Evaluation of Canada's International Education Strategy

Finding #1.D: The education sector contributes to the achievement of results towards other Departmental objectives and other Government of Canada priorities.

The education sector is seen by various groups of key stakeholders as an enabler for the achievement of results in other Departmental areas and more broadly towards other GOC priorities.

GAC Objectives

The majority of stakeholders stated that the education sector contributed to the achievement of results under GAC's International Advocacy and Diplomacy core responsibility. Positive experiences of studying in Canada by individuals or family members had a deep and lasting influence and predisposed local contacts to speak highly of Canada in their communities and have constructive interactions with Canadian officials and citizens. Education was also seen as enabling success in other commercial sectors. Alumni from Canadian institutions were more likely to look to the Canadian market for sourcing goods or services, and more likely to consider Canada when making investment decisions. In both the survey and through interviews, there was strong evidence that the education sector generated leads for other commercial sectors such as ICT, Life Sciences, Extractives, and Tourism.

GOC Priorities

The education sector is also widely perceived as supporting other governmental priorities such as immigration and the Innovation and Skills Agenda. International students contribute to filling labour market and demographic gaps in provinces that are experiencing demographic decline (e.g. Atlantic Canada). International students in Canada were a key source of skilled immigration through the prov

incial nomination programs and other fast track immigration programs, such as the Atlantic immigration pilot. Data from IRCC on pathways by international students to permanent residency in Canada is clear: in 2017, 18,730 former post-graduate work permit (PGWP) holders were granted Permanent Residency (PR), an 83% increase from 2015.

Further, because international students are disproportionately represented in graduate-level programs in Canada, they play an important role in research and innovation at Canadian institutions. According to CBIE, up to 55% of international students were enrolled in graduate-level programs in 2017-2018.

Finding #2: International Education can be a driver of coherence between the different Departmental business lines.

While the survey results highlight strong linkages between the International Education and trade and diplomacy priorities, the linkages with development objectives are less clear. However, the evaluation team did encounter situations whereby international education has contributed to greater coherence between the trade and development streams.

Education Sector & Diplomacy Coherence

In nearly every country visited by the evaluation team, there were strong examples of coherence between the education sector and the Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Service (FPDS). For example, there were several cases of FPDS engagement in local universities on Canadian perspectives, organized with the help of the education sector team. These joint outreach visits support the recruitment of international students and promote Canadian values.

Education Sector & Development Coherence

A minority of stakeholders expressed concern about the negative impact that international student recruitment activities could have on countries where Canada also invests in development programming. The evaluation team found limited evidence that the education sector is contributing to a "brain drain" effect. Only a small proportion of international students are recruited from countries where Canada has large international assistance investments (with the exception of India, Nigeria and Vietnam). Furthermore, there was no available data on how many of those students immigrate to Canada following completion of their studies. Much of the recent literature on international student mobility from developing countries has emphasized the benefits of the phenomenon, moving from "brain drain" to "brain circulation".

In line with this more nuanced understanding of student mobility from developing countries, the evaluation team found several examples of coherence between the International education sector and Development. For example, following the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia, it became clear that the lack of actuaries in the country was negatively affecting the resilience of low and middle income households to natural disasters. Responding this challenge, the development and education sector teams at the Canadian embassy in Jakarta worked together to fund an initiative to develop the capacity of universities in Indonesia for training in actuarial sciences. The embassy worked with the University of Waterloo to build the capacity of Indonesian actuarial sciences programs.

Finding #3: Alumni engagement allows Canada to reap the longer term benefits of international education, but it can be expensive and time-consuming.

Canadian institutions have alumni all around the world. International alumni are a key group of stakeholders to capture the longer term benefits of study in Canada. Not only can alumni from Canadian institutions support student recruitment in their countries of origin, but they also become ‘ambassadors' for Canada and can be leveraged to advance Canadian diplomatic and commercial interests abroad.

While GAC does not have an official alumni engagement strategy, the International Education Division does provide guidance to trade commissioners abroad on how to engage and leverage local alumni. Canada's diplomatic missions abroad are free to determine the level of effort that they dedicate to alumni engagement. Therefore, there is wide variation in the level of alumni engagement activities at different missions.

