Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

Part I. Values and ethics training plans

Question 1

Has your organization developed department-specific values and ethics training plans down to the divisional level?

• No

If not, to what level have department-specific values and ethics training plans been developed and what is your target time frame for completing this work?

The Impact Assessment Agency (the Agency) has approached values and ethics training broadly across all sectors and divisions. We apply a three-pronged approach to ensuring that values and ethics remains a priority within the Agency.

• Mandatory Training - The Agency promotes values and ethics as one of its four mandatory training priorities for all Agency employees since fiscal year 2023-2024. Many training activities are offered to employees on the topic of values and ethics, which allows them to choose at least one activity of interest to them to complete each year. These activities can include webinars, videos or podcasts, for example.
• Values and Ethics Committee - The Committee’s main goal is to promote values and ethics within the department. The committee has published scenarios based on the public service values adapted to the Agency’s context. Using the scenarios and other values and ethics topics, the committee holds agency-wide or sector-wide learning events. Furthermore, the committee creates a yearly action plan to establish commitments on engagement activities with the department. This committee is supported by 2 co-champions of values and ethics and includes close to fifteen Agency employees of all classifications and sectors.
• Values and Ethics Team - The Agency’s internal Values and Ethics team also works on supporting the committee and creating or facilitating additional values and ethics sessions Agency-wide, specifically around the newly reviewed and published Code of Conduct to promote appropriate behaviours related to values and ethics at the Agency.

The target date for completion is ongoing; however, this remains a focus for fiscal year 2024-2025.

Question 2

Has your organization fully implemented department-specific training plans?

• Yes

If not, what is your target time frame for completing this work?

N/A

Part II. Codes of conduct

Question 3

Has your organization reviewed its code of conduct?

• Yes, my organization has reviewed its code of conduct.

Question 4

If your organization is in the process of reviewing its code of conduct, what is your target time frame for completing the review?

The Agency has published a reviewed and updated Code of Conduct in October 2023, which includes reflection prompts and examples of behaviours for Agency employees to related with their duties. 

Question 5

If your organization has completed the review of its code of conduct, did this review lead to updates?

• Yes, my organization updated its code of conduct.

Please briefly describe the nature of any updates made (e.g., to clarify expected behaviours, to align with the emerging context, to include emerging risks) or explain why no updates were deemed necessary.

The review of the Code was initiated with consultations throughout the Agency, including various internal committees, such as the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, in the form of talking circles. The talking circles allowed for open and collaborative conversations with a diverse group of individuals.

As a result of the review, Agency-specific expected behaviours, developed by Agency employees themselves, were established to better contextualize the public service values and its expected behaviours. Reflection prompts were also created for each value to help employees further reflect on Agency-specific or personal scenarios that could arise and could include values and ethics components or ethical dilemmas. The new Code also aligns with the latest trends in the public service, such as the emergence of social media and artificial intelligence.  

Moreover, the Conflict of Interest section was updated to ensure it aligns with the Directive on Conflict of Interest, notably the assets and liabilities section.

Links, contacts and lists of resources were added to provide employees with ease of access to any related documents or websites. The link to contact the Values and Ethics Team was repeated numerous times within the document to highlight the importance of seeking feedback when reflecting on sensitive situations.

Lastly, a complete plain language review of the Code was completed, along with a web-review, to ensure the document respected accessibility requirements. 

Part III. Discussions on personal accountability in upholding public service values and ethics

Question 6

What activities or actions has your organization undertaken to foster a conversation at all levels on personal accountability to uphold our public service values and ethics?

• Dedicated discussions at executive and management committee meetings
• All-staff engagements (e.g., town halls)
• Focused engagement sessions for specific functional areas (e.g., operations, finance, communications, policy, human resources)
• Focused engagement sessions on specific topics (e.g., conflicts of interest, social media, emerging technologies)
• Engagement sessions with equity groups, employee groups, networks and communities
• Specific values and ethics communications campaigns

Please provide additional details on activities that you have undertaken, including those not listed above.

Dedicated discussions at executive and management committee meetings:

• Scenario-specific reflection activities were held with the Managers and Supervisors network (a network for all managers and supervisors at the Agency). These occurred three times to discuss different scenarios that were selected by the forum as those of interest. Such topics including navigating social media and staffing considerations.

All-staff engagements (e.g., town halls):

• The Values and Ethics Committee, led by 2 co-champions, developed a suite of 7 scenarios related to values and ethics (e.g. Duty of Loyalty, Social Media, etc.) and have presented batches of scenarios through all staff presentations, where individuals were expected to discuss the scenarios in break out rooms and subsequently share the results of the conversations in plenary.
• An Agency-wide quiz was held to launch the Agency’s new Code of Conduct. The quiz touched on all the values and expected behaviours outlined in the Code. This interactive activity garnered a lot of interest and participation from employees and proved itself a great way to introduce the new Code to employees.

Focused engagement sessions for specific functional areas (e.g., operations, finance, communications, policy, human resources):

• At the request of management, the Values and Ethics Team facilitated a reflection activity with the Operations team to discuss and debate a specific ethical scenario relevant to their field of work.

