September 2008
CCAF and Government of Alberta release final report on “Consultations on Improving Public Performance Reports in Alberta”
Public Performance Reports (PPRs) have become an important accountability tool since they were first introduced over a decade ago. The Government of Alberta, wanting to further improve PPRs, initiated a direct dialogue between the producers and users of these reports. Alberta’s goal is that, as a result of the improvements suggested by users through this engagement process, these reports will be more widely used.
The Government of Alberta’s Treasury Board, in order to consult PPR users, turned to CCAF, Canada’s leader in research on public sector accountability. “CCAF saw this project as a great opportunity to put our Sloan Foundation grant to work in a way that would lead to practical recommendations for improving Public Performance Reporting,” said Geoff Dubrow, Director of Capacity Development at CCAF. “The Government of Alberta’s Treasury Board was a natural partner, given our longstanding collaboration and their reputation as a leader in this field.”
In October, November and December 2007, CCAF engaged legislators, the media, and non-governmental organizations in separate sessions to hear directly from users regarding what works, what does not, and why. Alberta organizations represented a cross-section of interests, in the first consultation of its kind in which CCAF has participated.
For the purposes of this process, Public Performance Reports refer to “the formal mechanisms that governments use to communicate with legislators and the public on its performance, including its financial performance.” Participants looked at ministry/agency and whole-of-government reports, both the forward-looking business plans and historical annual reports. General communications, public relations materials, and internal reports, as well as reports prepared by the Auditors General were deemed beyond the scope of this consultation.
At the two hour sessions held in Edmonton and Calgary this October and November, participants responded to a written questionnaire that established baseline measures and participated in a lively dialogue. They were asked:
- How do they use PPR, and for what purposes?
- What information do they want to see in these PPRs and what can go?
- What information do they consider the most and the least important in assessing the performance results of the Alberta government’s policies, programs or services?
- What specific content or processes would increase or decrease their confidence in the information presented in these documents?
- What format or layout (e.g. graphs, tables, bullets, text) would be the most useful/least useful when receiving this information?
- What form of distribution (e.g. e-mail, internet, and hard copy) would be most useful/least useful?
Three of the themes that emerged from the consultative sessions echoed user comments that CCAF has heard in other jurisdictions. First, users had constructive suggestions on how to make these reports more compelling. To strengthen the link between the producers and users, greater community engagement in the development of these reports generally, and performance measures specifically, was suggested. Second, relevance was a theme many commented on. Suggestions to make reports more relevant included: more closely aligning the linkages between goals, strategies, and measures; placing greater emphasis on reporting on results instead of processes; and seeking input into performance measures when writing annual strategic plans. The third theme was related to improving the accessibility of these reports. Many proposed better harnessing the internet and technology when considering what form these reports should take. Proposals included disaggregating the data so that readers could draw their own conclusions and demographic breakdowns
Click here for a copy of the final report.
Click here for a document summarizing "What We Heard".
For more information on CCAF’s Program for Improved Public Performance Reporting, a three-year program to propose practical improvements to the quality and usability of PPR, visit: www.performancereporting.ca.
To read the Government of Alberta’s Measuring Up Report or Ministry Business Plans, visit: http://www.treasuryboard.gov.ab.ca/Accountability/index.cfm