Western Economic Diversification Canada: Open Government Implementation Plan

Table of Contents

• 1. Executive Summary
• 2. Approvals
• 3. Purpose
• 4. Context
• 5. Outcomes
• 6. Governance Structures and Decision Processes
  • 6.1 Roles and Responsibilities – Deputy Head and Information Management Senior Official
  • 6.2 Roles and Responsibilities – Key Stakeholders
  • 6.3 Communication, Awareness, and Engagement
• 7. Planning Tables

1. Executive Summary

From the passing of access to information legislation over 30 years ago to current open government and proactive disclosure activities, the Government of Canada has worked to ensure transparency on federal operations to enable Canadians to hold their government accountable. The commitments included in Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government 2014-16 will further the progress on the delivery of transparent and accountable programs and services focused on the needs of Canadians.

The proactive release of data and information is the starting point for all other open government activity. Accordingly, the Government of Canada has firmly established an “open by default” position in its mandatory policy framework by issuing the Directive on Open Government.

Western Economic Diversification Canada is committed to the founding principles of open government, to ensure transparency and accountability within the department. Technological advances favour the emergence of innovative ways for the department to serve Canadians and interact with them, including transforming government information to make it more open, accessible, efficient and responsive to the needs of the public.

WD is committed to becoming “open by default” and to change its organizational culture to become “open by design” by 2020. This means that in WD is seeking ways to improve its information management practices and the integration of open government into its many processes.

WD’s Directive on Open Government Implementation Plan (OGIP) maps current initiatives and levels of compliance against the seven areas of compliances noted in the Directive on Open Government, as well as the three components of data, information and dialogue. This plan demonstrates how and when WD intends to reach the required level of compliance, and how it will make more natural the release of information it produces, while being efficient, unless required to protect information for security, confidentiality or privacy reasons. The department’s funding is directed to third parties and, therefore, certain information holdings include confidential records of projects which are subject to protection pursuant to the Access to Information Act.

WD is establishing and implementing this plan in collaboration with other Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), central agencies and other government departments. FedDev Ontario has organized an informal RDA Open Government group to share best practices, information, concerns and knowledge and, where possible, collaborate and leverage resources. Revisions and updates to WD’s Open Government Implementation Plan will be published to the Open Information Portal every October from 2015 until plan completion in 2019.

The challenges for a small federal department such as WD are great, with one full-time dedicated information management specialist. Nevertheless, WD can count on strong leadership to successfully implement its bold vision with regard to open government in order to arouse the collective ingenuity and reduce the distances between communities in Western Canada, across Canada and internationally.

2. Approvals

3. Purpose

This document describesWestern Economic Diversification Canada’s (WD) plan to complete activities and deliverables aligned to the requirements of the Directive on Open Government, in order to achieve full compliance by the March 31, 2020, implementation deadline.

The objective of the Directive is to maximize the release of government information and data of business value to support transparency, accountability, citizen engagement, and socio-economic benefits through reuse, subject to applicable restrictions associated with privacy, confidentiality, and security (Directive on Open Government, Section 5.1).

The expected results of the Directive on Open Government (Section 5.2) are that Canadians are able to find and use Government of Canada information and data:

• to support accountability;
• to facilitate value-added analysis;
• to drive socio-economic benefits through reuse; and,
• to support meaningful engagement with their government.

This document may also describe, if applicable, the institution’s plan to complete activities and deliverables aligned to one or more of the 12 commitments described in Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government 2014-16.

4. Context

Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) was established to promote the development and diversification of the economy of Western Canada and to advance the interests of the West in national economic policy, program and project development and implementation.

The Department operates under the provisions of the Western Economic Diversification Act, which came into force on June 28, 1988. WD is responsible for regional development in Western Canada by developing and supporting economic policies, programs and activities to promote economic growth.

WD’s mandate allows the Department to implement diverse programs and initiatives across the West to create strong, competitive and innovative businesses and communities. Its western base has enabled the department to foster extensive partnerships across Western Canada with business and community organizations, research and academic institutions, Aboriginal groups, as well as provincial and municipal governments.

These connections enable WD to identify and support economic opportunities in the West and ensure that western interests and perspectives are reflected in national decision making. The Department will continue to capitalize on opportunities and implement strategies to mitigate risks and adapt to changes in a dynamic and complex environment.