Some missions stated that alumni are very helpful as part of student recruitment activities. Alumni can speak about their experience in Canada during fairs, events, or presentations. Further, alumni testimonials can be used for social media and web content.

Competitor Alumni Engagement

The Government of Australia has developed an Australia Global Alumni Engagement Strategy to reach out to their global alumni community, inviting alumni to connect and engage with Australia and the region. The central component of the engagement strategy is the Australia Global Alumni website, a virtual global network to connect, build and invigorate Australian alumni. Other countries such as France, Germany and New Zealand also maintain virtual alumni networks.

Long Term Benefits of International Education

Some of the benefits of international education only take form in the long-term. As former students progress in their careers, reach more senior positions, and gain greater responsibilities, they often retain positive inclinations towards their Alma Mater, the city, the province/territory and country in which they studied.

While it remains difficult to systematically measure the extent to which alumni are supporting the advancement of Canadian Diplomatic and Commercial interests locally, anecdotal evidence suggests that they are of great benefit to Canada. Many interview respondents at missions abroad provided examples of situations where Canada benefited from the fact that an individual had studied at a Canadian institution.

From senior government officials in Latin America being more inclined towards Canada's positions and expertise, to senior business people in Asia considering Canada first in business dealings, the advantage of having a local contact that studied at a Canadian institution was appreciable.

Finding #4: The education sector has adapted to becoming a trade sector, however some results are not adequately captured in TRIO.

TRIO is the Client Relationship Management (CRM) system used by the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) at missions abroad. TRIO allows the TCS to keep records of all their activities (including outcalls, services, opportunities, and successes), and their relationships with Canadian clients, partners and local contacts. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) recorded in TRIO demonstrate an economic benefit relayed back to Canada through a direct TCS activity.

Education was included as a trade sector in 2013. However, as international education previously operated differently than other trade sectors, there was a learning curve in terms of performance measurement and reporting on education in TRIO. The Performance Measurement Unit (BTB) and BBY therefore worked together to determine the best way to record education sector KPIs and to clarify through workshops and training sessions what could be considered a KPI. Adjustments have since been made in TRIO to make reporting more sector-specific.

Although education has adapted well to becoming a trade sector, and reporting has improved over the past few years, TRIO is still considered generally, but not wholly, suitable as a reporting tool for activities relating to student recruitment. According to survey respondents, 62% found the tool effective, but 38% considered it ineffective or did not know. Interviewees and survey respondents agreed that this is largely due to the specificities of the education sector which only allow certain activities and successes to be recorded as KPIs. For example, the signing of an MOU between Canadian and international education institutions, and the proof of students attending the Canadian institution as a result, would be considered a KPI success in TRIO.

Two primary issues faced in recording KPI successes are the definition of a "client" for international education, and the fact that education is a horizontal sector. As only institutions or companies, like schools, can be considered clients in TRIO, any interactions with individuals or successes in student recruitment are not captured as KPIs, although these may be considered clients in the diplomatic sense. Further, education sector activities often overlap with activities in other sectors, such as mining or sciences, but cannot be captured under both sectors in TRIO. As a result, TCs may have to choose under which sector to report a KPI, which can lead to a lower number of education KPIs reported if other sectors are chosen in accordance with TCS department objectives and mission KPI targets.

In light of these sector particularities, interviewees and survey respondents highlighted that several activities and outcomes that cannot be captured in TRIO. These discrepancies were noted as a source of frustration, as respondents felt the full scope of their efforts were not being adequately captured or included in performance measurement activities and reporting. To mitigate, missions will instead report on these results in Strategia or in individual reports sent to GAC headquarters. The combination of reporting using these three methods ensures the full scope of TCS work on the education sector is captured and recognized. However, mission and BBY stakeholders noted the burden of having to use three separate systems for reporting.

Finding #5: Missions rely on a wide variety of tools to promote Canada as a study destination. Despite the growing importance of web and social media channels, participation in fairs and in-person events remains an important tool in most markets.

Depending on local market conditions, the education sector team at mission can choose different media types to promote Canada's education sector. Different tools are best suited for different audiences (e.g. Parents vs. Students) depending on the market.

Face-to-Face Promotion

97% of survey respondents noted that their mission uses face-to-face marketing strategies. These promotion activities, and particularly fairs and presentations, were considered to be some of the most effective tools to promote Canada as a study destination.

