2011-2012 Departmental Performance Report

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Minister's Message

As the new Minister for International Cooperation, I am pleased to report on the achievements of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in 2011-2012.

Our government continues to deliver on its commitments to international development, while taking concrete steps to make Canadian assistance more effective, focused and accountable. In this way, we ensure that Canadian public funds are making a real difference in the lives of the world's poorest and most vulnerable people.

Canadians can be proud of CIDA's work, not only because it is an expression of Canadians' generosity but also because we are achieving results. By focusing on our thematic priorities of securing a future for children and youth, increasing food security, and stimulating sustainable economic growth, our efforts also foster a more prosperous and secure world to the benefit of those in need around the world and Canadians alike.

CIDA's contributions to the Canada-led Muskoka Initiative, aimed at saving the lives of mothers, newborns, and children, continued to translate into meaningful results around the world. In Bangladesh, 1.2 million children were inoculated against polio and measles last year. In Mali, 92 percent of infants under one year old received three doses of a vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, and haemophilus influenzae type b virus, up from 69 percent in 2007. Through support to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), more than 41,000 conflict-affected children in South Sudan are receiving health care and an education.

Canada also continued to play a global leadership role in food security. It helped to advance important international initiatives to reduce hunger in the face of significant strains on global food security. CIDA has long been committed to helping children and families gain access to nutritious food, and it works closely with partners such as the Micronutrient Initiative to identify and deploy new and innovative strategies to increase access to key vitamins and minerals. One innovative project in Senegal saw CIDA supporting the Micronutrient Initiative to treat children with diarrhea with zinc supplements and oral rehydration salts.

Under its Sustainable Economic Growth Strategy, CIDA is helping to establish modern budget management systems in 35 provinces in Vietnam. Since 2009, CIDA has trained 4,800 legislators and government staff in policy development and law-making and provided technical assistance for 29 laws that were passed or revised by the National Assembly. We have also invested in women's economic empowerment in order to tackle inequality-a persistent and fundamental obstacle to sustained growth and prosperity.

CIDA has also enhanced its approach to sustainable economic growth in the area of responsible natural resources management. In many developing countries, this sector, if managed effectively, transparently and sustainably, can be a driver of prosperity and long-term development. Canada has regulatory, skills training and management expertise in this field that can be shared with our development partners. That is why we created the Canadian International Institute for Extractives and Development in 2012.

In addition to its work in long-term development, the Agency responded rapidly and effectively to numerous humanitarian emergencies around the world, including a major drought across East Africa, especially in Somalia. As thousands faced starvation and refugee camps in the region rapidly filled, CIDA launched the East Africa Drought Relief Fund and provided 136 million to on-the-ground relief partners to help 13 million people survive. The Agency also helped many more people touched by crises around the world, including those affected by flooding in Cambodia, the Philippines, and Central America, and by conflict in Libya.

From my personal experience in the field, I can confidently say Canada is making a meaningful difference. When I was in the Sahel region of West Africa, I saw firsthand some of the millions of men, women and children who are suffering from a food and nutrition crisis. With Canada's support, over six million people have been provided with life-saving food assistance, and over 520,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition have been treated. CIDA's work has saved lives and it will have positive impacts for years to come.

Key to delivering results is ensuring that development actors keep their promises and pledges. Canada had an important role in promoting accountability for development commitments and tracking results through Prime Minister Stephen Harper's co-chairing of the United Nations Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health. The Commission's report contained bold and practical measures to ensure that commitments made to women's and children's health are being met and that results are being achieved. At the heart of accountability lies transparency. CIDA took important strides in achieving greater transparency last year by launching the Open Data portal and joining the International Aid Transparency Initiative, an international standard on the publishing of aid data.

This report describes CIDA's progress over the last year and provides numerous examples of sustainable, concrete results. It demonstrates that CIDA's investments are making a real difference in the lives of those most in need around the world.

By remaining committed to leading Canada's international efforts to reduce poverty, we will continue to achieve results that also contribute to Canada's long-term security and prosperity while promoting Canadian values in an accountable and transparent way.

The Honourable Julian Fantino, P.C., M.P.
Minister of International Cooperation

Section I: Organizational Overview

Raison d'être

The Canadian International Development Agency's (CIDA's) mission^{Footnote 1} is to lead Canada's international efforts to help people living in poverty. Its mandate is to manage its resources effectively and accountably to achieve meaningful, sustainable results and to engage in policy development in Canada and internationally in a manner that is consistent with the Government of Canada's foreign policy interests and that reflects Canadian values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Achieving significant political, economic, social, and environmental progress in the developing world will boost the prosperity and long-term security of Canadians, sustain a reduction in poverty for billions of people in recipient countries, and contribute to a better and safer world.

Responsibilities

CIDA is the government's principal organization responsible for managing the Government of Canada's development assistance. The vast majority of CIDA's programming satisfies the eligibility requirements of the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act,^{Footnote 2} and is therefore reported to Parliament as official development assistance.^{Footnote 3}

Orders in Council P.C. 1968-923 of May 8, 1968, and P.C. 1968-1970 of September 12, 1968, designate CIDA as a department for the purposes of the Financial Administration Act. The authority for the CIDA program and related purposes can be found in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Act and in annual appropriations.

Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture

Canada's Official Development Assistance, which is delivered by a number of federal departments, is focused on advancing five thematic priorities: increasing food security, stimulating sustainable economic growth, securing the future of children and youth, advancing democracy, and ensuring security and stability. CIDA focuses on:

• increasing food security;
• securing the future of children and youth; and
• stimulating sustainable economic growth.

By focusing on these three priorities, CIDA is making a major contribution to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.^{Footnote 4} In addition to these thematic priorities, CIDA continues to integrate three crosscutting themes in all its programs and policies:

• increasing environmental sustainability;
• promoting equality between women and men; and
• helping to strengthen governance institutions and practices.

To make its programming more effective, CIDA focuses on 20 countries.^{Footnote 5} These were chosen based on their needs, capacity to benefit from aid, and alignment with Canadian foreign policy priorities.

Organizational Priorities

Summary of progress against priorities

In 2011-2012, CIDA selected four operational priorities, which included the three thematic priorities as well as Haiti and Afghanistan, plus one management priority.

1 — Canada's strategic role in Haiti and Afghanistan

Performance summary:

Afghanistan: In November 2010, Canada announced its new role in Afghanistan. Canada's goal is to help Afghans rebuild Afghanistan into a viable country that is better governed and more stable and secure. In line with Government of Afghanistan priorities, Canada is focusing on four key themes until 2014: children and youth; security, rule of law, and human rights; regional diplomacy; and humanitarian assistance.

Notable examples of successful CIDA programming in 2011 include: helping provide anti-polio vaccines, the result of which is that 85 percent of the population now live in polio-free zones; repairing 493 kilometres of canals under the Arghandab Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (Dahla Dam), which created 5,000 construction jobs; and, through support to the education system, helping 7.48 million students gain access to education (up from 7.1 million in 2010). In addition, CIDA has supported the highly regarded Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, whose noticeable presence in national and international media has placed human rights issues, including the rights of women, at the centre of public attention. CIDA disbursed 118.69 million in bilateral aid to Afghanistan in 2011-2012.

