Five-Year Departmental Evaluation Plan 2020-21 to 2024-25

Prepared by the Evaluation and Results Bureau (PRD)
Global Affairs Canada (GAC)
May 2020

Deputy head confirmation note

I approve the Rolling Five-Year Departmental Evaluation Plan of Global Affairs Canada for fiscal years 2020-21 to 2024-25, which I submit to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat as required by the Policy on Results and pursuant to section 42.1 of the Financial Administration Act.

As per Sections 4.3.15 of the Policy, I confirm that the following evaluation coverage requirements are met and reflected in this five-year departmental evaluation plan:

• is informed by an annual evaluation planning exercise that includes consultation with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat;
• clearly presents planned evaluation coverage, including coverage of organizational spending and the programs in the Program Inventory, during the planning period;
• identifies and provides a rationale for the organization’s spending and programs in the Program Inventory that are not scheduled for evaluation during the planning period;
• includes evaluations of all ongoing programs of grants and contributions that have five-year average actual expenditures of $5 million or greater per year;
• includes all evaluations required by applicable legislation and as a result of commitments in submissions approved by the Treasury Board of Canada
• includes all evaluations requested by the Secretary of the Treasury Board of Canada; and
• includes all evaluation activities required to support centrally-led evaluations or resource alignment reviews.

I will ensure that this plan is updated annually, and I will provide information about its implementation to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, as required.

Marta Morgan
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Global Affairs Canada

Context and background

Departmental evaluation plan

Purpose

This document presents Global Affairs Canada’s Departmental Evaluation Plan. The Plan is an information and management tool that reflects the results of the Department’s annual evaluation planning exercise. The Plan identifies evaluations for the next five years. It reports on the status of evaluations planned for completion in the previous year and discusses the resourcing of the evaluation function.

The scope and content of this plan are consistent with the requirements of the Financial Administration Act and the Treasury Board Policy on Results.

Government of Canada context

Evaluation is a priority of the Government as demonstrated in Mandate Letter Commitments. Specifically, the President of the Treasury Board is charged with instilling a culture of evaluation, measurement and evidence-based decisions across departments for program and policy design and delivery.

Requirements of the Policy on Results

The Policy on Results (2016) requires that deputy heads annually approve a five-year evaluation plan and provide it to the Treasury Board Secretariat (Section 4.3.15). The Plan should include:

• A detailed schedule of planned mandatory and discretionary evaluations.
• The extent of evaluation coverage of the Program Inventory, by amount of organizational spending and by program of the Program Inventory.
• The extent of organizational spending and programs that will not be evaluated in the planning period, and justification (i.e. What has been excluded from the five-year schedule and why).
• Advice to the deputy heads on the adequacy of resources for evaluation.

Types of Evaluation

The evaluation function

Evaluation function at Global Affairs Canada

The Results and Evaluation Bureau (PRD) oversees the evaluation function and the Results and Delivery Unit (PRR). The Director General is the designated Head of Evaluation and represents the departmental link to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat for evaluation.

As per the Policy on Results, the Head of Evaluation has direct, unencumbered access to the deputy head of the Department. 

International Assistance Evaluation Division

The International Assistance Evaluation Division (PRA) leads on departmental evaluations of programs funded through the international assistance envelope.

Diplomacy, Trade, and Corporate Evaluation Division

The Diplomacy, Trade, and Corporate Evaluation Division (PRE) leads on departmental evaluations for Trade, Diplomacy, Consular and Corporate programs. It also houses the Evaluation Services, Learning and Innovation Unit (ESLIU), which provides capacity building and technical assistance for decentralized evaluations.

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PRD Organizational Structure

PRA, PRE and PRR are part of PRD which is overlooking each division. ESLIU is part of PRE.

