United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

In an effort to strengthen the calibre of Cabinet documents developed across the Department, senior management in Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) recommended that a guide be developed to assist analysts in writing Cabinet documents (e.g memorandum to cabinet or MCs; Treasury Board submissions).

HRSDC examined the needs of staff through surveys, consultation and focus groups; and with feedback received, decided to expand the focus beyond a Guide to write Cabinet documents, to a more comprehensive Policy Development Guide (PDG), a Web-based, reference and learning tool, with accompanying Handbook, for all staff, notwithstanding their area of expertise. The objective was to help employees to understand policy and program development in the context of the Department and the Public Service at large.

Moreover, with the Clerk’s (of the Privy Council Office) Public Service-wide priority on renewal in the areas of planning, recruitment, employee development and enabling structure; the influx of new entrants to the Public Service, and impending retirement of significant numbers of policy and program experts; as well the HRSDC’s focus on excellence, the development of the PDG was indeed timely.

Policy and program development is a key function of HRSDC’s mandate. Resources, information and tools to help analysts develop strong policy and program initiatives tend to be dispersed within and outside the Department; with the PDG, HRSDC brings key pieces together in a plain language and an easily accessible way, in a central location (via their Intranet site).

This tool was developed by employees from across the Department using a bottom up approach—as a result, is tailored to their diverse needs. While the PDG is not accessible externally, outside HRSDC, it has nonetheless prompted a lot of interest from other Government departments looking to develop similar tools tailored to their own needs, using the PDG as a model.

Given the timeliness of this innovative initiative, the tool will help make HRSDC a leader and benchmark of best practices in the area of policy and program development