Haiti: In Haiti, the Agency continues to address both the short-term post-earthquake needs of the population and the country's long-term development challenges. Examples of CIDA's achievements include helping 330,000 pregnant women gain access to free obstetric care and 2,335 families resettle from the Champ de Mars refugee camp following the earthquake (50 percent of the families living in the camp). Overall, CIDA spent a total of 150.56 million in bilateral assistance to Haiti in 2011-2012.

2 — Increasing food security

Performance summary:

CIDA's Food Security Strategy follows three paths: sustainable agricultural development, food assistance and nutrition, and research and development.

As part of the 2009 G-8 L'Aquila Food Security Initiative, Canada provided significant support^{Footnote 7} to sustainable agriculture, helping to increase agricultural productivity and access to markets, particularly for smallholder farmers. A few examples of results of this support include:

• In Ethiopia, the Productive Safety Net Program helped ensure that the drought did not become a crisis on the scale seen in neighbouring countries in the Horn of Africa. Additional support of 35 million funded a food-for-work project that helps 7.6 million food-insecure people. The work resulted in the construction of 74,323 km of anti-erosion embankments, the rehabilitation of 60,529 hectares of land and the implementation of 3,114 water projects.
• In Ghana, despite unusually dry conditions, CIDA's support to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture contributed to an increase in production of staple foods of 763,000 metric tonnes, representing nearly 3 percent of the total production of staple foods in 2011.

In 2011-2012, CIDA chaired the negotiations of the new Food Assistance Convention,^{Footnote 8} an international treaty with the objective of ensuring quality food aid is available on a predictable basis to help meet the food needs of developing countries. Canada successfully met its objective of ensuring that the new treaty provides a broad range of food assistance interventions, such as micronutrients and new nutritional products, which will give vulnerable groups, such as children and mothers, the kinds of food they need when they need them.

3 — Securing the future of children and youth

Performance summary:

CIDA's Children and Youth Strategy focuses on three paths: child survival, including maternal health; access to quality education; and safe and secure futures for children and youth. The G-8 Muskoka Initiative on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health is a key component of programming under this organizational priority (see box "Selected results in Maternal, Newborn and Child Health").

Canada contributed to significant increases in primary school enrolment for children in developing countries. For example, in Bangladesh, CIDA helped to establish more than 6,600 learning centres and improve the literacy, numeracy, and life skills of more than 122,000 children—60 percent of whom were girls.

Canada also continued to support efforts to make children's and youth's futures more safe and secure. For example, in Colombia, CIDA collaborated with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to protect the rights of more than 84,000 internally displaced children and youth, ensuring that they are registered, receive identity cards, and gain access to government services, including education.

Selected results in Maternal, Newborn and Child Health

Here is a snapshot of achievements of CIDA's programming in Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, a flagship initiative Canada launched at the 2010 G-8 Summit in Muskoka:

• In South Sudan's Northern Barh El-Ghazal State, more than 3,000 women delivered babies safely, assisted by trained staff (an increase of 1,474 babies over the previous year), and more than 1,800 pregnant women attended antenatal clinics (an increase of 707 over the previous year).
• In Tanzania, the proportion of births in health facilities increased from 47 percent in 2005 to more than 59 percent, while 47 percent of women of reproductive age gained access to contraception, up from 20 percent in 2004.
• In Bangladesh, 1.2 million children were inoculated for polio and measles.
• In Ethiopia in 100 food-insecure districts, 1.5 million children under five years old were screened for malnutrition every three months, and they received vitamin A supplements and de-worming tablets twice a year.
• As part of its close work with multilateral and global partners, Canada's contribution to the GAVI Alliance^{Footnote 9} during 2011-2015 will improve access to immunization in developing countries. This averted an estimated 500,000 deaths in 2011 alone.
• Canada supported the Health 4+ partnership, an initiative of United Nations agencies to strengthen the delivery of maternal, newborn, and child services in countries with high levels of maternal and child mortality. Health 4+ is working with national governments to identify gaps in the delivery of maternal and newborn health services. Building on the strengths of each partner organization, Health 4+ agencies are also developing common approaches across targeted countries to measure progress and strengthen in-country capacity. This will maximize the impact of Canada's contribution.

Building on the Muskoka Initiative, Canada, through CIDA, has worked to strengthen accountability for results in women's and children's health. The Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health, which Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete co-chaired, developed a multi-stakeholder accountability framework and made 10 recommendations, including a set of health indicators, to improve oversight of results and spending on maternal and child health.

4 — Stimulating sustainable economic growth

Performance summary:

CIDA's Sustainable Economic Growth Strategy focuses on three paths: building economic foundations, growing businesses, and investing in people. In 2011-2012, CIDA focused on natural resource governance, women's economic empowerment, and support for the production and selling of products.

Natural resources, particularly the extractive sector, are an important source of public revenues and a driver of sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction in developing countries. CIDA focuses on building the legal, policy, and institutional framework for sound economic management; developing local skills for high-quality employment in the extractive sector; and supporting the implementation of international standards and guidelines applying to both firms and countries.

A key CIDA initiative in this area is the creation of the Canadian International Institute for Extractive Industries and Development, announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on October 27, 2011. The Institute will support policy development, good governance, and responsible management of the extractive sector in developing countries through capacity-building, technical assistance, and applied research.

CIDA is actively working for responsible development of the extractive sector in seven countries.^{Footnote 10} For example, in Peru, the Agency supports the International Finance Corporation^{Footnote 11} in helping communities better manage extractive sector revenues from sources such as mining, oil, and gas. More than 1,000 public servants have been trained in applying better management and monitoring practices. The project has also supported the implementation of a web-based platform that provides access to a broad set of tools and services for municipal management. More than 14,000 people (including 3,360 women) used this platform in 2011-2012.

Through CIDA's long-term institutional support to the United Nations Development Programme, and in partnership with other donors, CIDA has helped 2.3 million poor and vulnerable people in 23 cities and towns in Bangladesh establish development committees and town-level federations. These structures plan and implement projects to construct basic infrastructure such as wells and latrines, establish apprenticeships and vocational training programs, and deliver block grants to start small businesses. More than 90 percent of the elected leaders of these committees and federations are women.

5 — Achieving management and program delivery excellence

Performance summary:

CIDA is restructuring and streamlining its management and internal services to increase efficiency, effectiveness, and timeliness of program delivery. That means consolidating, simplifying, and modernizing operations, using innovations, and engaging other donors, including the private sector, to maximize the impact of its assistance.

The Agency is streamlining, standardizing, and automating its business processes and moving more functions to the countries where its programming is located. This decentralization of country program management and related corporate functions to the field is a pillar of CIDA's efforts to increase management and program delivery effectiveness. As of 2011-2012, 12 of 15 targeted country programs now have decentralized management teams.

