2014-2015 Report on Plans and Priorities

2014-15
ESTIMATES

PART III – Departmental Expenditure Plans: Reports on Plans and Priorities

Purpose

Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPP) are individual expenditure plans for each department and agency. These reports provide increased levels of detail over a three-year period on an organization's main priorities by strategic outcome, program and planned/expected results, including links to related resource requirements presented in the Main Estimates. In conjunction with the Main Estimates, RPPs serve to inform members of Parliament on planned expenditures of departments and agencies, and support Parliament's consideration of supply bills. The RPPs are typically tabled soon after the Main Estimates by the President of the Treasury Board.

Estimates Documents

Links to the Estimates

As shown above, RPPs make up part of the Part III of the Estimates documents. Whereas Part II emphasizes the financial aspect of the Estimates, Part III focuses on financial and non-financial performance information, both from a planning and priorities standpoint (RPP), and an achievements and results perspective (DPR).

The Management Resources and Results Structure (MRRS) establishes a structure for display of financial information in the Estimates and reporting to Parliament via RPPs and DPRs. When displaying planned spending, RPPs rely on the Estimates as a basic source of financial information.

Main Estimates expenditure figures are based on the Annual Reference Level Update which is prepared in the fall. In comparison, planned spending found in RPPs includes the Estimates as well as any other amounts that have been approved through a Treasury Board submission up to February 1st (See Definitions section). This readjusting of the financial figures allows for a more up-to-date portrait of planned spending by program.

Changes to the presentation of the Report on Plans and Priorities

How to read this document

RPPs are divided into four sections:

Section I: Organizational Expenditure Overview

This Organizational Expenditure Overview allows the reader to get a general glance at the organization. It provides a description of the organization’s purpose, as well as basic financial and human resources information. This section opens with the new Organizational Profile, which displays general information about the department, including the names of the minister and the deputy head, the ministerial portfolio, the year the department was established, and the main legislative authorities. This subsection is followed by a new subsection entitled Organizational Context, which includes the Raison d’être , the Responsibilities, the Strategic Outcomes and Program Alignment Architecture, the Organizational Priorities and the Risk Analysis. This section ends with the Planned Expenditures, the Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes, the Estimates by Votes and the Contribution to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy. It should be noted that this section does not display any non-financial performance information related to programs (please see Section II).

Section II: Analysis of Program(s) by Strategic Outcome(s)

This section provides detailed financial and non-financial performance information for strategic outcomes, Programs and sub-programs. This section allows the reader to learn more about programs by reading their respective description and narrative entitled “Planning Highlights”. This narrative speaks to key services or initiatives which support the plans and priorities presented in Section I; it also describes how performance information supports the department’s strategic outcome or parent program.

Section III: Supplementary Information

This section provides supporting information related to departmental plans and priorities. In this section, the reader will find future-oriented statement of operations and a link to supplementary information tables regarding transfer payments, as well as information related to the greening government operations, internal audits and evaluations, horizontal initiatives, user fees, major crown and transformational projects, and up-front multi-year funding, where applicable to individual organizations. The reader will also find a link to the Tax Expenditures and Evaluations Report, produced annually by the Minister of Finance, which provides estimates and projections of the revenue impacts of federal tax measures designed to support the economic and social priorities of the Government of Canada.

Section IV: Organizational Contact Information

In this last section, the reader will have access to organizational contact information.

Definitions

Minister’s Message

It is my pleasure to present Shared Services Canada’s 2014-15 Report on Plans and Priorities. This report outlines the department’s priorities and high level plans for the next fiscal year, and beyond.

Since its creation in 2011, Shared Services Canada (SSC) has been focused on delivering cost-effective, reliable and secure email, data centre and telecommunications services, while undertaking the needed transformation that will modernize the Government of Canada’s information technology (IT) infrastructure. Savings, security and service are the yardsticks by which SSC measures its progress.

Savings were at the heart of the mandate given to SSC two years ago. By taking a government-wide approach, SSC continues to reduce duplication, increase efficiency and cut costs.

In launching Canada's Cyber Security Strategy, the Government of Canada sent a strong message that it takes the security of government systems seriously. SSC is working closely with partner departments and agencies to improve the security of government systems as an integral part of the IT infrastructure transformation it was created to achieve.