Interviewees noted that while it can be difficult to measure the impact of these types of events, these efforts add a personal touch and enable connections to be made, which cannot necessarily be achieved through other marketing efforts. These events are also particularly useful for answering questions or addressing concerns parents may have.

Web and Social Media

91% of survey respondents noted that their mission uses social media marketing. Internet and social media are often the first point of contact for students in today's digital age. Public opinion research conducted on behalf of BBY in 2016 highlighted that the most important source of information for international students looking to study in Canada is social media and web platforms (59%).

Many interview respondents recognized the increasing importance and effectiveness of Canada's presence on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, to reach prospective students. Of these tools, Facebook and Twitter were found to be more effective and widely used by missions.

Traditional Media

38% of survey respondents noted that they their mission uses traditional media marketing. Use of traditional media, such as television, radio, magazines, and newspapers, is diminishing and is perceived by survey respondents as less important than other marketing efforts. However, many missions still use these tools where they continue to prove their success, especially when combined with other marketing efforts, such as attending education fairs.

For example, an annual radio contest organized by the Consulate General of Canada in São Paulo continues to be one of the mission's most important marketing tools for the education sector.

Finding #6: Marketing efforts to promote Canadian education have effectively contributed to raising awareness about Canada as a study destination.

A central component of the IES was to increase awareness of Canada as a study and research destination. Marketing efforts to promote Canada as a study destination have been successful thus far in attracting students from over 185 countries. Several different data sources confirm that there has been an increased interest in studying in Canada over the reference period.

Study Permit Applications

There has been high growth in the total number of study permit applications during the evaluation reference period. Based on IRCC data, the number of total finalized study applications per annum has increased by 173% between 2014 and 2017.

Google Trends

Greater awareness of Canada as a destination of study is also reflected in Google search trends worldwide. The graph below shows the relative popularity of the Google search term "Study in…" followed by the names of major English language educational service exporting countries between 2014 and 2018.

While the popularity of Google searches for major competitors has declined during the reference period, interest in Canada has increased notably.

Web Traffic and Social Media Impact

The Canadian international education websites, including EduCanada.ca and scholarships.gc.ca, were found by a majority of stakeholders to provide useful information for students looking to study in Canada.

Overall, during the evaluation reference period there was an increase in web traffic to the IES websites, growing from grown from 7.3 million in 2014 to 8.5 million in 2017. However, while the number of visits to EduCanada.ca has decreased since 2014, the number of visits to scholarships.gc.ca has greatly increased.

Social media engagement by GAC on international education has been inconsistent between 2014 and 2018, making it difficult to identify clear trends. The types of social media used have changed, and the level of effort has varied, leading to challenges in monitoring social media engagement. Data suggests that social media engagement peaked in 2015 with 129 Facebook posts leading to over 13,000 engagements (e.g. likes, shares, comments, clicks) and 574 Tweets leading to over 5,205 engagements and 4,762,187 impressions (number of times appeared). In 2017, 35 Facebook posts generated 2,707 total engagements, 71 Tweets generated 273 total engagements and 755,808 impressions and 22 YouTube videos generated 4,302 total engagements and 41,215 video views. A majority of interview respondents recommended increasing social media engagement on international education, with several suggesting more paid advertisement on social media platforms.

Finding #7: A targeted approach to student recruitment would be more effective in addressing immigration and labour market needs.

As Canada meets the student recruitment objective of the IES five years ahead of schedule, many stakeholders stated that Canada should be more strategic in its activities and better align student recruitment with the country's Labour Market and Immigration needs. It was suggested that an enhanced digital presence would allow more targeted recruitment and help Canada maintain its market share in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Labour Market Gaps

International students bring skills and experience to Canada that are needed to fill shortages in the labour market. As the Canadian population ages and retires, more candidates are required to fill these gaps, particularly in highly skilled and technologically-based professions, including in research, innovation, and technical fields. Interview respondents noted that targeting international students in STEM, and promoting long term employment possibilities following graduation, can help address some of these labour market shortages while also bringing many benefits to Canadian businesses.