WD focuses its activities in three program areas:

Business Development and Innovation: WD helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) develop and grow, create jobs, expand their markets, increase their exports and become more innovative and productive. The department assists SMEs with international business engagement and works to attract investment to the region, as well as assist western Canadian SMEs to access opportunities linked to government procurement. Further, WD promotes the development and growth of the knowledge-based economy by building innovation capacity and supporting the commercialization of new knowledge-based products, processes and services.

Community Economic Growth: WD helps communities in Western Canada sustain their local economies and adjust to changing economic circumstances through departmental programs and by delivering national initiatives on behalf of the Government of Canada. WD also supports community-based organizations that provide western entrepreneurs with information, training and loans they need to start and grow their businesses.

Policy, Advocacy and Coordination: WD identifies opportunities to strengthen the western Canadian economy and coordinate economic development activities, policies and programs across the West. WD works to build strategic relationships with key decision makers across Canada and works with western Canadian industry on defence-related procurement opportunities.

WD’s head office is located in Edmonton, Alberta, making the department the only federal department headquartered in Western Canada. Regional offices are located in each of the four western provinces - Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Vancouver, and an office in Ottawa. A regional satellite office also exists in Calgary.

As of September 2015, WD has 293 full-time employees.

• B.C. Region – 56
• Alberta Region (Edmonton and Calgary) - 45
• Saskatchewan Region – 31
• Manitoba Region – 35
• Policy and Strategic Direction (Edmonton and Ottawa) – 55
• Finance and Corporate Management/Headquarters - 71

The department’s technological environment includes: applications, telecommunications infrastructure, and servers, intranet and internet site. More than 40 systems, the main support business processes and provide data management and information, are listed in the inventory of information repositories and the list of applications in WD. In addition, WD is participating actively in the deployment of government-wide transformational initiatives (eg. MyGCHR, GCDOCs, e-mail services).

The management of telecommunications infrastructure and technology (servers) is provided by Shared Services Canada, with the backing and support in WD. The department also develops applications and websites in compliance with web standards for the Government of Canada and whose principles optimization, interoperability, usability and accessibility. Finally, WD is also working toward migrating its website to the Canada.ca website.

5. Outcomes

Under the Directive on Open Government, WD is committed to contribute to the Government of Canada’s efforts to promote better access to its data and information, and thus offer opportunities for citizens to learn more about its programs and activities, and to participate, encourage innovation and create business opportunities arising from the reuse of the information.

By its mission, WD will provide the public with data and useful information on a variety of topics related to the economic development of different regions of Western Canada (eg. creation and business start-ups, productivity and expansion, innovation and technology transfer, marketing and export development strategy for the regions, community economic facilities, championing the strengths of the regions and supports punctual and targeted).

Moreover, WD is proud to announce its intention to fully play its role, as a small federal department, in order to maximize its contribution to the common objective of establishing an open government. The approach is not only to be “open by default”, but also to demonstrate ambition and vision by positioning 2020 as “open by design”. To do this, WD intends to increase efforts in its second year of implementation to educate employees and managers of the changes caused by the initiative and support them gradually to adapt their tools and methods.

The figure below shows the 12 commitments from Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government in 2014 and 2016 are mainly based on three components: open data, open information and open dialogue.

Figure 1 - Text version

Circle 1 (in the middle): Open Government Directive

Circle 2 (around circle 1) divided in 2 sections: Open Info, Open Dialogue and Open Data.

Open Info:

• Open Science
• Mandatory Reporting on Extractives
• Open Contracting (PWGSC co-leads with TBS)
• Open Information on Budgets and Expenditures
• Digital Literacy
• Open Information Core Commitment

Open Data:

• Open Data Canada
• Canadian Open Data Exchange
• Open Data for Development
• Open Data Core Commitment

Open Dialogue:

• Next-generation Consulting Canadians

Circle 3 (around circle 2): Availability of Information, New technologies, Citizen Participation and Professional Integrity.