The new Government of Canada email system will be in place by the end of 2014-15, replacing the 63 legacy systems. The first enterprise data centre has been established which will be followed in 2014-15 by two additional government-wide data centres. Work will continue to consolidate telecommunications networks, which will both reduce costs and improve performance, and to standardize and streamline the procurement of the hardware and software used in the workplace.

Canadians are entitled to receive high quality programs and services from government. SSC is building the IT platform that will be modern and resilient enough to enable the Government of Canada to meet their current and future service expectations while giving them the assurance that their personal information will be protected and secure at all times.

I look forward to SSC’s continued progress in providing IT infrastructure improvements that support the Government of Canada’s commitment to Canadians.

The Honourable Diane Finley, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Public Works and Government Services and
Minister responsible for Shared Services Canada

Section I: Organizational Expenditure Overview

Organizational Profile

Organizational Context

Raison d’être

Shared Services Canada (SSC) is a federal department created on August 4, 2011, to transform how the Government of Canada manages its information technology (IT) infrastructure. SSC reports to Parliament through the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and is responsible for delivering mandated email, data centre and network services to partner departments in a consolidated and standardized manner to support the delivery of Government of Canada programs and services. SSC also provides certain optional technology-related services to government organizations on a cost-recovery basis. With a whole-of-government approach to IT, SSC is creating economies of scale to deliver more efficient, reliable and secure IT infrastructure services to Government of Canada departments. SSC’s mandate was reinforced on June 29, 2012, with the passage of the Shared Services Canada Act by Parliament.

Responsibilities

SSC was created by an Order-in-Council effective August 4, 2011, and subsequently received the authority to provide services related to email, data centres and networks to specified federal departments. SSC’s focus is to maintain and improve IT services delivery across the Government of Canada, generate and reinvest savings, enhance security, and implement government-wide solutions to transform IT infrastructure to improve services to Canadians.

The Shared Services Canada Act recognizes that the Government of Canada wishes to standardize and streamline, within a single shared services entity, certain administrative services that support government institutions. Through Orders in Council, the Department received specific standardization and consolidation responsibilities in the area of IT infrastructure services. SSC responsibilities include ensuring that approximately 2,100 mission critical systems across government continue to operate effectively.

SSC meets its responsibility to standardize and streamline IT infrastructure through its initiatives, working with the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector to deliver one email system, a government-wide footprint of seven data centres, a single government-wide network and transformed telecommunications services. Budget 2013 further expanded SSC’s mandate, adding the consolidation of government-wide procurement of software and hardware for workplace technology devices.

SSC contributes to the achievement of other critically important and transformational Government of Canada initiatives such as the Perimeter Security Defence Project, the Transformation of Pay Administration initiative and the vision of the public service of the future as articulated in Blueprint 2020. As an IT security service delivery organization, SSC works collaboratively with other Government of Canada cyber-security agencies to support the cyber security strategy.

Strategic Outcome(s) and Program Alignment Architecture

SSCs Program Alignment Architecture (PAA), as approved by the Treasury Board of Canada, supports the achievement of our strategic outcome.

1. Strategic Outcome: Modern, reliable, secure and cost-effective IT infrastructure services to support government priorities and program delivery.
   1. Program: IT Infrastructure Services
      1. Sub-Program: Distributed Computing Services
         1. Sub-Sub-Program: Workstation Services
         2. Sub-Sub-Program: Desktop and Office Productivity Suite Services
         3. Sub-Sub-Program: Email and Directory Services
         4. Sub-Sub-Program: File / Print Services
         5. Sub-Sub-Program: Remote Access Services
         6. Sub-Sub-Program: Distributed Computing Services Program Management
      2.  Sub-Program: Production and Operations Computing Services (Data Centre Services)
         1. Sub-Sub-Program: Utility Computing Services
         2. Sub-Sub-Program: Dedicated Application Hosting and Management Devices
         3. Sub-Sub-Program: Facilities Management Services
         4. Sub-Sub-Program: Production and Operations Computing Program Management
      3. Sub-Program: Telecommunications (Data, Voice and Video) Services
         1. Sub-Sub-Program: Data network Infrastructure Services
         2. Sub-Sub-Program: Inter and Intra Data Centre Network Services
         3. Sub-Sub-Program: Voice Network Services
         4. Sub-Sub-Program: Image and Video Communication Services
         5. Sub-Sub-Program: Call Centre (Data and Voice Network Infrastructure) Services
         6. Sub-Sub-Program: Telecommunications (Data, Voice and Video) Services Program Management
      4. Sub-Program: Cyber and IT Security Services
         1. Sub-Sub-Program: IT Environment Protection Services
         2. Sub-Sub-Program: Identification, Authentication, Authorization Services
         3. Sub-Sub-Program: Secure Communications Services
         4. Sub-Sub-Program: Perimeter Defense, Detection, Response, Recovery Audit Services
         5. Sub-Sub-Program: Cyber and IT Security Program Management