CIDA has delivered development assistance faster and more efficiently by introducing streamlined, standardized, and automated business processes; putting a greater focus on fewer country programs; untying aid; and reducing red tape. This provides better support to the poor and better value for the Canadian tax dollar. As of the end of 2011-2012, improved efficiency has reduced CIDA's net operating budget from 7.6 percent in 2007-2008 to below 6 percent of its total budget.

Risk Analysis

As part of its mission to lead Canada's international effort to help people living in poverty, CIDA must work in complex and difficult environments. Significant political, economic, social, and cultural developments-many beyond the Agency's control-can threaten the achievement of results. Risk management is therefore key to CIDA's work. Given the constantly changing nature of these risks, the Agency must vigilantly monitor the environment and develop effective mitigation strategies.

Key risks that CIDA addressed in 2011-2012 included:

• Loss of reputation and stakeholder confidence: Over the past several years, the Agency has been putting in place measures to improve its accountability and transparency to the public. For example, CIDA strengthened the independence of its evaluations by creating an oversight committee, principally composed of external members. The Agency also launched new reporting measures, such as the Development for Results Report and Country Reports. In November 2011, CIDA improved accountability and transparency by joining the International Aid Transparency Initiative, an international standard on the publishing of aid data. CIDA is also the lead donor in the Open Aid Partnership, a World Bank Institute initiative to build developing countries' capacity to generate and use geographic information for development results.
• Inability to attract, develop, and retain adequate human resources: CIDA developed detailed, flexible human resources and management plans and introduced a number of human resource measures in preparation for the expected budget reductions.
• Socio-political and economic instability undermining results on the ground: CIDA diversified the types of partners with which it engages to deliver programs, continued to monitor progress, and developed plans to respond flexibly to unforeseen situations.

Summary of Performance

2011-2012 Financial resources (thousands)^{Footnote 12}

Explanation of variance for financial resources

The variance of 834 million between 2011-2012 planned spending and authorities reflects the supplementary funding received for programs and initiatives such as the Fast Start Financing Initiative on climate change (346 million) and humanitarian assistance following the East African drought (47 million).

Authorities also include the Pakistan-Canada Debt for Education Conversion initiative. Canada is forgiving up to 450 million in loans owed by the Government of Pakistan, conditional on that government's making qualified investments in its education system. Canada forgave 16 million, 49 million, and 82 million in 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011-2012 respectively. The balance of the authority in 2011-2012 (303 million) remains available for use in future years.

In addition to the unused portion of 303 million for the Pakistan authority, the variance between the authorities and the actual spending is explained by lapsed amounts at year-end. This is due to the changing political landscape in recipient countries (such as the instability in Mali) that prevented the Agency from following through with some of its program plans and the unused balance of the Crisis Pool Quick Release Mechanism, a dedicated fund used to respond quickly to international crises and disasters.^{Footnote 13}

2011-2012 Human resources (full-time equivalents)

Explanation of variance for human resources

The variance between planned and actual full-time equivalents is primarily due to a reduction in CIDA's programming in Afghanistan and to the transfer of information technology staff to Shared Services Canada.

Summary of Performance Tables

Progress toward strategic outcome

The Agency tracks the performance of its contributions to the global effort to reduce poverty through internationally recognized and reliable indicators. Progress is best expressed in trends over time. Though data on these indicators are not always available for all countries or on an annual basis, these measurements provide a realistic assessment of performance.

2011-2012 Performance

Performance Summary ^{Footnote 18}

Contribution to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy

The Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) outlines the Government of Canada's commitment to improving the transparency of environmental decision making by articulating its key strategic environmental goals and targets. CIDA ensures that consideration of these outcomes is an integral part of its decision-making processes. CIDA contributes to the following FSDS theme under Program Activity 6 — Internal Services, as denoted by the visual identifier below:

During 2011-2012, CIDA considered the environmental effects of initiatives subject to the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals . Through the strategic environmental assessment process, departmental initiatives were found to have positive environmental effects on goals and targets in Theme IV - Shrinking the Environmental Footprint - Beginning with Government. Further information on the results of strategic environmental assessments is available on the CIDA website.

For further information on CIDA's activities to support sustainable development and strategic environmental assessment, visit the departmental website. For complete information on the FSDS, visit the Environment Canada website.

Expenditure Profile

Explanation of variance

For variance explanations, see Summary of Performance for 2011-2012 above.

Estimates by Vote

For information on CIDA's organizational votes or statutory expenditures, see the Public Accounts of Canada 2012 (Volume II).

Section II: Analysis Of Program Activities By Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome: Reduction in poverty for those living in countries in which CIDA engages in international development

Examples of progress achieved with CIDA support

Children and youth: In Mozambique, CIDA supported the government's health program, enabling it to hire 1,688 new health workers, improving the ratio of health workers per 100,000 inhabitants from 63.4 in 2010 to 67 in 2011; increasing the percentage of health facilities with maternity wards and waiting homes for expecting mothers from 47 percent in 2010 to 55 percent in 2011; and providing anti-retroviral treatment for 250,000 HIV-positive adults, up from 219,000 in 2010.

Food security: In Uganda, the Canadian Co-operative Association is helping farmers to increase food security and incomes. By using area cooperatives, some 6,624 farmers are saving at least 14 percent of the total cost of inputs and earning 30 percent more.

Sustainable economic growth: In Ukraine, CIDA is developing farmer cooperatives in its priority regions and supporting the development of more effective business networks and value chains. Overall, CIDA helped 5,421 smallholder farmers to increase their competitiveness through the cultivation of high-value crops. These farmers' incomes have increased by 60 percent since 2009.

Fragile states: CIDA continued to focus on providing short-term and long-term development assistance to Afghanistan and Haiti in support of Canadian foreign policy objectives. In Afghanistan, CIDA helped 7.48 million students gain access to education (up from 7.1 million in 2010). In Haiti, CIDA helped 330,000 pregnant women gain access to free obstetric care and 2,335 families displaced by the earthquake to resettle from the Champ de Mars refugee camp (50 percent of the families living in the camp).

Humanitarian assistance: CIDA's humanitarian efforts were a defining feature of Canada's international assistance in 2011-2012. In response to the worst drought to strike the Horn of Africa in 60 years and the subsequent declaration of famine in several regions of Somalia, CIDA launched the East Africa Drought Relief Fund and provided more than 136 million in humanitarian assistance, which included 70.4 million to match the contributions of Canadians.^{Footnote 19} Working through its humanitarian partners, CIDA helped to provide food, water and sanitation, nutritional support, emergency medical care, shelter, protection, coordination, and logistics support to more than 13 million people. As a result of these Canadian and international efforts, the famine rating was downgraded in Somalia, and affected populations across the region were able to survive until the January harvest.

Program Activity 1: Fragile States and Crisis-Affected Communities

Program activity description

Fragile states are defined as those that face particularly severe development challenges. They are characterized by complex national and regional contexts, weak institutional capacity, poor governance, political instability, and ongoing violence or a legacy of past conflict. Improving the situation in these countries is often a strategic foreign policy objective. CIDA's programming in these countries seeks to enhance long-term development by improving the effectiveness of public institutions, fostering stability and security, as well as supporting the delivery of basic services. This program activity also involves humanitarian assistance in response to man-made crises or natural disasters to ensure delivery and access of essential emergency services to crisis-affected populations.

