Chapter
3.
Agency Program Management Frameworks
3.1 Introduction
Within the general context of
Canada's ODA Policy Framework, CIDA's Development Policy Base (outlined
in Chapter 2) and the branch programming framework, bilateral development
assistance is planned and delivered within a defined CIDA Regulatory Environment
and the following key Agency program management frameworks:
-
Results-Based Management
(RBM) (see below section 3.3)
-
The Agency Accountability
Framework (see below section 3.4)
-
The Performance Review
Framework (see below section 3.5).
The Results-Based
Management in CIDA - Policy Statement defines the Agency's management
philosophy and practice to systematically focus on results to optimize value
for money and the prudent use of human and financial resources. RBM is also
the basis of all project reporting and the Agency's reporting to Parliament
and the Canadian public on its development achievements.
The 
Agency
Accountability Framework defines CIDA's accountability as a federal
government department at the Agency level, for CIDA's senior executives, and
for program and project managers and key staff at the branch level, including
the bilateral programs.
The Performance
Review Framework encompasses all functions and instruments used by
Agency managers and staff at all levels to assess Agency development and operational
results, including evaluation, internal audit and monitoring of bilateral
programs and projects.
This chapter guides staff through
the Agency regulatory environment and key Agency program frameworks which
provide the broad context of program delivery in bilateral development assistance.
3.2 CIDA's
Regulatory Environment
CIDA is designated as a department
of the Government of Canada for the purposes of the Financial Administration
Act (Order in Council P.C. 1968-923 dated May 8, 1968). It acts under the
authority of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The specific authority of the
Minister of Foreign Affairs and of the Minister of International Development
is found in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Act,
in the Annual Appropriation Act and in the International Development
(Financial Institutions) Assistance Act.
As a department, CIDA operations
are subject to the normal legislative and regulatory requirements established
for government departments in a number of acts and regulations including:
the Financial Administration Act, the Government Contracts Regulations,
the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, and the various regulations
and directives of the Treasury Board Secretariat regarding government
operations.
In those cases where the Agency
does not follow generic government policies and practices (such as for project
approval), CIDA is required to seek the specific approval of the Treasury
Board (a committee of Cabinet).
The roles and authorities of
specific individuals including the Minister, the President, Vice-Presidents
and senior officials of CIDA are further defined in the Agency's delegation
of authorities instruments, the
Agency
Accountability Framework, and various other specific Treasury Board
approvals.
The elements of the regulatory
framework that guide CIDA's bilateral activities are integrated into the Roadmap.
In some areas, particularly contracting and financial authorities, additional
detailed information may be required. Officers are encouraged to get sound
technical advice in these areas from their Contracts Officers and Financial
Management Advisors.
All bilateral programming takes
place within the Government and CIDA Regulatory Environments.
3.3 Results-Based
Management (RBM)
The Results-Based
Management in CIDA - Policy Statement was approved by the Executive
Committee in March 1996. Project planning and implementation activities must
specifically focus on the achievement of results, i.e. the outputs and outcomes
of projects. The policy emphasizes a continuous monitoring of results to ensure
that management practices optimize value for money and make prudent use of
human and financial resources. Detailed information on RBM can be found in
the Results
Based Management in CIDA - An Introductory Guide to the Concepts and Principles.
Results-Based Management within
the bilateral branches means:
- defining realistic expected
results for programs and projects, based on appropriate program level or
project level analyses;
- clearly identifying program
beneficiaries and designing programs to meet their needs;
- monitoring progress towards
results compared with resources consumed by the use of appropriate indicators;
- identifying and monitoring
risks, while bearing in mind expected results and the necessary resources;
- increasing knowledge from
lessons learned and integrating them into decisions; and
- reporting on results achieved
and the resources consumed.