Roles and responsibilities of PMEC

The Performance Measurement and Evaluation Committee

The Policy on Results calls for deputy heads to establish and chair a Performance Measurement and Evaluation Committee (PMEC) of senior officials. At Global Affairs Canada, PMEC is  chaired by the Associate Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (DMA), with the Deputy Minister of International Development (DME) serving as Vice-Chair.

PMEC aims to strengthen the planning, coordination and use of performance measurement and evaluation within GAC, as well as to ensure appropriate resourcing of these functions.  It also aims to make the department a leader within the Government of Canada for innovation and greater horizontal collaboration in these fields.

The Policy on Results requires PMEC to:

• Review and advise the deputy head on the establishment, maintenance and implementation of the Departmental Results Framework (DRF), Program Inventory (PI), and Performance Information Profiles (PIPs)
• Review and advise the deputy head on availability, quality, utility and use of performance information including evaluation
• Review and advise the deputy head on departmental evaluation planning, resources and activities, including recommending approval of the departmental evaluation plan
• Review evaluation reports and summaries, including management responses and action plans, and recommend approval to the deputy head
• Review and advise the deputy head on the neutral assessment of the evaluation function
• Monitor follow-up on evaluation recommendations and action plans and advise the deputy head of issues

Achievements in 2019-20

Throughout the year, 8 evaluations were completed, 8 designs developed, and 101 decentralized evaluations supported

Delivering evaluations

Completed Evaluations:

1. Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH)
2. Natural Disaster Reconstruction Assistance in the Philippines
3. Ukraine International Assistance
4. Humanitarian Assistance
5. Geographic Coordination and Mission Support
6. Sub-Saharan Africa Coherence
7. Canadian International Innovation Program
8. Middle East Strategy

Mid-term Review:

• 1 Mid-Term Review of Global Affairs Canada’s Climate Finance Programming

Monitoring and Evaluation Capacity Assessment:

• 1 Capacity Assessment of Monitoring and Evaluation at the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie

Joint Evaluations:

• 14 Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN) reports

Other achievements

2019/20

Adopting and promoting best practices for evaluation and departmental learning through various activities

Hosting 2019 Nordic Plus

The Evaluation and Results Bureau hosted the 2019 Nordic Plus meeting, highlighting Canada’s leadership in development evaluation. Over 20 Heads of Evaluation attended the event, including representatives from the member countries – Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, as well as the OECD. The discussions included the role of evaluation in influencing decision-making and policy, machine learning in evaluation, multilateral institutions and evaluation, and evaluations in fragile and conflict-affected states.

Hosting a roundtable on managing small evaluation units

The Bureau hosted a roundtable discussion on the side of the Nordic Plus meeting. Other Canadian counterparts’ participation expanded Canada-International exchanges on best practices and key challenges when managing smaller evaluation units. Among others, Canadian participants included International Development Research Centre, Infrastructure Canada, Statistics Canada, Women and Gender Equality Canada, and Environment and Climate Change Canada. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat recognized the Global Affairs’ leadership in promoting knowledge sharing and networking in evaluation function through the hosting of this event.

Learning from evaluation

The Bureau hosted more than three evaluation learning events throughout the year. For example, a symposium on the nexus approach and disaster risk reduction was organized. The symposium sought to contribute to policy thinking through leveraging findings from the evaluation of International Assistance Programming in the Philippines. It focused on linking disaster risk reduction to longer-term development policies and programming. The evaluation team also developed a tip sheet for project officers on how to practically integrate disaster risk reduction into project management. The high turnout illustrated an elevated level of interest in the Department for such learning. 

Feminist evaluation principles

For the first time in the Department, the evaluation team integrated feminist evaluation principles in data collection. This methodology was presented in a learning event for the Department. It is being used to inform current approaches to feminist evaluation, particularly through the Women Voice and Leadership Program. It also informed discussions on GBA+ approaches with Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE). The team also developed a feminist evaluation tip sheet. It presents a set of principles, as well as examples of how Global Affairs Canada utilizes feminist approaches in various stages of evaluation.

