Five-Year Departmental Evaluation Plan 2022-23 to 2026-27

Prepared by the Evaluation and Results Bureau (PRD)
Global Affairs Canada
May 24, 2022

Deputy Head confirmation note

I approve the rolling five-year Departmental Evaluation Plan of Global Affairs Canada for fiscal years 2022-23 to 2026-27, 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, which:

• 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
• 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.

Christopher MacLennan
Deputy Minister of International Development
Global Affairs Canada

Global Affairs Canada’s Departmental Evaluation Plan

Evaluation supports the systematic collection and neutral analysis of evidence to examine the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of departmental programs and services. Findings from evaluations support evidence-based decision making, continuous policy and program improvement, and contribute to accountability obligations by keeping Canadians informed of the results that have been achieved and the resources used to achieve them.

Introduction

This document presents Global Affairs Canada’s (GAC) five-year Departmental Evaluation Plan (DEP) for the 2022-23 to 2026-27 period.

The Plan serves as an information and management tool that reflects the results of the department’s annual evaluation planning exercise.

The scope and content of this plan are consistent with the requirements of the Financial Administration Act and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s (TBS) Policy on Results.

Requirements for the Departmental Evaluation Plan

Introduced by Treasury Board in 2016, the Policy on Results 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

The Policy on Results identifies 3 key considerations for the development of the five-year Departmental Evaluation Plan:

Evaluation function at Global Affairs Canada

In accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Results, the Evaluation and Results Bureau (PRD) oversees GAC’s evaluation function. The Director General is the designated Head of Evaluation and represents the departmental link to TBS for evaluation. The PRD evaluation team consists of 2 divisions with 1 unifying vision that strives to be a:

• Strong, professional, in-house evaluation team whose high-quality corporate evaluations embrace innovation, a learning agenda, and ethical and feminist research practices, in order to help enhance evidence-based decision making in the department linked to policy, program and operational improvement
• Effective knowledge broker that provides high-quality services to its internal, departmental and external stakeholders, and that contributes to learning from evaluation by injecting additional research expertise focused on knowledge translation to inform decision making against policy and programming priorities
• Trusted advisor that helps enhance horizontal learning from evaluation by using innovative, inclusive and advanced analytical approaches to identify, document and effectively communicate evaluation evidence, lessons and best practices
• Capacity building and technical assistance function for decentralized evaluations commissioned by departmental branches and programs provided by the Decentralized Evaluation Services Unit (DESU)

Performance Measurement and Evaluation Committee

The Policy on Results calls for deputy heads to establish a Performance Measurement and Evaluation Committee (PMEC) of senior officials. This governance committee serves as an advisory body to the Deputy Head for the oversight of departmental performance measurement and evaluation. Since September 2021, the PMEC is chaired by the Deputy Minister of International Development (DME) and vice-chaired by the Associate Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (DMA).

Comprising a number of deputy ministers, associate deputy ministers and ambassadors who represent the various branches and streams of Global Affairs Canada, PMEC members have a key responsibility to strengthen the planning, resourcing, coordination and use of performance measurement and evaluation at GAC. PMEC also serves to foster innovation and excellence in GAC’s performance measurement and evaluation efforts. The committee provides comments on all evaluation designs and reviews and formally approves all evaluation reports and Management Responses and Action Plans (MRAP), which are subsequently published.

The Departmental Evaluation Plan consultation process

The current rolling five-year DEP is based on analysis and consultations conducted from February to April 2022, which included:

• A 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 five-year plan, performance information profiles, memoranda to Cabinet, TBS submissions and financial disbursements.
• Consultations with branches: In total, 14 consultations were held with assistant deputy ministers, directors general and other members of senior management to review the timing and scope of proposed evaluations and to optimize their usefulness and value. These consultations were complemented by more targeted discussions with a number of implicated bureaus and divisions to ensure that the evaluation plan aligns with specific information needs and timeliness requirements.
• Consultation with other oversight committees: Consultations were done with other oversight functions in the department, e.g. Audit and Mission Inspection, to avoid overlap and reduce the burden on programs.
• Consultation with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat: In accordance with the Policy on Results, the Head of Evaluation also consulted with TBS.

