ARCHIVED - Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat

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Minister's Message

With its 37 years of expertise, the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat (CICS) provides the technical and administrative services required for the planning and conduct of federal-provincial-territorial or provincial-territorial conferences throughout Canada.

Intergovernmental conferences are essential tools for the Canadian federation, providing governments with the opportunity to consult one another about their policies and programs.

The Secretariat is funded by the federal and provincial governments and staffed by employees from both levels of government. By virtue of its unique program and mandate, it provides professional services of the highest quality in organizing high-level intergovernmental meetings.

As President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, I am pleased to table the Secretariat's Report on Plans and Priorities for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

The Honourable Josée Verner
President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada
Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister
for La Francophonie

SECTION I – AGENCY OVERVIEW

Raison d'être and Responsibilities

The Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat (CICS) was established pursuant to an agreement reached at the May 1973 First Ministers' Conference and designated a department of the federal government by an Order-in-Council dated November 29, 1973. Its one program mandate is to provide administrative services for the planning and conduct of First Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers level federal-provincial-territorial and provincial-territorial conferences.

CICS is an agency of the federal, provincial and territorial governments and, as such, acts as a neutral intergovernmental body. Its budget is supported by both orders of government and its staff includes federal, provincial and territorial public servants. The Secretary reports to all governments annually. The operations are reviewed by federal and provincial senior officials designated by their respective First Ministers. CICS reports to Parliament through the President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada.

CICS primary objective is to relieve client departments in virtually every major sector of intergovernmental activity of the numerous technical and administrative tasks associated with the planning and conduct of multilateral conferences, thereby enabling them to concentrate on the substantive policy issues. CICS provides continuous, effective, impartial administrative services to these meetings.

Strategic Outcomes

In order to effectively pursue its mandate, CICS aims to achieve the following strategic outcome:

Multilateral meetings of First Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers are planned and conducted flawlessly.

Program Activity Architecture (PAA)

CICS is a micro agency with a single program mandate. Its Program Activity Architecture is listed below.

	PAA Level	Performance Information: Expected Results
Department/Agency	Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat	Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat
Strategic Outcomes	Multilateral meetings of First Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers are planned and conducted flawlessly.
Program Activity	Conference Services	Flawlessly planned and conducted events, including the effective addressing of unforeseen challenges.
		Needs of all parties involved in intergovernmental conferences served by CICS are understood and addressed /met.

Planning Summary

CICS' key priority for 2010-2011 is to plan, conduct and flawlessly serve intergovernmental conferences at the most senior level in response to requests by federal, provincial and territorial governments. The Secretariat is funded at a level sufficient to finance conference activity in the 110-120 range.

For an organization such as CICS, success and credibility is based on continued performance of the highest quality. Consequently, CICS is constantly looking for ways to enhance its level of client service.

To respond to the changing nature of the environment in which the organization operates, CICS is developing a corporate strategic plan which will identify long term goals and priorities to ensure the continuous success and relevance of the agency. This initiative will play a key role in refining CICS' Integrated Business and Human Resources Plan and in supporting Senior Management's decision-making process. It will help to define CICS' short-term and long term priorities, while maximizing opportunities and overcoming challenges such as succession planning.

As a consequence of a modernization exercise launched in 2009, CICS will continue in 2010-11 to implement a series of initiatives designed to modernize the management of its human resources and key business processes. In effect, what began as an organizational review and succession planning project has evolved into a collection of sound principles in project and change management for the Secretariat.

CICS will also enhance its corporate reporting capability in 2010-2011 in order to ensure that the agency responds in a timely manner to central and other agencies requirements which includes emergency and business continuity plans.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
6.6	6.6	6.6

Human Resources (Full-Time Equivalent - FTEs)

2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
36	36	36

Strategic Outcome 1: Multilateral meetings of First Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers are planned and conducted flawlessly.

Performance Indicator	Targets
Extent to which senior government officials are satisfied with various CICS services in the planning and conduct of multilateral meetings of First Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers.	90% satisfaction- High degree of stakeholder trust and confidence in CICS' institutional, independent role and high degree of satisfaction with CICS services.

