategic and action plans. The 4 regions have begun by building exercise stations along their paths. The local and advisory committees will continue efforts to ensure the best possible synergy between the partners.
Implement integrated plans on sustainable development. One project per Community Development Corporation (14) will be launched and followed-up by CEDM.	At least 4 rural municipalities joined the Local Action Plan on Climate Change (LAPCC) initiative. Community consultations held in many communities for LAPCC development. Reports drafted or underway in 5 communities. CDEM also attended 3 provincial conventions to promote LAPCC. Greenhouse reduction: established a composting site at De Salaberry Municipality. Discussion with Overton Environmental Enterprises and the Municipality to market the compost end product.
Develop and valorize the tourism sector and promote it to OLMC.	Participation in tourism events across Canada, engagement of international package dealers and distribution of 5,000 handouts. Participation in sales missions to Paris and Lyon, France. Developed an inventory of photography in Manitoba as well as the tourism guide Joie de Vivre (distributed 6,540 copies) and a flyer on camping with 4,000 copies distributed. Supported communities and businesses to develop promotional brochures or marketing (promotional material for tourism attractions/festivals were developed and published in guides and magazines).
Support the development of cooperative movement in Manitoba.	Developed a 5-year strategy and signed an agreement with Manitoba for $200,000/year for 4 years. Put in place 8 Youth Co-operative Services^{Footnote 4} in 2014. Supported the development of 2 Coops.
Provide communication and marketing services to OLMC to promote their projects.	Delivered 40 radio interviews and 14 TV interviews or videos. Developed booklets for communities (for example, St-Malo and St-Lazare). Provided communication and marketing support for businesses.
Objective 3: Stimulate the economic vitality of OLMC through entrepreneurship.
Provide business support and services including developing business plans, access to capital, and activities to stimulate investment, entrepreneurship and partnership development.	CDEM supported and met with 432 business/clients. Supported the creation of 157 businesses and 447 jobs and a leveraging effect of $16,830,750. Businesses created in professional services, retail and day care. CDEM also provided $203,000 in loans that created 67 jobs and generated a leveraging effect of $1,794,000.
Integrate new immigrants in entrepreneurship within OLMC through training and personalized support to start or to purchase a business.	CDEM introduced newcomers to banks, accounting firms and lawyers to facilitate their integration. Business creation/purchase: 36 businesses and 79 jobs created and leveraging effect of $2,488,000
Promote entrepreneurship with youth (grades 3 to 12) through career fairs and by providing entrepreneurship training/awareness workshops in schools.	Entrepreneurship was promoted to 2,478 students (grades 3 to 12) in over 30 schools. Held a workshop with 43 members of the entrepreneurship club of the University Saint-Boniface, and 26 participants in the Volet Jeunesse with the Francophone Chamber of Commerce. Recruited 58 participants for the Jeunes Entreprises du Manitoba program to build financial skills.
Organise, promote and provide activities supporting youth entrepreneurship in OLMC through the creation of Youth Enterprises and organizing camps for young entrepreneurs.	Organized 3 Entrepreneurial Camps^{Footnote 5} with 37 participants at Broquerie and Saint-Jean-Baptiste. The Été en Affaires^{Footnote 6} program had 32 participants and the Fosse aux Lions^{Footnote 7} had 4 participants. Developed and posted on-line courses in various areas (trade, entrepreneurship, financial management, networking, launch a business, product promotion, budget/project planning, etc.).