Explanation of variance

The increase in total authorities over planned spending is mostly due to supplementary funding for humanitarian assistance in response to the East African drought. The variance between authorities and actual spending reflects the unused balance of the Crisis Pool Quick Release Mechanism (15 million), a fund to respond quickly to international crises and disasters.

Performance summary

Humanitarian needs remained high in 2011-2012, due to the continued impact of rising food and energy prices, conflicts, and the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters. In 2011-2012 there were two large-scale crises: the drought in the Horn of Africa and the food and nutrition crisis in the Sahel. In 2011-2012, Canada's total spending on humanitarian assistance as a percentage of total funds requested by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross for humanitarian emergencies was 4.5 percent.^{Footnote 21}

CIDA programs in Afghanistan, Haiti, the West Bank/Gaza, and Sudan made significant progress towards increasing the effectiveness of public and civil institutions to respond to the needs of women, men, and children.

Analysis of program activity

Expected result: enhanced responsiveness of humanitarian assistance to address the immediate needs of crisis-affected populations

Complex humanitarian situations^{Footnote 22}: In response to the worst drought in the Horn of Africa in 60 years and the subsequent declaration of famine in several regions of Somalia, CIDA launched the East Africa Drought Relief Fund, a mechanism to encourage the generosity of Canadians.^{Footnote 23} Overall, CIDA helped meet the basic needs of 13 million people affected by the crisis by providing more than 136 million in humanitarian assistance. Following Canadian and international efforts, the famine rating was downgraded in Somalia.

In 2011-2012, CIDA responded to complex emergencies in 40 other countries, including Libya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and Côte d'Ivoire. In Afghanistan, CIDA supported responses to a variety of disasters and crises, including emergency needs specific to girls and women. In Afghanistan, CIDA, in concert with other donors, supported the voluntary repatriation of Afghans, food for drought victims, and emergency health services for almost 2.5 million people, especially women and children.

Natural disasters: CIDA responded to 50 natural disasters in 2011-2012, including Tropical Storm Washi in the Philippines; flooding in Cambodia, Thailand, and Central America; and the earthquake in Turkey.

Food assistance: With CIDA's support, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank delivered 40,849 metric tonnes of food assistance to 2.2 million people in 36 countries, and the United Nations World Food Programme delivered 3.6 million metric tonnes of food assistance to more than 99 million people in 75 countries. The vast majority of beneficiaries-nearly 83 million-were women and children.^{Footnote 24}

Lessons learned (1)

The 2012 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)-Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Peer Review praised "Canada's strengths as a humanitarian donor, including its excellent cross-government co-ordination mechanism in response to catastrophic disasters, its extensive rapid response toolbox and its strong track record as a constructive partner within the humanitarian community."^{Footnote 25}

Expected result: increased effectiveness of public and civil institutions to respond to the needs of women, men, and children

Afghanistan: The program exceeded expectations in improving the quality of education and in clearing minefields. However, governance challenges-including corruption, human rights issues, the limited influence of civil society, and weak national and local level government capacity-continue to slow progress towards democratic governance and accountable public institutions.

In education, CIDA supported national-level education systems and local and provincial institutions, in particular in Kandahar Province. CIDA's support has led to the construction and rehabilitation of schools, increased student enrolment (especially for girls), enhanced capacity of teachers, and improved community oversight of schools. In targeted areas, more girls have stayed in school, leading to a more educated and empowered female youth. Overall, CIDA has helped 7.48 million students gain access to education (up from 7.1 million in 2010).

In health, CIDA's support expanded the availability of better quality health services, especially in remote and underserviced areas, focusing particularly on maternal, newborn, and child health. CIDA supported efforts to fight tuberculosis, improve routine vaccination coverage (including for diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus), and ensure access to essential medicines. As a result of nationwide vaccination efforts, 85 percent of the Afghan population now lives in polio-free zones.

Haiti: In 2011-2012, Canada fulfilled its two-year, 400 million commitment for the reconstruction and development of Haiti in response to the January 2010 earthquake. While targets for most projects were met, some were constrained by the absence of a formal government until May 2012. For example, programs to sustain agricultural production stayed on track, but progress in strengthening the primary education system was slow. Successes have included helping 200,000 citizens (more than 5 million since 2008) gain access to basic services (including food, water, and shelter) and the right to vote; increasing access to free obstetric care for 330,000 pregnant women (4 percent of the population) by establishing 72 health centres; and helping savings and credit cooperative networks grow membership by 23 percent, with 47 cooperatives and 24 points of service.

Sudan: In Sudan and South Sudan, Canada is helping to set the conditions for long-term peace, stability, and prosperity. In July 2011, South Sudan gained its independence. Through this transition, Canada has been a key player in a concerted international effort to foster a just and lasting peace within and between Sudan and South Sudan.

CIDA continued to make significant contributions to improving food security and access to basic services for children and youth. CIDA also contributed to improving the public financial management that is essential to ensuring the accountable and effective use of public resources and service delivery.

Examples of results include:

• In South Sudan's Upper Nile State, CIDA helped communities to increase agricultural production and improve livelihoods by enhancing access to agricultural knowledge, skills, and resources. As a result, more than 8,000 households are now producing more than five bags of cereal each, which represents 92 percent of household need.
• In South Sudan's Northern Barh El-Ghazal State, CIDA supported five Primary Health Care Units. In total, they treated 98,730 patients in 2011-2012, allowed more than 1,800 pregnant women to attend antenatal clinics, and helped more than 3,000 women to deliver their babies safely.
• In South Sudan, CIDA helped strengthen the Ministry of Finance's capacity to manage public resources through the development of an electronic payroll system that pays 150,000 public servants in all 10 states on time and in a transparent manner.

Lessons learned (2)

Programming in fragile and conflict-affected states needs to balance security efforts with humanitarian assistance, while integrating longer-term programming such as training teachers and nurses, vaccinating children, clearing mines, and rebuilding irrigation systems. This involves close coordination between government departments and agencies, while recognizing joint responsibility for results.

Measuring the success of development assistance in fragile states is challenging, because it is impossible to isolate development from the volatility inherent to such situations. CIDA has learned that its performance measurement and risk management practices need to reflect the patience, perseverance, and risk tolerance necessary to tackle the major structural challenges that drive instability and violence.

CIDA also knows that the corruption and weakness of government and civil society institutions in many fragile and conflict-affected states are both a cause and a consequence of social and political stability. Projects that strengthen democratic oversight of public institutions must recognize these political realities if they are to deter corruption over the long term. CIDA has learned that support to both short-term initiatives, such as building classrooms and clinics, and long-term support for democratic governance and accountable institutions are necessary and complementary. Such an approach balances expectations for visible results with accountability for the effective and efficient use of public funds in fragile and conflict-affected states.

CIDA's evaluation of both Haiti and West Bank/Gaza programming identified local involvement and ownership as key to maximizing sustainability of results. CIDA is putting this lesson into practice by promoting local involvement in project planning, implementation, and evaluation.

