Performance Monitoring Report 2006-2007

8. CORPORATE MANAGEMENT

Corporate Management provides support to the Board's strategic outcomes (Conditional Release Decisions, Open and Accountable Decision Processes and Pardon Decisions and Clemency Recommendations).

8.1 INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SERVICES

As of June 26, 2006, Corporate Services became known as Integrated Management Services when Corporate Services was amalgamated with the Information Management and Information Technology branches. Activities include participation in the development of the planning and accountability framework and a range of services in the areas of finance, material management, human resources, security and administration, records management and information holdings, as well as IT infrastructure and IT application management services.

The following are some of the activities undertaken by Integrated Management Services in 2006/07:

Partnership with Correctional Services Canada

As of April 1, 2007, the Correctional Service of Canada ( CSC) and the National Parole Board (NPB) agreed to enter into a Shared Services Partnership whereby CSC became the provider of all Information Technology services to NPB, including the development and management of the NPB's portion of the Offender Management System.

This shared-services partnership resulted in the transfer of IT resources from NPB to CSC which will contribute to meeting NPB's technology needs and priorities. More specifically, as of April 1, 2007, IT staff at NPB came under the umbrella of CSC's Information Management Services Branch.

The spirit of this agreement is aimed at empowering CSC's and NPB's management cadre to direct the IT functions in the best interests of both organizations. CSC and NPB have agreed to establish a governance committee and process which will direct the further development and management of OMS as well as the ongoing delivery of all IT services for NPB.

Human Resources

Internal Classification Review

For several years prior to 2002, NPB managers and staff felt that their positions were under classified in relation to other government departments. This was clearly identified in both the 1999 and 2002 Public Service Employee Surveys. To address this concern, the NPB initiated, in 2002, a review of the classification of all its positions.

As a first step, management, with the input of the employees, updated all work descriptions and the classification review process was successfully implemented during the 2005/06 fiscal year. However, some of the results were challenged with 45 positions being grieved. In 2006/07, the NPB proceeded to the final phase of resolving all matters pertaining to the classification review.

Partnership with Correctional Services Canada for IT Services Delivery

In 2006/07, the NPB completed the computer services group review and proceeded to transfer this responsibility and resources to Correctional Services Canada. This involves approximately 20 positions. 2007/08 will be a transition year to determine the service delivery model and implement the transfer of staff.

Public Service Modernization Act

With the successful implementation of the Public Service Modernization Act (PSMA), which enacted a new Public Service Labour Relations Act (PSLRA) and a new Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), the NPB Human Resources Section undertook work to develop, and after consultation, implement new policies, processes and procedures. The year 2006/07 represented a period of adjustment, familiarization and application of the many changes in both the PSEA and PSLRA. The Board continues to make strides in order to ensure full compliance with these legislations and their spirit. As well, all reporting requirements were met including NPB's Departmental Staffing Accountability Report to the Public Service Commission.

Human Resources Plan

NPB undertook work to finalize a comprehensive human resources plan incorporating many facets of sound human resources management linked to NPB's organizational business lines and government priorities. NPB will be facing many challenges in the coming years and this plan will be critical to ensuring that it can achieve its mandate.

Finance and Materiel Management

Government-Wide Implementation of the Financial Information Strategy (FIS)

As of March 31, 2007, the Financial Information Strategy (FIS) had been in place for six years at the National Parole Board. The fifth set of departmental financial statements, prepared on an accrual basis and consistent with private sector-like accounting practices, was completed by the end of June 2006. The information used in the preparation of these financial statements as well as in the monthly trial balances will help to enhance decision-making and accountability and improve organizational performance through the strategic use of financial information. It is also interesting to note that the Board's statements have been used as a model for the small agency community.

During the 2007/08 fiscal year, the Integrated Management Services Division plans to implement:

• Financial statement changes in relation to the reporting of the Statement of Cash Flows using the direct rather than the indirect method. This was planned for 2005/06 but due to technical issues has had to be deferred to 2007/08.