The Results-Based Management
in CIDA - Policy Statement provides a Results Chain as follows:
Table 3(1) - The Results
Chain
The policy establishes the basic
principles that CIDA and its partners follow in implementing Results-Based
Management. These key principles are:
- Simplicity: Keep matters
easy to understand and simple to apply;
- Learning by Doing:
CIDA will implement RBM on an iterative basis and provide appropriate, timely
and cost-effective training;
- Broad Application:
Use RBM for all programs and projects, where feasible, while striving to
find a pragmatic balance between the use of qualitative and quantitative
indicators and the appropriate means to monitor and measure results;
- Partnership: Collaborate
with partners and share the responsibility for achieving results at the
program and project levels;
- Accountability: Employees
and partners will accept their respective accountabilities for delivering
results; and
- Transparency: Better
reporting on more clearly identified development results.
Chapter 5 describes a
common, results-oriented Logical Framework Analysis (LFA) used in the planning,
monitoring and evaluation of bilateral programs and projects. This allows
staff to properly define the expected results of the program/project at the
impact, outcomes and outputs levels and to provide meaningful indicators of
progress towards the expected results. The LFA is supported by guidelines
entitled Logical
Framework: Making it Results-Oriented.
Implementation of RBM is facilitated
by the development and use of performance measurement instruments. One of
the key tools is the
Framework
of Results and Key Success Factors. It provides a
set of common factors (considered essential to successful project delivery
and management) in two dimensions:Development Results
and Success Factors against which CIDA projects will
be assessed. Officers should become familiar with these and other instruments
as they are released for use.
3.4 The
Agency Accountability Framework
The
Agency
Accountability Framework was approved by the Executive Committee in
July 1998.
Accountability refers to a situation
of stewardship in which the steward must demonstrate results in the fulfillment
of a given mandate and the wise use of resources put in his or her trust.
This basic definition of accountability obliges CIDA to determine its objectives,
demonstrate how the resources allocated to CIDA for international development
purposes are managed in achieving intended development results, and report
the results achieved to Parliament and the Canadian public. Thus, the Agency
Accountability Framework is a key component of the results-based management
approach discussed in section 3.3 above.
CIDA's accountability must be
viewed within the context of its partnership with developing countries and
Canadian and international partners. These partners play a vital role in policy
development and in the planning and delivery of Canada's Official Development
Assistance (ODA). The role of developing countries is central, as they provide
most of the efforts and resources invested in their development. Local ownership
is critical to the success of all development initiatives. In international
development assistance, partnership is both a necessary and optimal mode of
operation. The concepts of partnership and local ownership are fundamental
to the nature of CIDA's accountability for development results.
Monitoring and learning are
critical to inform the appropriate decisions and actions necessary to achieve
development results in the inherently high-risk environment of development
assistance. In connection with the accountabilities assumed by CIDA staff,
monitoring and learning are expected to contribute to increased effectiveness
in the delivery of development assistance.
As indicated above, CIDA holds
shared accountability for development results within the context of the interdependent
partnerships with recipient governments and Canadian, international and local
partners. CIDA's shared accountabilities for development results begin when
it makes the decision to engage in a partnership for development. Partnership
starts with shared commitments, continues with shared control and management,
and leads eventually to shared accountability for development results.
Accountabilities and the chain
of accountability are clearly defined and there is no sharing of accountabilities
in the internal accountability regime.
- CIDA is fully accountable
for policy frameworks, institutional strategic frameworks and strategies,
selection of projects, identification of relevant partners, formation of
development partnerships and design of strategies to achieve development
results. This involves various forms of analysis (developmental, institutional,
financial), identification of expected results, assessment of related risks,
performance assessment (e.g., monitoring and operational reviews) and the
exertion of influence through policies, advice and dialogue in altering
the conditions significant to the development of a region, a country or
an institution.
- Bilateral
programs usually involve a Canadian Executing Agency (CEA) as the implementor
of the initiative. The CEA is a contractor to CIDA. CIDA has complete control
of how the resources are used within the context of the contractual arrangement
and is therefore fully accountable for the selection of the contractor and
the management of the contract, that is, for the operational results related
to the decisions and actions taken in the management of its contractors.