These lessons align with the findings of the World Bank's World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security, and Development. CIDA is working with development partners to address the two main strategic challenges identified in that report. First, the international community must focus on jobs, justice, citizen security, and mitigation of regional and global stresses that contribute to instability. Second, to meet those challenges, the international community must focus on short-term results, while sustaining support for accountable and legitimate institutions over the long term.

Program Activity 2: Low-Income Countries

Program activity description

This program activity focuses on addressing pervasive poverty in countries that have an annual gross national income (GNI) per capita equivalent to US935 or less (2007 data).^{Footnote 26} CIDA's support aims to help these countries achieve their priority development goals and aims at reducing poverty, and increasing economic opportunities. It focuses in areas such as basic health and education, agriculture/food security, income generation and the foundations for good governance.

Explanation of variance

Authorities include 385 million for the Pakistan-Canada Debt for Education Conversion initiative, of which only 82 million was used.

Actual expenditures reflect a technical adjustment of 11 million for non-respendable revenue (all non-tax revenue that has been credited to the Consolidated Revenue Fund). The remaining unused funds can be explained in part by the suspension of some planned spending due to political instability in countries such as Mali.

Performance summary

CIDA's Low-Income Country Program Activity made good progress in 2011-2012 in increasing access to services such as health, education, water and sanitation, food security, and economic opportunities for women, men, and children. However, drought conditions in a number of countries meant that food security remained a significant challenge. CIDA also made progress in increasing the accountability and effectiveness of public and civil institutions to respond to the needs and aspirations of women, men, and children. However, there were notable challenges, particularly in Mozambique and Mali (see below). Results are easier to achieve where targets are tangible and short-term, as in the provision of services, in contrast to less tangible and longer-term outcomes, such as improving governance, which require cultural and incremental change, take time, and are more difficult to observe.

Analysis of program activity^{Footnote 28}

With its partner countries, CIDA has undertaken activities falling under the three thematic priorities: children and youth (such as improving health care and education), food security (such as improving agricultural productivity), and sustainable economic growth (such as through targeted vocational training).

• In Bangladesh, CIDA's program met expectations, with successful investments in basic education to promote girls' learning and in improved primary health care for children and youth. CIDA multiyear support in the health sector helped achieve the following: an 11-percent increase in the proportion of births attended by skilled personnel (from 16 percent in 2004 to 27 percent in 2011); a one-third raise in the rate of tuberculosis case detection (from 41 percent in 2003 to 74 percent in 2011) and a raise in the curing of tuberculosis (from 85 percent in 2004 to 92 percent in 2011); and an increase in the percentage of districts with disease surveillance reports (from 52 percent in 2004 to 95 percent in 2011).
• In Ethiopia, the program made a significant contribution to increasing agricultural productivity and farmer incomes despite the 2011 drought that hit the Horn of Africa. The Productive Safety Net Program, supported by CIDA, helped ensure that the drought in Ethiopia did not become a crisis on the scale seen in neighbouring countries.
• In Ghana, the program is on track to improve food security (in spite of poor weather) and to strengthen the accountability of institutions. In northern Ghana, CIDA provided nutrition assistance to nearly 328,000 people, including through supplementary feeding provided to 67,000 children under the age of five and to 101,500 pregnant and lactating women suffering from malnutrition. However, efforts to provide sustainable water and sanitation services were only partially on track, largely because of national budget constraints. CIDA has responded with new programming to help address the sanitation challenge in northern Ghana.
• Mali made steady progress towards improving access to basic education and health services. CIDA helped increase the primary education completion rate from 56 percent in 2009 to 58 percent in 2011. For girls, the ratio increased from 47 percent in 2009 to 51 percent in 2011. Governance initiatives to reduce corruption and increase access to justice were also on track. However, due to drought and rising insecurity in northern Mali, food security initiatives progressed more slowly. The impact of Mali's March 2012 coup d'état is being felt in 2012-2013.
• In Pakistan, the program made an important contribution to providing access to education. CIDA supported the education sector in selected remote districts where primary school enrolment increased by 14 percent from 2009 to 2011, bringing 250,000 more children into school. The program also made progress in providing economic opportunities for women, including the most marginalized and the extreme poor.
• In Mozambique, the number of farmers receiving technical advice from the government increased significantly. However, the Ministry of Agriculture was able to hire only a third of the expected number of new agricultural advisors. Therefore, although more farmers received assistance, the quality of this assistance and the effectiveness of the program were undermined.

Lessons learned

Conclusions from evaluations and studies of CIDA's low-income country programs point to the need to focus on long-term strategies and building resilience.

• In Mali, the performance evaluation completed for the period 2007-2011 highlighted the fact that pursuing a long-term strategy with stable thematic priorities enabled more substantial development results. Improvements could be achieved by strengthening structures to ensure the sustainability of development results beyond CIDA funding of a project and enhancing coordination between CIDA initiatives.
• In Ethiopia, the recurrent weather-related shocks pose a significant risk to food security. To address the causes of food insecurity, program strategies have strengthened investments in resilience, the rehabilitation and protection of land and water resources, and promotion of farm-level productivity.

Program Activity 3: Middle-Income Countries

Program activity description

This program activity focuses on addressing specific challenges in attaining self-reliance for countries with an annual gross national income (GNI) per capita equivalent to more than US935 but less than US11,455 (2007 data)^{Footnote 29}. It involves targeted assistance in a selected number of middle-income countries, as well as programming with regional institutions in order to address trans-boundary issues. Assistance mainly centres on the national priorities of middle-income countries to strengthen sustainable economic growth, build capacity to deliver social services, and establish accountable, democratic institutions.

Explanation of variance

Reduced authorities reflect internal reallocations to meet new Agency and Government of Canada priorities.

Performance summary

CIDA's Middle-Income Country Program Activity contributed to strengthening citizen participation in social and economic progress and to increasing the accountability and effectiveness of public and civil institutions. As in lower-income countries, results are easier to achieve where targets are tangible and short-term, as in the provision of services, in contrast to less tangible and longer-term outcomes, such as improving governance, which require cultural and incremental change, take time, and are more difficult to observe.

Analysis of program activity

CIDA programming in middle-income countries targeted social and economic development opportunities that had the potential to significantly improve the lives of their citizens, often by strengthening key institutional capacities.

• In Colombia, CIDA was particularly successful in promoting children's rights. The program supported the rights of more than 18,000 children and youth, including their protection, participation in decision-making structures, and access to quality education. The program strengthened the capacity of actors involved in children's rights so they were better able to protect the rights of children and youth, as enshrined in national and international legislation.
• In Ukraine, CIDA contributed to significant improvements in the agriculture sector. CIDA is working to develop cooperatives of farmers in priority regions and supporting the development of more effective business networks and value chains. Overall, CIDA helped 5,421 smallholder farmers to increase their competitiveness through the cultivation of high-value crops-up from 3,300 smallholder farmers in 2010-2011. These farmers' incomes have increased by 60 percent since 2009.
• In Honduras, the program contributed to enhancing food security, despite the annual occurrence of serious weather events (such as heavy rainfall and drought). Overall, malnutrition rates for children under the age of five in the two targeted areas were reduced: from 13 percent to 9 percent in Santa Barbara and from 25 percent to 23 percent in Copan. On the other hand, the program experienced setbacks in the health and education portfolios, where weak government capacity combined with contracting delays for technical assistance to the government has slowed progress.
• In the Caribbean, the program had success in supporting management of public finance, entrepreneurship and connection to markets, and disaster preparedness. For example, CIDA supported the government of Saint Kitts and Nevis in successfully completing a major commercial debt restructuring, which will shave 50 percent off the total amount of government debt. In the current economic climate, debt is a major impediment to government efforts to sustain social and economic progress.