Contracting Management Framework

During 2004/05, Consulting and Audit Canada ( CAC ) reviewed the NPB's contract management framework and recommended several key changes which included:

• the establishing of a contract advisor position,
• the creation of NPB specific policies and procedures, and
• training of NPB Regional Corporate Managers in contracting policies and procedures.

All of the above recommendations were acted upon during 2004/05. Training was provided to Regional Corporate Managers in June 2004 and December 2005, a consultant was hired in October 2004 to provide contracting advice and support to NPB management and contracting policies were made available to all NPB managers and staff by June 2005. A competition for a full time indeterminate contracting advisor was initiated in June 2005 and staffed in the autumn of 2005. However, due to high employee turnover in this position during 2005/06, the position was staffed twice and during 2006/07 the position has also been staffed twice. It is currently occupied by an indeterminate government employee.

Procurement Harvesting Initiative

During 2005/06, the NPB was one of the first to submit their material in response to the Procurement Harvesting Initiative. The NPB was advised by Public Works Government Services Canada (PWGSC) that its submission provided the most comprehensive issues identification, explanation and justification of all departments. As a result of the identified issues and the NPB's expressed concerns, its 2006/07 contribution was reduced by 50% to $50K. Additionally, the NPB's issues identification was used as the basis for the PWGSC's submission to the Treasury Board Secretariat to adjust many departments' required savings. The planned reduction for 2007/08 remains at the 2006/07 level of $50K.

Shared Travel Services Initiative (STSI)

The government-wide Shared Travel Services Initiative was launched during 2006/2007. This initiative will automate the travel claims processing function. Electronic travel authorities and claims will be filled out online using a PWGSC travel processing system and approvals by RC Managers will also be performed electronically. The NPB has completed their gap analysis with regions and anticipate the implementation of a pilot in the Ontario Region in the fall of 2007.

Accommodations and Security

Security – Management of Information Technology Security (MITS) Standard

The MITS Status Report for the National Parole Board was sent to Treasury Board Secretariat. The questionnaire provided the assessment of NPB's compliance with the standard "Management of Information Technology Security (MITS)".

As recently announced, the Commissioner of the CSC and the Chairperson of the NPB have implemented a "shared services model" approach for the provision of all IT services by CSC to NPB, including all considerations of IT Security. This new approach will undoubtedly require some adjustments in the overall NPB security program, including NPB's compliance with MITS. The NPB constructed its plan bearing in mind the significant resource constraint the NPB persistently faces as a small agency while ensuring that its systems operate and services continue to be delivered with sufficient assurance of security and privacy. The assessment of the adjustments required will be completed over the next several months, with a phased implementation of the new model to be completed no later than March 31, 2008.

Accommodation

The NPB National Accommodation Plan (NAP) was developed from May to July 2005 in close cooperation with PWGSC Accommodation Management. In consultation with TB Secretariat, a decision was made to present the entire NAP but seek only the funding required for the short-term accommodation which was subsequently approved on September 28, 2005 . The NAP was updated to implement PWGSC comments and final space standards in order to obtain "sign-off" and endorsement of the medium and long term NAP . Funding was approved in December 2006.

The NAP 's recommended accommodation end-state, which utilizes the GoC space standards, will achieve significant space efficiencies; an accommodation program that is compliant; and required funding that will provide accommodations through 2020 and beyond (subject to NPB program changes).

Records Management and Information Holdings

In November 1993, the NPB chose Foremost as the electronic system that would be used to meet its IM obligations. The Board has met its responsibilities of managing all its information holdings by using the Documentum Records Manager 5.2.5. This Recorded Information Management System fulfills existing TBS policies and NPB's organizational requirements concerning the Management of Information Holdings. During the year, NPB completed the installation and upgrade of its Documentum Records Manager System in all NPB regional offices. The next challenge for the Board is to ensure that users are aware of their responsibilities under the Management of Government Information (MGI) Policy and extend training on the usage of Foremost to all NPB users.