- The
CEA is fully accountable for meeting its contractual obligations, which
are intended to achieve the development results sought by CIDA. The CEA,
by virtue of its commitment to development and its actions and decisions
aimed at producing development results, shares accountability with CIDA
and the recipient partners for the overall development results of the initiative.
- In
situations where Canadian entities establish a broader partnership with
CIDA to include project design, planning and implementation, such as in
iterative projects (LOB 5) or responsive mechanism initiatives (LOB 8),
their shared accountability increases, approximating that of CIDA.
- In those situations
where CIDA is working in broad collaboration and co-financing wth other
donors, accountabilities need to be carefully defined and agreed upon during
the program design.
CIDA is also accountable for
achieving operational results, the quality of these being measured
by their degree of effectiveness, efficiency, probity, prudence, and transparency.
CIDA is fully accountable for setting objectives, formulating policies, selection
of development initiatives, allocation of resources, and the monitoring of
selected initiatives.
For information on accountabilities
within the context of bilateral project teams, see section
4.5.
3.5 The
Performance Review Framework
CIDA'
s Policy for Performance Review (July 1994) together with the Update
of CIDA's Policy for Performance Review (November 1996) sets out the
purpose, elements and organization of the Agency Performance Review Framework
which includes a variety of tools such as evaluations, internal audits, monitoring,
etc. The Framework
of Results and Key Success Factors is an important element of the
Performance Review Framework and is linked directly with the audit criteria
which the Office of the Auditor General will use in its periodic reviews of
CIDA programs.
The Performance Review Framework
described in CIDA's Policy for Performance Review:
- provides a simple, integrated
approach to performance review at all levels;
- indicates three levels of
performance review and the accountabilities for each; and
- identifies a limited number
of instruments for use at each level.
Implementation of the Performance
Review Framework enables CIDA to:
- improve decision-making to
achieve better performance;
- monitor progress towards
development results, value for money, relevance to mandate, policies and
priorities and compliance with laws and regulations applicable to the Agency;
and
- report to Parliament and
the public on CIDA's aid effectiveness.
Responsibility for the development
of the overall Performance Review Framework is shared jointly by Performance
Review Branch (PRB), the program branches and Policy Branch. Many performance
review activities are carried out directly by CIDA staff, both at the program
branch and corporate levels.
The three main levels of performance
review indicated in the Framework are:
- Performance Measurement
(Assessment) (Program Branch responsibility with PRB support):
Performance measurement
is the on-going review of projects and programs through project or institutional
monitoring, operational reviews, end-of-projects reporting, institutional
assessment and special studies. These activities are carried out under the
direction of managers and staff in the program branches in relation to both
the operational and development performance of their programs and projects
(Section 9.8). Summary information is provided in the Annual Report to Parliament
(Section 12.5). These self-assessment activities contribute to the Performance
Review function described below.
- Performance Review and
Evaluation (PRB responsibility with Program Branch participation):
Performance review
provides independent and objective advice to management on the continued
relevance, success, and cost-effectiveness of policies, programs and projects,
i.e. development performance. Performance review activities include
reviews on major themes or program priorities set out in Canada
in the World. In addition to providing such independent advice to
the President and Executive Committee, evaluations also provide CIDA staff
with findings and cross-cutting analyses which help build the knowledge
base of CIDA's policies and practices.
- Internal Audit (PRB
responsibility with Program Branch participation):
An internal audit is an independent
appraisal function that assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of management
frameworks at all levels. It provides information on the effectiveness
and efficiency of systems, practices and built-in controls adopted to achieve
stated objectives. An internal audit assists CIDA managers and staff by
identifying improvements to operational practices and systems that support
the delivery of development assistance and contributes to the Agency's institutional
learning capacity by disseminating best management practices.
The above Agency regulatory
environment and key program management frameworks provide the general context
for the Bilateral Program and Project Management Frameworks and bilateral
program delivery processes described in the following chapters.