Achievements in 2021-2022: Delivering evaluations

The evaluation function successfully received PMEC approval for 10 evaluation reports and institutional assessments and 5 evaluation designs, and supported the completion of 11 decentralized evaluations in FY 2021-22, fewer than planned according to previous DEP due to the delay of 3 evaluations. This was in part due to a reorganization, which set back some evaluation projects. It was also a result applying more extensive, participatory and inclusive data-collection methods, which affected the timelines for completion, as well as investment of time in developing and conducting high-value engagements linked to innovative evaluation products, like the Gender Equality and Empowerment Measurement (GEM) tool. There were also the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, coupled with a year of important multilateral leadership commitments with the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN) and the COVID-19 Global Evaluation Coalition, among others, which demanded the attention of the team. Therefore, FY 2021-22 was a year for building the evaluation team and setting it up for long-term success. Several complex evaluations will be concluded in early FY 2022-23.

Other achievements: Restructuring the evaluation function

The neutral assessment of GAC’s evaluation function, concluded in March 2021, helped inform a restructuring of the function. The reorganization also sought to reduce silos while maintaining and maximizing specialized expertise, in addition to continuing to strengthen its role as a trusted advisor within the department.

The Evaluation Division (PRA) now houses the previously separated International Assistance and Diplomacy, Trade & Corporate evaluation divisions. Comprised of 4 teams with extensive research capacity to undertake a broad range of evaluative work, PRA is responsible for undertaking corporate evaluations that span across all business lines of the department. PRA embraces innovation, a learning agenda, and ethical and feminist research practices while promoting Canadian values.

The Evaluation Services and Learning Division (PRE) is focused on supporting evaluation practice, contributes to “learning from evaluation”, and injects additional research expertise focused on knowledge translation to inform decision making against policy and programming priorities. PRE is composed of 3 complementary units with differing mandates: the Decentralized Evaluation Service Unit (DESU) supports programs in the planning and production of high quality and timely decentralized evaluations; the Evaluation Function Service Unit (EFSU) supports corporate exercises and coordinates contributions to various departmental planning, monitoring and reporting processes; and the Knowledge Translation Unit (KTU) supports the analysis and amplification of evaluation evidence and other knowledge to translate it for internal and external decision makers.

By continuing to work with 1 vision, as 1 team and with 1 voice, the new organizational structure allows the evaluation function to maximize its capacity to conduct and support evaluations, and be more nimble and efficient in handling recurring mandatory reporting and planning exercises, while leveraging evaluation findings and lessons to better meet the emerging and shifting information needs of the department and beyond.

Other achievements: Enhancing evaluation use and learning in the department

During the past year, GAC’s evaluation function has continued to take important steps toward a post-pandemic evaluation context where it will continue to be in a position to effectively contribute to departmental information needs and maximize learning from evaluation. Below are some examples of how it has been able to adapt its evaluation approaches and leverage innovative new tools, while supporting the conduct of high-quality evaluations across the department and enhancing the use of evaluations for evidence-based decision making.

Other achievements: International engagements

MOPAN

Global Affairs Canada’s evaluation function continued to actively engage with many international stakeholders and demonstrated leadership on the international stage, including as chair of the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network Steering Committee in 2021. During Canada’s tenure as chair, an external evaluation of MOPAN was conducted and provided opportunities for evidence-based discussions on how to strengthen the organization’s future strategic orientation. In addition, as chair, Canada prioritized extending MOPAN’s global reach through analytical studies and learning events, and MOPAN’s methodology continued to be strengthened through the incorporation of new performance indicators on the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment as well as analysis of organizations’ responses to the challenges posed by COVID. MOPAN’s data hub also became functional in 2021, providing members with direct access to assessment data through the ongoing refinement and development of MOPAN’s data platform.

GEI – Global Evaluation Initiative

As a founding member of the World Bank’s Global Evaluation Initiative (GEI), Canada has played a key role in integrating feminist practices and a gender-focused lens into its activities. The evaluation team also supported the development of GEI’s strategic vision and planning, which includes supporting countries advancing monitoring & evaluation (M&E) capacities in enabling environments, with a focus on strengthening the legal, regulatory, and institutional frameworks promoting evidence-based decision-making; supporting institutional capacity, by providing support to build institutional M&E frameworks and capacities; and Individuals, by supporting the capacities of individuals, whose knowledge, skills and competencies are critical to achieving any system-level impact or culture change. The evaluation team also shared lessons on integrating feminist principles into evaluation design and showcased its innovative GEM tool during GEI’s gLOCAL Evaluation Week 2021.

