The findings and recommendations for the Evaluation of the Northern Ontario Development Program were provided to the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario. Management has been consulted and agrees with the findings included in this report and will take action to address all applicable recommendations by March 31, 2027.
| Recommendation |
Planned Action on the Recommendation |
Responsible Official |
Target Completion Date |
|
Recommendation 1:
Determine an approach to optimize the performance measurement framework to improve data accuracy while ensuring that performance reporting requirements remain proportional to project size, risk, and proponent capacity. Improvements could include:
- Developing a mechanism for annual results collection specifically for large-scale or intermediary-led multi-year projects to mitigate year-over-year data distortion.
- Determining if performance reporting requirements for certain project types or sizes of contributions can be lessened to better align with proponent capacity.
- Determining if the current process for obtaining two-year follow-up reports can be modified to increase the completion rate.
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FedNor agrees with the recommendation and will take the following actions to optimize the performance measurement framework to improve data accuracy while ensuring proportional reporting requirements:
- Design and implement interim annual results reporting for large-scale and intermediary-led multi-year projects to reduce year-over-year data distortion. This will include a review of current large scale and multi-year projects to define, standardize, and operationalize interim reporting practices.
- Review performance reporting requirements, taking into account project type and contribution size, to identify opportunities to streamline reporting and implement adjustments, as appropriate. This exercise will help to ensure requirements remain proportional to project risk, proponent capacity, and expected economic outcomes.
- Review the current two-year follow-up reporting process to identify and implement changes aimed at improving completion rates. This includes further leveraging the department’s Grants and Contributions Program Management System (GCPM) to fully integrate final and two-year follow-up reporting which will enhance internal processes and support more streamlined digital client reporting. This work will also include assessing available data to refine the selection of projects included in two-year follow-up reporting to ensure data validity and reliability, as well as reviewing and simplifying the reporting form to improve usability and reduce completion burden.
- Develop and disseminate guidance to clients and project officers once updated reporting requirements and data collection tools are implemented, as applicable.
|
Head of Performance Measurement |
March 31, 2027 |
|
Recommendation 2:
Lower the performance measurement target for leverage to ensure it is reflective of the diverse economic development activities supported by the program.
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FedNor agrees with this recommendation.
The department has amended its Program Inventory starting in 2026-27 to better align with its transfer payment programs helping to simplify reporting, improve clarity, and enhance transparency.
As a result, leverage targets for FedNor’s Northern Ontario Development Transfer Payment Program will be established on a yearly basis as part of the development of FedNor’s Departmental Plan considering 10-year historical averages.
For the 2026-27 Departmental Plan, this exercise resulted in lowering the leverage target to $1.50.
|
Head of Performance Measurement |
March 31, 2027 |