Focused engagement sessions on specific topics (e.g., conflicts of interest, social media, emerging technologies):

• Sector-wide values and ethics meetings were held to introduce the Values and Ethics Committee and present two of the seven new scenarios created by the committee. Each sector chose the scenarios most relevant to their field of work. The presentation was followed by a short reflection activity and a quiz asking employees what they would like to see in future values and ethics work.

Engagement sessions with equity groups, employee groups, networks and communities:

• When reviewing the Code of Conduct, consultative talking circles were held with all interested employees over a period of six months to discuss what each value meant to them in their work and in their day to day lives. These sessions were also extended to specific functional areas such as Human Resources and equity groups, such as the Employment Equity and Diversity Committee at the Agency.

Question 7

Has your organization taken any actions to ensure that conversations on personal accountability to uphold our public service values and ethics occur on a continuing basis?

• Included as part of the onboarding process for new employees
• Incorporated in employees’ professional development and mandatory learning plans

Please provide details on activities that you have undertaken, including those not listed above.

Values and ethics are included in discussions as soon as a successful candidate receives their letter of offer. Not only does the letter of offer include a paragraph on values and ethics, new hires and those changing positions within the Agency are also prompted to submit a Confidential Report right away. Additionally, in the onboarding package and materials shared with new employees, information on the Agency’s Code of Conduct and on the Values and Ethics for the Public Service is provided. Reminders on reviewing such documents are also included in both the employee and the manager checklist for onboarding.

As mentioned previously, values and ethics is included in our mandatory training requirements for all employees and allows employees to choose which training they would like to complete to give them the freedom to choose a training that interests them most. Additionally, the Values and Ethics Committee creates a yearly action plan, which is supported by the Agency’s Values and Ethics Champions, on activities and commitments to promote values and ethics throughout the Agency for the upcoming fiscal year.

Part IV. Additional information

Question 8

What recurring themes (e.g., social media, emerging technology, conflicts of interest) have emerged from conversations with employees (e.g., students, new public servants, front-line service providers, managers, executives, members of functional/horizontal communities/employee networks) across your organization?

The following themes have emerged through conversations with employees regarding values and ethics:

• Appropriate and inappropriate use of social media;
• Political activities and the duty of loyalty;
• Emerging technology - specifically Artificial Intelligence;
• Accepting gifts and hospitality – specifically when it comes to building relationships with Indigenous communities;
• Participating in surveys as a public servant – specifically regarding scientific integrity;
• Conflicts of interest and how to differentiate between and assess the risk of real, apparent and potential conflicts;
• Risk management in the context of values and ethics;
• Judicious use of government funds while on travel status.

Question 9

How have you adjusted your learning activities to address recurring themes (e.g., adjusted training plans, developed specific case studies, invited expert speakers to focus on emerging themes)?

The Values and Ethics Team, along with the Champions and the Values and Ethics Committee, have aligned their action plan to address the recurring themes mentioned above by including the following items in our goals for fiscal year 2024-2025:

• Creating new scenarios pertaining to accepting gifts, participating in surveys as a public servant (including a reference to the existing Scientific Integrity scenario), the duty of loyalty regarding the elected government and the public servant, the appropriate use of artificial intelligence tools, and conflicts of interest (apparent and/or real).
• Hosting conversations at the senior management level regarding risk management in the context of values and ethics.
• Creating monthly communications in the Agency’s newsletter on values and ethics.
• Hosting team-specific values and ethics conversations to help employees reflect on how to apply those in their day-to-day work.
• Hosting another Agency-wide quiz on values and ethics and our Code of Conduct to align with the one-year anniversary of the release of our new Code of Conduct.

Question 10

Are there any actions or learning activities that have been particularly successful in fostering conversations within your organization (e.g., new tools, creative approaches that have resonated well with employees and managers, meeting with small groups, equipping managers to lead conversations, equipping values and ethics office/practitioners)?

Quizzes are a very successful tool used at the Agency to elicit enthusiasm about values and ethics, as many employees participate and seem to enjoy the “game/fun” aspect of the activity for this topic that can otherwise be dry. Similarly, the use of scenarios allows for employees to reflect on values and ethics in a new way that makes it more relatable to their day-to-day work.

Additionally, hosting smaller or topic-specific conversations that include an interactive aspect, such as a discussion or debate, has also proven to be successful in prompting participants to reflect and ask new questions they may not have thought of before. Engagement members of the management team has been particularly successful in empowering them to hold these conversations withing their teams and their employees individually, and to make values and ethics a topic that is discussed often.

Lastly, the suite of scenarios and seminars to discuss the scenarios have proven to be successful and very much appreciated by staff. Values and Ethics are often in a grey zone and the way our scenarios were designed, it allowed people to discuss, challenge and come up with different views to respond to the situation. It helped employees adapt their thinking to potentially challenging situations from a values and ethics perspective.

Question 11

What indicators will be used to measure increased employee awareness of the role of values and ethics in their daily work (e.g., Public Service Employee Survey, pulse surveys, engagement with focus groups)?

Public Service Employee Survey, Pulse Surveys and engagement with the Values and Ethics committee members.

Question 12

Will these indicators be disaggregated by identity factors?

• Yes

Question 13

Is there any additional information that you would like to share regarding your organization’s work on values and ethics (e.g., to advance particular recommendations of the Deputy Ministers’ Task Team on Values and Ethics Report)?

N/A