Innovation through system mapping

The evaluation team applied a novel social network analysis to create a system map of triple nexus (humanitarian, development and peace) actors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This method drove a nation-wide discussion among key partners including the UN Nexus Coordinator, the OECD, the DRC government, international NGOs, and other donors. It allowed Canada to demonstrate leadership in the innovative uses of technology and evaluation methods as well as dialogue about nexus. The team shared their expertise on system mapping with the Canadian Foreign Service Institute, which has been used as an example in courses seeking to integrate system thinking.

Experimentation Works initiative

The evaluation team’s proposal to Experimentation Works (EW) was successful. Led by the Treasury Board, EW is a Government of Canada’s initiative aimed at testing experimental designs to measure the effect and impacts of interventions in the public service. The team proposed to measure the usage of evaluation evidence by programs depending on communication mechanisms, with the goal of identifying the most effective communication mechanisms. The EW initiative will take place in 2020-21.

Trend analysis of past evaluations

The Evaluation and Results Bureau conducted a trend analysis of all completed evaluations in FY2018-19 to inform senior management of common lessons and challenges identified in evaluations. The results were presented to PMEC for discussion, and shared across the Department. This analysis will be conducted annually going forward.

New guidance and tip sheets for decentralized evaluations

The Evaluation Services, Learning and Innovation Unit (ESLIU) developed new guidance tools and tip sheets for program managers commissioning decentralized program-led evaluations. The new tools and services were presented at a Lunch and Learn Event, attended by over 50 representatives from the geographic and other departmental branches. The ESLIU received requests for further presentations of this type to individual branches.

The evaluation planning process

The current Departmental Evaluation Plan is based on analysis and consultations conducted during the Fall and Winter of 2019-20. This included:

• Document review: The review of various sources of information to identify all mandatory evaluations and assess coverage of the Program Inventory. Key documents included the last approved 5-Year Plan, Performance Information Profiles, memoranda to Cabinet, Treasury Board submissions, financial disbursements, etc.
• Survey across the Department: A survey of all Directors General, Directors, Head of Missions and Head of Cooperation captured and assessed their evaluation needs.  It also identified potential opportunities for thematic evaluations.
• In-person consultations with Branches: In total, 20 consultations were held with Assistant Deputy Ministers, Director Generals and other key stakeholders in order to review the timing and scope of proposed evaluations, and to optimize their usefulness and value.
• Consultation with the Secretariat of the Treasury Board of Canada. In accordance with the Policy on Results, the Head of Evaluation also consulted with TBS.

Evaluation coverage

Global Affairs Canada planned evaluation coverage

The Policy on Results introduced the requirement for a Program Inventory, which contains the entire list of programs in the Department. The Program Inventory helps demonstrate how the Department delivers on its mandate, supports the authorization of expenditures through Cabinet, and supports performance reporting. The Program Inventory represents the entire evaluation portfolio. In principle, all programs and spending in the Program Inventory (except for internal services) should be evaluated periodically.

PRD plans to conduct 52 evaluations over the next five years, representing 37 out of 42 programs in the Program Inventory (excluding programs listed below). The schedule fulfills all legal and Treasury Board policy requirements. All ongoing programs of grants and contributions with a five-year average expenditure of $5 million or greater per year will be evaluated.

The planned coverage is as follows (Please refer to Appendix 2 for more details):

Total coverage of the program inventory by program

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Total coverage of the program inventory by program

• Program not covered: 12%
• Program covered: 88%

Total coverage of expenditures – Required programs

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Total coverage of expenditures – Required programs

• Expenditures not covered: 5%
• Expenditures covered: 95%

Programs excluded from the planned coverage calculation

There is no requirement to evaluate the 10 programs that fall under Internal Services, however, the efficiency and effectiveness of some of these services may be covered as part of the evaluations of programs, strategies or initiatives.

