Shared Services Canada Five-Year Departmental Evaluation Plan 2022-23 to 2026-27

Deputy Head Confirmation Note for All Departments

I approve the Departmental Evaluation Plan of Shared Services Canada for the fiscal years 2022-23 to 2026-27, which I submit to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat as required by the Policy on Results.

I confirm that this five-year rolling Departmental Evaluation Plan:

I will ensure that this plan is updated annually, and I will provide information about its implementation to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, as required.

Sony Perron
President
Shared Services Canada
June 2022

Context and Background

What is evaluation?

The systematic and neutral collection and analysis of evidence to judge merit, worth or value.

Evaluation looks at the relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency of programs listed in the Program Inventory.

Purpose and Governmental Priorities

Purpose

This document presents Shared Services Canada’s Departmental Evaluation Plan. The Plan is an information and management tool that reflects the results of the department’s annual evaluation planning exercise. The Plan identifies evaluations for the next five years and the resourcing of the evaluation function.

The scope and content of this plan are consistent with the requirements of the Treasury Board of Canada Policy on Results.

Government of Canada Context

Evaluation is a priority of the Government of Canada. Specifically, the President of the Treasury Board has been charged with instilling a culture of evaluation, measurement and evidence-based decisions across departments for program and policy design and delivery.

The December 2021 mandate letters directed all departments to draw on lessons learned from the pandemic to further adapt and develop more agile and effective ways to serve Canadians. The SSC evaluation of its COVID-19 response will help the department meet this commitment.

In the 2022 budget, the Minister of Finance stated the importance of maintaining a decreasing debt-to-Gross Domestic Product ratio and paying down the debt that was incurred to keep Canadians safe from COVID. Consequently, a review to reduce government spending will take place.

SSC evaluations will support the department in this Strategic Policy Review. The evaluations will provide information to verify SSC’s Program relevance and effectiveness. The analysis of efficiency will identify opportunities to improve processes and reallocate resources to adapt government programs and operations to the post-pandemic reality.

Evaluation Framework

Requirements of the Policy on Results

The Policy on Results requires that deputy heads annually approve a five-year evaluation plan and provide it to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (Section 4.3.15). The Plan should include:

What is GBA+?

GBA+ is an analytical process that provides a rigorous method for the assessment of systemic inequalities, and to assess how diverse groups of women, men, and gender diverse people may experience policies, programs and initiatives.

Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+)

Evaluation offers an opportunity to examine considerations related to gender and other intersecting identity factors. Shared Services Canada is committed to improving the integration of GBA+ into its evaluation processes.

Governance

The Performance Measurement and Evaluation Committee

The Policy on Results calls for deputy heads to establish and chair a Performance Measurement and Evaluation Committee (PMEC) of senior officials. At SSC, the PMEC responsibilities are carried out by the Executive Oversight Board (EOB), which is chaired by the President.

PMEC aims to strengthen the planning, coordination and use of performance measurement and evaluation within SSC, as well as to ensure appropriate resourcing of these functions.

The Policy on Results requires PMEC to:

The Evaluation Function

Evaluation at Shared Services Canada

The Office of Audit and Evaluation (OAE) is a key provider of reasonable assurance and advice on departmental operations to the President SSC.

Office of Audit and Evalutation, Internal Audit, Professional Practices, Evaluation

Reporting directly to the President, the Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive (CAEE) makes recommendations on the relevance and performance of departmental programs, policies, and initiatives through the OAE evaluation function. The CAEE is also the designated departmental Head of Evaluation and represents the departmental link to TBS for evaluation.

Resources

SSC will continue to grow a capability to meet evolving needs. The OAE evaluation function will be resourced for 16 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions and an overall annual budget of $1.91M by the end of 2022-23.

Resources for Fiscal Year 2022-23
Salary Operations and Maintenance Total
$ 1.62 M $ 0.29 M $ 1.91 M
Positions (as of April 2022)
  EX-01 AS-01 EC-07 EC-06 EC-05 EC-04 total
Establishment 1 1 2 4 4 4 16
Filled 1 0 1 4 2 3 11
Evaluation Capacity

The focus in 2022-23 will be to complete planned staffing; deliver the first two SSC evaluation reports; and launch three new reviews. At full capacity, the evaluation function will normally deliver 3-4 reports annually.

Evaluations in Progress

OAE is presently working on two evaluations: SSC’S COVID Response, and Mobile Devices and Fixed Lines.

The evaluation of SSC’S COVID Response is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2022-23. As the department responsible for delivering digital services, SSC played a vital role in supporting federal departments and agencies in providing critical services to Canadians. The evaluation is assessing:


The Mobile Devices and Fixed Lines evaluation focuses on providing insights on relevance and responsiveness, effectiveness and efficiency of the components of the Telecommunications Program, which is primarily responsible for providing and modernizing voice services in the GC workplace.