Internal Services

Program Alignment Architecture Crosswalk

The revised 2014-2015 Program Alignment Architecture (PAA) was developed after extensive consultation across the Department and in close collaboration with Treasury Board Secretariat. The Department’s PAA now features four sub-programs and twenty-one sub-sub-programs and provides the structure for SSC’s first departmental Performance Measurement Framework.

SSC, as all other Government of Canada departments and agencies, has now to report on employee costs (FTEs Full-Time Equivalents) and financial information for all portions of the PAA, including at the sub-sub program level, in the context of the Management, Resources, Results Structure Policy. The organization is now able to report planned spending at the sub-program level for this Report on Plans and Priorities and will provide sub-sub program expenditure information for the 2014-2015 Departmental Performance Report by implementing a revised financial coding structure by April 1, 2014.

The PAA, while supporting the achievement of SSC’s commitments to Parliament and Canadians, is an evergreen document that will evolve as the Department’s programs mature.

Organizational Priorities

Risk Analysis

Effective risk analysis and management allows SSC to deliver on its priorities and achieve its mandate of modern, reliable, secure and cost-effective IT infrastructure services to support government priorities and service delivery at lower cost. As with any organization undertaking a significant transformation, SSC must remain attuned to the potential for internal and external risks.

Three key, corporate-level risks have emerged pursuant to internal discussions across all branches of SSC and through engagement with partner departments – Human Resources Capacity, Financial Management and Partnership Management. Knowing where the risks lie and being responsive to changing environmental factors enables SSC to deploy the appropriate risk mitigation strategies and resources to areas where risk is most prevalent and most likely to adversely impact SSC’s operations. For example, to ensure SSC’s ability to deliver on its transformation agenda, plans are in place to apply sufficient resources to mitigate or prevent delays or cost overruns associated with ongoing IT capital projects.

Recent risk feedback/data obtained from all branches indicates that proper identification of required workforce skills and capacity, now and in the future, is needed for SSC to attract and retain the right people to maintain organizational agility and to meet objectives. A common enterprise mindset that encompasses succession planning, targeted learning and development and sustained employee engagement is critical to the attainment of a high performing and focused workforce.

In terms of financial management, SSC continues to build and implement strong financial stewardship in all areas through planning, tracking, reporting, and senior management oversight. SSC is focused on ensuring that reliable processes for gathering and reporting data contribute to the achievement of identified savings and that managers are well equipped with the necessary training, tools, and assistance to facilitate sound management of financial resources.

Continuous cooperation and engagement with partner departments, key stakeholders and the private sector must be maintained and strengthened in order to achieve transformation objectives. Mitigation strategies are planned to handle any potential disruptions at an enterprise level which might occur, given the magnitude of the transformation effort.

As transformation initiatives progress, continued meaningful engagement with partner departments and the private sector will not only help to mitigate organizational risks, but will also open the door to new ideas, innovations, and fresh perspectives.

Over the past two years, foundational pieces have been created to identify, assess, and manage risks. In 2014-15, SSC will finalize its first Organizational Risk Profile with input from all parts of the organization and from partner departments. SSC will continue to promote and integrate risk management both internally and externally by implementing risk management strategies that support effective resource management and sound financial management practices and by linking risk management to performance management objectives.

The transformation agenda is highly orchestrated from a partner, financial and human resources perspective, and therefore, its success depends on sound management of these risks.

Key Risks

Planned Expenditures

All figures are net of respendable revenues.

Shared Services Canada (SSC) was created on August 4, 2011, and consequently, the fiscal year 2011-12 represents expenditures incurred by the 43 partner departments on behalf of SSC for the portion of the fiscal year effective as of its creation and do not represent a complete fiscal year.

In 2014-15, the Department will seek authorities for an additional vote-netted revenue authority of $223.8M. The vote-netted revenue authority for future years will be addressed in the fall of 2014-15 and reflected in the Main Estimates of 2015-16.