Multilateral Policy (Program #2) is also excluded from the coverage calculations as its disbursements are in the form of assessed contributions to international organizations.

Horizontal evaluations

In FY 2020-21, the Department is expected to complete a number of horizontal evaluations with other Government of Canada departments, including:

1. Evaluation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act Division 9 (IRCC lead)
2. Evaluation of the Single Window Initiative (CBSA lead)
3. Evaluation of Investigative Powers for the 21st Century (Justice Canada lead)
4. Climate Change (ECCC Lead)

Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network

Global Affairs Canada meets part of its coverage requirements through the Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN). The 19 members contribute collectively to assessments of the strengths and areas for improvements in international organizations. In January 2021, Canada will become Chair of the Steering Committee. We will work with other donors to ensure MOPAN’s continued relevance to changing global priorities, including Agenda 2030, UN reform, and efforts to address sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

COVID-19

Implications of the pandemic on the evaluation function of the Department

While the Department responds to COVID-19, there is a continued need to conduct evaluations, including legal, policy and funding renewal commitments. As such, PRD is adapting the way it conducts independent evaluations, and provides advice related to decentralized evaluations, in a complex and continuously evolving COVID-19 context.

While each evaluation has specific needs and situational realities, PRD developed an “Evaluation at Global Affairs Canada during COVID-19” document to guide the work of the evaluation team. The document outlines considerations and parameters that need to be taken into consideration in the design and adjustment of evaluations. The objective is to ensure consistency in approaches while maintaining methodologically sound evaluations.

To meet various requirements, and recognizing the need to adapt approaches, the 5-Year Departmental Evaluation Plan for 2020-21 to 2024-25 has been revised based on rigorous re-scoping or postponed launch of planned evaluations.

The schedule of upcoming evaluations will remain evergreen; It will be reviewed based on new information as the situation evolves. Evaluation designs will also incorporate mitigation strategies to ensure methodologically sound approaches based on the parameters document.

In addition to the impacts on the 5-year Plan, PRD will be leveraging evaluation capacity to support broader lessons learned processes in the Department through:

• Chairing the Global Affairs Canada Lesson Learned Working Group(LLWG) – COVID-19
• Consolidating lessons learned from previous evaluations to support decision-makers in various policy and programming areas as they re-focus efforts in response to COVID-19 – including leveraging international networks
• Offering technical advice as required on refining and developing performance monitoring and reporting frameworks

PRD will continue to actively monitor the situation and will update work plans to provide value for decision-making as events unfold.

Resources and capacity

Resources

In FY 2020-21 the evaluation function consists of 40 FTE positions. The annual salary expense is approximately $3.97M. Total funds for O&M is $2.28M.

Capacity

Going forward, the evaluation function can produce 8-10 evaluation reports annually at full capacity. This includes 4-5 evaluations of international assistance programing (PRA) and 4-5 evaluations of diplomacy, trade and corporate programing (PRE). In addition, PRA supports multi-donor assessments of multilateral organizations through the Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN). The number of projects undertaken in a given year is usually determined by the size and complexity of the evaluation project.

The ESLIU team provides support to programs for the conduct of decentralized project-level evaluations totaling over $5M in contracts to external evaluators per year. Services are provided to over 100 concurrent evaluation files leading to more than 35 evaluations per year. The ESLIU also provides evaluation tools and guidance to program staff, support for the development of the Decentralized Evaluation Database and technical assistance on the Women’s Voice and Leadership program’s decentralized evaluations (32 projects covering $174M in program spending).

All decentralized evaluations funded by Global Affairs Canada are part of the Departmental Evaluation Plan, even if they are not specifically listed in the plan, and any activities conducted as part of these evaluations are not considered public opinion research.