8.2 PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

The mandate of the Performance Measurement Division (PMD) is to measure and evaluate the Board's two programs, conditional release and clemency and pardons and report on key aspects of these programs and their performance in core areas. This is an important role, as the PMD's performance monitoring activities feed into and play an integral part in all of the Board's activities.

The following are some of the activities undertaken by the Performance Measurement Division in 2006/07:

Performance Monitoring Report

The Performance Monitoring Report for 2005/06 was published and presented to the Executive Committee in September 2006. In this report, continued effort was made to link results to the strategic and operational objectives that the Board established in its Report on Plans and Priorities. The Performance Monitoring Report constitutes a very important and useful source of information for the Board and is used not only at National Office but also in the regions and by its partners in the criminal justice system. As the report is available on the Internet, it also contributes to educating the public about the Board and what it does. As well, the PowerPoint documents used for the presentation to the Executive Committee were shared with the regions and the National Office. Regional representatives have used components of these documents in their own presentations to their regional partners.

While the Performance Measurement Division publishes only one complete Performance Monitoring Report annually, a mid-year report is produced which provides a statistical overview of the year's trends and allows for corrective measures to be taken, if necessary.

Study of Average Length of Determinate Sentences

As the average length of determinate sentences has been decreasing over the years, a study covering the period between 1994-95 and September 2006 was completed in order to provide the Board with clarifications with regards to this trend. A report was produced and shared with the National office as well as the regions.

Management Accountability Framework (MAF)

Responsibility for coordination of the Management Accountability Framework was transferred to the Director of the Performance Measurement Division in August 2005.

In May 2006, a new MAF was developed in consultation with the managers of the various sectors of the NPB. The results were presented to the Senior Management Committee and served as the basis for the briefing notes for the meeting between the Chairperson and Treasury Board in the fall of 2006.

The development of the MAF allowed the identification of best management practices at the Board and areas where improvements could be made as well as the identification of certain risks which need to be addressed by the Board.

In the fall of 2006, a streamlined set of MAF indicators (20 instead of 41) was developed by TBS. As departments and agencies were to be assessed on the new set of indicators, the Division had to adapt the MAF to the new indicators. The updated MAF was completed and shared with managers in December 2006.

The work related to the development of the MAF provided the Division with valuable information for the annual review and update of the Corporate Risk Profile and Risk Management Plan.

Management Accountability Framework-Assessment Round IV

NPB participated in Round IV of TBS' MAF assessments which began on November 1, 2006 . The NPB submitted the required information to TBS and the preliminary results received from TBS were positive. TBS's report should be finalized in 2007/08.

Risk Management at the NPB

The policies of Treasury Board require that all ministries and agencies develop a multi-year audit and evaluation plan. To be acceptable, the plan must be based on the risk the organization faces.

The division therefore undertook, in 2004/05, to develop the NPB's corporate risk profile and its risk management plan. The five-year risk management plan outlines the NPB's current risk mitigation strategies as well as proposed measures which will, overtime, further reduce all of the Board's risks to acceptable levels. From this plan flowed the Board's audit and evaluation plan.

The NPB's first risk management plan as well as its related five-year evaluation and audit plan were adopted by the Senior Management Committee in June 2005. The risk management plan was reviewed and adapted to the MAF in May 2006. Revised versions of both plans were presented to the Review Committee (formerly the Evaluation and Audit Committee) in July 2006 and were also submitted to the Senior Management Committee.

Evaluation and Audit

Review Committee (formerly Evaluation and Audit Committee)

The development of the Risk Profile and the Risk Management Plan led to the revival of the Evaluation and Audit Committee in 2005. In 2006/07, the Review Committee met once in July 2006. During this meeting the committee adopted new terms of reference as well as the five-year evaluation and audit plan.

