Departmental Results Report 2017-2018

ISSN 2560-9238

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Message from the Minister

In 2017, Canada 150 celebrations gave rise to projects and activities all across the country. Over the course of that landmark year, the organizations in the Canadian Heritage portfolio—including the National Film Board of Canada (NFB)—invited Canadians to learn more about their culture and heritage, to reflect on their future, and to journey down the path of reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. In keeping with their own mandates, they also promoted Canadian creativity in a digital world, as well as the vitality of our official languages and Indigenous languages and cultures.

The NFB continued its long-standing tradition of innovation and creative risk-taking, producing acclaimed works that explored new ways of storytelling while examining the many facets of Canadian identity and experience. Examples include: Legacies 150, a series of 13 interactive photo-essays on the themes of legacy and inheritance; Beyond Ice, an installation featured at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa; Aabiziingwashi (Wide Awake): NFB Indigenous Cinema on Tour, a cross-Canada tour of public screenings; and Expo 67 Live, a multiscreen experience at the Place des Arts Esplanade in Montréal. These projects are a testament to the NFB’s commitment to reach and forge connections with a diverse

Guided by its mandate as Canada’s public producer and distributor, the NFB also pursued its key objective of creating an audiovisual sector that better reflects Canadian society. In addition to being on the verge of achieving gender parity in both the number of productions and the allocation of production budgets, the NFB concluded the first year of its Three-Year Indigenous Action Plan, increasing overall production spending on projects by Indigenous artists and launching a new Indigenous Cinema page at NFB.ca.

As Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, I am pleased to present the 2017–18 Departmental Results Report for the National Film Board of Canada. This report offers an overview of what the NFB has accomplished, and demonstrates its ongoing efforts to build a society in which diversity is a strength and everyone is able to contribute in a respectful and inclusive atmosphere.

The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez

Commissioner’s Message

Drawing on the talent of our creators, technical crews, and producers, as well as the expertise of our staff, the NFB continues to produce vital, powerful, and original works, while maintaining the highest artistic standards and doing our utmost to reach a broad segment of the public. We fulfil our mandate best when our productions connect with audiences and are seen and appreciated by thousands—even millions—of people, both in Canada and around the world.

In this respect, 2017–2018 was an exceptional year that saw the completion of 72 works, with more than 68 million views of NFB titles domestically and internationally. Of these views, close to 1.2 million were the result of public screenings, including those held as part of the Aabiziingwashi (Wide Awake) Indigenous cinema tour, which travelled to hundreds of Canadian communities and has been a resounding success.

The NFB participated in important Canadian commemorations last year. We were particularly active in marking the 150th anniversary of Confederation and the 375th anniversary of Montreal with major works that shone a spotlight on Canadian identity, in all its diversity, and on the values that Canadians hold dear.

Our productions, our creative approach to distribution, and our institutional commitments may shake up industry conventions, but they’re also changing the ways we act and think within our own organization. I would like to commend the enthusiasm shown by all NFB staff with respect to our commitments to gender parity and re-defining our relationships with Indigenous people. These commitments are already yielding positive, concrete results. Gender parity has been all but achieved at the NFB, both in terms of number of productions (42% directed by women) and allocation of production budgets (46% to works by women). In addition, the report on the progress made in the first year of our three-year Indigenous Action Plan has been encouraging. Overall spending on projects by Indigenous artists has increased to 10%, and the NFB has launched a new Indigenous Cinema web page at NFB.ca.

The report you are about to read offers an overview of what the NFB achieved in 2017–2018. Our work has two overriding goals: to reflect and represent the diversity of the many cultures and voices that make up Canada, while taking into consideration the growing diversity of our audiences; and to provide the space and freedom to create and take risks—conditions that lie at the heart of any creative institution. Throughout the long history of the NFB, these goals have always been both complementary and inextricably linked.

Claude Joli-Coeur
Government Film Commissioner
and Chairperson of the National Film Board of Canada

Results at a glance

 

2017–2018 Actual Spending 2017–2018 Human Resources
$67.3 million dollars 389 full time equivalents

Pursue excellence and innovation in audiovisual production: In 2017–2018, the NFB launched 72 projects, comprising 54 original films, three websites, one app, and 14 immersive experiences (eight installations, three virtual reality works, one augmented reality app, and two 360-degree films).

The NFB produced several projects to highlight the 150th anniversary of Confederation, including: Legacies 150, a series of interactive photos essays exploring the themes of legacy and inheritance; 1 Nation, 4 Lenses, special programming on NFB.ca | ONF.ca inviting Canadians to explore their identity; and Beyond Ice, an installation featured in the Canadian Museum of Nature’s new Canada Goose Arctic Gallery. The NFB also launched Aabiziingwashi (WideAwake): Indigenous Cinema on Tour, a cross-Canada tour of events and public screenings showcasing some of the most impressive and moving titles from the NFB’s collection of films directed by Indigenous filmmakers since 1968.

The NFB offered value-added content on many different platforms, leading to greater communication and more interaction with larger audiences. The result was a 31% increase in the number of views compared to the previous year, across all platforms, for a total of 68 million views in Canada and around the world. The organization also formed new partnerships in both digital and physical spaces as a means of increasing visibility and reaching new audiences. Examples include a collaboration with the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium at Space for Life on the fulldome production Kyma, Power of Waves (Kyma, ondes en puissance); with Radio-Canada and Place des Arts on the multi-screen experience Expo 67 Live; and with the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal on the I Heard There Was a Secret Chord installation.

The NFB continued planning for the relocation of its head office, a key component of a series of initiatives intended to modernize the organization and help it manage change. To coordinate activities related to the move and ensure an optimal planning process that covers all the elements of this complex undertaking, the NFB established a governance structure made up of 15 working groups.

For more information on the NFB’s plans, priorities and results achieved, see the “Results: what we achieved” section of this report.