Appendix 1: Five-Year Evaluation Schedule

Five-Year Evaluation Schedule: FY 2020-2021 – Year 1

Evaluation Name: Corporate Social Responsibility
Planned Start Date: April 2019
Planned Deputy Head Approval: May 2020
Branch: International Business Development (BFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 14. International Business Development

Evaluation Name: Clean Tech Strategy*
Planned Start Date: June 2019
Planned Deputy Head Approval: May 2020
Branch: International Business Development (BFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 14. International Business Development

Evaluation Name: Democratic Republic of the Congo: International Assistance
Planned Start Date: February 2019
Planned Deputy Head Approval: May 2020
Branch: Sub-Saharan Africa (WGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 32. Sub-Saharan Africa International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Americas Coherence Evaluation: Trade, Diplomacy & International Assistance
Planned Start Date: June 2019
Planned Deputy Head Approval: May 2020
Branch: Americas (NGM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 1. International Policy Coordination
• 6. Americas Policy & Diplomacy
• 17. Americas Trade
• 30. Americas International Assistance

Evaluation Name: IRPA Division 9 (PS Lead)*
Planned Start Date: April 2019
Planned Deputy Head Approval: June 2020
Branch: International Security (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 3. International Law

Evaluation Name: Americas International Assistance: Peru
Planned Start Date: February 2019
Planned Deputy Head Approval: June 2020
Branch: Americas (NGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 30. Americas International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Asia Pacific International Assistance: Afghanistan*
Planned Start Date: April 2019
Planned Deputy Head Approval: June 2020
Branch: Asia-Pacific (OGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 31. Asia Pacific International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Single Window Initiative (CBSA lead)*
Planned Start Date: January 2019
Planned Deputy Head Approval: September 2020
Branch: International Security (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory:

Evaluation Name: IP 21C (Justice Canada Lead)*
Planned Start Date: January 2019
Planned Deputy Head Approval: September 2020
Branch: International Security (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory:

Evaluation Name: Sub-Saharan International Assistance: Ethiopia
Planned Start Date: July 2019
Planned Deputy Head Approval: October 2020
Branch: Sub-Saharan Africa (WGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 32. Sub-Saharan Africa International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Mission Cultural Fund
Planned Start Date: December 2019
Planned Deputy Head Approval: October 2020
Branch: Americas (NGM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 5. Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb Policy & Diplomacy
• 6. Americas Policy & Diplomacy
• 7. Asia Pacific Policy & Diplomacy
• 8. Sub-Saharan Africa Policy & Diplomacy

Evaluation Name: Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls in the Middle East and the Maghreb
Planned Start Date: November 2019
Planned Deputy Head Approval: January 2021
Branch: Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb (EGM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 1. International Assistance Policy 
• 29. Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb International Assistance

* indicates an evaluation commitment made through a Treasury Board submission or Memorandum to Cabinet.

Five-Year Evaluation Schedule: FY 2021-2022 – Year 2

Evaluation Name: Evaluation of Global Affairs Canada COVID-19 Response
Planned Start Date: September 2020
Planned Deputy Head Approval: April 2021
Branch:
Link to Program Inventory:

Evaluation Name: Canadian Technology Accelerator Initiative*
Planned Start Date: September 2020
Planned Deputy Head Approval: May 2021
Branch: International Business Development (BFM)\
Link to Program Inventory: 14. International Business Development

Evaluation Name: Partnerships for Development Innovation
Planned Start Date: September 2020
Planned Deputy Head Approval: June 2021
Branch: Partnerships for Development Innovation (KFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 23. Partnerships and Development Innovation

Evaluation Name: Foreign Policy & Diplomatic Services
Planned Start Date: September 2020
Planned Deputy Head Approval: September 2021
Branch: All Geos
Link to Program Inventory:

• 1. International Policy Coordination
• 5. Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb Policy & Diplomacy
• 6. Americas Policy & Diplomacy
• 7. Asia Pacific Policy & Diplomacy
• 8. Sub-Saharan Africa Policy & Diplomacy
• 9. Geographic Coordination and Mission Support