The Management Accountability Framework as well as the Integrated Risk Management Framework were submitted to the Committee and it was agreed that further meetings would be required to follow up on these frameworks.

Review of Regional Practices with regards to Observers at Hearings, Access to the Decision Registry and Contacts with Victims

In the fall of 2005, the Review Committee (formerly Evaluation and Audit Committee) adopted the plan, presented by the Performance Measurement Division, to review regional practices with regards to observers at hearings, access to the registry of decisions and contacts with victims. The objectives of these reviews were to:

1. Determine whether there is national consistency in the NPB's practices;
2. Determine whether there is national consistency in the collection and reporting of statistical information;
3. Identify indicators that could be used to ensure an accurate assessment of regional and national workloads, and;
4. Identify best practices.

Interviews were conducted with regional managers and staff in the fall of 2005 and the Performance Measurement Division presented its three reports to the Review Committee in July 2006. All the recommendations were adopted by the Committee and it mandated the Director, Policy, Planning and Operations to establish a working group to be responsible for the development of an action plan to implement these recommendations. All three reports were also shared with the regions and were presented, with an action plan, to the Executive Committee in September 2006.

Statistics and Data Quality Control

While the Conditional Release Information Management System (CRIMS) is capable of producing fundamental statistics, the Division continues to respond to numerous requests for statistics coming from both internal and external sources. These statistics are used for many purposes and their impact is often underestimated. For example, the statistics are used in the development of performance reports, to support studies, detailed analyses, revision of policy and the law, to assist the regions and divisions when they are reviewing their operations and to answer questions which arise during the year. The statistics are often updated in order to support NPB representatives when they give presentations, in their discussions with CSC or in their contacts with the media. There are also frequent demands for statistics from our partners in the criminal justice system such as the Association of Paroling Authorities International, the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, the Ministry as well as the public. Given the efforts of the Division, most of these requests are answered within 24 hours.

A series of statistical tables and charts covering a twelve year period were developed last year in preparation for a review of the law and are available to all users on a common drive. The tables and charts, which give an overview of the evolution of the profile of the offender population, of conditional release and outcomes over a long period, are useful in supporting the Board's position with regards to proposed changes to the law and regulations.

In addition, important efforts continue to be spent on putting into place and maintaining the mechanisms used to monitor the quality of the data in the Offender Management System and the Data Warehouse. The Division produces, on a regular basis, 60 different error check reports in addition to ad hoc reports as needed.

Observers, Decision Registry, Contacts with Victims and Victims Speaking at Hearings

The Division continues to maintain, by hand, a database on contacts with victims, observers, requests for access to the decision registry as well as victims speaking at hearings. Monthly reports are prepared on victims speaking at hearings and other reports are prepared as requested. Following the submission of the report on regional practices with regards to these activities, the Division reviewed and redefined the data to be collected by the regions. This should enhance the quality of the data collected.

Study of Offenders involved in Organized crime

Following a request of the Department of Public Safety, the Division produced "A Profile of Federal Offenders Convicted of Criminal Organization Offences". The objective of this study was to report on the conditional release of federal offenders convicted of "criminal organization" offences between April 1, 1997 and December 31, 2006. The results of this study were published in March 2007.

Board Member and Employee Training

As in previous years, the Division participated in training sessions for new Board members and staff by making presentations explaining its role within the Board. In addition, the Division developed a new session for the Board member orientation program which provides an overview of the NPB's work environment as well as a profile of the offender population.

Pardons

In addition to its participation in the working group on pardons, the Division undertook a study of pardons operations in order to assess the timeliness of the review of pardon applications. This study enabled the Board to identify the resources necessary to meet workload pressures as well as to eliminate the existing backlog. These results will supplement the business case analysis which will be presented to Treasury Board.

Copies of the Performance Monitoring Report are available by contacting the Performance Measurement Division at 613-954-6131.