Table C2. Conseil de développement économique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest (CDETNO)
Objectives and activities	Reported results
Objective 1: Enhance the skills and capabilities of francophone organizations and entrepreneurs in terms of community economic development, human resources development, and planning.
Develop strategic plans and economic development plans.	Held 7 strategic planning meetings with the francophone schoolboard. Provided support to the francophone Association of the MacKenzie Delta in developing a funding application. Held 4 meetings to provide strategic support to the Northwest Territories (NWT) Judo Association.
Deliver development workshops and provide information on funding opportunities and the local labour market in order to build the capacity of start-up businesses.	Held 69 meetings for networking and to provide business assistance to entrepreneurs (support for promotional campaigns, communication strategies, business expansion and start-up). Delivered 1 workshop on entrepreneurship and 1 training session to the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre on the diversification of funding and entrepreneurial culture within community organizations (more than 15 participants). Facilitated a business trip for entrepreneurs from outside the territory, and made 2 presentations on business opportunities in the transportation and mining sectors. Monthly newsletters issued providing information on funding opportunities to about 300 subscribers.
Objective 2: Increase the recruitment and retention of the workforce and stimulate the creation of jobs.
Promote the potential of the francophone labour market in the NWT to qualified workers.	Delivered 18 information sessions to 261 participants. Promoted the NWT in 12 job fairs in Belgium, Montreal, Ottawa and British Columbia to more than 1,833 visitors to the booth. Advertised 5 bilingual jobs for the Government of the NWT. Advertised the faites le saut campaign to attract immigrants to work in NWT (in partnership with Tait Communications and NWT Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment). Participated in meetings and delivered information sessions to share knowledge with employers, other organizations, government bodies, embassy representatives and economic development officers on recruitment. Participated in a focus group held by the Government of the NWT on the Skills 4 Success strategy.
Implement a campaign to educate employers about immigration.	Implemented an advertisement campaign on the new immigration candidate selection system ‘Express Entry’ and the advantages of recruitment through immigration. Sensitised employers on the integration of immigrants.
Organize 2 training workshops on human resources development for employers.	Workshops or sessions were held on conflict resolution, recruitment, governance training, Express Entry, cultural awareness in business and employee retention: 56 participants.
Objective 3: Increase the skills and knowledge of job seekers, including immigrants and youth, for the local labour market and support their process so they quickly find a job and better integrate economically.
Provide assistance to job seekers and young francophone in their job search and integration into the labour market.	Collaboratively delivered job-search and employment workshops to immigrants and their employers. Held 6 networking events in Yellowknife with more than 388 employers and job seekers. Support to job seekers: 168 clients, 257 inquiries from inside and outside the NWT, 114 times the computers were used by job seekers and 17 interview simulations delivered.
Objective 4: Attract the businesses and investors in collaboration with the territorial government and expand the pool of potential sources for investors, entrepreneurs and skilled workers by recruiting and integrating francophone of the NWT.
Develop and maintain local partnerships and develop a plan to find private funding partners.	Assisted with and/or networked at conferences and events organized by partners. Discussed opportunities in the energy or the renewable energy sector with stakeholders including Arctic Energy Alliance and Energy North. Suggested improvements to the Investir aux TNO website of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Engage with economic development groups in the markets identified by the investment attraction strategy and the strategy for attracting conventions and conferences.	Provided the venue for France 3 and TV5 to produce a documentary on the residents of the Canadian North. Made presentations in Calgary, Sudbury, Quebec, and Yellowknife on investment opportunities in the NWT. Participated in the advisory committee of the 2023 Canada Games in Yellowknife. Met with a representative of the Board of Directors of Business Development and Investment Corporation, who offers services similar to those of the CDETNO for Anglophone customers.
Deliver conferences, an ad campaign or economic project and studies on the value chain of the green-energy sector (2014-2015) and mining sector (2015-2016) to the markets identified in the business, investor, and visitor attraction strategies.	Provided information to potential investors and entrepreneurs at the Expat Forum in Paris, the Iqaluit trade show and through CDETNO’s newsletter. Published testimonies of NWT-Francophone workers in a local newspaper in Quebec and on social media. Meetings were held with 12 Albertan entrepreneurs; the CEO of Conseil de développement économique de l'Alberta and 25 NWT businesses, chambers of commerce, and government representatives. Distributed the English executive summary of the NWT Mining Sector Value chain to local stakeholders.
Coordinate and organize the arrival of the new show La Petite Seduction.	Held 8 meetings with the organizing committee and supported the arrival of La petite seduction team in Yellowknife.
Put tools in place for the tourism industry of NWT.	Created 3 tools, translated and updated tourism packages with NWT Tourism. Purchased promotional material: fishing hooks, bags, USBs loaded with tourism information, etc.
Complete a business database.	Created a data base with 42 francophone businesses in the NWT.
Objective 5: Maximize our ties as a member of RDÉE Canada and develop inter-jurisdictional initiatives
Implement a recruitment project as a result of the pan-territorial forum on francophone economic immigration.	Submitted the funding application to CanNor, with Carrefour Nunavut and Association franco-yukonnaise. A work plan for the study on migration and recruitment in the three territories and for the promotional campaign of the three territories was submitted.
Actively participate in RDEE Canada meetings and follow the press releases.	Branches and managers Table: 8 meetings in Ottawa, Moncton and Winnipeg and 19 teleconferences. Community Economic Development Working Group on Economic Issues: 2 teleconferences. Immigration Working Group on Economic Issues: 11 meetings in Prince Edward Island, Toronto and Vancouver. Tourism Working Group on Economic Issues: Attended a meeting in Ottawa. Advisory Committee on National Performance Indicators: 3 in-person meetings and 1 teleconference. Business Services Working Group on Economic Issues: Met in person in Calgary and twice over the phone.
Objective 6: Develop and maintain effective communications in promoting activities, services and initiatives to the francophone community in the NWT, CDÉTNO members and partners and the business community and also strengthen the organizational structure.
Attend the 2015-16 Entrepreneurial Gala.	Participated in the Community Forum of the Franco-tenoise Federation.
Networking activities of CDÉTNO.	Participated in more than 8 events to network and promote NWT. Met with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Employment to discuss partnership on immigration, the Nominee Program, Destination Canada and the activities of Canadian embassies in Paris and Dakar.
Implement our communication plan.	Informed newspapers and radio stations about La petite seduction and CDETNO’s participation in the Destination Canada Job Fair in Paris and Brussels. Made regular posts (including job offers) to and updates on the website calendar and social media. Collected the opinion of CDETNO members on items including economic issues and pan-territorial recruitment.