Demographic Gaps

Canada's unique geographical context means that there are a wide variety of educational institutions and lifestyles available for international students to choose from. However, Ontario and British Columbia consistently attract a vast majority of students, and three cities in particular – Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal – hosted 55% of all international students in Canada in 2017. Many interviewees therefore noted that promoting study at smaller, more regional schools would help address demographic gaps across the country. Atlantic Canada, for example, relies on international students to support a large and diverse population. Interviewees also stated that marketing efforts need to continue to promote more regional locales in order to avoid saturation of international students in the big cities and at the most well-known institutions.

Comprehensive Digital Strategy

While the IES TB-Submission did provide funding for a digital strategy, a Departmental re-allocation of funds has left the digital strategy mostly unfunded.

According to stakeholders, a comprehensive digital strategy is essential for Canada to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive market place. Canada was seen as falling behind its major competitors on web-based marketing and recruitment tools. A digital strategy would allow Canada to collect real-time data on the interests of students, and make content and tools available in different languages.

Interview respondents highlighted the following key components to include in a comprehensive digital strategy:

• Enhancing the EduCanada website and creating a one-stop shop for all information on Canadian education, including scholarships
• EduCanada website content and tools available in multiple languages
• A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) component to better connect with students and collect data
• Creating a more robust social media presence, including HQ-based social media accounts

Finding #8: In some markets, a partnership-focused approach is seen as more effective to support targeted recruitment to meet Canada's labour market and demographic needs and support research and innovation.

Building partnerships between Canada and international educational institutions is a key component of the IES. Partnerships are beneficial to the Canadian education sector in a number of ways. Partnerships promote student, faculty and researcher mobility between institutions and this leads to greater collaboration on research projects between Canadian and foreign institutions. In 2013, it was estimated that 20% of the world's scientific papers were co-authored internationally, and that number is growing rapidly. Further, partnerships also allow Canadian education institutions to gain greater insight of a market, allowing it to adapt its promotion strategy and to be more targeted in its recruitment activities.

Beyond traditional partnerships between education institutions, interviewees and survey respondents emphasized the importance of fostering partnerships with non-traditional institutions, such as local governments and the private sector. With the growing internationalization of higher education, more and more local clients are looking abroad to meet their training and education needs. This is leading to greater opportunities for Canadian institutions to engage in non-traditional partnerships, including offshore and satellite education, corporate training, virtual training and education, and others.

Opportunities such as the contract signed between the University of Alberta and the Mexican Ministry of Energy to collaborate on training and research, or the contract signed by Memorial University to train Indonesian lecturers on aquaculture and marine safety, are examples of these partnerships.

India: From general student recruitment to a partnership-based approach

In some markets visited by the evaluation team, missions are turning away from general student recruitment to focus on partnership building. This is the case in India where very high and unwavering growth in student recruitment led the education sector team focus on matchmaking between Canadian and Indian education institutions. This approach is more targeted as it allows the education sector team to showcase Canadian institutions and programs that are more closely aligned with the country's labour market and demographic needs. Further, focusing on partnerships in the Indian market allows Canada to benefit from the dynamism of Indian innovation and research. Finally, this also responds to issues of overrepresentation of Indian international students in the Greater Toronto Area region by creating partnerships with schools across the country. In short, a partnership-focused approach to promotion allows to focus on recruiting the right students, rather than the most students.

Finding #9: Outbound mobility is important to help Canada's youth acquire the skills, experience, and networks for the 21st century labour market. While the IES does include elements to support outbound mobility by Canadian students, this role is misaligned with the mandate of the Trade Commissioner Service.

While the International Education Strategy is primarily focused on recruiting international students to Canada, there are a few lines in the strategy about supporting outbound mobility of Canadian students. For example, the IES states that "…the Government of Canada will seek to strengthen existing and develop new strategic instruments of cooperation with priority countries to enhance research collaboration, two-way student mobility and knowledge exchange." Additionally, one of the goals of the IES is to "promote two-way student and research mobility”.

Benefits of Outbound Mobility

Outbound mobility is important because it allows Canada's youth to acquire the knowledge, skills and experience to compete and succeed in the 21st century global economy. Beyond acquiring skills, outbound mobility is also important because it contributes to building relationships with emerging countries, which can in turn support trade diversification for Canada.