 

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

Raison d’être

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) was created by an Act of Parliament in 1939 and is a federal agency within the Canadian Heritage portfolio. The NFB’s mandate is to produce and distribute original and innovative audiovisual works that add to our understanding of the issues facing Canadians and raise awareness of Canadian values and viewpoints across the country and around the world. Over the decades, it has become the standard for audiovisual innovation in Canada and plays an important role by highlighting the changes and key events in Canadian society.

As a producer and distributor of audiovisual works, the NFB fulfills an essential role by providing a unique perspective on Canada’s cultural wealth and diversity. The NFB explores contemporary social issues through point-of-view documentaries, auteur animation and interactive content. Today, the NFB’s artists and artisans continue to lead the way with advances in form and content in audiovisual production. 

Mandate and role

As Canada’s public producer and distributor of audiovisual works, the NFB documents the history and culture of the nation for both domestic and international audiences. Over the past 75 years, the NFB has produced more than 13,000 works and received more than 7,000 awards, inspiring and influencing generations of filmmakers in Canada and across the globe. Its audiovisual works offer special insight into the diversity and vitality of our culture and are an essential part of our national heritage.

The NFB is governed by the
National Film Act and a series of other statutes, including the
Financial Administration Act (which sets out the government’s financial administration structure and process), the
Access to Information Act, the
Privacy Act, the
Official Languages Act and the
Canadian Multiculturalism Act.

As a producer, the NFB carries out its responsibilities by constantly investing in new creative fields in documentary, auteur animation and interactive media. It seizes the artistic and technological opportunities that arise in the media landscape and collaborates with emerging and established filmmakers, creators and co-producers in every region of Canada, with Aboriginal and culturally diverse communities as well as partners around the world. Creativity and social relevance are the core features of its productions.

The NFB fulfills its role as a distributor by making sure that both Canadian and international audiences have access to its Canadian content and are able to interact with it on a variety of traditional and virtual distribution networks.

For more general information about the NFB, see the “Supplementary information” section of this report. For more information on the department’s organizational mandate letter commitments, see the Minister’s mandate letter.

Operating context and key risks

Operating context

 

The key trends in the audiovisual industry have been documented for several years. The most recent findings for Canada1 show that Canadians are increasingly likely to turn to online platforms and connected devices to access the video and audio content that interests them. The proliferation of digital platforms, rapid development of new technologies, and availability of a near-infinite array of content are some of the realities that impact the NFB’s ability to fulfil its mandate. As a result, the NFB must continually adapt and innovate in terms of how it produces, promotes and makes content accessible to different audiences.

Beyond these priorities, the NFB continued to prepare for the relocation of its headquarters to Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles entertainment district, now slated for spring 2019. Relocating the conservation room, which houses the NFB’s heritage collection archives and preservation activities, will pose a notable challenge in the upcoming fiscal year. Business continuity will be a critical issue, since significant human and financial resources will be needed to carry out the project within an already constrained budgetary context.

The NFB has also focused its operations on ongoing government priorities and various initiatives to modernize the federal public service. Examples included the NFB’s contribution to the Creative Canada initiative, diversity and inclusion, and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, in addition to developing action plans in response to the results of the NFB’s core control audit and carrying out a migration to the new Systems Applications and Products (SAP) management system. These initiatives have all required additional resources.

Key Risks

In July 2017,2 the NFB updated its Corporate Risk Profile, which identifies the various risks affecting the NFB’s capacity to fulfil its mandate and meet its strategic objectives. The table below identifies the three most critical risks for 2017–2018 and upcoming years, as well as the recommended mitigation measures.

Key Risks
Risks Mitigating strategy and effectiveness Link to the department’s Programs Link to mandate letter commitments and any governmentwide or departmental priorities
Inability to reach audiences
  • Develop and implement the programming strategy
  • Define a new digital content and accessibility strategy
  • Develop innovative partnerships with major public and private institutions
  • Audiovisual production
  • Accessibility and audience engagement
  • Internal services
Fulfilment of the NFB’s mandate
Innovation and digital universe
Inadequate technology
  • Implement the 2016–2020 Technology Plan
  • Implement the 2017–2022 Investment Plan
  • Audiovisual production
  • Accessibility and audience engagement
  • Internal services
Innovation and digital universe
No business continuity plan (particularly in light of the 2018–2019 head office relocation)
  • Implement a business continuity plan
  • Audiovisual production
  • Accessibility and audience engagement
  • Internal services
Fulfilment of the NFB’s mandate

 

Inability to reach audiences

One risk is the potential failure of NFB-produced content to find its audiences (and vice versa); another is ending up with programming inadequate to today’s business context—see the section entitled “Operating Context.” As a mitigating measure, the NFB is pursuing audience-development initiatives across the country, backed by targeted plans like its programming strategy (entitled “Vision Statement for Creation at the NFB”) and digital-content strategy. Offering distinctive and bold programming and boosting the NFB’s presence on digital platforms are key to our strategies for reaching more viewers.

Inadequate technology

The risk of lagging behind in terms of technological tools and systems is directly proportional to the speed with which today’s technologies evolve. If the NFB is to remain an environment that’s conducive to innovation, then a flexible, modern infrastructure is required, one that can support emerging methods of production and distribution (e.g., 4K, high-dynamic-range imaging [HDR], virtual reality, etc.). For a number of years now, the organization has managed this risk through its 2016–2020 Technology Plan.

No business continuity plan

The risk of a major interruption to business continuity will remain a key concern for the next three years. This is primarily due to the relocation of the NFB’s head office and its associated workforce of 334 employees, which includes creation, production, distribution and audiovisual technical services employees. We are currently putting together a solid business continuity plan to help us adapt to this specific situation.

 

Results: what we achieved

Programs

Program 1.1: Audiovisual Production

Description

This program contributes to Canadians’ understanding of the issues facing our country and raises awareness of Canadian viewpoints around the world.