Table C3. Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (CEDEC)
Objectives and activities	Reported results
Objective 1: Revitalize local economies through community-based planning and project development.
Help 4 communities (Chandler, Barrachois, Port Daniel, and Gaspe) initiate community economic development projects from existing revitalization strategies.	Produced 1 model of revitalization, 4 benchmark community capacity assessments, completed 4 revitalization plans, and received funding for 4 projects (leveraged: $71,000). Held 3 engagement/consultation activities with stakeholders and community members. Developed the entrepreneurial and tour guide skills for 14 individuals through 2 tourism projects.
Assess the feasibility of tourism development in 2 North Shore communities (Kegaska and Blanc Sablon) and assist these communities to leverage investments toward this.	Completed 2 benchmark community capacity assessments and 1 feasibility report; signed 3 partnership agreements; 8-10 workshops, held 3 consultations and 6 meetings; submitted 4 community development project proposals and leveraged $367,000 in funding from partnerships. Served 107 clients and created or filled 2-4 jobs.
Assist Otter Lake to develop two tourism products/events.	Completed 1 benchmark community capacity assessment, 2 events (annual “Homecoming” with 900 visitors) hosted and initial evaluation of first “Homecoming” event undertaken: over $15,000 leveraged in kind and $10,000 in volunteer hours. Facilitated 6 planning committee members to acquire skills in event planning by way of involvement.
Help the community of Grosse-Ile develop a marketing plan.	Completed 1 benchmark community capacity assessment, held meetings to develop partnerships and develop tourism activities, developed 2 tourism packages (virtual tour and heritage experience), hosted 1 open house, and marketing tools created and used in launch of the plan. Served 300 community members, created 1 job (agent), and leveraged $152,725 in partnerships.
Develop a tourism marketing plan for Quebec OLMC from existing tourism strategy.	Completed tourism strategy framework, initiated a tourism action plan and undertook steps in partnerships development including signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Destination Canada.
Produce 9 community economic development and human resource development profiles.	Produced 9 community-level statistical profiles, as well as an overall global analysis.
Objective 2: Stimulate and support small business development for Quebec’s Official Language Minority Community.
Develop and deliver resources that encourage young adults to recognize entrepreneurship as a career option and equip them with the knowledge and skills to start a business.	Designed, piloted, and hosted “Youth Start-Up” workshop series to 27 groups with 278 total participants. Produced 2 reports (Youth Research and ArtWorks Process Guide), delivered 1 virtual workshop and promoted use of the ArtWorks model through 2 community events and meeting with 3 school boards.
Offer networking, information, and professional development opportunities to Quebec entrepreneurs and small business owners, specifically targeting rural/isolated OLMC, women and agricultural entrepreneurs.	Hosted 40 learning webinars and live networking events to over 330 participants; organized 4 Twitter chats and hired a marketing company to better target clientele. Recruited about 130 new members to CEDEC’s Small Business Support Network. Cultivated relationships with 21 partners that contribute content to webinars and provide corporate discounts through the Small Business Support Network.
Objective 3: Strengthen and promote Quebec’s OLMC workforce to improve labour market competitiveness.
Identify and address labour market impediments (employability skills and employer challenges) for educated black youth in Greater Montreal.	Organized 13 meetings, hosted 4 employability skills workshops to 37 participants, conducted a survey of 23 employers and 80 youth, and produced 2 reports. Hired a consultant who drafted an action plan to support educated black youth employment in Montreal.
Develop and implement a social media awareness campaign to promote the value of mature workers in the Quebec labour market.	Signed a partnership agreement with Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling and co-organized a 1-day symposium on mature workers and the labour market to 200 participants. Produced 2 videos, 1 website, and 1 tool kit (press release, online bulletin, newsletters and emails) as part of a social media package and produced 1 follow-up report.
Increase efficiency of rural labour markets through continued development of Seasonal Workers Assessment Model.	Drafted and acquired approval by stakeholders for an agricultural market plan, presented the model to forestry stakeholders, held discussions with key sector stakeholders, signed 2 partnership agreements (1 for data-sharing) and adapted the model for use by the tourism sector.
Organize events to inform and connect employers and OLMC job-seekers in specific labour markets.	Identified labour markets, produced evaluation report and hosted or co-hosted 12 outreach events (tested French second-language skills for 39 job seekers during one event): reached over 900 job seekers and 175 employers through events.
Produce a case study of the Co-Op Vocational Pilot Training Program and assess its reproducibility.	Produced a needs assessment and a profile of the Cree labour force and the human resource needs of the airline industry. Signed Novation Agreement with Office of Literacy and Quebec Essential Learning Alliance to take responsibility for Workplace Essential Skills Co-Op Vocational Training Program to fill skilled positions in high demand sectors.
Develop a Labour Force Development Plan and Strategy for Quebec’s OLMC.	Published a Labour Force Development Strategy concept paper, held stakeholder consultations, conducted surveys, hosted 1 online focus group and launched the Workforce Development Strategy. Signed Memorandum of Understanding with the Canadian Community Economic Development Network and began planning of the national conference.
Objective 4: Increase CEDEC capacity to lead community economic development and human resource development in Quebec’s OLMC.
Develop Performance Measurement Plan for Enabling Fund Agreement.	Created a performance monitoring and management structure, participated in discussions regarding performance management tools and a seminar regarding measurement methods, created a social return on investment framework and a database, completed an analysis of program impact measurement for the mentoring program and supported other programs with measurement. Developed an additional “economic calculator” prototype to measure impact of tourism projects on community cash flow.
Implement the Network for Economic Action for Quebec’s OLMC.	Established collaborative working structure; published a strategic framework for the national coordination of initiatives and held 4 Network for Economic Action executive committee meetings, 8 Network for Economic Action secretariat meetings for strategy and planning development and 2 meetings to develop a Performance Measurement Framework.