Lessons learned

A common theme emerging from evaluations of middle-income country programming is the need to enhance local actors' participation in development processes. Lessons learned include these:

• In response to the Honduras country evaluation, the Program plans to use a mix of partners in order to manage risk in the face of significant governance challenges; devise ways for stakeholders to better collaborate; use local professionals; and track and manage policy engagement with government and other actors.
• In response to an evaluation of the Peru program, the program has committed to strengthen the capacity of regional and local governments; reinforce efforts to integrate gender equity in the education sector and other areas; and update and enhance performance management tools and methods. The evaluation found that small, responsive, flexible short-term projects are useful complements to long-term projects, because they allow innovation, experimentation, and pilot projects, as well as targeted and timely interventions. They also provide low-cost, low-risk opportunities for developing learning and innovation clusters and producing results that are greater than the sum of their parts.
• An evaluation of the Ukraine program found that the program was performing well, despite some challenges, and that projects achieved sustainable results. The evaluation also found that local involvement in projects was excellent and often a defining feature of success. In response to the evaluation, the program is working with a variety of stakeholders at both the national and local level; balancing different ways of funding development; and continuing to promote gender equality, environmental sustainability, and good governance.

Program Activity 4: Global Engagement and Strategic Policy

Program activity description

This program activity shapes international development policy in Canada and globally in support of CIDA's strategic direction, and Canada's broader international assistance objectives and commitments. It also engages with multilateral and global organizations for two main purposes: to contribute effectively to the achievement of development results, and to influence partners' policies, planning, strategic directions, and organizational governance.

Explanation of variance

The increase in authorities over planned spending is mostly due to supplementary funding to implement the Government of Canada's Fast Start Financing Initiative on climate change (325 million) and the Advance Market Commitment for pneumococcal vaccines (23 million). Actual expenditures have also been adjusted to reflect a technical adjustment of 20 million for non-respendable revenue (all non-tax revenue that has been credited to the Consolidated Revenue Fund).

Performance summary

In 2011-2012, CIDA continued to implement the objectives in its Multilateral Effectiveness Strategy and accompanying institutional strategies for its 18 key multilateral partners.^{Footnote 33}

As well as its policy engagement on the Agency's three thematic priorities (also described in this report's section on Organizational priorities), CIDA also focused on promoting aid effectiveness, transparency, and accountability and influencing international approaches to development programming in fragile and conflict-affected states. CIDA also works to ensure that policies and programming are aligned with broader Government of Canada priorities.

Analysis of program activity

CIDA advanced Canada's development priorities on a number of issues and through a variety of forums. These are examples:

UN Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health: With support from Canada and co-chaired by Prime Minister Harper, the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health set out a multi-stakeholder accountability framework and 10 recommendations to improve oversight of results and resources at the global and country levels of maternal and child survival spending. Canada led the implementation of the Commission's ninth recommendation, which called on the OECD-DAC to improve the tracking of resources committed by donors for maternal, newborn, and child health purposes. Canada, working with other governments, multilateral institutions, and civil society organizations, proposed a new methodology to track and report reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health spending by development partners.

Nutrition: The Scaling Up Nutrition movement aims to intensify national governments' and other stakeholders' efforts to address undernutrition, including several UN organizations. Canada has been a leader in this movement since 2009. In recognition of Canada's vital contribution to the movement, the United Nations Secretary-General appointed Canada's Minister for International Cooperation to the Scaling Up Nutrition Lead Group. As part of its contribution to this movement, Canada is supporting the Regional East African Community Health (REACH) Initiative, a partnership of multilateral agencies that builds national capacity to scale up nutrition interventions and integrate nutrition into sectors such as health, agriculture, and education.

Aid Effectiveness: In November 2011, the Minister of International Cooperation led a Canadian delegation to the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness at Busan (Korea). The Forum comprised more than 60 events and attracted more than 3,000 representatives from donor and recipient country governments, multilateral organizations, civil society, the private sector, and parliamentarians. At the Forum, Canada emphasized the need to re-centre the development dialogue on results and accountability and highlighted its leadership in enhancing accountability in the health sector through the G-8 Muskoka Initiative on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and the UN Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health. Canada also participated in key events addressing food security, resilience, risk management, gender equality, and fragile states.

The Forum resulted in the endorsement of the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, an international agreement articulating core principles for effective development, and a commitment to establish a multi-stakeholder global partnership. Following the Forum, Canada participated in a small international steering committee to design the objectives, working arrangements, and monitoring framework of the new partnership. Canada also represented Australia and New Zealand on that committee. The resulting Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, launched in June 2012, is the primary international forum for promoting and tracking progress on making development cooperation more accountable and effective.

Transparency and Accountability: CIDA took important steps to increase Canadians' access to data and information. Its Open Data portal, launched in July 2011, provides access to a wealth of information on CIDA's activities in data sets and machine-readable formats. The portal also provides easy access to CIDA's country strategies, evaluations, audits, and annual statistical and results reports. CIDA's Project Browser was expanded to include information about the results of its projects, and viewers can now locate these projects on interactive country maps on CIDA's website.^{Footnote 34}

Furthermore, in November 2011, CIDA became a member of the International Aid Transparency Initiative, a standard that expands the range of information published by donors. CIDA's participation features in Canada's Action Plan on Open Government, released in April 2012. CIDA is also the lead supporter of the Open Aid Partnership, a World Bank Institute initiative to build developing countries' capacity to generate and use geographic information for development results. The 2012 Peer Review of Canada conducted by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recognized CIDA's progress on transparency.^{Footnote 35}

Fragile and Conflict-Affected States: CIDA contributed to the World Bank World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security, and Development in the form of funding and round table discussions. The report highlights the importance of strengthening national institutions and other governance structures that provide citizen security, justice, and jobs in order to break the cycle of violence in these states. Through engagement in the OECD-DAC International Network on Conflict and Fragility, including assuming the co-chair role in June 2011 alongside the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), CIDA has significantly influenced the outcome of the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding. This dialogue culminated in the endorsement at Busan, by more than 40 countries and international organizations, of the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States. The New Deal identifies five peacebuilding and statebuilding goals for achieving the Millennium Development Goals in fragile and conflict-affected states.

