Final benchmarking report on the handling of sensitive and personal information: chapter 1

1. Introduction

In 2013, the Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) Corporate Services Branch (CSB), in collaboration with the Corporate Secretariat, conducted an assessment of practices related to the handling of sensitive and personal information. The assessment led to recommendations that could be quickly implemented, followed by several management actions. Senior management also mandated the Audit and Evaluation Branch (AEB) to conduct a benchmarking study to compare ECCC’s staffing and procurement processes with those of other departments of similar size and mandates. This project was therefore included in 2013 Risk-Based Audit Plan approved by the Deputy Minister, upon recommendation of the External Audit Advisory Committee.

The results of this study will form part of the overall Review of Privacy Management conducted by the AEB.

The purpose of this report is to present the findings of the benchmarking.