Table C4. Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité de l’Île du Prince Édouard (RDEE PEI)
Objectives and activities	Reported results
Objective 1 (Youth Sector): Offer new employment opportunities and sensitization to the labour market while enabling employers to find qualified human resources that meet labour market requirements for the target clientele (under 40 years old).
Establish strong partnerships with provincial and federal governments and private businesses to offer work placements to youth in the sectors in shortage or in demand.	Discussed the PERCÉ^{Footnote 8} program with Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Innovation PEI. Achieved 20 work placements and 25 internships for students.
Deliver sensitization sessions on employment and entrepreneurial opportunities of offering services in French.	Delivered a presentation and pamphlets on the Young Millionaires^{Footnote 9} program to 250 students. Fourteen participants were enrolled and 11 businesses created. Advertised PERCÉ to 144 post-secondary students and potential employers. Delivered Junior Achievement^{Footnote 10} to French-speaking classes on the benefits of speaking a second language.
Deliver youth entrepreneurship and employment programs.	Cooperative Youth Service^{Footnote 11}: 19 youth enrolled (insufficient job opportunities to employ all participants). Dragon Competition^{Footnote 12}: Helped a company to get started and supported the strategy of 3 others.
Objective 2 (Tourism sector): Sensitize the Acadian and Francophone community in PEI of the possibility to develop new tourism products and reinforce existing products.
Facilitate visits of cruise passengers with local tourism businesses.	Met with the Touristic Association of the Évangeline Region president who hired a consultant to work on the cruise project with RDEE PEI – No progress in 2014-2015.
Strengthen the partnership with the Touristic Association of the Évangéline Region.	Hired a consultant to study and develop new tourism products. Collaboratively developed a strategic plan and implemented an action plan: installed bilingual signs in the entrance of the 14 communities of the Évangéline region and participated in 3 tourism trade fairs.
Objective 3 (Immigration sector): Sensitize employers and the francophone community on the importance of francophone immigration to PEI while strengthening the professional capacity of new French-speaking arrivals.
Recruit Working Holiday Visa (WHV) holders.	Partnered with various stakeholders to identify interested WHV holders. Recruited 32 WHV holders looking for jobs in PEI at domestic and international forums.
Sensitize employers on international recruitment and the WHV program.	Sensitized 80 employers through meetings and mobilizing partners: 41 employers were interested to hire. Two WHV holders and 12 immigrants hired through PERCÉ: 4 remained employed after the placement.
Develop a joint mechanism to exchange information between partners involved in the placement of immigrants in PEI’s labour market.	www.liensipe.ca is online tool providing information on economic immigration services in PEI. Established a database of 26 employers with work opportunities and 80 immigrants and WHV holders (with la Coopérative d’intégration francophone de l’Î.-P.-É).
Organize and promote activities related to the National Francophone Immigration Week.	National Francophone Immigration Week took place in November 2014. Hosted 2 roundtables associated with the National Francophone Immigration Week: 50 participants.
Develop a coaching program between immigrants and their work colleagues.	Launched the coaching program with 2 luncheons, in collaboration with partners.
Organize and deliver a national forum on economic immigration in PEI.	Delivered a national Economic Immigration Forum in Brudnell in May 2014. Translated and distributed the Forum’s final report.
Coordinate the work placement for the Professional Repatriation Program.	Work placement completed by 4 participants.
Organize sensitization workshops on immigrant recruitment and integration with employers.	Held 2 dinners at the Canadian Embassies in Paris and Dakar to raise awareness on opportunities of international recruitment from the Francophone workforce (more than 60 attendees).
Put online portal on economic immigration.	Publicized the launch of the website and made ongoing updates.
Objective 4 (Community Economic Development sector): Improve the economic foundation of the Acadian and Francophone community in PEI.
Support community organizations and community governance.	Established the Implementation Committee from the network of PEI’s Francophone organizations. Adopted an action plan to create cooperatives for shared service: set up the finance cooperative. Provided training to presidents and director general for 24 organizations. Set up Shared Finances Administrative Service and hired a director for the Service.
Develop a two-year action plan in community economic development.	Action plan created with a timetable up to 2016. Established an implementation committee.