As a public sector producer, the NFB produces original audiovisual works that reflect diverse Canadian perspectives, including cultural, regional and Indigenous, and emanate from the diverse creators and communities that make up the country. This program operates where the private sector doesn’t, allowing creators to explore artistic and technological advances in form and content. It also ensures the identification, development and nurturing of talent and creative skills, within filmmaking and other creative communities.

NFB programming is necessary to ensure that Canadians have access to diverse voices and content in both official languages. It promotes Canadian culture and values in events of national historic and cultural significance. As Canadians’ media consumption migrates online, the NFB provides leadership in the creation of innovative digital content in both official languages.
Production activities include the conceptualization, research, development and production of documentaries, animation films, new media content and other emerging forms.

Results

In 2017–2018, the NFB began to develop its Vision Statement for Creation, the goal of which is to cement the NFB’s leadership role in the audiovisual industry through the production of bold works that engage the public and push the boundaries of technological innovation. This new vision will be one of the pillars upon which the organization bases its upcoming strategic plan.

A diversity of Canadian stories and perspectives

As Canada’s public producer and distributor, the NFB plays a unique role within the rich mix of communities that make up the country, working with creators and partners in every region to support alternative points of view, and thereby helping to remove barriers that might prevent these diverse cultures and linguistic minorities from achieving empowerment.

As a cultural institution within the public service, the NFB has positioned itself as a leader through specific commitments to achieve parity between men and women. In 2017–2018, 42% of its productions were directed by women, with 46% of production expenses allocated to projects headed by female filmmakers and artists. In 2017, the organization extended its leadership in this area, committing to gender equality in key creative positions for documentary, interactive, and animation projects by 2020. The targeted positions include editing, cinematography, scriptwriting, and music composition.

In June 2017, the NFB announced its 2017–2020 Indigenous Action Plan, which seeks to redefine its relationship with Indigenous peoples. Among the concrete initiatives carried out in 2017–2018 were the Revealing Urban Indigeneity project, for which the NFB collaborated with the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC) to produce five short documentaries about the cultural experience of Indigenous people, and a partnership between the NFB and APTN (announced in February 2018), whose objective was to strengthen the contribution of Indigenous creators and peoples to the audiovisual industry.

Creation and innovation

In 2017–2018, the NFB launched 72 projects, comprising 54 original films, three websites, one app, and 14 immersive experiences (eight installations, three virtual reality works, one augmented reality app, and two 360-degree films).

The NFB won 154 awards (65 domestically and 89 internationally), its best performance in the last 10 years. Animation works garnered 90 awards, or more than 60% of the total number received by the organization as a whole. For their part, websites earned six awards, while apps won three and installations took home five. NFB representatives were honoured with six homages and distinctions for their extraordinary contributions to cinema.

Documentary film

In 2017–2018, the NFB produced or co-produced 32 documentary films exploring a diverse range of Canadian and international social issues. Notable examples include Samara Grace Chadwick’s first feature documentary, 1999 (Parabola Films, in co-production with Beauvoir Films and the NFB). La 3e roue (The 3rd Wheel), a 360-degree short documentary directed by 2016 Tremplin competition winner André Roy, premiered at the Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC) in Montreal before being launched on the NFB’s online platforms, where it met with great success—reaching nearly two million people on Facebook. Our People Will Be Healed, the 50th film in Alanis Obomsawin’s 50-year career, is the latest in a cycle of documentaries in which she explores the rights of First Nations people in Canada. The film was included in the 17th Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival, a prestigious annual collection of the country’s best short and feature-length films. The same list included Unarmed Verses by Charles Officer, which was also named best Canadian feature documentary at the 2017 Hot Docs film festival and best Canadian documentary at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Luc Bourdon’s feature documentary La part du diable (The Devil’s Share) premiered at the FNC and screened in 15 theatres across Quebec over a nine-week period, drawing close to 9,000 viewers.

Animated films

The NFB plays a leading role in producing auteur animation. Nineteen animated films were completed in 2017–2018, including 10 co-productions. Patrick Bouchard’s animated short Le sujet (The Subject) was selected for the 50th Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, which took place in May 2018. The film Shaman marks the animation debut of Labrador Inuit artist Echo Henoche, and her first collaboration with the NFB.

Oscar winner Torill Kove delivered her fourth animated short, Threads, co-produced with Norway’s Mikrofilm. The film screened at numerous festivals and was also included in the 17th annual Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival. In addition, Manivald, directed by Chintis Lundgren and co-produced with Estonia and Croatia (NFB/Adriatic Animation/Chintis Lundgreni Animatsioonistuudio), won nine awards, including Audience Choice Program A at the New York City Short Film Festival and best script at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.

Experimental and immersive works

Our studios across the country have been taking advantage of the potential offered by new technologies and platforms to tell stories and draw new audiences to NFB works—whether through installations, the immersive virtual reality and augmented reality formats, or 360-degree cinema. Here are some examples:

The NFB has also established innovative partnerships with museums, foundations, public institutions, and cultural spaces. These partners share the NFB’s passion for new narrative forms and public engagement, and the partnerships have resulted in several notable projects. Directed by Philippe Baylaucq, Ingenia (Ingénia), produced in collaboration with the Canada Science and Technology Museum, is an architectural LED projection seen on the museum’s façade and entrance arch. Baylaucq also directed Kyma, Power of Waves (Kyma, ondes en puissance), the NFB’s first original fulldome production; it was produced in collaboration with the Space for Life Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium. Finally, the participatory experience I Heard There Was a Secret Chord, whose title comes from the first line of Leonard Cohen’s anthemic song “Hallelujah,” was both an online experience (asecretchord.com) and an installation in the Leonard Cohen – Une brèche en toute chose/A Crack in Everything exhibition at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal.

Nurturing new talent

The NFB is an incubator for talent and innovation for young Canadian creators. In 2017–2018, the organization worked with emerging directors from every region of the country; they were responsible for 40% of works released last year.

Furthermore, the NFB established a series of initiatives that enabled it to discover and develop new talent across the country, including in locations beyond the major production centres.