OECD

Participation in OECD-DAC’s international evaluation networks plays an important role for the evaluation team to create synergies and to coordinate evaluation work with other international donors and evaluation groups. As the current vice-chair of the EvalNet steering committee, co-founder of the COVID-19 Global Evaluation Coalition and active member of the GenderNet and Nordic Plus working groups, the evaluation team is also able to share lessons and best practices. During the year, the team delivered a presentation on its recently developed Protection and Privacy toolkit, which was developed through extensive consultations at the departmental level and with other Canadian government departments. This toolkit was designed to model and adhere to the ethical standards and apply the “do no harm” principle in conducting evaluations and working with others. It also highlights actions to mitigate the additional privacy and protection risks that accompany new forms of remote data-generation methods in the context of the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Departmental context: Global Affairs Canada

Global Affairs Canada’s mandate is to deliver results on the Gpositions that make up the evaluation function n a gender-responsive manner. To support this work, the department focuses on 4 priorities:

1. Shaping the rules-based international system and promoting democracy and human rights
2. Deepening Canada’s global engagement
3. Supporting rules-based trade and Canadian exporters
4. Eradicating poverty

The department is responsible for implementing Canada’s Feminist Foreign Policy and its suite of feminist international policies, programs and initiatives across its commitments in diplomacy, trade, security, development and consular services. It also manages Canada’s international platform, a global network of 178 missions in 110 countries that supports the international work of the department and 31 partner organizations (federal, provincial and territorial government departments, agencies and Crown corporations).

As required by TBS’s Policy on Results, GAC’s Departmental Results Framework outlines 5 core responsibilities and internal services, the high-level results the department is seeking to achieve (departmental results) and how progress will be assessed (departmental results indicators). Its Program Inventory (see Annex II), which consists of a total of 53 programs, outlines how the department is organized to support delivery of these results. As per the Main Estimates, GAC is forecasting to spend approximately $7.47 billion on its programs, policies, initiatives and services during FY 2022-23.

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.

Evaluation coverage

Global Affairs Canada planned evaluation coverage

The 2022-23 to 2026-27 DEP reflects the careful balance the department seeks between a continued commitment to meet mandatory evaluation requirements and information needs while respecting the pressures many branches face in dealing with a remote-work environment and delays in program implementation during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 41 evaluations are included in the five-year plan, representing 36 out of 43 required programs in the Program Inventory (excluding programs listed below). This corresponds to 92% of the total Main Estimates for 2022-23, or 99% of ongoing programs of grants and contributions (Gs&Cs) with a five-year average expenditure of $5 million or greater per year.

For the remaining programs with Gs&Cs over the FAA threshold, there has either been a recent evaluation conducted or no changes in programming or context since the last evaluation (see Annex II). The five-year schedule therefore fulfills all legal and TBS policy requirements.

The Multilateral Policy (Program #2 in the Program Inventory) is considered an exempt program as its disbursements are in the form of assessed contributions to international organizations. Global Affairs Canada meets part of its coverage requirements through MOPAN. On a yearly basis, the 19 MOPAN members contribute collectively to the institutional assessments of the strengths and areas for improvements in a number of international organizations. However, as a formative evaluation is planned on the newly developed Multilateral Policy, it has been included in this DEP’s coverage analysis.

Horizontal evaluations

The department is expected to complete 2 horizontal evaluations with other Government of Canada departments, which also contribute to the overall coverage:

• Evaluation of Canada’s Migrant Smuggling Prevention Strategy (lead: GAC).
• National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking (lead: Public Safety Canada)

Programs excluded from the planned coverage calculations

There is no requirement to evaluate the 10 programs that fall under Internal Services (i.e. #44 to #53). However, the efficiency and effectiveness of some of these services may be covered as part of the evaluations of programs, strategies or initiatives.

Resources and capacity

Resources

There are 44 full-time equivalent (FTE) overview of the planned evaluations over the five-year periodin FY 2022-23. The annual salary expense is approximately $4.5 million. The total operating and maintenance (O&M) budget is $1.7 million.

Capacity

The number of evaluation projects undertaken in a given year is usually determined by the size and complexity of the evaluation projects. Based on the current capacity, the evaluation function can produce between 8 to 10 evaluation reports on a yearly basis. In addition, PRA supports multi-donor assessments of multilateral organizations through MOPAN. As the largest research team in Global Affairs Canada, the evaluation team also provides other services and develops multiple evaluation and learning products.