Co-pilot the tripartite sub-committee of community economic development (of the Francophone resource development committee).	Held 4 meetings to identify the gaps in community economic development services and how to address them.
Organize and participate in learning activities and entrepreneurial networking.	Held 39 networking/learning activities for entrepreneurs and community organizations (1,069 participants). Produced 174 promotional documents (press releases, photos, posters, newsletters, reports, speeches, etc.). Participated in 118 external activities.
Support the renovation planning committee and construction of the Evangeline School.	Identified partners and established the planning committee. Created an action plan in September 2014. Provided funding to hire a consultant to demonstrate a model of a Community Citizenship School.
Support the organizing committee of the 2015 Acadian Games.	Established the organizing committee of the 36th finals of the Acadian Games. Approved budgets. Promoted the event with marketing products and looked for volunteers and sponsors.
Objective 5: Entrepreneurship and Employability.
Start the repatriation program for professionals: PERCÉ.	Offered 5 days of employment support: tours of potential employers, writing a cover letter and CV, etc. Internships completed by 24 participants.
Start the Young Millionaires program.	Promoted the program in all schools of the French Language School Board (292 students). Delivered 3 sessions to the 19 participants (aged 8-13) on small business start-up: 16 businesses created.
Start the Young Businesses program.	The program began at the Évangéline School.
Recruit WHV holders and sensitize employers on international recruiting and the WHV program.	Sensitized 100 employers on the benefits of hiring bilingual and immigrant workers and identified 20 employers who are willing to employ WHV holders: 12 immigrants were hired.
Target employers and entrepreneurs with francophone human resource needs.	Employers have filled 11 vacant positions.
Offer and deliver support to businesses.	Served 43 clients and offered 2 training sessions and 4 information sessions for 242 participants.
Organize a series of activities through the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PEI.	Organized 31 activities (workshops, meetings and networking events) to 1,133 entrepreneurs. Produced 235 promotional tools for various activities: advertising posters, press releases and newsletters. Entrepreneurship Gala was attended by 136 people.
Organize and promote activities for the National Week of Francophone Immigration.	Event held in partnership with the Francophone Community Integration Cooperative and the Cultural Federation of PEI. A round table with 20 participants discussed issues affecting Francophone immigration.
Implement an employment coaching program for new Francophone arrivals.	Matched an immigrant entrepreneur with a local entrepreneur. Delivered a workshop on entrepreneurship to 4 immigrant entrepreneurs.
Coordinate the program PERCÉ immigration.	Placed 13 participants.
Develop and put online a web portal on economic immigration in the province.	Registered 15-25 employers and 15-20 job seekers (WHV holders and immigrants) for the database on www.liensipe.ca.
Coordinate an economic sales mission in Quebec.	Brought 6 entrepreneurs to participate in an economic sales mission in Quebec, meeting at least 6 Quebecois businesses each.
Coordinate the Dragon’s Contest.	Selected 3 finalists to present their project to 100 people: presented the winner with $10,000.
Objective 6: Community Economic Development.
Start the Youth Service Cooperative.	Contracts were filled by 16 co-operative members throughout the summer.
Provide support to the planning, renovation and construction Committee of the Évangéline School.	A consultant presented a feasibility report and a health model to the committee. Met with members of the Board of Directors of the French-language School Board.
Provide support to the organizing committee of the 2015 Acadian Games.	The event was attended by 1,400 athletes and 20,000 spectators in June, 2015. Completed and adjusted balance sheets and submitted reports to donors.
Strengthen the community capacity of Carrefour^{Footnote 13}	Technical support: equipped the school/community centre with Office 365 and developed a new website. Identified strategies for profitability of the cafeteria and theater.
Support the Provincial Community Governance project.	Set up a committee to work on the new comprehensive development plan for the Francophone community.
Tourism.	Offered training to Acadian and Francophone tourism operators on event organization. Delivered a recruitment campaign for the members of the Touristic Association of the Évangéline Region. Took photos and videos for marketing purposes.
Objective 7: Client Analysis and Strategic Alliances.
Strengthen strategic partnerships and alliances.	Participated in 124 activities organized by partners: meetings, trainings, sessions and a national forum.
Collaborate with the various levels of government through the Francophone Resource Development Committee.	Chaired 2 meetings for the community economic development sub-committee.