The new Doc Lab Saskatchewan initiative, a collaboration with the Saskatchewan Filmpool Cooperative and Creative Saskatchewan aimed at Saskatchewan-based emerging documentary directors, highlighted the talents of three filmmakers from the province: Louise BigEagle (To Wake Up the Nakota Language [Nakón-wįcó’i’e oǧų́ǧa]), Eric Thiessen (Talking at Night), and Kristin Catherwood (Ride).

In November 2017, the NFB, in collaboration with Radio-Canada, launched the 10th edition of the cross-Canada Tremplin competition in Moncton. Tremplin is aimed at emerging francophone filmmakers from minority French-language communities, and since its inception in 2006, 94 finalists have completed training workshops and 27 films have been made.

The NFB laid the groundwork for the 12th edition of Hothouse, an apprenticeship program for emerging Canadian animators. The 2018–2019 edition of Hothouse will feature a focus on Indigenous filmmakers. The studio also completed two productions by alumni of the program: Freaks of Nurture, by Alexandra Lemay, and Caterpillarplasty, by David Barlow-Krelina. Hothouse has helped launch the careers of some of Canada’s top animators.

A meaningful relationship with the people of Canada and the rest of the world

Over the course of its 79 years, the NFB has captured key moments in the history of Canada and told stories originating from every region of the country. NFB projects highlighting the 150th anniversary of Confederation, the 375th anniversary of the city of Montreal, and the centennial of the Battle of Vimy Ridge offered all Canadians an opportunity for greater understanding, an appreciation of history, and a chance to reflect on the future.

For more details on the launch of these projects, please consult Program 1.2 results.

 

Results achieved
Expected results Performance indicators Target Date to achieve target 2017–18
Actual results
2016–17
Actual results
2015–16
Actual results
The NFB’s audiovisual works are innovative Percentage of Canadian public that perceives the NFB as an innovative, creative institution 70% innovative
80% creative
March 31, 2018 79% innovative
90% creative
79% innovative
90% creative
70% innovative
81% creative
Percentage of prestige awards and tributes among total number of awards earned at Canadian and international festivals3 25% March 31, 2018 30% 29% 21%
Emerging and established Canadian creators at the NFB reflect Canada’s diversity Percentage of completed audiovisual works by emerging filmmakers4. 30% March 31, 2018 40% 49% 25%
Numbers of emerging filmmakers working on a film at the NFB or participating in NFB-organized talent-nurturing initiatives, including competitions 140 March 31, 2018 144 142 141
Percentage of completed audiovisual works by culturally, regionally and linguistically diverse filmmakers, Indigenous filmmakers and people with disabilities 55% March 31, 2018 59% 58% 64%
Events of historic and cultural significance promoting Canadian culture and values include NFB participation Number of productions for major national and international projects 13 March 31, 2018 13 13 15

 

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)
2017–18
Main Estimates
2017–18
Planned spending
2017–18
Total authorities available for use
2017–18
Actual spending (authorities used)
2017–18
Difference (Actual spending minus Planned spending)
43,323,228 43,323,228 40,958,253 31,969,280 (11,353,948)

 

The difference between actual and planned spending is due to several factors:

Human resources (full-time equivalents)
2017–18
Planned full-time equivalents
2017–18
Actual full-time equivalents
2017–18
Difference
(Actual full-time equivalents minus Planned full-time equivalents)
192 151 (41)

 

The variance can be explained by a change in the methodology for allocating FTEs to post-production services, when they had previously been primarily allocated to production activities. The methodology was reviewed and improved in order to reflect the portion of internal technical services dedicated to the delivery of products in a variety of physical and digital formats.

Program 1.2: Accessibility and Audience Engagement

Description

This program ensures that Canadians and world audiences are able to access, view, discuss and engage with innovative Canadian content that reflects Canadian stories and perspectives. As media consumption migrates online, Canadian content must be made available in all digital and mobile forms.

Delivery mechanisms include the distribution, marketing and commercialization of audiovisual works via a diverse catalogue, a well-established stock footage library, the development of diversified markets (i.e.: theatrical, television, consumer and institutional) via online and traditional channels in Canada and abroad. These activities make works widely accessible across Canada, notably to underserved and remote communities, Indigenous and Official language minority communities.

NFB’s accessibility and audience engagement activities contribute to a dynamic Canadian culture and heritage.

Results

Promoting the NFB’s works and revitalizing its digital content offerings

Over the course of the last year, 4,182 titles—408 of which were new offerings—were available for Canadians to stream free of charge on the NFB.ca | ONF.ca screening platform. Canadians also had access to 130 interactive productions on a variety of websites, as well as 30 apps and 20 public installations.

Among the works available for free are those in the new Indigenous Cinema section of our screening platform. It offers 200 titles, including classics, new releases, and many recent additions from the NFB’s rich collection of films by Indigenous directors, making the stories and perspectives of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit more accessible than ever.

One of last year’s most successful digital projects was the online launch of the collection Les chroniques du 9e art (Comic Strip Chronicles), a new co-production with France (Sacrebleu Productions and Canal +) highlighting the talents of renowned Canadian and French comic book creators. The short film La pureté de l’enfance (Sweet Childhood) by Canadian comics creator Zviane was the second most popular title on NFB.CA | ONF.CA, and the single most popular on the French ONF.ca platform.

Also during 2017–2018, the NFB put the finishing touches on its new digital education offerings, whose objectives are to capture the imaginations of learners and help them develop competencies in the areas of creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking, and to promote active citizen participation. Three distinct types of educational content were developed to be launched in 2018–2019. Ocean School, the result of a collaboration between the NFB, Ingenium and Dalhousie University, will offer new learning experiences made up of non-linear content in virtual and augmented reality, as well as educational interactive games aimed at young people between the ages of 11 and 15. The Indigenous Voices and Reconciliation Learning Program was developed after extensive consultation and guidance from Indigenous educators. Finally, Media School will offer media education tools for students to create animation, documentary, and digital stories. A pilot version tested with administrators and managers of school boards, along with teaching staff, yielded very positive feedback for the NFB.

