Follow-up Audit of Capacity Development - Follow-up Report Status Update as of December 31, 2014

1. AANDC should strengthen the focus on capacity development in its proposed policies and program activities through the following actions:

i. The Senior ADM PSD, with the support of the Senior ADM RO, the CFO, and the ADM NAO, should work with all ADMs to establish departmental capacity development priorities and/or principles to guide the Department in making improvements to its capacity development policies and program activities. Due consideration should be given to opportunities for each program to enforce synergies with other programs and support the broader capacity development needs of First Nations communities, people, institutions and professional organizations.

Status: Request to Close - Completed

i. As of 31/12/2014:
Following an extensive internal departmental engagement process, four proposed principles were developed to guide internal priority setting and decision-making. Operations Committee's approval of proposed principles was obtained on Wednesday, October 1, 2014. Operations Committee requested follow-up information on links with similar existing internationally-endorsed principles developed in the Canadian context. These will be presented to Operations Committee in conjunction with the results of Recommendation 4, which are pending.

ii. The Senior ADM PSD, with the support of the Senior ADM RO, the CFO, and the ADM NAO, should work with all ADMs to ensure that the policy development and program design and approval functions of the Department include an appropriate process and challenge function to ensure that the Department's capacity development principles and/or priorities are considered and reflected in all policy and program proposals, and that planned capacity development activities are sufficient to achieve the Department's capacity development priorities.

Initial recommendations for implementation mechanisms and processes were developed for Operations Committee's information on October 1, 2014. Final proposed recommendations will be presented to Operations Committee in conjunction with the results of Recommendation 4, which are pending.

AES: Implementation ongoing. Recommendation will be closed once approval received.

2. The Senior ADM PSD, with support of all AANDC senior executives, should:

i. Facilitate the establishment of research and data analysis priorities to support the Government of Canada in improving First Nations capacity development approaches and programming; and

Status: Request to Close - Completed

i(a) As of 30/09/2014:
After completing the report in Spring 2014, the Strategic Research Directorate was asked to undertake a second round of consultations on the output, which took place over the course of June-August 2014 using GCconnex and GCpedia. New commentary was integrated and the paper was finalized in early September 2014. In addition, the Strategic Research Plan was approved by Strategic Policy Committee on September 15, 2014.

i(b) As of 30/09/2014:
The Community Well-Being Index was completed in spring 2014. However, its public release has been delayed to Q4.

i(c) As of 30/09/2014:
The Committee's final December 2013 briefing included AANDC perspectives on the limitations of using administrative data to support performance measurement and evidence-based decision-making as it relates to Aboriginal people.

ii. Review and clarify the department's role as a coordinator and facilitator of research and programming focused on First Nations capacity development, with other Government departments, academia and other stakeholders interested in researching and investing in First Nations capacity development.

ii. As of 31-12-14:
Two AIMC meetings have taken place in 2014 (on February 19, 2014, and on October 1, 2014). The latter meeting focused on four topics: 1) Inuit health: Selected findings from the 2012 APS, 2) Update on the First Nations Regional Early Childhood Education and Employment Survey, 3) Update on Phase III of the First Nations Regional Health Survey, and 4) Aboriginal Data Framework. The meeting concluded with roundtable updates from participating departments and organizations. The next meeting is planned for approximately February 2015 and will be hosted and chaired by Public Safety Canada.

AES: Implementation complete. Recommendation to be closed. Closed.

Status: Request to Close – Completed

Update/Rationale:
As of 31/12/2013:

The Chief Financial Officer in working with the Senior ADM-RO and the ADM-NAO developed a national Case Management approach, including a template and tools to support implementation (e.g., bulletin and frequently asked questions).

Currently, each region implements its own version of a Case Management approach. The Chief Financial Officer sector has proposed a standard national Case Management approach to have a consistent national framework. We will learn from this experience through regions and refine it accordingly.

AES: Implemented. The recommendation will be closed. Closed.

4. The Senior ADM RO, with support of the Chief Financial Officer, Senior ADM PSD and program ADMs, should analyze the Department's capacity development investments across regions and programs to determine whether program and community-level approaches and funding allocations are informed by the capacity-related needs of communities, considerate of risk, and aligned with departmental priorities for capacity development.

Based on the results of analysis, and guided by AANDC's immediate capacity development priorities, the Senior ADM RO and program ADMs, with support of the Chief Financial Officer, should act upon opportunities to strengthen capacity development activities within each AANDC program.

Status: Underway

Update/Rationale:
As of 31/12/2014:

The initial analysis of capacity development investments was completed in early December 2014. The final analysis is dependent on CWBI 2011 data, the release of which has been pushed back from Summer 2014 to Winter 2015.

The initial findings of the analysis and recommendations were presented at DGIOC, EXCOMM, and the Indian Government Support Working Group. Based on the direction of senior management, analysis will be refined by a departmental committee with representatives from sectors with capacity development programming, PSD and regions. Recommendations stemming from the analysis will be available by Q1.

AES: Implementation ongoing.