Table C5. Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité de l’Ontario (RDEE Ontario)
Objectives and activities	Reported results
Objective 1: Understand the challenges and opportunities related to employability and economic development in Ontario’s OLMC.
Conduct community economic development consultations and planning. Identify priorities and implement actions that will address human resources, labour market, entrepreneurship and community economic development needs.	Contributed to the development of a strategic framework to support the francophone economic immigration and the Canadian Plan for Economic Development of OLMC. Built an inventory of employers and workers targeting six Ontario regions. Carried out 2 self-evaluations of OLMC in Peel and Alexandria.
Identify the specific needs of companies by sector in order to recruit the appropriate francophone (bilingual) workforce by conducting a survey and consultations with companies and employability partners.	Provided employability services for new francophone immigrants aiming to integrate them in the tourism industry. Workshops and presentations were delivered to raise awareness about employment opportunities in tourism. Twelve presentations to federal and provincial officials were made and secured partnerships with FedNor, FedDev and the Ontario Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development. A request for funding submitted to ESDC (Literacy and Essential Skills) for $419,400. Attended meetings and supported the management of four Tables de Concertation in Windsor-ESSEX Chatham-Kent; Peel, Dufferin and Welland; London and Glengarry: Discussed issues related to economic development, francophone participation and immigration.
Identify inequalities in order to encourage the active offer of products and services in French, and of equal quality by economic development partners (self-assessment of OLMC).	Working on establishing partnerships with the Community Futures Development Corporations^{Footnote 14} in Ontario and implementing joint projects (especially in Northern Ontario). Tourism development: RDÉE Ontario reorganized its website to promote francophone tourism. The organization participated in three tourism summits in Ontario and planning for a project entitled Route Champlain de l’Ontario. As well, RDÉE Ontario plans to re-launch the organization Voyages Ontario. RDÉE Ontario is working with the Francophone Association of Ontario Municipalities in order to encourage inter-municipality twinning between francophone Ontario and francophone Europe.
Objective 2: Fill the gaps in employability and economic development through a plan and services to meet supply and demand, and by equipping and improving the performance of organizations, firms and entrepreneurs while reducing the gap between them and the opportunities.
Provide a full range of services in order to adapt the available labour force to the labour market (La Bonne affaire, Emploi Toronto and Place aux jeunes).	RDÉE Ontario provided a range of services to adapt the labour force to the labour market: Emploi Toronto: Raising awareness among English- and French-speaking employers about the importance of hiring French-speaking workers from France through the Emploi Toronto office managed by RDEE Ontario in partnerships with the Consulate General of France in Toronto and the French Department of Foreign Affairs: Raised awareness of 839 candidates and placed 233 immigrants with an employer. Raised awareness of 556 candidates at the Salon Forum Expat in Paris and the Centre Culturel Canadien during two Destination Canada visits to Paris and Bruxelles. Delivered 33 workshops or training activities to 340 participants. Place aux Jeunes (Explore tes options) in Prescott-Russell, Windsor/London and Hearst/ Kapuskasing/ Cochrane/ Iroquois Falls: Coordinate regional efforts to retain francophone youth. Activities included: Engaging youth in schools about their communities and organizing exploratory visits for youth involving regional partners and employers. For example, exploratory visits were held with 52 young graduates from Ottawa, Toronto, Sudbury and North Bay to raise their awareness about labour market needs in Hearst, Cochrane and Kapuskasing (involving 30 employers and 30 partners). Develop a database with the list of graduates and send weekly e-mails indicating employment opportunities in their home communities. Posting jobs on Facebook and producing videos of returning youth. La Bonne Affaire: Raising employers’ awareness about hiring French-speaking immigrants: Delivered employability training to 1,136 individuals. Placed 272 francophone immigrants with employers (may duplicate the placements reported under Emploi Toronto). Raised awareness (job fairs, meetings and awareness sessions) about RDÉE employability programs with over 1593 employers and about the advantages of hiring qualified and bilingual immigrants. Received 105 job offers in various sectors: hotels, IT, Finance and client support. Destination Canada: Held 2 Destination Canada sessions in Toronto and North Bay with 51 employers in fall 2014. Facilitated 5 employers from Ontario to participate in 2 visits to Europe with a list of 15 job offers. Pre-Depart Project: An agreement between RDÉE Canada and Ontario to coordinate the project across 12 P/Ts. Developing many human resources tools (C.V., interview preparation, pan-Canadian study on sectors in expansion and employment prospects and guides for labour market integration of immigrant women and youth). Presentations in PEI, Edmonton, Metropolis conference and virtual job fairs.
To enable organizations to acquire the skills and resources needed to undertake and succeed in employability and economic development initiatives through coaching services and capacity development.	Selected activities carried out by RDÉE Ontario in 2014 and 2015 include (initiatives on hold are excluded): Programmation agro-touristique in Welland: Implemented activities to value francophone entrepreneurs at the 2014 congress of the Francophone Association of Ontario Municipalities regarding agro-tourism. Initiated and managed 3 agro-tourism products: foire gourmande and 2 tourism circuits in the Niagara region. Le Reseau agroalimentaire de l’Est et du Centre Sud-Ouest: Aims to support the establishment of a food industry network in the Centre South-East Region of Ontario and to increase the marketing, and production of products. A detailed list of visits, meetings and networking were reported. Secured funding from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs ($19,905) and FedDev ($47,000) to develop a vision, mission and strategic plan for the Network as well as an operational commercial plan (completed and submitted to FedDev). Creating a repertoire of Francophone entrepreneurs in the Food Industry. Place aux Femmes in management positions within OLMC: The project aims to understand the challenges and identify strategies to improve access to Francophone and Acadian women to management positions in their communities (with RDÉE Canada and 2 other RDÉEs). Delivered 9 training sessions in 2015 to 89 women in Toronto, Ottawa, Oshawa and Durham. Assisted 31 women to develop their action plan by phone. Missions économiques alliances d’affaires: Organized small economic missions with employers. Nine participants attended