Evaluation Name: Asia Coherence Evaluation: Trade, Diplomacy & International Assistance
Planned Start Date: July 2020
Planned Deputy Head Approval: October 2021
Branch: Asia-Pacific (OGM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 7. Asia Pacific Policy & Diplomacy
• 18. Asia Pacific Trade

Evaluation Name: Development Assistance in Asia-Pacific Middle-Income Countries
Planned Start Date: September 2020
Planned Deputy Head Approval: November 2021
Branch: Asia-Pacific (OGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 31. Asia-Pacific International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Women’s Voice and Leadership: Formative Evaluation*
Planned Start Date: October 2020
Planned Deputy Head Approval: December 2021
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 24. Multilateral International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Americas International Assistance: Haiti
Planned Start Date: October 2020
Planned Deputy Head Approval: December 2021
Branch: Americas (NGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 30. Americas International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Canada Fund for Local Initiatives
Planned Start Date: December 2020
Planned Deputy Head Approval: December 2021
Branch: Americas (NGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 28. Canada Fund for Local Initiatives

Five-Year Evaluation Schedule: FY 2022-2023 – Year 3

Evaluation Name: Middle East Strategy*
Planned Start Date: February 2021
Planned Deputy Head Approval: April 2022
Branch: Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb (EGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 29. Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Anti-Crime and Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building
Planned Start Date: April 2021
Planned Deputy Head Approval: April 2022
Branch: International Security (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 26. Anti-Crime and Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building Programs

Evaluation Name: Canada’s Migrant Smuggling Prevention Strategy (GAC lead horizontal)*
Planned Start Date: April 2021
Planned Deputy Head Approval: July 2022
Branch: International Security (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 17. International Security Policy and Diplomacy
• 26. Anti-Crime and Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building Programs

Evaluation Name: Trade and Export Controls, including softwood permitting systems*
Planned Start Date: May 2021
Planned Deputy Head Approval: September 2022
Branch: Trade Policy and Negotiations (TFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 13. Trade Controls

Evaluation Name: EGM Coherence Evaluation: Trade, Diplomacy & International Assistance
Planned Start Date: June 2021
Planned Deputy Head Approval: December 2022
Branch: Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb (EGM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 5. Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb Diplomacy
• 16. Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb Trade
• 29. Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Duty of Care (Mission Security and Personnel Safety Abroad), and Emergency Preparedness and Response*
Planned Start Date: July 2021
Planned Deputy Head Approval: January 2023
Branch: Consular, Security and Emergency Management (CFM) and International Platform (ACM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 35. Emergency Preparedness and Response
• 40. Real Property Planning and Stewardship
• 41. Real Property Project Delivery, Professional and Technical Services
• 42. Mission Readiness and Security
• 43. Mission Network Information Management / Information Technology

Evaluation Name: Weapons Threat Reduction Program*
Planned Start Date: January 2022
Planned Deputy Head Approval: January 2023
Branch: International Security (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 27. Weapons of Mass Destruction

Evaluation Name: Peace and Stabilization Operations
Planned Start Date: December 2021
Planned Deputy Head Approval: February 2023
Branch: International Security (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 25. Peace and Stabilisation Operations

Five-Year Evaluation Schedule: FY 2023-2024 – Year 4

Evaluation Name: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)*
Planned Start Date: January 2022
Planned Deputy Head Approval: April 2023
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 24. Multilateral International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Sovereign Loan Program*
Planned Start Date: January 2022
Planned Deputy Head Approval: April 2023
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 24. Multilateral International Assistance

Evaluation Name: International Assistance Innovation Finance*
Planned Start Date: March 2022
Planned Deputy Head Approval: May 2023
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 24. Multilateral International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Partnerships for Gender Equality: Formative Evaluation*
Planned Start Date: April 2022
Planned Deputy Head Approval: June 2023
Branch: Partnerships for Development Innovation (KFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 23. Partnerships and Development Innovation 