Evaluation Name Strategy to EOB (PMEC) President Approval (Report)
SSC’s COVID Response July 2021 September 2022
Mobile Devices and Fixed Lines January 2022 November 2022

Evaluation Planning

Key Planning Considerations

SSC 3.0 Priorities
  1. Network and Security
  2. Workplace Collaboration Tools
  3. Application Modernization

The selection and sequencing of the evaluations was driven by:

The Evaluation Planning Process

The Departmental Evaluation Plan is based on analysis and consultations conducted during the Winter of 2022. This included:

SSC Program Inventory and Components

Long Description

Cloud ($6.5M)

  • Cloud services

Data Centre Information Technology Operations ($724.1M)

  • Enterprise operations
  • Linux/ Unix
  • Windows and virtualization
  • Integrated high performance computing
  • Mainframe and bulk print management
  • Platform services
  • Storage, backup and file services
  • Facilities management

Telecommunications ($393.6M)

  • Conferencing services
  • Contact centre infrastructure services
  • Toll-free voice
  • Mobile devices and fixed-line phones

Security ($290.8M)

  • Security management and governance
  • Secret infrastructure
  • Infrastructure security

Enterprise Services Design and Delivery ($418.5M)

  • Architecture
  • Science program
  • Service management
  • Partner engagement

Networks ($406.6M)

  • Local area network (LAN)
  • Wide area network (WAN)
  • Satellite
  • Internet

Workplace Technologies ($131.5M)

  • Email services
  • Digital communications and collaboration
  • Workplace technology software provisioning
  • Workplace technology hardware provisioning
  • Workplace technology services

Evaluation Coverage Over Next Five Years

Planned Coverage

The Policy on Results introduced the requirement for a Program Inventory, which contains the entire list of programs in the Department. The Program Inventory helps demonstrate how the Department delivers on its mandate, supports the authorization of expenditures through Cabinet, and supports performance reporting.

The Program Inventory represents the entire evaluation portfolio. The Policy on Results requires all programs and planned spending in the Program Inventory (except for internal services) to be evaluated periodically.

The Evaluation team plans to deliver 14 evaluations over the next five years, representing all seven programs in the SSC Program Inventory. This represents 100% of policy coverage requirements.

Internal services are essential to the department’s success as key enablers of SSC 3.0, thus one is included for evaluation.

Advisory Services

The evaluation team will also provide advice and assistance for the Police Infrastructure Operations (PIO) Review and the conduct of service reviews by the Operations Management Branch (OMB).

Programs Excluded from the Planned Coverage Calculation

At the program level, there are no excluded operational programs.

Some SSC programs are significant in size and will require more than one evaluation. As a result, the Plan reflects a calibrated approach based on value for decision-making. This means that some of the planned spending associated with specific components within programs may be evaluated in future years.

Appendix 1 – Five-Year Evaluation Schedule

Year1 Evaluation Name Link to Program Inventory Branch Strategy2 to EOB (PMEC) President Approval
2022-23 SSC’s COVID Response All All July 21 Sep 22
Mobile Devices and Fixed Lines Telecommunications DSB Jan 22 Nov 22
2023-24 Data Centres Data Centre IT Operations DCSB Nov 22 Sept 23
Cloud Services Cloud CTOB Nov 22 Oct 23
Networks Networks NSSB Feb 23 Dec 23
2024-25 Digital Communications and Collaboration Workplace Technologies DSB May 23 Apr 24
Service Management Enterprise Services Design and Delivery OMB Dec 23 Oct 24
Science Program Enterprise Services Design and Delivery CTOB Apr 24 Jan 25
2025-26 Security Security NSSB / CTOB May 24 Apr 25
Enterprise Service Model Enterprise Services Design and Delivery OMB Oct 24 Aug 25
Workplace Technology Provisioning and Services Workplace Technologies DSB Apr 25 Feb 26
2026-27 Conferencing Services and Toll-Free Voice Telecommunications DSB Jun 25 Apr 26
Hosting Platforms and Services Data Centre Information Technology Operations DCSB Oct 25 Jul 26
Evaluation of an Internal Service: TBD Internal Services TBD Jan 26 Nov 26

Note 1: As required by TBS, evaluations are listed by the year in which they are scheduled for presentation to EOB (PMEC) and the President for approval.

Note 2: The strategy will present the planned scope and questions for each evaluation for discussion and endorsement by PMEC before the start of data

Appendix 2 – Examples of Program Evaluation Questions

SSC evaluations will incorporate recent international trends in evaluation and best practices. They can also examine alignment with government priorities and Enterprise 3.0.

Some engagements may include support from Internal Audit for lines of evidence that focus on risk:

  • Is there a good alignment and understanding of the enterprise risks in the SSC program?
  • What is the progress achieved by SSC in reducing risks associated with the program?

Appendix 3 – List of Acronyms

CTOB

Chief Technology Officer Branch

DCSB

Data Centre Services Branch

DSB

Digital Services Branch

CAEE

Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive

EOB

Executive Oversight Board

FY

Fiscal Year

GBA+

Gender-Based Analysis plus

IT

Information Technology

NSSB

Networks and Security Services Branch

PIO

Policing Infrastructure Operations

PMEC

Performance Measurement and Evaluation Committee

OAE

Office of Audit and Evaluation

OMB

Operations Management Branch

SSC

Shared Services Canada

TBD

To be determined

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