Program Activity	Forecast Spending 2009-10	Planned Spending ($, 000)			Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
Intergovernmental Conference Services	$3.7M	$4.4M	$4.4M	$4.4M	Contributes to the achievement of Government Affairs: support synergies, dialogue, efficient and effective interaction among government sectors in the intergovernmental environment through the provision of impartial conference and information management support services.
Internal Services	$1.8M	$2.2M	$2.2M	$2.2M	Supports the needs of the conference services program.
Total	$5.5M	$6.6M	$6.6M	$6.6M

Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcomes

Operational Priorities	Type	Links to Strategic Outcome	Description
Continuous improvement and documentation of all procedures and practices used in the planning and conduct of senior-level intergovernmental conferences.	Ongoing	Multilateral meetings of First Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers are planned and conducted flawlessly.	This priority is a means to capture corporate memory, record best practices and encourage innovation within the organization. It will also ensure that intergovernmental clients receive the highest quality of services from year to year and from sector to sector. Plans for meeting the priority Leadership and ongoing support to the Communities of Practice; and Business process review.
Increased engagement with stakeholders and clients to ensure that the Secretariat remains the preferred choice for senior-level intergovernmental conference support.	New	Multilateral meetings of First Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers are planned and conducted flawlessly.	This priority recognizes that the needs of our clients are evolving. It will ensure that communication is open and on-going. It will allow us to examine our practices in light of the needs of our clients to ensure that our services remain relevant and of the highest quality. Plans for meeting this priority Explore ways to reach out to stakeholders to arrive at a renewed commitment to the Secretariat; and Across the board consultations with clients and stakeholder.

Management Priorities	Type	Links to Strategic Outcome	Description
To strengthen internal management practices at CICS.	Ongoing; escalated	Multilateral meetings of First Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers are planned and conducted flawlessly.	This priority will contribute to excellence in management practices, resulting in effective and efficient use of resources in support of conference service delivery. In addition, financial and non-financial practices will be reviewed to ensure transparency and accountability. Renewal efforts and initiatives for meeting this priority Implement an expanded and more robust performance measurement strategy; Examine CICS' Human Resources and Financial Management delivery models to ensure alignment with sound management practices; and Strengthen the integration of human resources into business planning.

Risk Analysis

As an organization that services the senior level intergovernmental conference activities undertaken by 14 jurisdictions and their respective departments, CICS has no control over the timing, location and costs of such meetings. The Secretariat is funded annually at a level sufficient to finance a level of conference activity in the 110-120 range. Over a ten-year period, we were averaging over 100 conferences annually. However, instability in political environments and more recently the economic recession has led to what is seen as a temporary decline in intergovernmental activities in the last several years.

The flawless delivery of high quality services to the Secretariat's clients is only made possible by the total dedication and commitment of the agency's personnel; personnel which possesses the aptitudes, character and devotion necessary for efficient CICS operations. Furthermore, retention of corporate memory and conference practices, procedures and protocols are fundamental to the success of CICS in carrying out its mandate. CICS departmental clients are also subject to high turnover rates among the staff assigned to conference planning. Consequently, CICS staff play a key role in providing new contacts with pertinent information on the practices and processes related to intergovernmental machinery.

Given that CICS reports to 14 governments, it must ensure that its services not only remain pertinent, impartial, confidential and equitable to all clients but, more critical, that they be perceived as such in an environment that often can be highly political.

As a result, CICS has always been cognizant of the importance of risk management issues and continues to make steady progress towards the effective implementation of integrated risk management. CICS' highest risks continue to be:

1. Maintaining the credibility of CICS as a neutral conference service provider;
2. Maintaining continuity of CICS' conference services capability and supporting infrastructure;
3. Maintaining due diligence and reporting on appropriate controls, given the increased emphasis on accountability and resources management;
4. The ability to react and adjust to expansions and reductions within the requests for CICS services;
5. Access to qualified personnel; and
6. Retention of corporate memory and practices.

Expenditure Profile

As a micro agency, with a unique mandate, CICS' organizational structure must be capable of delivering services for up to 120 distinct conferences annually. The spending on the program has usually come in under the estimated and allotted funding each year, as various environmental circumstances have resulted in lower activity in recent periods. As per an agreement, the provinces contribute up to 50% of the operational cost of CICS, less employee benefit plans, translations costs and tenant services. These contributions are made to the Receiver General's Consolidated Revenue Funds. The following chart shows actual and anticipated spending over the next several years.

Voted and Statutory Items

This table illustrates the way in which Parliament approved CICS resources and shows the changes in resources derived from supplementary estimates and other authorities as well as how the funds were spent.

Voted and Statutory Items displayed in the Main Estimates
($ millions)

Vote # or Statutory Item (S)	Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording	2009-10 Main Estimates	2010-11 Main Estimates
1	Operating expenditures	6.1	6.2
5	Grants and contributions	0.0	0.0
(S)	Contributions to employee benefit plans	0.4	0.4
Total		6.5	6.6

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