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
The PDG is a prime example of a collaborative initiative. It is built by employees (for employees) using a bottom up approach; support for the Guide was unanimous across the Department from the outset. Both staff and management recognize and openly acknowledge its benefits. For the Guide: contributes to the retention of corporate knowledge; helps to promote transparency and accountability by encouraging information sharing, as well as internal dialogue and network building between employees formally and informally; fosters learning and skills development for new and existing employees; supports senior and middle management by helping to strengthen the quality of documents routed through the system; and supports culture change by strengthening critical and analytical thinking in the development of policy and program initiatives. This Web-based learning resource provides a reliable reference tool for new entrants and existing employees, supporting HRSDC’s corporate pursuit of excellence. Employees surveyed viewed the Guide as a harmonized way of developing policy, and a useful, easily accessible learning tool that helps them increase their knowledge and empower them at all stages of the policy and program development process; helping to make the Department a leader in these areas. This ensures that strong policy and program analysis are an intrinsic element of HRSDC’s culture and policy/program development processes. The development of more robust policies and programs will have direct impact in enhancing the lives and wellbeing of Canadians.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
In 2007, in its aim to strengthen Cabinet documents being developed across Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) proposed the development of a guide to assist analysts in writing memorandum to cabinet documents (MCs). The Strategy and Integration Directorate within HRSDC was tasked with developing this tool. An analyst was assigned to help move this initiative forward. A proposal was developed and presented to the Department’s Director General (DG) Policy and Program Committee to seek feedback and suggestions. There was a unanimous consensus that such a tool would be beneficial to employees across the Department. However, with limited resources, the work on the MC Guide advanced slowly. In 2008, a team was put in place to further advance the PDG. Given the diverse needs of its target audience, consultation and support across the HRSDC was essential. The PDG Team spoke with other government organizations that have developed or are developing similar initiatives to obain best practices and lessons learned. While the Ministry of Natural Resources Ontario have developed something similar, no other initiative of this magnitude has been put in place. Consequently, management, internal experts (writers), staff and external government organizations were prime contributors to the implementation and (continued) success of the Policy Development Guide. HRSDC intends to continue working with internal and external organizations to enhance the Guide over the long-term. The content of the Guide was developed by experts in HRSDC. 75 people either volunteered or were selected to write over 65 sections for the Guide due to their expertise in specific fields. A PDG Steering Committee was established to oversee the development of the Guide. All content were presented to this Committee for review, feedback and approval. All sections of the PDG were placed on the PDG Interactive Forum (wiki technology)—which mirrored the PDG Website, to engage staff across the Department. The outreach covered every Branch in the HRSDC to garner feedback; the Guide adjusted to reflect the feedback from management and future users. The Guide has to date been presented to five other Government Departments, one of whom have expressed an interest in working collaboratively with them to develop a similar Government-wide product.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The success of the implementation of the PDG is largely due to collavorative approach adopted. After receiving approval from management and the Deputy Minister, the PDG pilot was launched through low-key awareness-building events on various sites, on July 15, 2008. Staff was notified about the launch through the electronic HRSDC Bulletin, e-mails and posters. The Guide was piloted with over 500 people across the Department. Content was developed using the PDG Interactive Forum (wiki technology). Staff selected for the pilot provided all comments/feedback through this Forum. Writers were asked to review their respective sections (thus feedback received from future users) on the Forum and use this feedback to modify their content accordingly. The PDG Team provided training to users on how to use the Interactive Forum to provide suggestions on the content. In addition, they worked with their internal Graphics Team to design the Website, Handbook and promotional tools (e.g. posters; bookmarks; including a set of frequently asked questions sheet; etc.) to help build awareness across the Department. Feedback obtained from the PDG pilot was used to enhance the PDG Website and create the accompanying Handbook. Once all sections of the Guide were submitted by writers, an external editor was hired to review content to ensure that it had a common look and feel, also that the tone and language used throughout were consistent. Once the content was finalized, it was uploaded onto the site by HRSDC’s internal Graphics Team. With the assistance of a Learning Event Working Group, they planned the Excellence and Leadership Learning Event for all staff. The PDG was officially launched by the Deputy Minister of HRSDC through this Event on November 26, 2008 and offered a series of (20) interactive workshops (built off the PDG), facilitated by experts and leaders from within and outside the Department. The interest expressed for this Event was impressive, over 700 people registered. Evaluation results from the Event showed a strong appetite for learning initiatives such as this one. HRSDC intends to use the PDG to develop additional learning and development initiatives for staff, in fact, they will be launching the HRSDC Cabinet Boot Camp workshop, to assist analysts drafting Cabinet documents, on February 23, 2009. This workshop will be delivered three times a year. The Director-level Steering Committee, made up of members from across the Branch (put in place to oversee the the development of the Guide) will provide continued support as the PDG Team enhances Guide over the medium-and long-term.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The following are the steps that they took to develop and implement the Policy Development Guide: February-June 2008 - Developed proposal for PDG concept—looked to other organizations for possible lessons learned and best practices - Shared proposal with colleagues across the Department to obtain suggestions and feedback, also to gauge interest - Presented draft proposal to their HRSDC DG Policy and Program Committee for initial comments, ideas and assessed their level of support - Finalized list of internal writers/experts (75) for all sections of the Guide - Revised proposal with feedback obtained from Committee members - Consulted with senior management (DGs and ADMs) across the Department to obtain buy-in - Established Director-level PDG Steering Committee made up of individuals across the Department - Drafted a communications and sustainability plan - Worked with their internal Evaluation Branch to develop a logic model to evaluate and monitor success - Worked with their internal Graphics Team to design the PDG Website and promotional tools - Worked with internal Systems to create the PDG Interactive Forum (using wiki technology) to develop the PDG content and engage staff in discussion about the Guide July-August 2008 - Presented the initial PDG concept to ADM-level Policy and Program Committee for approval to move forward with pilot of the PDG - Received Deputy Minister’s approval to launch the PDG pilot - Pilot launched July 15, 2008—with 500 staff across the Department - Provided staff with training of the PDG and Interactive Forum - Modified PDG Website and developed accompanying Handbook with feedback received from focus groups and PDG survey - Presented the PDG to external Departments and agencies (e.g. Canadian Heritage, Health Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Canada School of Public Service, Treasury Board Secretariat, Privy Council Office) September-November 2008 - Hired external consultant to review the content of the PDG to ensure consistency in tone and language - Sought feedback on and completion of accompanying Handbook - Ongoing enhancement of the Website - Sought approval from Senior ADM and DM (through briefing note) to officially launch the PDG - Approval from DM obtained - Planned launch Event with the support and assistance of colleagues across the Department - Officially launched the Policy Development Guide on November 26, 2008 at their Excellence and Leadership Learning Event Ongoing - HRSDC is now building courses and workshops off the PDG, example include, their Cabinet Boot Camp which will be launched on February 23, 2009 and offered three times a year (to help analysts enhance their skills in writing Cabinet documents); as well as the course How HRSDC Works, completely built off the Guide - The PDG Team continues to consult with other government departments and agencies for example Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) who have expressed an interest in using the Guide as a model to develop a similar tool for their needs - Consideration is being given to expanding the Guide (or a similar version) across the federal Government

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
- Senior management noted that the program aspect of the Guide needed strengthening. The PDG Team is now consulting with their colleagues in Program areas of the Department to bolster these sections. - A service delivery component was missing—the Team is working with their Service Canada counterparts to integrate this component, as part of the second (post launch) phase of the PDG - Employees were very reticent about using the PDG Interactive Forum to discuss content and provide feedback to writers. To address this, the PDG Team trained staff across the Department to make them more at ease using the Forum. The number of people using the Forum to provide feedback considerably increased following these training sessions. The PDG Team continues to enhance the Forum to make it more user-friendly - Lack of human resources – a Team was put in place to lead the development of the Guide and will continue to do so in the future