The academic literature suggests that study-abroad experiences are associated with greater skill development among those who studied abroad, such as problem-solving, communication and teamwork skills, as well as resilience and adaptability. Furthermore, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that study-abroad programs lead to better employability outcomes.

Challenges

One of the main gaps on outbound mobility by Canadian students is the lack of robust data. Existing data sources give conflicting pictures of Canadian mobility, and currently there is no existing system to collect data on this topic.

Another major challenge with the outbound mobility component of the IES is that this activity is misaligned with the export-oriented mandate of the TCS. If international student enrollment in Canadian universities is considered a service export, then outbound mobility is considered a service import.

Finding #10: While difficult to compare across different models, Canada has had equal or better success than its competitors despite investing less. However, Canada will likely need to increase efforts to maintain and/or increase its market share.

Canada has been successful in recruiting international students, surpassing the IES goal of 450,000 students five years early. This success is impressive considering that Canada has invested comparatively less than its competitors, with a budget of only $5 million CAD per year. However, internal efforts to promote Canada as a study destination have been complemented by a favourable international environment and a variety of external factors which are expected to normalize in the coming years.

Canada's primary competitors, and like-minded countries, are Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and New Zealand. Other competitors include European nations such as France and Germany, and emerging competitors, such as China. Interviewees highlighted that these countries have invested far more in their marketing and promotion efforts, and particularly in a digital media presence. Competitors also offer a wide variety of generous scholarships, and in some cases offer free tuition. On the ground, education-specific offices in countries abroad provide students with tailored information and services about international study.

Interview respondents noted the importance of enhancing Canada's international education and promotion efforts to keep up with the top traditional and emerging competitors, especially considering Canada's unique geographic and political situation with provincial and territorial jurisdiction over education. One of the key promotion efforts suggested is a more comprehensive digital strategy, which will allow for more control over digital marketing by BBY, and enhance the current websites and marketing efforts to create a one-stop shop for Canadian international education, scholarships, and events. The risks of not having such a strategy were noted to include an inability to target marketing efforts and recruit quality students, a decline in the number of international students in Canada, and the loss of market share, all leading Canada to fall behind its competitors.

Finding #11: While the market designation exercise is an effective tool to determine the relative importance of markets for the education sector, it does not take into account future growth potential.

The International Education Division has successfully developed and implemented a data-driven market prioritization tool to allocate funds to missions based on relative importance. This tool is flexible and has evolved over the reference period of the evaluation to include different scoring criteria. For example, since 2016/2017 the market designation tool has integrated the IRCC study permit approval rate per country in the equation.

Missions appear to be largely satisfied with the current market prioritization tool and support they receive from the International Education Division on funding. The majority of Global Affairs Canada interview respondents stated that they understood and agreed with the market prioritization tool.

While the tool has evolved over time, the criteria it uses are all based on past trends and mission capacity. For example, the market designation exercise for 2018/2019 uses the 2017/2018 mission Strategia plan, TRIO data from 2016/2017, and international student data from 2016. In addition, the majority of the criteria used to determine the market designation are based on GAC's performance in a given market, rather than the actual growth potential of this market. In its current form, there is a risk that the tool will lead to path dependency, and prioritize markets based on historical presence. Other countries, such as the UK's British Council, and academia have integrated projected demographic growth and GDP per capita growth to forecast future growth of international students in key markets and regions. Interviewees noted BBY should consider similar forward-looking criteria in the market designation tool, including elements such as demographic growth and GDP growth. Notwithstanding, the capacity and willingness of missions to work in the education sector remains an important factor in determining funding levels.

This was also important in the context of diversifying target markets. While China and India will continue to be the main sources of international students for Canada in the coming years, many interviewees questioned the effectiveness of continued BBY funding in these markets and noted the need to reduce Canada's dependence on these countries. Instead, it was suggested that BBY funds would be better invested in emerging markets, experiencing higher youth population growth and rapidly improving economic contexts.

Finding #12: The International Education Division has built a strong working relationship with Provincial and Territorial Stakeholders and consults with them on a regular basis.

As Canadian Provinces and Territories have the exclusive legislative jurisdiction in the field of education, the role of the federal government is limited to aspects of education related to international relations and the promotion of Canada's foreign policy. Global Affairs Canada works with Canadian Provinces and Territories on education related activities through the Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CMEC), which represents the provincial and territorial ministries of education.