Reaching and interacting with the public, the industry and other institutions

The 2017–2018 fiscal year was exceptional for many reasons, including the record number of views of NFB works and an extremely high level of interaction with audiences. These results come as a result of strategic choices aimed at having a more clearly defined strategy that focuses on engaging with broad audiences on social media.

Audiences
  VIEWS IN CANADA GLOBAL VIEWS
(CANADA & INTERNATIONAL)
Internet
     Online partners
     Interactive productions
     NFB.CA/ONF.CA
6,579,203
     4,320,155
     302,107
     1,956,941
45,623,813
     41,322,829
     1,598,362
     2,702,622
Television 12,907,500 12,907,500
Educational and institutional market 5,368,212 5,375,916
Public screenings 995,178 1,176,973
Public installations 951,200 951,200
Public wall screenings 2,209,574 2,209,574
TOTAL 28,825,3235 68,053,296

NFB productions registered 68 million views on all platforms—Canadian and international—representing a record increase of 31% over the previous year. Most of this growth comes from online partner site views, as well as from the increased trend of viewing content directly on social media platforms. YouTube views, for instance, grew by 18% compared to 2016–2017, while Facebook also registered significant growth, with 5.6 million views compared to 1.3 million in the previous year.

Television broadcast views of NFB productions grew by more than 50% over the previous fiscal year, from 8.3 million to 12.9 million.

As for public screenings, they grew from 500,000 viewings in 2016–2017 to 1.2 million.

Online interactions with audiences

In 2017–2018, the NFB saw an increase in the number of subscribers on all major social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. The most striking growth was on YouTube, with an 88% increase in subscribers, followed by Instagram, with a rise of 63% compared to 2016–2017. As a result, the total number of users—including social media and NFB e-mail newsletter subscriptions, and registrations and users on NFB.ca and CAMPUS—surpassed 830,000. This represents a 40% increase over the target set for March 2018.

The level of interaction with audiences was also robust. On Facebook alone, the number of engagements in 2017–2018 reached 650,000 (likes, comments, and shares) and 5.6 million clicks, compared to 560,000 engagements and 2.2 million clicks in 2016–2017. In total, the NFB had more than 200 million impressions on Facebook and Twitter, compared to 78 million the previous year.

A year of commemorations

Last year, the NFB organized a number of activities and events to mark special commemorations.

As part of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Confederation, the NFB launched the following projects:

To mark the centenary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the NFB and the Vimy Foundation launched Return to Vimy (Vimy retrouvé) in November 2017. This short documentary reached more than 3 million people on the English Facebook page and 1.3 million in French, resulting in more than 22,000 actions.

Partnerships

Partnerships with major public institutions and museums speak to the NFB’s desire to maintain a significant presence in public spaces and to showcase its expertise and creativity. Highlights include the success of the participative experience I Heard There Was a Secret Chord at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, which drew approximately 288,000 visitors between November 2017 and April 2018; the Beyond Ice (Au-delà des glaces) installation at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, which has been seen by nearly 270,000 people since its unveiling; and the giant-screen Expo 67 Live experience, presented at the Place des Arts Esplanade in Montreal, which drew nearly 19,000 individuals in person, while nearly 37,000 people participated in creator Karine Lanoie-Brien’s Facebook Live event. Finally, the fulldome projection Kyma, Power of Waves (Kyma, ondes en puissance), created by Philippe Baylaucq and shown at the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium in Montreal, was seen by close to 100,000 visitors.

In addition, the NFB participated in the 20th annual Rendez-vous de la Francophonie, a celebration of the French language that takes place in cities and towns throughout the country. The event saw 251 screenings in 64 Canadian municipalities and also provided a selection of films from the tour online at ONF.ca/RVF2018.

Conservation and preservation

The NFB’s digitization and conservation activities are crucial to its mandate to produce and distribute high-quality, innovative Canadian content and to engage with its audiences. The NFB’s concerted efforts in digitization and conservation increase the accessibility of audiovisual works and ensure they remain available for future generations.

The organization implemented the second year of its 2016–2020 Technology Plan, the goal of which is to maintain the NFB’s role as a frontline player in the global media landscape. In keeping with targets set in its digitization plan, 90% of the works in the NFB’s active collection now have a Mezzanine file,6 guaranteeing just-in-time accessibility in a variety of digital formats.

As part of its new approach to preserving its works, the NFB renewed a technology partnership with software vendor Atempo to develop and implement an automated process for digital archiving. In 2017–2018, it also completed the indexing of digital-audio source files for more than 4,500 works on a second preservation technology, the Optical Disc Archive (ODA), in addition to the currently used Linear Tape-Open (LTO) system, to reduce the risk of data loss due to corruption or obsolescence.

In addition to the move of the NFB’s head office, the conservation room that houses the NFB’s visual archives—as well as its digitization and conservation activities—will have to be relocated. To this end, the NFB worked with Public Services and Procurement Canada to finalize the Functional/Technical Program and select possible locations. Given the smaller size of the future conservation centre, in September 2017 the conservation team began the intensive process of poring over the various shooting elements in the archives, identifying material that has become unusable due to obsolete formats or deterioration. During the first phase of this process, the NFB analyzed and verified—piece by piece—more than 24,500 elements of video footage and 29,000 audio recordings. In addition, it analyzed 1,400 16- and 35-mm film elements, along with 600 festival copies in the collection. The NFB conserved the best-quality copies and transferred them to the conservation collection.