Futurallia 2014 and met 13 to 14 businesses each. As well, a Municipal Exploratory Mission was organized and 6 participants went to France (3 regions) to meet with economic development players. Working on building a list of municipalities interested in building alliances with French municipalities. Community outreach project in North Bay: The project aims to create a sense of belonging and pride and to stimulate participation in and contribution to economic development in North Bay. Held 3 networking suppers with 174 participants. Provided 130 businesses with stickers indicating that they provide services in French. Expansion plan for the chamber of commerce of Nipissing West: Assisted with internal organization, planning and communications to increase membership and allow for the long term survival of the Chamber. Missions économiques agroalimentaires in Bas St-Laurent: Visited the Centre de développement bioalimentaire du Québec with the Société d'Aide au développement de la collectivité (CADC) du Kamouraska. Business succession: Project established to meet urgent needs in Northern Ontario. Symposium held in October 2014 with 110 participants. A guide on business succession for social enterprises was developed. Access to micro-credit for francophone businesses in South Ontario: Assisted in securing funding for business plan development. Raised awareness of 650 potential applicants (Toronto, Brampton and Mississauga) to funds available through the Foundation Franco-Ontarienne (FedDev). Assisted 35 applicants. Produits locaux eco-huronie: Support the development of a learning centre for the production of organic food, raising awareness about health foods and encouraging agro-tourism and eco-tourism activities. La route des Francophones (Windsor-Essex): Develop tourism products and partnerships in Windsor-Essex Chatham-Kent. Planning to open the Community Museum of Windsor. City of Windsor will invest $126,000 to repair/modernize the museum. An exposition was opened in December 2015 “Racines françaises de Windsor”. Maison de la Francophonie de Toronto: Objective to purchase a building in Toronto and seeking funding from Federal/provincial governments. An amount of $22M is needed. A lobbyist was hired. The project committee held 22 meetings. Meetings with Ontario and Toronto public figures to get support for the project. Partnership between PARO and RDÉE Ontario: PARO provides services in business development for francophone women in Northern Ontario. Presented the program to 150 women in Kapuskasing in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Enterprise Center of Timmins. Supported 7 women to start a business plan or to purchase a business and 4 to access funding. Vision africana 2000: Support the establishment of a music studio for young immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area. Opened on April 10, 2015 and 50 youth are subscribed.
Encourage companies to act differently, in order to grow and succeed, by offering opportunities for exchanges and coaching at the level of business alliances (forums and exploratory missions).	List of key projects/activities include: Réseau M: A business mentorship program in Ontario. Developed a marketing strategy and promoted the program at many meetings and events, and to communities. Efforts were devoted to recruit and train mentors. Mentorship cells established in Toronto, North Bay and Nipissing West. Presentation in North Bay (114 participants) and Rivière-des-Français (95 participants). Presented Réseau M to CADC Timmins, Kapuskasing, Kirkland Lake, South Temiskaming and Hearst. Naturallia 2015: International forum on business alliances in natural resource sector organized by RDÉE Ontario and held in Sudbury from November 11 to 13, 2015 with 200 participants from 150 businesses, 12 countries and 7 provinces. $400,000 in funding secured along with $202,650 in-kind. Recruitment activities held in Canada, Latin America, Europe and Africa. THETIS international: A social enterprise of RDÉE Ontario. Website of recruitment agency (service for fees) that provides access to C.V.s (2,600) and competencies of bilingual candidates and post jobs. Social enterprise vice versa: A social enterprise of RDÉE Ontario providing simultaneous interpretation, translation, location of equipment and organization of big events. Services were used by 60 clients for $37,000. Ecorismo project: Ecorismo brings together solutions in sustainable development or in corporate social responsibility related to the long-term profitability of the company. RDÉE Ontario is working with RDÉE Canada to implement the project with a focus on tourism. Presented the project to 300 participants at an international conference to launch the network of Francophone cities in North America. Proposal for partnership with the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario was submitted.
Encourage the entrepreneur to acquire skills that will enable them to be at the forefront of challenges, innovation, expansion and strategic alliances by offering workshops in partnership with business development actors.	Retention and expansion of the commercial sector in Nipissing West region: Multi-year project aiming to enhance local markets by ensuring sustainability and growth opportunities. Key activities: Held 3 business gatherings for 121 participants. A study on businesses opportunities and gaps was completed and presented to the community. Raised awareness of 300 individuals about the agriculture sector and available food products. Agriculture committee meetings held to plan for the “Festin à la Ferme” event in August 2016 and a regional symposium in March 2016 in Sturgeon Falls (97 farmers and stakeholders attended). Development of a business climate in Rivière-des-Français: Evaluate business needs and develop tools to help them. Built a database with 177 businesses in the area. Organized a forum of donors with 42 businesses in attendance. Provided 6 entrepreneurial courses to 6 youth on business planning, marketing, segmentation, targeting markets, prototyping and presentation technics. Organized a training session on Social Media to businesses. Trained 31 participants on how to increase visibility using social media and how to present their products. RDÉE Ontario is working to influence the programming of the Legacy Conference in Ottawa which is attended by 600 to 800 student entrepreneurs in Canada.
Objective 3: Building trust and collaboration among organizations, businesses, governments, and the community to foster the inclusion of all in the growth of communities.
Create mutually beneficial collaborations for RDÉE Ontario, its clients and partners. Encourage sustainable partnerships in communities to ensure the success of initiatives.	RDÉE organized a small and medium size business gala in Toronto with 180 participants (60 businesses). Provided information sessions to employers on growth through strategic alliances. Four sessions held in North Bay (50 participants). Participated in a working group on economic issues related to the Canadian Francophone economy. Forum of donors for the Prescott-Russell fund: create a concept of forum of donors in order to provide the communities with the tools needed to submit requests for funding and to manage funds received. Forum held in October 2014 in Alfred with 80 participants and 10 donors.