The working relationship between the Federal and Provincial/Territorial governments (FPT) was considered by key stakeholders to have greatly improved, particularly over the course of the evaluation reference period. While the relationship has been considered tense in the past, interviewees noted that BBY has put a lot of effort into improving this relationship through more collaboration and communication with Provincial and Territorial stakeholders. Frequent FPT consultations through the Federal-Provincial Consultative Committee on Education-Related International Activities (FPCCERIA), and the creation of the EduCanada brand are two examples where interviewees highlighted significant improvement in the working relationship. In addition to FPT relations in Canada, the evaluation team encountered several cases of strong and positive federal-provincial collaboration at missions abroad.

FPCCERIA, established in 1986, is an advisory body that provides a forum for discussion on items of common interest to the FPT governments regarding education. The committee generally meets twice a year and is co-chaired by the Executive Director of the International Education Division and by a Provincial/Territorial representative of a Ministry of Education.

FPCCERIA met regularly during the evaluation reference period, including three times in 2018, and attendance by provinces and territories has been extensive. Overall, FPCCERIA is a well-functioning mechanism and a key forum that has strengthened FPT relations on international education. FPCCERIA was also perceived by OGDs as being a strong example of a well-functioning FPT forum. Interviewees particularly noted that the in-person meetings helped reinforce relationships and improve communication.

Some interview respondents noted that the FPCCERIA meetings can be too focused on operational matters and should focus more on strategic discussions. Having the right combination of people at the table was cited as important to pursuing a more strategic direction in these meetings.

The majority of stakeholders interviewed agreed that there has been an improvement in the working relationship between the federal government and provinces-territories during the evaluation reference period. Stakeholders pointed to the renewal of the EduCanada brand in 2016 as evidence of success in FPT relations and collaboration. Interviewees noted that this exercise brought all key stakeholders together, defined clear roles for all parties, and generated discussion at all levels of government to create a coherent brand and message for Canadian international education. It was also noted that this exercise brought clarity for all players on what the brand is, and helped foster a coherent approach to international education branding across the board.

Finding #13: Coordination on international education efforts between GAC and other federal government departments has improved in recent years, but remains uneven.

While the IES is led by Global Affairs Canada, the strategy has implications for several federal government departments including Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED), and others. The International Education Division at GAC engages with other government departments on a regular basis through various channels.

According to stakeholders, the relationship between GAC and OGDs has improved over the past few years. The International Education Division (BBY) is credited with deploying increased efforts to consult and communicate with various OGDs. A good example of coordination on international education is the Pre-FPCCERIA meetings that bring together relevant federal departments and agencies to develop coherent positions and messages for the GOC prior to meeting with the provinces and territories. However, participation in FPCCERIA meetings by OGDs was irregular, and while there seems to be active participation by IRCC, other stakeholders, such as ESDC, ISED and others, are not taking part in these meetings on a regular basis. Some OGDs were unaware of the existence of the FPCCERIA forum.

The evaluation team also found that there was strong collaboration between the education sector team and IRCC at missions abroad. IRCC regularly participated in education promotion and student recruitment events to provide information on rules and requirements of study permits. Furthermore, IRCC was responsive to the increased volume of study permit applications by finding ways to improve processing through the Study Direct Stream in China, India, Vietnam, the Philippines and expanding the model to other countries in Africa.

Overall, stakeholders agreed that there is a need to better include all relevant GOC stakeholders in forums and discussions related to international education and to improve the coherence of the federal government departments on these issues.

One of the main areas that required improvement according to stakeholders was clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the various GOC stakeholders involved in International Education. As there are a large number of players involved in this sector, there was some confusion as to who was responsible for what. Interview respondents stated that it was important to have clear roles and responsibilities around the IES, and more broadly in the international education sector.

Another challenge frequently mentioned by external stakeholders was the rotationally of staff at GAC. The frequent rotation of staff in key positions made it difficult to maintain effective working relationships that lasted over time.

Finding #14: The current management model of the education sector is efficient and allows for an effective delivery of related activities.