The Department’s planned spending reflects approved funding by Treasury Board to support the departmental Strategic Outcome and program. The majority of the decrease in 2014-15 is explained by the additional saving measures announced in Budgets 2012 and 2013 as well as by transfers with partner departments that occurred in 2013-14. With regard to the decrease from 2014-15 to 2015-16, the variance is primarily due to the savings related to the Email Transformation Initiative and to time-limited projects that do not have ongoing funding.

Since 2012-13 was SSC’s first year of operations, a project-by-project review was completed among partner departments to ensure that expenditures were appropriate. At various points, decisions were made to defer some projects in order to align them with future transformation activities. Also, the 2013-14 Forecast Spending includes funding for various partner departments’ projects and new initiatives, that were initiated in fiscal 2013-14, such as Workplace Technology Devices, Infrastructure Platform Initiative, Treasury Board Secretariat Workspace Renewal, Food Safety Action Plan.

Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes

All figures are net of respendable revenues.

Departmental Spending Trend

Departmental Spending Trend Graph

Note: These figures are net of respendable revenues. The Forecast spending of 2013-14 includes the 2013-14 Main Estimates, 2013-14 Supplementary Estimates B and Supplementary Estimates C.

For the period of 2011-12 to 2012-13, actual spending represents the actual expenditures as reported in the Public Accounts. For the 2011-12 fiscal year, the actual expenditures do not represent a complete fiscal year since Shared Services Canada (SSC) was created on August 4, 2011.

The Forecast Spending of 2013-14 and the Planned Spending for future years includes the additional mandate as per Budget 2013: provide services related to the acquisition and provision of software, for workplace technology devices.

The decrease in Planned Spending from 2014-15 to 2015-16 is primarily due to the savings related to the Email Transformation Initiative. The decrease is also related to projects for which funding is being reduced year over year, such as: Treasury Board Secretariat Workspace Renewal funding which will end in 2014-15; and Pay Modernization and Carling Campus for which funding ends in 2015-16.

Estimates by Vote

Contribution to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy

Section II: Analysis of Programs by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome: Modern, reliable, secure and cost-effective information technology (IT) infrastructure services to support government priorities and program delivery (Savings, Security, Service).

Program 1.1: IT Infrastructure Services

Description:

This program delivers IT infrastructure services to federal government departments to enable and support the management, coordination and delivery of government programs to Canadians and the achievement of Government of Canada priorities. The IT infrastructure services consist of four main IT service groups: (a) Distributed Computing; (b) Production and Operations Computing; (c) Telecommunications (Data, Voice and Video); and (d) Cyber and IT Security. This program establishes a centralized common IT Infrastructure service leading to consolidation and standardization in the management and delivery of IT infrastructure services across the mandated 43 partner departments. This consolidation and standardization contributes to greater operational efficiencies and economies of scale resulting in forecasted cost-savings, enhanced reliability and security of the IT services, reduction in duplication of effort and managerial oversight, and development of harmonized responses to partner departments’ business requirements.

All figures are net of respendable revenues.

Planning Highlights

Shared Services Canada (SSC) has started to build a solid foundation upon which government operations can be renewed and partner departments’ projects delivered in order to better serve Canadians and meet their needs. In executing its Transformation Plan, SSC will:

• consolidate and standardize the email systems, data centres and networks of partner departments across government, in addition to those at SSC;
• consolidate the procurement of workplace technology devices, including hardware and software, to leverage economies of scale and reduce duplication; and
• ensure the security of the Government of Canada’s IT infrastructure meets or exceeds best practices of industry and other leading government agencies.

Savings, security and service are the yardsticks by which progress is measured at SSC.

Sub-Program 1.1.1: Distributed Computing Services

Description:

This program includes the provision and support that provides users with local and remote access to enterprise email applications and functionality including file/print and directory services.

All figures are net of respendable revenues.

Note: The variance in the Planned Spending of 2014-15 to 2015-16 is mainly due to the savings related to the Email Transformation Initiative.

Planning Highlights

The consolidation and standardization of email across the federal government started in 2013-14 and will continue in 2014-15.

In response to government direction received in late 2012-13 and effective in 2013-14, SSC will continue its work in 2014-15 to consolidate workplace technology device procurement.

Sub-Program 1.1.2: Production and Operations Computing Services (Data Centre Services)

Description:

This program includes the provision, technical support and certification for the hosting of the enterprise's day-to-day operations and production applications and database computing environments, including Web application environments, regardless of where they reside in the virtualized data centre or within the business unit (in a server room). Included in this service group is the execution of business resumption plans and disaster recovery plans developed under Security Services.

