Enhance Openness of Information on Government Spending and Procurement (CA0050)

Enhance Openness of Information on Government Spending and Procurement Why do this: Canadians expect their government to implement effective and efficient programs and services, and to report transparently on whether they are meeting their intended goals. A clear understanding of what resources are being used by departments to deliver programs and services is fundamental to Parliament’s role of holding government accountable for delivering on its priorities. Information on planned spending and results for government activities is currently provided through mandatory departmental reports, including Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPPs) and Departmental Performance Reports (DPRs). As a result, understanding how well the Government is doing as a whole, or in key areas of interest, is challenging because data is presented across multiple reports and information sources. How will it be done: As part of the Government’s new Policy on Results, mandatory departmental reporting will be re-focused on each department’s long-term mandates as well as their immediate priorities. Related data from planned and actual activities will be available on a searchable online database that will provide quick and easy access to detailed information on government spending and people management. This data will be presented in a manner which will facilitate Canadians’ analysis and broader understanding of where government resources are being invested.

9. Enhance Openness of Information on Government Spending and Procurement

Commitment Text:

The Government of Canada will increase the transparency of government spending and procurement to hold government accountable for public expenditures.

Milestones:

9.1. Release an interactive tool that will increase the granularity of data and information made available and enable Canadians to better understand federal departmental spending:

• Expand the types of data, graphics, and analytics available including:

o Planned and actual results;

o Comparisons between historical and planned spending; and

o Spending on specific components such as salaries, capital, transfer payments, etc.

• Enable users to explore government spending of the most interest to them based on key data elements (e.g., target group, program type, priority area, etc.).

9.2. Enhance online content pertaining to government finances on Canada.ca to make information and tools on government spending readily accessible to Canadians.

9.3. Provide targeted and timely material to make government accounting and financial reporting more consistent, transparent, and understandable to Canadians.

9.4. Pilot updating the buyandsell.gc.ca site to record the full details of contracts (in addition to awards), contract amendments, and the final termination of contracts.

9.5. Participate in a case study to share best practices from Public Service and Procurement Canada’s pilot of the Open Contracting Data Standard on BuyandSell.gc.ca.

Responsible institutions: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat; Department of Finance Canada; Public Services and Procurement Canada

Supporting Institutions(s): N/A

Start date: Not specified

End date: Not specified

Editorial Note: The text of the commitment was abridged for formatting reasons. For full commitment text, visit: http://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Canada_AP3.pdf.

Context and Objectives

This commitment aims to unify and expand the information published online about government spending and procurement. It builds on Commitment 8 of the second action plan, to provide more easily searchable information on governmental websites. Apart from milestones 9.2 and 9.3, the commitment presents a reasonably clear roadmap forward, with milestones which have the potential to generate significant improvements to the system. Civil society stakeholders that attended the IRM consultations were generally supportive of moves to enhance the information available, though they noted that usability and accessibility is becoming an increasing challenge. Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation warned that the website risked becoming a 'dumping ground' for data, while the Canadian Unitarian Council, the Canadian Association of Journalists and Fred Vallance-Jones all noted a strong need to improve searchability and contextualisation of information posted online.[Note74: Toronto consultation, 15 September 2017, and Halifax consultation, 12 September 2017.]

Completion

Over the first year of the action plan, the Treasury Board of Canada’s InfoBase website expanded to include an Inventory of Government of Canada Organizations,[Note75: Available at: https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/reporting-government-spending/inventory-government-organizations.html.] enhanced information about government spending,[Note76: See: https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ems-sgd/edb-bdd/index-eng.html#orgs/gov/gov/infograph/results.] and an improved metadata tagging system.[Note77: See: https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ems-sgd/edb-bdd/index-eng.html#metadata.] The government made substantial progress and Milestone 9.1 is on track to be completed on time.