The TB submission for the IES included funding for four decentralized positions to support the implementation of the strategy. The original regional positions were to be based in Delhi, Hanoi, Istanbul, and Beijing, in addition to an existing position in Sao Paolo. However, logistical challenges led the International Education Division to re-centralize some positions. The current mission support team is composed of 4 Regional Education Trade Commissioners (RETCs). Two of the positions are Decentralized, based in Sao Paolo, and the other two are HQ-based, which is unique within the department. These officers are responsible for supporting the work of Canada's regional offices and missions abroad. They each cover a different geographic region and provide advice and guidance to more than 100 missions active in the education sector.

Trade commissioners in the field expressed high satisfaction with the support they receive under the current model in both the interviews and in the survey. In particular, there was a high level of satisfaction by TC's on the support received from their RETC. Stakeholders mentioned that having access to a decentralized RETC gave them a better idea of the priorities and expectations of HQ and generally made them feel more connected.

Trade commissioners at missions abroad were also satisfied with the support received from BBY at headquarters. In both the survey and in interviews, TC's indicated that BBY was responsive and kept the missions informed on relevant education sector opportunities and results, as well as country-specific situations. While some noted that the communication with HQ could be slightly improved, they were overall satisfied with the working relationship.

Key clients and educational associations were also satisfied with the work of BBY and the services received. Interviewees noted that the team effectively and efficiently managed the education sector. In particular, clients were very satisfied with the services received from the Trade Commissioners at missions abroad, noting that they were fantastic at providing pertinent information and at making important connections for the client. The TCS client satisfaction survey ranked the education sector as 2nd in client satisfaction at 94% in 2017/2018.

The International Education Division was seen as innovative for developing collaboration and communications tools to improve the HQ-Mission relationship, such as the Education Extranet and the International Education Wiki. The Wiki was considered by many as a best practice in the Department, and other divisions have used the Education Wiki as a template for their own work.

Finding #15: While the International Scholarships Program (ISP) is an effective tool to support the IES objectives in Latin America and the Caribbean, gaps exist in Global Affairs Canada's scholarship offer.

BBY funds, manages, and administers several programs under the International Scholarships Program (ISP) that award between 750-800 scholarships per year to students from around the world. The majority (90%) of BBY-managed scholarships are short-term student exchange programs with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

The ISP appears to be functioning well, and is used effectively as part of the IES – 86% of survey respondents agreed that scholarships were an attraction factor for students considering studying in Canada. The current governance model of the ISP, where the Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE) manages 14 scholarships appears to be working well. CBIE has strong international education sector expertise and capacity to effectively manage part of the ISP.

While the ISP offers several scholarships in a variety of key markets, it is perceived to be too narrowly focused on LAC. Of the survey respondents at missions abroad, only 35% indicated that GAC offers scholarships in their respective local markets, and another 7% were unsure. Considering this focus on LAC and the limited or absence of scholarships in some markets and important geographic regions (such as Europe and the Middle East), interviewees and survey respondents highlighted the following gaps in the ISP and Canada's scholarship offering:

• More scholarships are offered for short-term or exchange programs, rather than longer-term study. However, more students are interested in longer programs of study.
• Many of the scholarships offered focus exclusively on research or doctoral and post-doctoral candidates, with little offering for undergraduate and masters-level students.
• A lack of an MOU or institutional linkages makes some students ineligible for certain scholarships.
• Many markets have no scholarships offered, reducing Canada's attractiveness.
• Some scholarships are simply not well known or not well advertised. Branding and marketing of scholarships should be improved.

Canada's Scholarship offer vs. Competitors

The International Scholarship program is perceived to be less generous then the offerings of competitors. According to key stakeholders, students were more attracted to the USA, Australia, and the UK due to relatively more generous scholarships.

A lower scholarship offering was considered a risk by some interviewees in terms of competing on the world stage. Interviewees also noted that there appears to be a funding gap in Canada's scholarship offer, whereas the total amount of available funding is less than the amount of funds committed.

Finding #15.A: Global Affairs' scholarships programs also contribute to results and coherence across Departmental business lines.

Beyond the ISP, GAC also offers other scholarship programs including the Canadian Francophonie Scholarship Program (CFSB) and the African Leaders of Tomorrow (ALT) Scholarship Program which are funded by Partnerships for Development Innovation Branch. As with the ISP, both of these programs are also managed by the Canadian Bureau of International Education.