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
Almost all work on the PDG was done internally, with the exception of the editor; the printing of complex materials such as PDG Handbook; and the venue used for the launch Event. All funding for the PDG was secured through a cost-sharing agreement between several Branches across the Department, reflecting the horizontal and collaborative nature of this initiative. Resources included: - In terms of human resources: o A small Team of 3-4, people, including 1 student, led the development of the Policy Development Guide, drawing upon other colleagues for support when needed, for example the planning of the pilot and launch event o Internal experts (75) across the Department were selected or volunteered as writers of the Guide o A consultant was hired to edit the content o Internal Graphics was used to design the Website and develop promotional materials (this is ongoing) Other resources: - Room rental, technical equipment (e.g. microphones, stage, etc.) and printing of promotional materials for launch Event Not including Full-time equivalents (FTEs), the overall costs for the development of the Policy Development Guide is under $45, 000; the bulk of this went towards hiring of the editor/consultant, at $23, 000

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
Keeping the Policy Development Guide (PDG) current and relevant over the long-term will require ongoing engagement, marketing and promotion, as well as resources (both financial and human). The PDG will continue to be housed on HRSDC’s Intranet site; maintained by the PDG Team. The Team will also provide leadership and coordination of the Guide, working with the PDG Steering Committee, (which will continue to meet, but on an ad hoc basis) and writers/experts to ensure that content of the Guide are kept up-to-date with the latest development taking place in policy/program areas. Maintaining the PDG over the long-term will be a shared effort across the Department. Writers will be called upon to update their respective sections and present it to the PDG Steering Committee for review and approval at 6-8 months intervals. The PDG Interactive Forum (wiki technology) will play an important role in helping to keep the PDG current, promoting ongoing engagement of employees. The accompanying Handbook, which provides a series of generic checklists for analysts, will be reviewed and re-printed every two years. Information included therein was intentionally made more general, to prevent it from rapidly getting dated, thus reducing printing costs over the long-term. The content of this Guide is fairly generic and therefore transferable. Several Departments have expressed a strong interest in using the PDG to develop a similar model tailored to their needs (e.g. Health Canada, Canadian Heritage, Canada School of Public Service). With increasing interest from other Government departments, they are looking at ways in which to expand the PDG to a Government-wide tool that would benefit all federal Public Servants, some of whom are contacting the PDG Team to obtain copies of the PDG Handbook. HRSDC will seize all opportunities to market the PDG and build awareness internally and externally over the short, medium- and long-term. However, to be fully effective, this will require assistance and full support of Steering Committee members and senior management. The PDG Team will ensure that an update on the PDG is provided to senior management at least twice a year; and continue to promote the PDG through their Interactive Forum, HRSDC Bulletins and Newsletter; policy, learning events, workshops and courses internally and externally; posters; Department orientation sessions; and presentations to other government departments. The Team will work with colleagues across their Department to build courses off the Guide.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
While the development of the PDG was spearheaded by a small team (a manager, with a senior and junior analyst, as well as a student) within HRSDC, success was achieved through the collaborative approach adopted—HRSDC was able to get full support for this initiative across the Department. The PDG is also gaining more recognition externally—the initiative and the process adopted could provide excellent lessons learned and best practices for other organization, some of whom, for example, who have expressed an interest in the tool and adopting it to their own needs. Moreover, a PDG Steering Committee comprised of members across the Department was established to ensure that the PDG truly reflects and captures the views across the entire HRSDC portfolio. The bottom up approach enabled full participation and engagement of staff, users of the Guide; it also allowed analysts across the Department to be recognized as experts in their field and gave them a sense of ownership of the Guide. Throughout the development process, advantages of engaging senior management one on-on were noted, to obtain buy-in (and allies) prior to presenting the PDG proposal to the broader management table. The PDG Team created a communications plan early on and ensured that the messaging, linked to the Department and Government priorities (e.g. departmental renewal and excellence), was continuous and consistent throughout the development of the initiative. They provided training to staff to encourage them to use the Guide (thus creating a sense of ease with the PDG and Interactive Forum) and build awareness. This assisted in the success of the PDG. The Team will continue to provide PDG training sessions in the future. They also realized the importance of working with their internal Evaluation staff to develop a logic model and Evaluation Plan, identifying indicators of success and ensuring that the PDG continues to meet the needs of its audience over the long-term. They found that the surveys developed prior and post Event was immensely useful in assessing the needs of employees and will conduct another survey six months after the launch of the PDG (the latter November 26, 2008). They solicited and continue to solicit the participation of people who have pertinent expertise both within and outside the Department to keep the PDG timely and relevant to staff.


Institution Name:		Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, Government of Canada
Institution Type:		Government Department
Contact Person:		Marian Campbell-Jarvis
Title:		Director General
Telephone/ Fax:		(819) 953-4416
Institution's / Project's Website:		(819) 953-4701
E-mail:		marian.campbelljarvis@hrsdc-rhdsc.gc.ca
Address:		Place du Portage, Phase IV, 3rd Floor, Strategic Policy and Research Branch
Postal Code:		K1A 0J9
City:		Gatineau
State/Province:		Quebec
Country:		Canada

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information