For Milestone 9.2, the Department of Finance has added datasets to the Canada.ca website, including the Fiscal Monitor 2016-2017,[Note78: Available at: http://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/45eb6514-0e38-48da-9a12-233d16813f4b.] data related to the International Aid Transparency Initiative,[Note79: Available at: http://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/65515b1b-b545-4ce5-8e96-bf51babcfb65.] and data tables connected to the federal budget.[Note80: Available at: http://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/2a84c234-633c-4cc6-9282-f40ff12f5bc7.] The government self-assessment reports that limited progress has been made, with significant additional publications to come in the second year of implementation.[Note81: The draft self-assessment for Commitment 9 is available at: http://open.canada.ca/en/mtsar/commitment-9-enhance-openness-information-government-spending-and-procurement.] The self-assessment rates this as being on schedule for completion, though the low specificity of the milestone makes this difficult to assess.

In terms of budgetary information connected to Milestone 9.3, the government self-assessment points to an explanatory document connected to the 2017 budget,[Note82: Available at: http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/3min-en.html.] as well as a summary report of pre-budget consultations.[Note83: Available at: http://www.fin.gc.ca/pub/pbc-cpb/2017-eng.asp.] The self-assessment reports limited progress on this milestone, with more activities to come in the second year of implementation.[Note84: The draft self-assessment for Commitment 9 is available at: http://open.canada.ca/en/mtsar/commitment-9-enhance-openness-information-government-spending-and-procurement.] Again, the self-assessment rates this as being on schedule for completion, and low specificity of the commitment makes this difficult to assess.

Regarding Milestone 9.4, Public Services and Procurement Canada released the Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements Application.[Note85: Available at: https://buyandsell.gc.ca/procurement-data/standing-offers-and-supply-arrangements. Last accessed 13 October 2017.] However, it is unclear where progress stands regarding releasing full details of contracts. As of the time of research, the website appears to only list basic data such as the dates of awards, amount awarded, etc. The IRM researcher reached out to the commitment leads at Public Services and Procurement Canada, who declined to provide further information. The IRM researcher assesses limited progress has been made, and that the commitment is not on track to completion.

For Milestone 9.5, according to the government’s self-assessment, Public Service and Procurement Canada’s pilot of the Open Contracting Data Standard on BuyandSell.gc.ca reinforced the need to standardise data from the outset using the Open Contracting Data Standard format, and it demonstrated the importance of linking procurement data from all phases of the procurement process.[Note86: The pilot is available at: https://buyandsell.gc.ca/procurement-data/open-contracting-data-standard-pilot.] The self-assessment reports limited progress on this milestone. However, it should be possible to complete it within the action plan cycle. The government reports that once the implementation of a full contract life-cycle is made available in the Open Contracting Data Standard format, case studies will be initiated, with an eye to publishing lessons learned.

Next Steps

The IRM researcher recommends carrying this commitment forward to the next action plan, as enhancing openness around spending and procurement is necessarily an ongoing process. If Milestone 9.4 is not completed within this action plan cycle, it would be a good area to continue to improve and expand the website going forward.

During consultations for this report, stakeholders noted the importance of focusing on the usability of information that is provided. Open North stressed the importance of taking a user-centric approach to publishing and consider the needs of the public, as well as researchers and other heavily engaged stakeholders, in designing these systems. One such consumer, Canadian Taxpayers Federation, stressed a need for stronger contextualisation going forward, such as information about the purposes underlying particular procurement calls, or the relationship between different calls, to allow users to obtain a more complete picture of government spending. In a similar vein, Ernie Boyko noted that as more information is published, taxonomies and metadata tagging will become increasingly important, indicating that expanded work in these areas may be particularly valuable.

Other stakeholders stressed a need to present information in styles that are more user friendly, allowing the data to be easily understood by average Canadians, rather than researchers. The Canadian Unitarian Council questioned whether sufficient promotional work had been done to raise general awareness of the information’s availability. Similarly, the Canadian Association of Journalists suggested tutorials for Canadians on how to use these new tools may be a useful addition.