Evaluation Name: Business Women in International Trade Program
Planned Start Date: July 2022
Planned Deputy Head Approval: September 2023
Branch: International Business Development (BFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 14. International Business Development

Evaluation Name: China-Asia Trade and Diplomacy Coherence*

Planned Start Date: July 2022
Planned Deputy Head Approval: September 2023
Branch: Asia-Pacific (OGM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 7. Asia-Pacific Policy and Diplomacy
• 18. Asia-Pacific Trade

Evaluation Name: International Security Policy and Diplomacy, including the International Strategic Framework for Cyberspace
Planned Start Date: January 2022
Planned Deputy Head Approval: December 2023
Branch: International Security (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 11. International Security Policy and Diplomacy

Evaluation Name: Consular Assistance and Administrative Services for Canadian Abroad
Planned Start Date: June 2022
Planned Deputy Head Approval: December 2023
Branch: Consular, Security and Emergency Management (CFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 34. Consular Assistance and Services for Canadians abroad

Evaluation Name: Global Arctic Leadership Initiative
Planned Start Date: January 2023
Planned Deputy Head Approval: February 2024
Branch: Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb (EGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 5. Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb Diplomacy

Evaluation Name: Coherence – Meta-Evaluation
Planned Start Date: July 2023
Planned Deputy Head Approval: February 2024
Branch: All Geos
Link to Program Inventory: All Geos Programs

Evaluation Name: National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking (PS Lead)*
Planned Start Date: April 2023
Planned Deputy Head Approval: March 2024
Branch: International Security (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 11. International Security Policy and Diplomacy

Five-Year Evaluation Schedule: FY 2024-2025 – Year 5

Evaluation Name: Education Strategy, including the Grants and Contributions in Aid of Academic Relations*
Planned Start Date: April 2023
Planned Deputy Head Approval: April 2024
Branch: International Business Development (BFM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 14. International Business Development
• 15. International Innovation and Investment

Evaluation Name: Girls Education in Fragile States
Planned Start Date: March 2023
Planned Deputy Head Approval: May 2024
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 24. Multilateral International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Mali and South Sudan
Planned Start Date: April 2023
Planned Deputy Head Approval: June 2024
Branch: Sub-Saharan Africa (WGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 32. Sub-Saharan Africa International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Partnership for Development Innovation: Innovation Results
Planned Start Date: April 2023
Planned Deputy Head Approval: June 2024
Branch: Partnerships for Development Innovation (KFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 23. Partnerships and Development Innovation 

Evaluation Name: Humanitarian Assistance
Planned Start Date: August 2023
Planned Deputy Head Approval: October 2024
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 10. International Assistance Policy
• 22. Humanitarian Assistance

Evaluation Name: Climate Finance & Environment and Climate Action*
Planned Start Date: August 2023
Planned Deputy Head Approval: October 2024
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 24. Multilateral International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Can Export (Trade diversification programs)
Planned Start Date: October 2023
Planned Deputy Head Approval: December 2024
Branch: International Business Development (BFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 14. International Business Development

Evaluation Name: Office of Human Rights, Freedom and Inclusion Programming 
Planned Start Date: November 2023
Planned Deputy Head Approval: January 2025
Branch: International Security (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 21. Office or Human Rights, Freedom and Inclusion (OHRFI) Programming

Evaluation Name: Common Service Delivery Point (CSDP)
Planned Start Date: January 2024\
Planned Deputy Head Approval: January 2025
Branch: International Platform (ACM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 36. Platform Corporate Services
• 38. Client Relations and Mission Operations

Evaluation Name: LES Framework Reform
Planned Start Date: January 2024
Planned Deputy Head Approval: February 2025
Branch: Human Resources (HCM)
Link to Program Inventory: 39. Locally Engaged Staff Services

Evaluation Name: Canadian International Innovation Program (CIIP)
Planned Start Date: April 2024
Planned Deputy Head Approval: February 2025
Branch: International Business Development (BFM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 14. International Business Development
• 15. International Innovation and Investment

Evaluation Name: International Platform Costing Methodology
Planned Start Date: January 2024
Planned Deputy Head Approval: March 2025
Branch: International Platform (ACM)
Link to Program Inventory: 38. Client Relations and Mission Operations

Appendix 2: Programs excluded from the Five-Year Schedule

The following 4 programs are excluded from the five-year evaluation schedule.