Footnotes

Footnote 1

This section copies freely from the Enabling Fund Performance Measurement Strategy prepared by Employment Programs and Partnerships Directorate of the Skills and Employment Branch on October 2014.

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Footnote 2

Destination Emploi is a 9-week course. Participants are paid minimum wage for the duration of the program which includes 4 weeks of classroom training and on-the-job work experience. They learn how to write a resume, prepare a cover letter, acquire skills needed to succeed at job interviews and find employment.

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Footnote 3

Premier Choix is a non-profit agency that helps French speaking youth to develop employment skills in order to find and maintain an employment.

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Footnote 4

Cooperative Youth Services regroup young people with the aim of setting up a cooperative. Participants, from the ages of 12 to 17, learn the basic cooperative principles.

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Footnote 5

An Entrepreneurial Camp has one week in duration and aims to introduce youth between the ages of 9 and 13 to some of the basic principles of entrepreneurship. Participants must write a business plan, secure financing to start a business, create a product and then sell it at a local event such as a festival.

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Footnote 6

The Été en affaires program provides French speaking university students with hands on experience of entrepreneurship by helping them start their own business. CDEM experts help students start up a business and offer advice throughout the summer in order to optimize their success.

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Footnote 7

The Fosse aux Lions is a contest to foam up the entrepreneurial fiber and publicize the participant’s product, business idea or expansion project

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Footnote 8

PERCÉ is an internship program targeting post-secondary students from an institution outside of PEI to complete a week of orientation and a 12 week placement in PEI.

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Footnote 9

Young Millionaires provides children aged 8 to 13 with the financial resources and support they need to start their own small summer business over the summer.

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Footnote 10

Junior Achievement introduces young people to the basics of entrepreneurship.

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Footnote 11

Cooperative Youth Services teaches young people the basic cooperative principles and allows them to manage the cooperative, offering small services to the community.

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Footnote 12

The Dragon Competition offers $10,000 to the French-speaking participant with the winning business proposal.

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Footnote 13

Carrefour provides adult education.

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Footnote 14

Community Futures Development Corporations are community-based, non-profit organizations managed by a board of local volunteers and staffed by professionals who encourage entrepreneurship and the pursuit of economic opportunity leading to jobs, growth and prosperity.

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Date modified:: 2022-04-19

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