There is a continued high demand from programs for decentralized evaluation technical assistance and quality assurance services provided by the Evaluation Services and Learning Division (PRE) through the Decentralized Evaluation Service Unit (DESU). DESU also works to build staff and organizational capacity to strategically plan innovative and influential evaluations. DESU provides services to over 75 concurrent evaluation files, corresponding to $2.05 billion in project value. In 2021-22, 11 decentralized evaluations were completed, a lower-than-normal completion rate due to various reasons, such as the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, quality issues and the war in Ukraine.

Measures taken to meet evaluation needs

The large number of programs (53) in the Program Inventory contribute to significant requirements for the evaluation function. In addition, the demand for evaluations continues to increase, not only as part of commitments in memoranda to Cabinet and Treasury Board submissions and thematic evaluations of special interest, but also linked to new funding announcements that have a direct implication for the department. The prioritization of learning from evaluation to inform decision making also creates additional workloads, which are aligned and prioritized across the evaluation team.

Since FY 2020-21, the evaluation function has operated at maximum capacity, particularly over the past year in response to COVID-19 demands and realities. The recent reorganization was done to better meet evaluation and departmental information needs, as well as to maximize the use of FTEs. Recent competitive hiring processes at all levels will serve to staff all funded positions. Additionally, in 2021-22, a new corporate services funding model has been put in place that accounts for future needs of the evaluation function aligned with new Grants & Contributions funding received by the department. This model provides a sustainable solution to enable sufficient resourcing to meet departmental evaluation and information needs linked to legal, policy and funding renewal requirements.

Annex I. Five-Year Evaluation Schedule: Year 1 - FY 2022-2023

Below is an overview of the planned evaluations over the five-year period resulting from the consultations with senior GAC management. They are presented by fiscal year, as per the year when PMEC approval is expected. A number of evaluations are mandatory, while others are discretionary—seeking to respond to expressed departmental priorities and information needs, as per the legend below. Due to their high number, decentralized evaluations are not specifically listed in the Departmental Evaluation Plan. While they serve to inform corporate evaluations, they are not to be considered as public opinion research.

Evaluation Name: GAC Signature Initiative: Women’s Voice and Leadership - Formative Evaluation
Requirements: TB subs
Planned Deputy Head approval: Q1
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 24. Multilateral International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Evaluation of Canada’s Engagement in Middle-Income Countries
Requirements: Discretionary
Planned Deputy Head approval: Q1
Branch: All geographic branches
Link to Program Inventory:

• 29. Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb International Assistance
• 30. Americas International Assistance
• 31. Asia Pacific International Assistance
• 32. Sub-Saharan Africa International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Canada Fund for Local Initiatives
Requirements: FAA / G&Cs
Planned Deputy Head Approval: Q2
Branch: Americas (NGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 28. Canada Fund for Local Initiatives

Evaluation Name: Horizontal Evaluation: Canada’s Migrant Smuggling Prevention Strategy (lead: GAC)
Requirements: TB subs
Planned Deputy Head Approval: Q3
Branch: International Security and Political Affairs (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory:

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

Evaluation Name: Anti-Crime Capacity Building and Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building
Requirements: FAA / G&Cs, TB subs
Planned Deputy Head Approval: Q4
Branch: International Security and Political Affairs (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 26. Anti-Crime and Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building

Evaluation Name: Canadian Technology Accelerator Initiative (CTA)
Requirements: TB subs
Planned Deputy Head Approval: Q4
Branch: International Business Development (BFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 14. International Business Development

Evaluation Name: EGM Coherence Evaluation: Trade, Diplomacy & International Assistance
Requirements: Discretionary
Planned Deputy Head Approval: Q4
Branch: Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb (EGM)
Link to Program Inventory:

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

Evaluation Name: Americas International Assistance: Haiti
Requirements: FAA / G&Cs
Planned Deputy Head Approval: Q4
Branch: Americas (NGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 30. Americas International Assistance

Evaluation Name: MOPAN Institutional Assessments
Requirements: Program Inventory
Planned Deputy Head Approval: Q4
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 2. Multilateral Policy

Legend:
FAA/G&Cs: Grants and contributions programs with 5-year average of +$5 million/year
TB subs: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat submissions or other legislative commitments
Program inventory: Programs with no G&Cs or less than $5 million/year (to be evaluated periodically) or exempt from evaluation
Discretionary: Evaluations identified based on departmental priorities, risks and needs

Five-Year Evaluation Schedule: Year 2 - FY 2023-2024

Evaluation Name: Duty of Care (Mission Security and Personnel Safety Abroad), including parts of Emergency Preparedness and Response
Requirements: TB subs Branch:

• International Platform (ACM)
• Consular, Security and Emergency Management (CFM)
• Corporate Planning, Finance and IT (SCM)

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: Business Women in International Trade Program (BWIT)
Requirements: TB subs
Branch: International Business Development (BFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 14. International Business Development

Evaluation Name: GAC Signature Initiative: Partnership for Gender Equality (Equality Fund)
Requirements: TB subs
Branch: Partnership for Development Innovation Branch (KFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 23. Partnerships and Development Innovation

Evaluation Name: Meta-analysis: Coherence - Trade, Diplomacy & International Assistance
Requirements: Discretionary
Branch: All geographic branches
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
• 16. Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb Trade
• 17. Americas Trade
• 18. Asia Pacific Trade
• 19. Sub-Saharan Africa Trade
• 29. Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb International Assistance
• 30. Americas International Assistance
• 31. Asia Pacific International Assistance
• 32. Sub-Saharan Africa International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Peace and Stabilization Operations Program (PSOP)
Requirements: TB subs
Branch: International Security and Political Affairs (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 25. Peace and Stabilization Operations

Evaluation Name: Weapons Threat Reduction Program
Requirements: FAA/G&Cs
Branch: International Security and Political Affairs (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 27. Weapons Threat Reduction

Evaluation Name: Evaluation of Canada’s Strategy to Respond to the Rohingya Crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh
Requirements: TB subs
Branch: Asia-Pacific (OGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 31. Asia Pacific International Assistance

Evaluation Name: FIAP Action Area: Education / GAC Signature Initiative: Girls’ Education in Fragile States
Requirements: TB subs
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 10. International Assistance Policy
• 24. Multilateral International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Horizontal Evaluation: National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking (lead: Public Safety)
Requirements: TB subs
Branch: International Security and Political Affairs (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory:

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

Evaluation Name: MOPAN Institutional Assessments
Requirements: Program Inventory
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 2. Multilateral Policy

Five-Year Evaluation Schedule: Year 3 - FY 2024-2025

Evaluation Name: Environment and Climate Action
Requirements: TB Subs
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 10. International Assistance Policy
• 24. Multilateral International Assistance

Evaluation Name: International Education Strategy
Requirements: FAA/G&Cs
Branch: International Business Development (BFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 14. International Business Development

Evaluation Name: GAC Signature Initiative: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)
Requirements: TB subs and Discretionary
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 24. Multilateral International Assistance

Evaluation Name: FIAP Action Area: Health and Nutrition
Requirements: Discretionary
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 10. International Assistance Policy
• 24. Multilateral International Assistance

Evaluation Name: Lessons from Programming in Fragile States
Potential countries of focus: Mali, South Sudan, Burkina Faso
Requirements: Discretionary
Branch: Sub-Saharan Africa (WGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 19. Sub-Saharan Africa Trade

Evaluation Name: Trade and Development
Requirements: FAA/G&Cs
Branch: Trade Policy and Negotiations (TFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 12. Trade Policy, Agreements, Negotiations, and Disputes

Evaluation Name: International Strategic Framework for Cyberspace
Requirements: TB subs
Branch: International Security and Political Affairs (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 25. Peace and Stabilization Operations

Evaluation Name: Platform Branch Costing Methodology
Requirements: Program Inventory
Branch: International Platform (ACM)
Link to Program Inventory: 36. Platform Corporate Services

Evaluation Name: MOPAN Institutional Assessments
Requirements: Program Inventory
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 2. Multilateral Policy

Five-Year Evaluation Schedule: Year 4 - FY 2025-2026

Evaluation Name: Partnership for Development Innovation: Innovation Results
Requirements: Discretionary
Branch: Partnership for Development Innovation Branch (KFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 23. Partnerships for Development Innovation

Evaluation Name: Trade Export Controls
Requirements: TB subs
Branch: Trade Policy and Negotiations (TFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 13. Trade Controls

Evaluation Name: Global Arctic Initiative
Requirements:

• FAA / G&Cs
• TB subs

Branch: Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb (EGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 24. Multilateral International Assistance

Evaluation Name: CanExport
Requirements: FAA / G&Cs
Branch: International Business Development (BFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 14. International Business Development

Evaluation Name: Canadian International Innovation Program (CIIP)
Requirements: FAA / G&Cs
Branch: International Business Development (BFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 15. International Innovation and Investment