The coordination of these different GAC scholarship programs was seen as effective by key stakeholders at HQ

The fact that the major ISP scholarships, such as the Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program (ELAP), included a mandatory condition that recipients were required to return to their country of origin following study in Canada was seen as coherent with Development objectives. ELAP was seen as beneficial to developing countries in LAC, as it allowed beneficiaries to gain human capital and supported the next generation of leaders in the Americas.

Furthermore, a large number of ISP scholarship recipients are women. BBY is currently considering how to better align the scholarships with Canada's Feminist International Assistance Policy objective of empowering women. Between 2012 and 2016:

Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program (ELAP)

The ELAP scholarships provide students from Latin America and the Caribbean with short-term exchange opportunities for study or research, in Canada, at the college, undergraduate, and graduate levels. The program aims to support the development of human capital and the next generation of leaders in the Americas while strengthening the linkages between post-secondary institutions in Canada and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The ELAP has been a highly effective tool to promote Canada as a destination of study, while supporting Canadian diplomatic objectives. While ELAP was a short-term program, recipients were more likely to consider Canada in the future to complete a full degree.

An ELAP study tour, bringing together the recipients with the highest potential, is organized annually to add value to the program by promoting Canadian society. Participants take part in meetings with high-ranking officials, subject-matter experts and visit important Canadian landmarks. In a survey of tour participants:

• 90% of respondents stated that the tour significantly increased their understanding of Canadian institutions and society.
• 81% stated that the tour would have a lasting impact on their appreciation of Canada.

Overall, the study tour was a key activity of ELAP and allowed for the promotion of Canada as a study destination for LAC students.

Conclusions

Conclusion #1:

While the Department was successful in meeting its International Education Strategy objectives early, the evaluation found that favourable external factors have had an important impact on these results. Due to growing competition from traditional and non-traditional countries and Canada's relatively lower investments than its competitors in digital and web promotion, there is a increasing risk that Canada could lose momentum as a prime study abroad destination.

Conclusion # 2:

The International Education Division has built a data-driven market prioritization tool and annual exercise to determine key markets and allocate funding. The tool has evolved over time to include additional criteria, and increase coherence between Global Affairs and other Federal Government Departments. However, under its current configuration, there is a risk that the market prioritization tool would overlook certain trends in the changing landscape of international student mobility.

Conclusion # 3:

The International Education Division has worked successfully to strengthen the working relationship with key external stakeholders, including provincial and territorial stakeholders and other federal government departments. However, stronger coordination and collaboration is required with key GoC Departments (IRCC, ESDC, ISED), to leverage international education activities in support of other GoC priorities.

Conclusion # 4:

The rapid increase in the number of international students in Canada since 2014 will inevitably lead to a proportional increase in the number of alumni from Canadian institutions all around the world. The evaluation found that these alumni play a key role in advancing Canadian interests, values and support strengthened relations between Canada and foreign countries. Current alumni tracking and engagement efforts are fragmented, limiting Canada's ability to reap the long-term benefits of International education.

Conclusion # 5:

International Education contributes to a very broad spectrum of Departmental and GoC priorities and objectives. A comprehensive performance measurement strategy should try to capture the full extent of results linked to international education activities. A comprehensive digital strategy could support a revised performance measurement strategy, by providing real-time data on key indicators.

Considerations for Future Programming

1. Education Sector Trade Commissioners (and Trade Commissioners in other sectors) are required to report on performance in two different systems (TRIO and Strategia). Many of the activities of an Education Trade Commissioner do not meet the definition of Key Performance Indications (KPIs) in TRIO, and they do not always get reported in Strategia. Therefore, the performance of Education Sector teams at missions and the workload of individual Trade Commissioners are not accurately reflected in either system. Further consideration should be given to harmonizing reporting tools and practices for Trade Sectors.
2. The evaluation found several instances in which the International Education Strategy and/or the International Scholarship Program were contributing to Departmental coherence between the Trade, Diplomacy and Development business lines. In order to fully benefit from potential linkages, all future Departmental initiatives related to education, including Development, should explore synergistic opportunities between Departmental business lines to strengthen coherence and achieve greater results.

Management Response and Action Plan (MRAP)