Results achieved
Expected results Performance indicators Target Date to achieve target 2017–18
Actual results
2016–17
Actual results
2015–16
Actual results
Canadian and international audiences view and engage with NFB works Percentage of Canadian population who say they viewed an NFB production in the last year 40% March 31, 2018 20%7 20% 39%
Total number of views of NFB works 45,000,000 March 31, 2018 68,053,296 53,920,167 46,213,608
Total number of users by level of engagement (registered or customer) 590,000 March 31, 2018 839,689 679,124 586,944
Total revenues generated $2,200,000 March 31, 2018 $2,875,156 $2,878,043 $3,163,986

 

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)
2017–18
Main Estimates
2017–18
Planned spending
2017–18
Total authorities available for use
2017–18
Actual spending (authorities used)
2017–18
Difference (actual minus planned)
21,657,098 21,657,098 25,598,238 23,644,604 1,987,506

 

The increase in spending for this program includes funds for the development of the NFB’s educational offering, special programming in connection with the 150th anniversary of Confederation, and ongoing efforts to conserve and preserve the collection.

Human resources (full-time equivalents)
2017–18
Planned full-time equivalents
2017–18
Actual full-time equivalents
2017–18
Difference
(Actual full-time equivalents minus Planned full-time equivalents)
126 169 43

 

The increase in the number of FTEs is a result of additional funds allocated to the NFB in Budget 2016, as well as a review of the way in which technical services and digital platforms were distributed, in order to better reflect activities tied to the delivery of products in a variety of physical and digital formats.

Information on the NFB’s lower-level programs is available in the GC InfoBase.

Internal Services

Description

Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct service categories that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department. The 10 service categories are: Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Materiel Services; and Acquisition Services.

Results

2017–2018 saw a good deal of planning for the relocation of the NFB head office to Montreal’s entertainment district. To coordinate relocation activities and make the transition as smooth as possible, the NFB has established a governance structure made up of 15 working groups to optimize planning for all the components of this complex undertaking. Whether it’s planning for production and post-production activities throughout every step of the move, assessing the possibilities offered by the public space in the new building, planning the relocation of infrastructure and technical equipment, or managing change for employees, the working groups take all areas of NFB activity into account and have mobilized every sector of the organization to develop a work plan.

A communications strategy that includes monthly meetings and the publication of regular updates was put in place, in order to keep employees at headquarters informed about preparations for the move and how construction is progressing.

The NFB of the future: Managing change

In 2016, the NFB launched an initiative that closely complements its head-office relocation project. In It Together aims to transform the NFB’s organizational culture, making it more agile and even more creative and innovative in fulfilling its mandate. Employees, managers, and members of senior management across Canada participated in a process of reflection and consultation that resulted in the drafting of 15 statements.

In 2017–2018, each team at the NFB put forward a plan consisting of three concrete actions based on these 15 statements. The result was a total of 37 plans and 111 actions that were shared with all staff via the Intranet, along with a tool for tracking the progress made in completing these plans and actions.

Further, with a view to modernizing administrative processes at the NFB, significant resources have also been mobilized to ensure the seamless migration of the financial and material-resources management systems to the new SAP platform. A team dedicated to this process was established, and consultation with various stakeholders was undertaken prior to the deployment of the first phase of the project. The migration will be completed in 2018–2019.

Several other projects were initiated over the course of the last year, including the outsourcing of corporate systems to cloud computing, modernizing infrastructure, and implementing collaborative tools. All these actions aim to modernize the NFB in accordance with the 2016–2010 Technology Plan and are essential to meeting the organization’s current and future needs.

Managing records

The NFB has completed the second phase of the Eureka project, the objective of which is to improve information management by implementing a recordkeeping system. Over the past year, the NFB identified its information resources of business value (IRBV) through an analysis of the organization’s operational processes. It also created a plan for managing its documents, a migration plan to GCDocs, and a new directive on the archiving of electronic documents.

In addition, in 2017–2018 the NFB’s Business Affairs and Legal Services unit completed the digitization and archiving of all its contracts and other documents. The integration of these digital documents into the rights-management system and the archiving of paper records is well underway and expected to be completed by 2018–2019.

Promoting diversity and inclusion

The NFB has made it a priority to better represent the diversity of Canadian society—both in front of and behind the camera. In addition to announcing its commitment to achieving gender parity in the number of NFB productions, production spending, and key creative positions, as well as launching a three-year plan to redefine its relationship with Indigenous peoples, the organization created an internal Diversity and Inclusion Committee. In 2017–2018, this committee developed a vision based on four pillars: welcoming and growing, committing to better mutual understanding, learning and improving, and discovering and celebrating. From this starting point, the NFB began a process of reflection that will lead to an action plan on diversity and inclusion, to be launched in 2018–2019.

The NFB maintained its commitment to enhancing the vitality of the English- and French- language minority communities in Canada, and through bilateral agreements engaged with their representatives in arts and culture. It also completed the second year of its Official Languages Action Plan, which focuses on the implementation of Section 41 (Part VII) of the Official Languages Act.

Lastly, the NFB’s Human Resources team aligned its efforts with the Government of Canada’s commitment to creating a healthy, respectful, and supportive federal workplace, by revising its policy on workplace harassment to include measures for the prevention of violence. In terms of mental health, the NFB held an awareness campaign for employees on a variety of topics and signed letters of agreement regarding employee wellness as part of the collective agreements negotiated with the various unions. An action plan on mental health will be deployed in 2018–2019.

Performance and financial management

Compliance with the government’s sound-management requirements is an ongoing process as well as an organizational priority. In line with the Policy on Results, the NFB submitted its Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory to the Treasury Board. Once it was approved, the NFB submitted the outcomes and indicators for each program in its Program Inventory so that they could be made public through GC InfoBase.

With respect to financial-management compliance, the NFB has implemented action plans designed to incorporate the recommendations provided by the Office of the Comptroller General following an internal core control audit.

 

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)
2017–18
Main Estimates
2017–18
Planned spending
2017–18
Total authorities available for use
2017–18
Actual spending (authorities used)
2017–18
Difference (actual minus planned)
9,395,019 9,395,019 13,356,534 11,732,593 2,337,574

Actual spending expenditures include funds to complete the migration of the NFB’s financial and material resource-management systems to the SAP platform ($1.8 million in 2017–18). Other initiatives the NFB has undertaken include its organizational transformation, change management, and compliance with government policies.