9. Enhance Openness of Information on Government Spending and Procurement

Commitment Text: The Government of Canada will increase the transparency of government spending and procurement to hold government accountable for public expenditures.

Milestones:

9.1. Release an interactive tool that will increase the granularity of data and information made available and enable Canadians to better understand federal departmental spending:

•Expand the types of data, graphics, and analytics available including:

o Planned and actual results;

o Comparisons between historical and planned spending; and

o Spending on specific components such as salaries, capital, transfer payments, etc.

•Enable users to explore government spending of the most interest to them based on key data elements (e.g., target group, program type, priority area, etc.).
 

9.2. Enhance online content pertaining to government finances on Canada.ca to make information and tools on government spending readily accessible to Canadians.

9.3. Provide targeted and timely material to make government accounting and financial reporting more consistent, transparent, and understandable to Canadians.

9.4. Pilot updating the buyandsell.gc.ca site to record the full details of contracts (in addition to awards), contract amendments, and the final termination of contracts.

9.5. Participate in a case study to share best practices from Public Service and Procurement Canada's pilot of the Open Contracting Data Standard on BuyandSell.gc.ca.

Responsible institutions: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat; Department of Finance Canada; Public Services and Procurement Canada

Supporting institutions: N/A

Start Date: Not specified

End Date: Not specified

Editorial Note: The text of the commitment was abridged for formatting reasons. For full commitment text, visit http://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Canada_AP3.pdf.

Commitment Aim

This commitment aimed to unify and expand the information published online about government spending and procurement. It builds on Commitment 8 of the second action plan, to provide more easily searchable information on governmental websites, by:

•Releasing an interactive tool that will increase the information made available about federal departmental spending;

•Enhancing online content on Canada.ca pertaining to government finances;

•Making government accounting and financial reporting more consistent, transparent, and understandable

•Piloting an update of the buyandsell.gc.ca website to record the full details of contracts (in addition to awards), contract amendments, and the final termination of contracts; and

•Participating in a case study to share best practices from Public Services and Procurement Canada's pilot of the Open Contracting Data Standard on buyandsell.gc.ca.

Status

Midterm: Limited

Over the first year of the action plan, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's InfoBase website expanded to include an inventory of government of Canada organisations.[Note65: Available at “Inventory of Federal Organizations and Interests,” Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/reporting-government-spending/inventory-government-organizations.html.] It also enhanced information about government spending[Note66: See “Infographic for Government,” Government of Canada, https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ems-sgd/edb-bdd/index-eng.html#orgs/gov/gov/infograph/results.] and improved its metadata tagging system (Milestone 9.1).[Note67: See “Datasets,” Government of Canada, https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ems-sgd/edb-bdd/index-eng.html#metadata.] Under Milestone 9.2, the Department of Finance added datasets to the Canada.ca website. These datasets included the Fiscal Monitor 2016-2017,[Note68: Available at “The Fiscal Monitor: 2016-2017,” Government of Canada, http://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/45eb6514-0e38-48da-9a12-233d16813f4b.] data related to the International Aid Transparency Initiative,[Note69: Available at “International Aid Transparency Initiative, November 2018,” Government of Canada, http://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/65515b1b-b545-4ce5-8e96-bf51babcfb65.] and data tables connected to the federal budget.[Note70: Available at “Federal Budget 2017,” Government of Canada, http://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/2a84c234-633c-4cc6-9282-f40ff12f5bc7.] In terms of budgetary information connected to Milestone 9.3, the government published an explanatory document connected to the 2017 budget.[Note71: Available at “Budget 2017 in 3 Minutes,” Government of Canada, http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/3min-en.html.] It also published a summary report of pre-budget consultations.[Note72: Available at “Finance Canada 2017 Pre-Budget Consultations Summary Report,” Department of Finance Canada, http://www.fin.gc.ca/pub/pbc-cpb/2017-eng.asp.] Regarding Milestone 9.4, Public Services and Procurement Canada began to expand information on buyandsell.gc.ca by releasing the Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements Application. It also reported plans to pilot the full Open Contracting Data Standard on the site.[Note73: Available at “Standing Offers and Supply Arrangement,” Public Works and Government Services Canada, https://buyandsell.gc.ca/procurement-data/standing-offers-and-supply-arrangements, accessed 13 October 2017.] Milestone 9.5 was coded in the midterm assessment as having had limited progress. However, given that the case study did not take place, the correct coding should have been that this milestone was not started.