Evaluation Name: GAC Coherence: Humanitarian, Development and Peace Nexus
Requirements: FAA / G&Cs and Discretionary
Branch:

• Global Issues and Development (MFM)
• International Security and Political Affairs (IFM)

Link to Program Inventory:

• 22. Humanitarian Assistance
• 24. Multilateral International Assistance
• 25. Peace and Stabilization Operations

Evaluation Name: Office of Human Rights, Freedom and Inclusion Programming
Requirements: FAA / G&Cs
Branch: International Security and Political Affairs (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 21. Office of Human Rights, Freedom and Inclusion (OHRFI) Programming

Evaluation Name: Formative Evaluation of the Multilateral Policy
Requirements: Discretionary
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 2. Multilateral Policy

Evaluation Name: MOPAN Institutional Assessments
Requirements: Program Inventory
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 2. Multilateral Policy

Five-Year Evaluation Schedule: Year 5 - FY 2026-2027

Evaluation name: Canada’s Engagement in UN Peace Operations and Peacebuilding
Requirements: TB subs
Branch: International Security and Political Affairs (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 25. Peace and Stabilization Operations

Evaluation Name: Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security
Requirements: Discretionary
Branch: International Security and Political Affairs (IFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 25. Peace and Stabilization Operations

Evaluation Name: North American Platform Program (NAPP)
Requirements: Program Inventory
Branch: Americas (NGM)
Link to Program Inventory:

• 6. Americas Policy & Diplomacy
• 17. Americas Trade

Evaluation Name: Consular Assistance and Administrative Services for Canadians Abroad
Requirements: Program Inventory
Branch: Consular, Security and Emergency Management (CFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 34. Consular Assistance and Services for Canadians Abroad

Evaluation Name: Common Service Delivery Point (CSDP)
Requirements: Program Inventory
Branch: International Platform (ACM)
Link to Program Inventory:

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

Evaluation Name: Locally Engaged Staff (LES) Framework Reform
Requirements: Program Inventory
Branch: Human Resources (HCM)
Link to Program Inventory: 39. Locally Engaged Staff Services

Evaluation Name: Cultural Diplomacy Strategy
Requirements: Discretionary
Branch: All geographic branches
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: Understanding Canada’s Membership in International Forums, Incl. APEC, Commonwealth and La Francophonie
Requirements: Program Inventory
Branch: Asia Pacific (OGM)
Link to Program Inventory: 18. Asia Pacific Trade

Evaluation Name: MOPAN Institutional Assessments
Requirements: Program Inventory
Branch: Global Issues and Development (MFM)
Link to Program Inventory: 2. Multilateral Policy

Annex II. Global Affairs Canada – 2022-23 Program Inventory

Annex III. Programs excluded from the five-year schedule

The current Departmental Evaluation Plan has an evaluation coverage of 36 out of 43 of the required programs in the Program Inventory, i.e. Grants and Contributions programs with a five-year average of $5 million/year or more. The following 7 programs fall into this category, but are excluded from the five-year evaluation schedule for the reasons listed below.

Annex IV: Advancing feminist evaluation

The Gender Equality and Empowerment Measurement (GEM) tool was developed by the evaluation team with the help of Canadian and international feminist researchers as part of Global Affairs Canada’s evaluation of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls in the Middle East and Maghreb. Designed to collect project outcome data, the GEM tool was piloted in 5 countries and territories.

This innovative data collection tool uses feminist methodology and employs an intersectional lens to capture qualitative and descriptive data on gender equality and empowerment outcomes of development programming. The tool allows researchers, evaluators and project officers to gather data on project participants’ experiences of empowerment based on 5 empowerment categories: economic, psychological, physical, knowledge and social. While it can be used on its own, the GEM tool’s main purpose is to complement existing data collection tools and evaluation practices with a feminist methodology focusing on qualitative data, local knowledge and experiences.

Lessons from the pilot have since led to the development of a complete toolkit that includes training and guidance resources, templates and other useful information that provide a flexible, process-oriented and reciprocal approach for data collection that puts the voices of women, other genders and marginalized groups at the centre of evaluations.

The GEM tool has been very well received within the department and continues to generate increased interest within the international evaluation community, notably through its integration in the OECD guidance on women’s empowerment programming. Since its introduction, the evaluation function has continued to socialize and promote its use in Canada and internationally.

“Men have more chances and fewer challenges compared to women.”

“Empowerment in our society is largely connected and related to economic empowerment”