Public Health Agency of Canada
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Summative Evaluation: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Initiative (2004-2009)
Management Response and Action Plan
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| Evaluation Recommendations | Management Response |
Management Action Plan | Deliverables | Expected Completion Date |
Responsibility |
Accountability | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taking into account the findings of the evaluation, the FASD Initiative, going forward should focus their efforts on fulfilling the key roles that stakeholders look to the Federal Government for: working with Other Government Departments, coordination and collaboration to avoid duplication and overlap across Canada, and ensuring a concerted holistic approach (with such things as national guidelines, tools) that takes into account regional disparity and the bounds of the Federal role. | Agree |
PHAC will continue to: Take a holistic, integrated approach to FASD , recognizing that FASD is not just a health issue but has long term societal and economic implications. Coordinate FASD activities at the Federal level, by chairing an Interdepartmental FASD Working Group that serves to identify federal priorities and opportunities for joint funding and collaborative action through multi-sector stakeholder partnerships. Engage and work with provinces and territories both independently and through intergovernmental coalitions (CNFASDP, FIANO, Atlantic Intergovernmental Working Group on FASD ) to coordinate and collaborate in order to avoid duplication. Coordinate its efforts with national organizations such as SOGC, CAPHC, CPS, and other health care and allied health professional organizations. The FASD National Strategic Projects Fund solicitations, both directed and open, will build public health capacity through leadership and action related to core public health functions. Through it’s G&C fund, the initiative will build public health capacity by helping to maintain focus on improved health and allied professional capability to address FASD. |
Regular meeting with: Inter-departmental Working Group on FASD |
Twice a Year |
Director - Division of Childhood and Adolescence |
Director General - Centre for Health Promotion |
| Inter-governmental coalitions | Bi-Annually | ||||||
| Key national organizations | Bi-Annually | ||||||
| 2 | The FASD Initiative program managers should take note of the gaps in maturity identified in this evaluation and make decisions on where the FASD Initiative can have the greatest impact going forward; thus focusing on developing criteria (e.g. funding criteria, selection criteria) to ensure that these types of projects are funded regardless of mechanism (strategic projects, O&M projects, regional projects). | Agree with Conditions Conditions: Activities of the Federal FASD Initiative are aligned with its strategic workplan, which was developed jointly with FNIHB and stakeholders, including the CNFASDP. By planning their work collaboratively, these organizations are able to jointly fund projects in a more strategic manner. |
As funding allocated for FASD is limited, management will continue to focus on strategic objectives consistent with the Federal public health role. | Strategic plan outlining strategic goals and objectives | Yearly | Director - Division of Childhood and Adolescence |
Director General - Centre for Health Promotion |
| 3 | Ensure the complement of existing FTEs and allocated tasks is reflective of any modifications in strategic direction that result from RECOMMENDATION 2 | Agree | As the initiative continues to carry out the activities as outlined above, management will ensure that existing FTEs and allocated tasks follow strategic objectives. Since the 06-07 fiscal year, the initiative has engaged a project management expert to make sure that existing FTEs and allocated tasks are aligned with its strategic workplan. |
Work planning at beginning of each fiscal year. Project management to ensure that existing FTEs and allocated tasks are consistent with strategic direction |
On a yearly basis | FASD Initiative Manager | Director - Division of Childhood and Adolescence |
| 4 | Going forward a standard template should be filled out for all activities/projects that are funded with FASD dollars. The template should be housed centrally and used to ensure that, at minimum, basic information be collected including: who received the funds, the amount of funding, the projects objectives, related activities, and general outputs/immediate impacts. An individual should be responsible for ensuring the integrity of the data and for maintaining centralized financial data for the program as a whole. | Agree with Conditions Conditions: |
Work has started both in the regional offices and NCR to develop a data collection tool for tracking all FASD projects and funds. A draft template should be ready for pilot testing in the 2008-09 fiscal year. A position will be assigned to the task maintaining the tool and coordinating input. A system is already in place to track financial information related to the program. The program’s clerk will be responsible for tracking O&M and G&C expenditures. Program management will also obtain the required financial reports (100s & 310s) to have a complete picture of expenditures. |
Draft template for review by Regional Staff |
June 2008 |
FASD Initiative Manager | Director - Division of Childhood and Adolescence |
| Reviewed template end of July 2008 | end of July 2008 | ||||||
| Trial period | August - September 2008 | ||||||
| Final template | end of November 2008 | ||||||
| Use of tool by FASD Initiative staff for activities of the 08-09 fiscal year | December 1, 2008 | ||||||
| Evaluate use of the tool and make appropriate changes | May 2009 | ||||||
| Obtain the required financial reports (100s & 310s) | Immediately | ||||||
| Discussion with Children’s Managers and regional leads for setting up a common system for tracking expenditures. | By March 31st 2009 | ||||||
| 5 | As per the Blue Ribbon Panel Report efforts should be made to simplify the grants and contribution application process and administrative processes should be improved to allow the FASD Initiative the opportunity to be more strategic in their approach to FASD by: 1) making the federal PHAC FASD budget known early in the fiscal year and releasing it early in the fiscal year; 2) providing the Initiative with approval to post RFPs on a regular basis (e.g. annually, every two years); and 3) providing more timely/streamlined decisions on proposed projects. | Agree with Conditions Conditions: The approval to solicit on a regular basis and the timeliness of approval processes is beyond the program’s control. Making the FASD program budget available and releasing it early in the fiscal year is beyond the program’s control. |
The FASD initiative will continue to be diligent in following the RFP process and to provide timely reviews of proposals. | Provide timely reviews of proposals | Ongoing | FASD Initiative Manager | Director - Division of Childhood and Adolescence |
| G&C allocations should be reviewed to ensure that both national and region specific projects are given proper attention. If regions continue to expend the majority of G&C funds, they need to do so within the strategic objectives that are set out for a particular year (see recommendation 2) while taking into account regional disparity (e.g. 50% of regional funds to advance overall Initiative objectives and 50% to support region specific projects). | Agree with conditions Conditions: Funding and priorities for FASD differ from one province to another so the strategic areas of federal intervention must be flexible to ensure that there is no duplication, in keeping with the role stakeholders look to the federal government for as stated in recommendation 1 (e.i. coordination and collaboration). |
PHAC continues to be more strategic about its solicitation processes. FASD National Strategic Projects Fund will continue to allocate funds according to pre-determined strategic objectives NCR and regional staff as well as Children’s Managers will continue to jointly plan to meet FASD and PHAC strategic and operational objectives to address the disparities that exist across Canada in readiness to address FASD. In an effort to strengthen its governance, PHAC will seek greater integration of national program policy lead and regional program delivery. |
Regional leads to develop and submit a strategic plan for their region | Beginning of each fiscal year | Program Manager | Director - Division of Childhood and Adolescence |
Recommendation of the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Evaluation Advisory Committee
| Evaluation Recommendations | Management Response (eg. agree; disagree; agree with conditions) |
Management Action Plan | Deliverables | Expected Completion Date (For Each Deliverable) |
Responsibility (Position) |
Accountability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In compliance with the Federal Accountability Act, the FASD Initiative should evaluate it’s National Strategic Projects fund in five years. | Agree | The FASD Initiative will conduct an evaluation of the FASD National Strategic Projects Fund and FASD Initiative as a whole. |
Contract with evaluation consultants and conduct evaluation. |
By March 31st, 2013 | Program Manager | Director - Division of Childhood and Adolescence |
| The FASD Initiative will conduct regular evaluations of the National Strategic Projects Fund implementation processes | Evaluate G&C Implementation processes | End of every funding cycle |
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