 

Human resources (full-time equivalents)
2017–18
Planned full-time equivalents
2017–18
Actual full-time equivalents
2017–18
Difference
(Actual full-time equivalents minus Planned full-time equivalents)
51 69 18

Additional resources for internal services are dedicated to projects aimed at improving the organization’s compliance with government policies and directives, as well as to the review of administrative processes as part of the implementation of its new, integrated SAP financial system.

 

Analysis of trends in spending and human resources

Actual expenditures

Departmental spending trend graph

Departmental Spending Trend (long desc)

This graph represents the National Film Board of Canada’s spending trend. The X-axis indicates the fiscal years and the Y-axis indicates the values expressed in thousands of dollars.

The period covered is divided into six (6) fiscal years: 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. For each fiscal year, one (1) amount is represented, i.e. Total Spending.

Amounts in dollars are distributed as follows for each fiscal year:

  • 2015-2016
    • Total Spending: 59,832,000
  • 2016-2017
    • Total Spending: 63,154,000
  • 2017-2018
    • Total Spending: 67,346,000
  • 2018-2019
    • Total Spending: 74,568,000
  • 2019-2020
    • Total Spending: 60,817,000
  • 2020-2021
    • Total Spending: 60,817,000

Note: for previous years, the “voted expenditures” line corresponds to actual expenditures and not voted expenditures.

 

Budgetary performance summary for Programs and Internal Services (dollars)
Programs and Internal Services 2017–18
Main Estimates
2017–18
Planned spending
2018–19
Planned spending
2019–20
Planned spending
Audiovisual Production 43,323,228 43,323,228 40,034,195 32,549,131
Accessibility and Audience Engagement 21,657,098 21,657,098 23,403,744 19,270,539
Subtotal 64,980,326 64,980,326 63,437,939 51,819,670
Internal Services 9,395,019 9,395,019 11,130,139 8,997,640
Total 74,375,345 74,375,345 74,568,078 60,817,310
Budgetary performance summary for Programs and Internal Services (dollars)
2019–20
Planned spending
2017–18
Total authorities available for use
2017–18
Actual spending (authorities used)
2016–17
Actual spending (authorities used)
2015–16
Actual spending (authorities used)
Audiovisual Production 40,958,253 31,969,280 32,281,971 34,823,000
Accessibility and Audience Engagement 25,598,238 23,644,604 20,736,550 16,702,002
Subtotal 66,556,491 55,613,884 53,018,521 51,525,002
Internal Services 13,356,534 11,732,593 10,136,012 8,307,358
Total 79,913,025 67,346,477 63,154,533 59,832,360

 

Main estimates, Planned spending and Total authorities available for use in 2017–2018 include $12 million in financing from the Treasury Board for the relocation of NFB headquarters in Montreal. Reflecting the current timeline for the construction of the new building, the $12 million initially granted for 2017–2018 has been carried over to 2018–2019.

Financing for the relocation of the head office in Montreal amounted to $400,000 in 2014–2015, $2 million in 2016–2017, and $12 million in 2018–2019, for a total of $14.4 million. This amount will then decrease by $1.2 million per year for 12 years, starting in 2019–2020.

Actual spending for 2017–2018 totalled $67.3 million, an increase of $4.1 million from the previous year. In 2016–2017, Audiovisual programming and production includes $1 million for the move of the NFB Toronto office.

In 2017–2018, funds in the amount of $3 million were allocated by Parliament to support audiovisual production, audience development, and digitization of the heritage collection (vs. $1.5 million allocated in 2016–2017). The NFB also received funding to complete the migration of its financial and material resource management systems to the SAP platform ($1.8 million in 2017–2018 and $0.6M in 2018–2019, for a total of $2.4 million).

 

Actual human resources

 

Human resources summary for Programs and Internal Services (full-time equivalents)
Programs and Internal Services 2015–16
Actual full-time equivalents
2016–17
Actual full-time equivalents
2017–18
Planned full-time equivalents
2017–18
Actual full-time equivalents
2018–19
Planned full-time equivalents
2019–20
Planned full-time equivalents
Audiovisual Production 197 164 192 151 164 164
Accessibility and Audience Engagement 126 168 126 169 172 169
Subtotal 323 332 318 320 336 333
Internal Services 51 64 51 69 69 66
Total 374 396 369 389 405 399

 

Actual numbers for 2017-2018 are lower than for the previous year, due to a change in the methodology used to calculate temporary employee positions in audiovisual production.

The number of FTEs grew in 2016–17 and 2017–18 as a result of new employee hiring made possible by the allocation of additional funds to the NFB announced in Federal Budget 2016. These funds reached a total of $3 million in 2017–2018.

In 2017–2018 and 2018–2019, resources were also dedicated to the review of administrative processes as part of the implementation of the new, integrated SAP financial system.

 

Expenditures by vote

For information on the NFB’s organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada 2017-2018.

 

Government of Canada spending and activities

Information on the alignment of the NFB’s spending with the Government of Canada’s spending and activities is available in the GC InfoBase.

 

Financial statements and financial statements highlights

Financial statements

The NFB’s financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2018, are available on the NFB’s website.

Financial statements highlights

Condensed Statement of Operations (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2018 (dollars)
Financial information 2017–18
Planned results
2017–18
Actual results
2016–17
Actual results
Difference
(2017–18
Actual results minus
2017–18
Planned results)
Difference
(2017–18
Actual results minus
2016–17
Actual results)
Total expenses 67,699,000 72,579,955 66,919,247 4,880,955 5,660,708
Total revenues 4,136,000 7,625,896 4,756,398 3,489,896 2,869,498
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers 63,563,000 64,954,059 62,162,849 1,391,059 2,791,210

 

Revenues

Realized revenues in 2017–18 increased over planned and previous year results, primarily due to greater partnership revenues.