CIDA was able to increase the effectiveness of Canadian development cooperation by engaging with multilateral and global organizations to achieve development results. Examples of results to which CIDA contributed through its multilateral partners include:

• Between 2009 and 2012, the Asian Development Bank connected almost one million new households to electricity.
• In 2011, more than 470,000 children's lives were saved and 200,000 mental impairments averted as a result of the Micronutrient Initiative's provision of essential vitamins and minerals.
• Between 2008 and 2011, the African Development Bank gave 16 million people better access to health care, strengthened food security for 11 million people, and supplied nearly 4 million textbooks and teaching materials.
• In 2011, the UNDP helped 50 countries introduce social protection schemes that specifically include youth, women, and other vulnerable groups; contributed to strengthening institutions to provide access to justice to individuals and communities and to guarantee the rule of law in 90 countries; and supported early action to defuse and mediate potential conflict situations in eight countries.

Furthermore, CIDA enhanced the effectiveness of its investments with multilateral partners in ways such as these:

• CIDA continued to be a leading member of the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN), a network of 16 donor countries that collaborate to assess the organizational effectiveness of the major multilateral organizations they fund. In 2011 the network assessed the work of five multilateral organizations^{Footnote 36} in 10 developing countries. It found that CIDA's multilateral partners continue to improve their effectiveness. For example, over the past five years, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has undertaken a major structural and management reform to improve its effectiveness and efficiency, including the introduction of results-based management, decentralization and regionalization, and improvement of its management of human resources and supplies.
• In line with CIDA's Institutional Strategy for UNAIDS, CIDA's engagement on the board of UNAIDS has resulted in the development of a standardized gender assessment tool for use at the country level, as well as UNAIDS' commitment to undertake a mid-term evaluation of the effectiveness of its Agenda for Accelerated Country Action for Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV.

Supporting multilateral partners to save the lives of mothers and children

As part of Canada's 2.85 billion commitment to the Muskoka Initiative on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, CIDA is working with multilateral and global partners in countries where the need is greatest. Results achieved by these partners include:

• 150 million children in 35 countries across sub-Saharan Africa were immunized against polio in 2011, through polio eradication efforts by the World Health Organization;
• 76.7 million children under the age of five were reached with vitamin A supplements, and an estimated 87,000 lives saved in 33 countries across Africa, as of March 2012, through support to UNICEF's Child Health Days; and
• 3.6 million people received lifesaving antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS, 9.3 million cases of tuberculosis were detected and treated, and 270 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets were distributed for protection against malaria between 2004 and 2012, across 151 countries, through the support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Lessons learned

In 2011-2012, CIDA's Evaluations Directorate conducted two reviews of the effectiveness of two major Government of Canada multilateral partners: UNDP and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). CIDA is supporting these partners to implement the recommendations of the reviews.

• UNDP: The review synthesized the findings of 55 UNDP evaluations published between 2009 and 2011. A key factor in the effectiveness of UNDP investments was the success of UNDP country offices in developing local partnerships. Where UNDP country offices developed a reputation for neutral and unbiased policy advice and program support, UNDP was able to develop coalitions of partners with different policy perspectives and work with them to achieve consensus, which strengthened results. In some countries, failing to support the integration of civil society into the development of national and local policies and programs weakened the consensus on priority needs and solutions and put the effectiveness of projects at risk.
• WFP: The review found that the WFP is highly relevant and effective at achieving development and humanitarian results. However, its effectiveness is weakened by program interruptions, which are often related to the unpredictability of donor funding. In October 2011, CIDA and the WFP signed a Strategic Partnership Framework, committing CIDA to multiyear institutional support and committing the WFP to improve its prioritization and reporting of activities. This enhances predictability of funding and is in line with CIDA's Institutional Strategy for WFP.

Program Activity 5: Canadian Engagement

Program activity description

CIDA achieves development results by focusing on purpose-driven, cost-effective initiatives that further the sustainability of Canada's efforts by drawing on the expertise, networks and opportunities available to Canadian organizations and by broadening Canadian engagement in international development though outreach and education activities. Programming involves co-investment in the most meritorious development proposals that align with Canada's priorities. Through calls for proposals, CIDA is able to draw upon the Canadian organizations, such as civil society organizations, academic institutions, and professional organizations, that are best suited to help deliver on Canada's development objectives. Canadian organizations in turn work with partner country counterparts to deliver development results on the ground.

Explanation of variance

Authorities were reduced in 2011-2012 to reflect internal reallocations.

Performance summary

Ratings of 38 initiatives demonstrate that CIDA is on track to meet the expected result of improved delivery of services, such as health and education, to marginalized women, men, and children through Canadian organizations and local partners. Canadian partner organizations raised more than 25 percent of resources required for Partners for Development projects directly from Canadians. CIDA also helped increase awareness of international development issues and participation in Canada's international development efforts through the Global Citizens Program.

Analysis of program activity

Below are a few examples of how CIDA improved delivery of services to marginalized women, men, and children through its Partners for Development Program in 2011-2012.

• CIDA is co-investing in some 150 health projects, 28 of which are directly contributing to the efforts of the Muskoka Initiative Partnership Program. These new projects aim to improve health service delivery by training health workers, expanding access to health care facilities and services, implementing nutrition programming, and preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS. For example, the African Medical and Research Foundation project increased maternal and child health through improved access to quality health care for vulnerable women and children. Results achieved for 2011-2012 include these: 844 community health workers trained in front-line illness management and referral protocols; systems established to supervise and manage community health workers; and more than 100 community dialogue sessions organized, reaching more than 35,000 individuals on ways to promote health and manage common illnesses.
• CIDA's education partners (27 Canadian non-governmental organizations and 13 Canadian universities) strengthened national education institutions through teachers' professional development and policy development initiatives. The governments of Rwanda and Liberia worked with Right to Play to integrate sport into the school curriculum. In Tanzania, the Canadian Organization for Development through Education improved student performance in 141 schools that benefited from comprehensive reading programs. Pass rates of students in these schools increased from 36 percent in 2002 to 80 percent in 2010, compared with 50 percent in 2010 for non-program schools.
• CIDA's Canadian partners implemented 106 projects to increase access for marginalized communities to services and opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment, agricultural development, and food security. For example, the Association of Canadian Community Colleges is helping colleges in Senegal, Tanzania, and Mozambique to train workers and entrepreneurs. In Kedougou, Senegal, 86 percent of the students who graduated from the Electromechanical Engineering Technician Program in June 2011 found employment within nine months. Another partner, the Canadian Co-operative Association, works in 12 countries. In Uganda, 6,624 farmers, supported by the Canadian Co-operative Association, have saved at least 14 percent of the total cost of inputs and earn 30 percent more thanks to support from area co-operatives.

CIDA was able to increase awareness of international development issues and participation in Canada's international development efforts. Results for 2011-2012 from the Global Citizens Program include the following:

• The International Aboriginal Youth Internship Initiative and the International Youth Internship Program sent 55 and 515 interns respectively to countries throughout the developing world. These interns work to reduce poverty in their host countries, as well as gain international experience, skills, and knowledge that will prepare them for future employment and help them raise awareness of international development issues in Canada.
• CIDA supports nine Canadian organizations that send volunteers to the developing world. These volunteers draw on their expertise to work with local partners to improve service delivery to the poor, as well as to increase awareness of international development in Canada. In 2011-2012, 1,750 volunteers were placed. As an example, since 2008, nine volunteers in Vietnam have worked with the Hoa Sua school, where about 750 disadvantaged students were trained in 2011-2012 in tourism and cooking skills. The graduates had a 100 percent placement at graduation in hotels and restaurants in Vietnam.

