Working Group on Public Service Productivity Terms of Reference

Context

A healthy economy depends on strong productivity, which leads to faster growth, more jobs and higher wages. Over the past decades, Canada has been facing a steady decline in productivity growth. Meanwhile, the public sector in Canada has continued to expand, and according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), now accounts for nearly 40% of Canada’s GDP (taking into account all levels of government). Given the significant proportion of the Canadian workforce and economic output attributable to the public sector, it is important to consider the role the public sector can play in reversing Canada’s productivity decline.

Productivity in the public sector context is challenging to measure given that inputs and outputs for business lines in the federal public service vary significantly. For example, it is easier to measure the efficiency of a call centre than to measure the efficiency of a team responsible for developing proposals for new programs.

There are many factors that make a study of productivity in the federal public service timely:

• the current fiscal environment and the need to inform decision-making about the management of the public service;
• the lack of data and understanding around the current state of productivity in the federal public service;
• the emergence of new potentially productivity-enhancing technologies, such as artificial intelligence;
• increasing expectations from citizens in terms of program and service delivery and accessibility; and
• increasing complexity of government programs, many of which are supported by outdated IT systems requiring significant manual intervention.

Mandate

The mandate of the working group is to examine productivity in Canada’s federal public service and inform the government’s economic plan. The working group will examine the delivery of services to Canadians and the role of technology in helping address barriers to achieve greater efficiencies for Canadians and businesses. The working group will assess options to advance the public service’s ability to be innovative, flexible and efficient in delivering services for Canadians. The working group will present findings and make recommendations to the President of the Treasury Board.

The working group’s mandate is five months from the time of the members’ selection. The working group is expected to have fulfilled their mandate by February 28, 2025. If needed, however, the government may decide to extend or renew the working group’s mandate, which would be communicated to members by the President of the Treasury Board.

Scope of work: priority areas

The working group will assess the current state of productivity in the federal public service, building on the work that has been done in Canada and other countries.

This could include:

1. examining how productivity is measured in other countries and whether similar methodologies can be usefully applied to the Canadian context;
2. exploring areas where the federal public service could create meaningful productivity gains in services, such as information-based services;
3. identifying opportunities to collaborate with other levels of government within Canada;
4. investigating how current rules, processes and culture affect productivity in the federal public service;
5. identifying opportunities to address impediments to productivity in the federal public service, including:
   1. potential changes to legislation, policies or regulatory requirements that inhibit productivity;
   2. ways to promote innovation and experimentation to decrease costs and/or improve service offerings;
   3. incentives to improve productivity; and
   4. opportunities to increase the capacity of internal services and enabling functions to efficiently support organizations in achieving their outcomes;
6. seeking opportunities to improve service delivery and enhance productivity in the federal public service by better integrating digital technologies and by adopting emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, while considering challenges inherent to the adoption of these technologies (such as privacy considerations).

The working group may examine other areas that fall within its mandate and members’ areas of expertise that can be achieved within the timelines (e.g., recommendations on how to improve functional capabilities in key areas such as digital technology, internal processes, and talent management).

To advance its work, the working group can consult externally and extend special invitations to bring additional perspectives to working group meetings. This will be important when considering how to best capture learnings from other jurisdictions and across the federal public service.

The focus of this working group is the public service of Canada, but findings and recommendations could be applicable to a broader context, such as the federal public sector (including federal Crown corporations) or the Canadian public sector (including other levels of government and public institutions such as hospitals and universities).

Deliverables

The working group will provide advice and recommendations to the President of the Treasury Board, through an interim and final report. The reports will provide the working group’s observations of the current status of productivity in the Federal Public Service, the factors affecting public service productivity and priorities for action. The interim report will be delivered to the President of the Treasury Board by December 20th, 2024, with a final report delivered on or before February 28th, 2025. The final report will outline the working group’s recommendations.

Recommendations to improve productivity in the federal public service will:

• fall within the mandate of the federal government and take into consideration the fiscal context;
• be grouped according to the time frame they can be implemented in (immediate actions, medium-term actions (6 months to 2 years) or long-term actions (over 2 years)); and
• be prioritized according to their anticipated impact and feasibility, both in terms of resources required for implementation and degree of change management required.

Operating structure

The working group will be composed of up to 9 members.  The working group will undertake its work through a series of meetings throughout fall 2024 and winter 2025. It will be supported by a secretariat, housed within the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

• The President of the Treasury Board and the Secretary of the Treasury Board will Co-Chair.
• Members will share advice based on their skills, experience and expertise. Members will be chosen on an individual basis and not as organizational representatives. Members will come from academia, labour associations, business/industry associations, and former public servants.
• The secretariat will support the co-chairs and working group members by:
  • managing meeting organization and logistics;
  • preparing meeting summaries and background materials;
  • liaising with departments with expertise related to the work as required; and
  • supporting research and assisting with report writing.

Meetings

The working group is expected to meet at least six times starting in October 2024 until the end of its mandate, with additional ad hoc meetings, as necessary.

Compensation, travel and accommodation

Working group members will participate on a pro bono basis without remuneration. Eligible travel and related expenses for members will be reimbursed in accordance with the National Joint Council Travel Directive if and when in-person meetings are required, in accordance with the terms of the Letter of Agreement for Participation in the Working Group on Public Service Productivity.

Transparency

Recognizing the importance of keeping the public informed about the working group’s purpose, membership and activities, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat will publish these terms of reference and working group members’ names. Furthermore, findings and recommendations made by the committee will be published on the Canada.ca website.

Confidentiality

Information received through the working group will be treated as confidential and will not be disclosed.

Conflict of interest

Recognizing the importance of offering advice and recommendations that are independent and made in good faith, members are expected to take all necessary steps to avoid real, apparent or potential conflicts of interest between their private, professional or business interests and their participation in the working group, in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

Changes to the terms of reference

The Government of Canada, through the President and Secretary of the Treasury Board, may amend these terms of reference at any time with notification of any such changes to the members of the working group.