Expenses

Expenses are presented on an accrual accounting basis.

The difference between planned and actual expenses is due primarily to the following factors:

 

Condensed Statement of Financial Position (unaudited) as of March 31, 2018 (dollars)
Financial information 2017-18 2016-17 Difference
(2017–18 minus 2016–17)
Total net liabilities 17,484,882 12,001,929 5,482,953
Total net financial assets 12,203,757 6,134,669 6,069,088
Departmental net debt 5,281,125 5,867,260 (586,135)
Total non financial assets 12,105,615 10,299,376 1,806,239
Departmental net financial position 6,824,490 4,432,116 2,392,374

 

The difference between 2017–18 and 2016–17 in total net liabilities is mainly due to the following factors:

The difference between 2017–18 and 2016–17 in total net financial assets is mainly due to several factors:

The difference in total non-financial assets represents the amount of capitalization for work in progress for the relocation of the NFB’s head office as well as capitalized digital platform development costs.

 

Supplementary information

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister: The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, P.C., M.P., Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism

Institutional head: Claude Joli-Coeur, Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the NFB

Ministerial portfolio: Canadian Heritage

Enabling instrument[s]: National Film Act, R.S.C., c. N-8

Year of incorporation / commencement: 1939

Other: The NFB Board of Trustees is composed of eight members: the Government Film Commissioner, who acts as the Board’s chairperson, the Executive Director of Telefilm Canada (ex-officio member) and six other members appointed by the Governor in Council. With the exception of the Commissioner and Executive Director of Telefilm Canada, Board members serve three-year terms. The Board’s primary role is to define the NFB’s broad strategic directions and monitor its results. It approves its strategic plans and budgets, among other items.

Reporting framework

The NFB’s Strategic Outcome and Program Alignment Architecture of record for 2017–18 are shown below.

1. Strategic Outcome: Canadian stories and perspectives are reflected in audiovisual media and accessible to Canadians and the world.

     1.1 Program: Audiovisual Production

     1.2 Program: Accessibility and Audience Engagement

          1.2.1 Sub-Program: Conservation and Preservation

          1.2.2 Sub-Program: Consumer Access and Engagement

          1.2.3 Sub-Program: Educational and Institutional Access and Engagement

          1.2.4 Sub-Program: National and International Industry Outreach

     Internal Services

 

Supporting information on lower-level programs

Supporting information on lower level programs is available on the GC InfoBase.

 

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on the NFB’s website:

 

Federal tax expenditures

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs. The tax measures presented in this report are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

 

Organizational contact information

National Film Board of Canada
3155 Côte-de-Liesse Road
Montréal, Quebec H4N 2N4
Canada

Strategic Planning and Government relations
reports@onf-nfb.gc.ca

Websites
www.nfb.ca
www.onf-nfb.gc.ca

Social media
https://www.facebook.com/nfb.ca
http://www.twitter.com/thenfb/
https://vimeo.com/thenfb
https://www.youtube.com/user/nfb
https://www.instagram.com/onf_nfb/

 

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)
Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)
Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)
A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a three year period. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)
A report on an appropriated department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

evaluation (évaluation)
In the Government of Canada, the systematic and neutral collection and analysis of evidence to judge merit, worth or value. Evaluation informs decision making, improvements, innovation and accountability. Evaluations typically focus on programs, policies and priorities and examine questions related to relevance, effectiveness and efficiency. Depending on user needs, however, evaluations can also examine other units, themes and issues, including alternatives to existing interventions. Evaluations generally employ social science research methods.

experimentation (expérimentation)
Activities that seek to explore, test and compare the effects and impacts of policies, interventions and approaches, to inform evidence-based decision-making, by learning what works and what does not.

full time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)
A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person year charge against a departmental budget. Full time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])
An analytical approach used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people may experience policies, programs and initiatives. The “plus” in GBA+ acknowledges that the gender-based analysis goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences. We all have multiple identity factors that intersect to make us who we are; GBA+ considers many other identity factors, such as race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability. Examples of GBA+ processes include using data disaggregated by sex, gender and other intersecting identity factors in performance analysis, and identifying any impacts of the program on diverse groups of people, with a view to adjusting these initiatives to make them more inclusive.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)
For the purpose of the 2017–18 Departmental Results Report, those high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2015 Speech from the Throne, namely: Growth for the Middle Class; Open and Transparent Government; A Clean Environment and a Strong Economy; Diversity is Canada’s Strength; and Security and Opportunity.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)
An initiative where two or more departments are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

Management, Resources and Results Structure (structure de gestion, des ressources et des résultats)
A comprehensive framework that consists of an organization’s inventory of programs, resources, results, performance indicators and governance information. Programs and results are depicted in their hierarchical relationship to each other and to the Strategic Outcome(s) to which they contribute. The Management, Resources and Results Structure is developed from the Program Alignment Architecture.

non budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)
Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)
What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)
A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)
The process of communicating evidence based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.

plan (plan)
The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)
For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts that receive Treasury Board approval by February 1. Therefore, planned spending may include amounts incremental to planned expenditures presented in the Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

priority (priorité)
A plan or project that an organization has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired Strategic Outcome(s) or Departmental Results.

program (programme)
A group of related resource inputs and activities that are managed to meet specific needs and to achieve intended results and that are treated as a budgetary unit.

Program Alignment Architecture (architecture d’alignement des programmes)
A structured inventory of an organization’s programs depicting the hierarchical relationship between programs and the Strategic Outcome(s) to which they contribute.

result (résultat)
An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)
Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

Strategic Outcome (résultat stratégique)
A long term and enduring benefit to Canadians that is linked to the organization’s mandate, vision and core functions.

sunset program (programme temporisé)
A time limited program that does not have an ongoing funding and policy authority. When the program is set to expire, a decision must be made whether to continue the program. In the case of a renewal, the decision specifies the scope, funding level and duration.

target (cible)
A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)
Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The Vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.

 

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