End of term: Substantial

As of June 2018, the InfoBase website includes a combination of financial and performance information data dating back to 2012 (9.1). This has resulted in broader availability of data, graphics, and analytics. The information includes actual and planned spending and results information, results narratives, a budget tracker tool, granular expenditure data, and enhanced metadata tagging.[Note74: See “GC InfoBase,” Government of Canada, http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ems-sgd/edb-bdd/index-eng.html#start.] The government has completed this milestone.

Under Milestone 9.2, the government uploaded to open.canada.ca additional datasets related to government finance.[Note75: See “Government Finances,” Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/government/system/finances.html.] The government has completed this milestone.

Regarding Milestone 9.3, the self-assessment reports several steps that were taken to improve the transparency of accounting and financial reporting. These steps included shifting to a new budget publication format which makes it easier to track implementation of budget items (in particular, regarding how spending aligns with estimates). The new format also consolidates financial reports on the InfoBase website.[Note76: See “Estimates Reform Helps You Follow the Money,” Government of Canada, https://open.canada.ca/en/blog/estimates-reform-helps-you-follow-money.] The government has completed this milestone.

Under Milestone 9.4, the government self-assessment reports that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) was able to pilot aspects of the Open Contracting Data Standard related to the initiation (tender), award and contract stages. However, it was not able to do so with the planning and implementation stages.[Note77: The self-assessment is available at https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/9da9faf5-deb1-48db-8f16-91055d942d65.] The self-assessment additionally points to several different types of procurement information which are being published. This information includes real-time information about tenders and awards, weekly information about standing offers and supply arrangements, and a monthly updated contract history.[Note78: See “Tenders,” Public Works and Government Services Canada, https://buyandsell.gc.ca/procurement-data/tenders; “Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements,” Public Works and Government Services Canada, https://buyandsell.gc.ca/procurement-data/standing-offers-and-supply-arrangements; and “Contract History,” Public Works and Government Services Canada, https://buyandsell.gc.ca/procurement-data/contract-history.] This represents limited progress.

For Milestone 9.5, the self-assessment notes that PSPC's inability to complete its pilot of the Open Contracting Data Standard meant that it was also unable to carry out its best practices case study.[Note79: The self-assessment is available at https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/9da9faf5-deb1-48db-8f16-91055d942d65.] This milestone was not started.

Did It Open Government?

Access to Information: Marginal

Open contracting has been a feature of Canada's previous action plans. In the second action plan, Commitment 8 aimed to lower the threshold for reporting and introduce a pilot of the Open Contracting Data Standard. According to Lindsey Marchessault, the Open Contracting Partnership's director for data and engagement, the work carried out under this commitment represents only a marginal step forward in terms of improving access to information. Specifically, progress on Milestones 9.4 and 9.5 was limited. A particular problem involved the lack of meaningful progress on expanding the publication of planning and implementation information. Such achievements would likely have meant a difference in coding for this commitment. However, Ms. Marchessault noted that work over the past two years may have alerted the government to the importance of revamping the use of organisational identifiers. Doing so could improve the quality of data by standardising the way it is identified and tagged across departments. This realisation will hopefully precipitate more important changes going forward, even if the impacts have not yet been felt.

Carried Forward?

Canada's fourth action plan includes a commitment on financial transparency and accountability. That commitment largely targets improving open contracting. It includes further improvements to the release of budgeting and spending information and a renewed effort to pilot implementation of the Open Contracting Data Standard (Milestone 2.3).