Lessons learned

Through the review of proposals, as well as evaluations of ongoing projects, CIDA identified a number of lessons in 2011-2012:

• The understanding of gender equality, results-based management, and environmental sustainability is uneven among Canadian partners. CIDA is looking at increasing learning opportunities for partners, including closer follow-up of partners' monitoring and reporting practices.
• Partners do not always report results in a consistent way. Reporting guidelines drafted in 2011-2012 are being tested with partners in order to capture results achieved more systematically.
• Partners have adopted governance as a crosscutting theme, but they need additional guidance. CIDA will develop tools, including training, to help partners better integrate governance into their projects.

Program Activity 6: Internal Services

Program activity description

The Internal Services Program Activity supports all strategic outcomes and is common across government. 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 services include: management and oversight; communications; legal services; human resources management; financial management; information management; information technology; real property; materiel acquisition; travel, and other administration.

Explanation of variance

There was no significant variance.

Performance summary and analysis of program activity

The introduction of streamlined, standardized, and automated business processes; a greater focus on fewer country programs; the transfer of program management to the field; and reduction of red tape have helped CIDA reduce its net operating budget from 7.6 percent of its entire budget in 2007-2008 to below 6 percent by the end of 2011-2012.

Decentralization: Decentralization is on track, with staff and functions being devolved to the field. The total number of positions (as measured on March 31, 2012) at headquarters decreased from 2,070 (in 2011) to 1,936. The total number of field positions decreased from 185 to 174. This field reduction is primarily the result of reductions in Afghanistan (18 positions were eliminated due to the closure of the Kandahar office).

From 2011 to 2012, sub-Saharan Africa saw an increase from 74 to 80 positions in the field. Positions in the Americas increased from 33 to 34. Positions in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa remained the same: a total of 13. Asia saw a decrease in positions in the field, from 58 to 39, primarily due to the reduction in Afghanistan.

Program management and delivery capacity was successfully transferred to the field in Mozambique, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Peru. Regional service centres are being piloted in Peru and Kenya. Field access to information technology systems, corporate applications, online courses, and other services has also been expanded.

Business Modernization: CIDA is committed to increasing internal efficiency and effectiveness. A number of processes, including aid delivery, financial and human resources management, and information technology services, are being streamlined, standardized, and automated into a central repository of rules and tools accessible to both headquarters and field staff. The February 2012 launch of CIDA@Work, a comprehensive, centralized electronic repository of Agency processes and their related guidelines, rules, and tools, is enhancing staff efficiency both at headquarters and in the field. Aid delivery processes are being simplified and captured into the Agency Programming Process, which was developed in 2011-2012 with roll-out planned for 2012-2013. This process has eliminated significant overlap in the maintenance of procedures, guidelines, and templates and is making it easier for staff to find and follow requirements and apply best practices. These measures are lightening CIDA's administrative burden.

In this reporting period, CIDA also undertook important human resources preparations in advance of planned reductions to ensure continuity and efficiency in operations and minimize risk to the Agency.

Changes to Government Structure

Impacts on financial and human resources resulting from the establishment of Shared Services Canada

Federal Sustainable Development Strategy

CIDA is a participant in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) and contributes to the Greening Government Operations targets through the Internal Services program activity. The department contributes to the following target areas of Theme IV (Shrinking the Environmental Footprint - Beginning with Government) of the FSDS: printing unit reduction, paper consumption, green meetings, green procurement, and green procurement training.

For additional details on CIDA's Greening Government Operations activities, please see the List of Supplementary Information Tables in Section III.

Programming in this area contributes to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS).

Section III: Supplementary Information

Financial Highlights

The financial highlights presented in this departmental performance report provide an overview of CIDA's financial position and operations. The unaudited financial statements are prepared in accordance with accrual accounting principles.

This section presents CIDA's financial highlights during the 2011-2012 fiscal year based on the Agency's consolidated financial statements. Below are explanations for the variances in each major grouping based on the most significant factors that affected each grouping during the fiscal year.

Condensed statement of financial position

Total net liabilities: Total net liabilities have increased by 493.6 million. This variance is explained by the increase in expenses and the timing of payment operations toward year-end. Among other elements, in 2011-2012 accounts payable included 300 million related to new transfer payments recoverable. Also presented in net liabilities is the Agency's obligation for termination benefits for an amount of 14.2 million to achieve savings.

Total net financial assets: Total net financial assets have increased by 273.3 million. This variance is explained by an increase of 508 million in the amount due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, resulting from the increase of net liabilities, and by a decrease of 234.7 million in accounts receivable and advances, which is mainly due to a receivable of 227 million from the Inter-American Development Bank recorded at year-end in 2010-2011.

Departmental net debt (net financial asset): Departmental net debt, which is the difference between net liabilities and net financial assets, has increased by 220.3 million. For more information, see the complete financial statements, "Statement of Change in Departmental Net Debt."

Total non-financial assets: Total non-financial assets have decreased by 7.9 million. This variance is explained by a decrease of 4.9 million in prepaid expenses and a decrease of 3 million in tangible capital assets.

Condensed statement of operations and departmental net financial position

Total expenses: Total expenses have increased by 194.8 million. The variance is explained by an increase of 204.7 million in transfer payment expenses and by a decrease of 9.9 million in operating expenses. The increase in transfer payments is mostly due to the unamortized discount related to new transfer payments recoverable, as well as the variation in prepaid expenses, in the debt forgiveness for the Government of Pakistan and in the net value of loans receivable. The variance in operating expenses is mainly explained by a decrease in professional and special services and in travel, following efforts to reduce operating costs.

Financial statements

Complete financial statements are available.

Financial Highlights — Charts and Graphs

2011-2012 Budgetary expenses by program activity

2011-2012 Expenses

List of Supplementary Information Tables

Electronic supplementary information tables listed in the 2011-2012 Departmental Performance Report^{Footnote 40}.

• details on transfer payment programs
• greening government operations
• sources of non-respendable revenue
• upcoming internal audits
• upcoming evaluations
• user fees

Section IV: Other Items Of Interest

Organizational Contact Information

For more information about CIDA programs, activities, and operations, please visit CIDA's website or contact:

Public Inquiries Service
Communications Branch
Canadian International Development Agency
200 Promenade du Portage, 5th Floor
Gatineau QC K1A 0G4
Canada

Telephone: 819-997-5006
Toll-free: 1-800-230-6349
Telecommunications device for the hearing and speech-impaired: 819-953-5023
Toll-free: 1-800-331-5018
Fax: 819-953-6088
Email: info@acdi-cida.gc.ca

Endnotes

Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals

Environment Canada  — FSDS

Public Accounts of Canada 2012

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

CIDA's financial statements