Core Responsibility: 1. International Advocacy and Diplomacy
Program: 4. The Office of Protocol
Rationale for exclusion: Low-Risk. Recommendations from the most recent evaluation (2017) have been implemented and there has been no changes in programming or context since last evaluation.

Core Responsibility: 2. Trade and Investment
Program: 12. Trade Policy, Agreements, Negotiations and Disputes
Rationale for exclusion: Low-Need. There are no requirement to inform major policy or spending decisions.

Core Responsibility: 3. Development, Peace and Security Programming
Program: 20. International Assistance Operations
Rationale for exclusion: Low-Need. No requirement for within a five-year period evaluation as it is not a grants and contributions program.
Program: 33. Grants and Contributions Policy and Operations
Rationale for exclusion: Low-Need. No requirement for within a five-year period as it is not a grants and contributions program.

Core Responsibility: 5. Foreign Service Directives
Program: 37. Foreign Service Directives
Rationale for exclusion: Low-Need. No requirement for periodic evaluation as it is not a grants and contributions program. Also, this program is better suited for audits than evaluations (mostly normative-based).

Appendix 3: Challenges in meeting the increasing demand for evaluations

Challenges: 1) Unfunded commitments to Central Agencies for thematic evaluations of international assistance
Mitigation Measures: Cut in the number of country program evaluations of international assistance in order to meet policy and funding renewal requirements

• From 54% of scheduled evaluations in the 2018-19 Departmental Evaluation Plan to 5% in 2021-22 onwards

Residual Risks:

1. Top 20 country recipients of international assistance have been rescheduled to years beyond 2024-25 including Tanzania, Nigeria, and Mozambique.
• Except Haiti ($125M annually), 83% of international assistance to Americas will be left unevaluated ($533M annually). Cumulatively, this amount represents $2.6B over the 5 years at the program level.
2. Limited ability to address coherence issues across branches and related efficiency questions

Challenges: 2) Large number of programs require an evaluation in the Program Inventory (43 programs)
Mitigation Measures: Cluster two or three programs in one evaluation. Postpone non-Gs&Cs programs’ evaluations beyond 2024-25.
Residual Risks:

1. Limited ability to address program-specific challenges identified by program managers.

Challenges: 3) Limited flexibility to address in-year requests for high priority evaluations.
Mitigation Measures: Calibrate approach based on risks and senior management needs and priorities when selecting evaluations. Provide “a la carte” evaluation support without full evaluation
Residual Risks:

1. Some evaluations may be delayed to accommodate requests from senior management for high priority requests.

Challenges: 4) Inability to evaluate the full envelope of multilateral international assistance
Mitigation Measures: Use MOPAN reports to cover Multilateral International Assistance

• By influencing the selection of multilaterals chosen for MOPAN reviews, coverage of disbursements by the Multilateral International Assistance Program has grown from 49% in 2017 to 80% today. After the next wave of MOPAN reports, 87% of disbursements will have been evaluated.

Residual Risks:

1. Some multilateral organizations fall outside of MOPAN’s scope and current schedule.
• The largest recipients include the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations ($39.6M or 1.5%), the UN Office for Project Services ($29.5M or 1.1%), the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund ($28.7M or 1.1%), the International Organisation of the Francophonie ($28.7M or 1.1%), the Caribbean Development Bank ($23.7M or 0.9%) and the Organisation of American States ($17.6M or 0.7%).
2. Some multilateral organizations may not have their next MOPAN assessment for another decade.