All figures are net of respendable revenues.

Note: The variance in the Planned Spending is primarily due to time-limited projects for which the funding varies by fiscal year, such as the Carling Campus project.

Planning Highlights

SSC will advance data centre consolidation by migrating workload, decommissioning servers and closing data centres in the 2014-15 planning year.

In 2014-15 the CFB Borden Data Centre will be readied for use as an enterprise production data centre and SSC will plan and procure a second data centre near Borden as a backup. SSC is planning to continue mainframe rationalization and consolidation activities during 2014-15.

Sub-Program 1.1.3: Telecommunications (Data, Voice and Video) Services

Description:

This program includes the transmission of data, voice and video within and across the enterprise. Data network services include the provision and ongoing support of multiplatform, multi-protocol electronic data and communications networks, which includes all software as well as wiring, switches, hubs, routers and all other hardware required to support data communications between computing devices. The voice communication services include provision of local and long-distance services globally, as well as fax services, voice mail, videoconferencing, secure voice and other related services, which include all carrier software and hardware environments.

All figures are net of respendable revenues.

Note: The variance in the Planned Spending is primarily due to time-limited projects for which the funding varies by fiscal year, such as the Carling Campus project.

Planning Highlights

In 2014-15, SSC will continue to rationalize and consolidate the telecommunication network services it delivers to partner departments. The focus on savings and security will be maintained by identifying and implementing network and telecommunications services as one single enterprise.

Consolidation of networks will result in efficiencies and enable SSC to handle an increased volume of enterprise data to support increased use of videoconferencing services and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.

Sub-Program 1.1.4: Cyber and IT Security Services

Description:

All figures are net of respendable revenues.

Planning Highlights

Through the consolidation and standardization of Government of Canada IT infrastructure, a more consistent approach to cyber security will be realized. SSC will improve security through more robust tools and standardized procedures, and establish a consolidated Security Operations Centre which will provide 24/7 coverage against security incidents across its entire infrastructure.

The Government of Canada is implementing an enterprise approach to the procurement of security software. This standardization and consolidation will bring efficiencies and savings while strengthening the security of government IT across departments.

In 2014-15, SSC will develop and establish timelines for implementation of the cyber and IT security program, including the development of details for network and device security. In addition, SSC will continue to support the achievement of Canada’s Cyber Security Strategy, strengthening the security of federal information and information systems.

Internal Services

Description:

Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. These groups are: Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Office of Audit and Evaluation; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Materiel Services; Acquisition Services; and Other Administrative Services. Internal Services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization and not to those provided specifically to a program.

Planning Highlights

Shared Services Canada (SSC) plans to revise its Program Alignment Architecture and associated Performance Measurement Framework. While both were expanded for use in fiscal 2014-15, further refinements will be proposed. The Department’s first Organization Risk Profile will be finalized in 2014-15.

SSC is committed to develop a Workforce Management Strategy to meet the future competency needs of the organization. The Department will continue to build its financial internal control framework. SSC will develop an accommodation plan to group its employees in common work locations. SSC will adopt Government of Canada solutions such as the GCDOCS document management system.

SSC will improve the efficiency of information technology goods and services procurement by deploying an e-Procurement tool based on an end to end Procure-to-Pay process.

Section III: Supplementary Information

Future-Oriented Statement of Operations

The forecasted decrease in expenses is partially attributable to additional saving measures announced in the Budget 2012 and 2013. In addition, there will be a reduction in spending related to transfers from partner departments received in 2013-14 only.

The forecasted increase in revenues is primarily due to anticipated new services that will be provided to other government departments. This includes the additional mandate SSC received, as set out in Budget 2013, to provide services related to the acquisition and provision of software for workplace technology devices.

List of Supplementary Information Tables

Tax Expenditures and Evaluations

Section IV: Organizational Contact Information

General inquiries:

Free PDF download

2014–15 Report on Plans and Priorities (PDF Version, 281KB)

To access the Portable Document Format (PDF) version you must have a PDF reader installed. If you do not already have such a reader, there are numerous PDF readers available for free download or for purchase on the Internet:

• Adobe Reader
• Foxit Reader
• Xpdf
• eXPert PDF Reader

Report on Plans and Priorities (Shared Services Canada)
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister responsible for Shared Services Canada, 2014 Cat. No. P115-1/2014E-PDF
ISSN 2292-3349