In addition to promoting the core principles of open government are transparency, accountability and citizen engagement, WD will contribute to the achievement of seven government commitments by 2020:

1. Implementation of the Directive on Open Government: The Government of Canada issued a policy requiring federal departments and agencies to maximize the release of the data and information of business value, subject to applicable restrictions relating to the protection of privacy, confidentiality and security. The data and information will be published in qualifying standard open formats and can be reused without restriction and free of charge.
2. Open Data in Canada: The Government of Canada will work with provinces, territories and municipalities to remove obstacles to open data services integrated Canada-wide through the establishment of principles, norms and common to all license levels of government.
3. Open Science: The Government of Canada will maximize access to scientific research funded by the federal government in order to foster increased collaboration and dialogue with the scientific community, the private sector and the public.
4. Open Procurement Process: The Government of Canada will coordinate one-stop access to a wide range of information on the procurement markets open in all federal departments.
5. Open Information on Budgets and Expenses: The Government of Canada will publish information and data on the broader federal spending to help Canadians understand the use of public funds and to hold government accountable in this regard.
6. Commitment to fundamental open information: The Government of Canada will expand the proactive disclosure of information on activities, programs, policies and government services, which will make the information easier to find, access and use.
7. Consulting with Canadians: The Government of Canada will provide guidance and tools, and next generation of resources to enable departments and agencies to consult more widely with citizens and civil society to support the development and implementation government policies and programs.

6. Governance Structures and Decision Processes

The following sub-sections describe the governance structures and decision processes that support open government and how those responsibilities are delegated and fulfilled within Western Economic Diversification Canada.

6.1 Roles and Responsibilities – Deputy Head and Information Management Senior Official

The governance of the Western Economic Diversification Canada’s Open Government Implementation Plan (OGIP) is informed by the responsibilities identified for the Information Management Senior Official (IMSO) and Deputy Head (DH) in sections 6 (Requirements), 7 (Monitoring and Reporting Requirements), and 8 (Consequences) of the Directive on Open Government.

Deputy Minister

Approve WD’s Open Government Implementation Plan (OGIP) and its annual updates. Commit to achieving the open government commitments as set out in the Directive. Take corrective action, if any.

Information Management Senior Official (IMSO)

Oversee the implementation and monitoring of the Directive on Open Government in WD. Work with key stakeholders to ensure the implementation of the Directive in WD. Report to the Deputy Minister any significant difficulties, gaps in performance or significant compliance problems, and propose solutions. Ensure that the necessary measures are taken to address instances of non-compliance, if applicable (eg . training, changes to processes and systems, or other appropriate measures).

Figure 2 - Text version

IM/IT ensures the implementation of WD’s Open Government Implementation Plan (OGIP):

• Deputy Minister
  • Final Approval
• Executive Committee
  • Guidance (recommendations by the senior official responsible for information management)
• Managers and Directors
  • Validation and Approval
• Multi-Directorate Working Group on Open Government
  • Execution

The Multi-Directorate Working Group on Open Government includes representatives of all branches of WD who are responsible for at least one function related to this initiative (i.e . proactive disclosure, procurement, budgets and accounting, access to information, communications, accountability, evaluation, program development). The working group is coordinated by the Director, Information Management/Information Technology . The members are responsible for:

• development and up-to-date inventory of data and information of business value;
• providing the inputs required in the development of various deliverables (eg. plans, guides, methodologies, etc.); and
• representing their functional community with the Treasury Board Secretariat, and sharing the information received and to implement the changes in WD.

The Managers/Directors represent the immediate superiors of the members of the working group with the authority to validate and approve the content under their responsibility. They facilitate information sharing and implementation of the open government initiative in their area of responsibility.

The Governance Committee brings together WD’s Manager/Directors within senior management. It is coordinated by the Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Management, who is also designated as the IMSO. The Governance Committee is responsible for providing guidance and giving advice on various deliverables required to implement open government. The IMSO will recommend the OGIP and other deliverables related to the initiative to the Deputy Minister for approval.

7. Planning Tables

The following table shows for the 7 requirements of the Directive on Open Government planning key deliverables of Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD), their leaders, resources and timelines, as well as their progress in order to achieve full compliance by March 31, 2020.

In addition to efforts prescribed by the Treasury Board Secretariat, WD will work closely with the Information Management Team, Access to Information Team, and the various communication teams to develop and offer training courses, consulting services, and the necessary support to different business units in order to promote the desired change of culture, the open government initiative, and become “open by design” from the second year of its five-year plan onward. Specifically, WD will benefit from the expertise of an external consulting firm to assist employees and managers in the review of processes and sub-processes, structuring their information resources, and more.