Final Evaluation of Industry Canada's Involvement in the International Telecommunication Union — Recommendations

The only key findings from the evaluation that identified weaknesses related to post-conference reports and succession planning, hence the following are the two evaluation recommendations:

Some further details and substantiation of these recommendations are provided below:

Develop an improved methodology for measuring and reporting the success of Industry Canada activities at the ITU

As discussed in sections 1.2.2 and 3.3, the Industry Canada post-conference reports over the past nine years have not been consistent in terms of content and format. In addition, up until the 2007 World Radio Conference post-conference report, the reports primarily provided anecdotal information on Industry Canada's success in getting its positions adopted at the ITU. While the 2007 World Radio Conference post-conference reports and the related executive summary are an improvement, there are still difficulties in matching key conference objectives with post-conference results and the impacts on stakeholders.

The evaluators discussed the 2008–2009 ITU MRRS performance indicator (Proportion of Canadian ITU delegation objectives met) with program managers who voiced concerns that this measure is not an appropriate measure of success as different objectives have different levels of importance and in fact some positions may simply be negotiating positions that Industry Canada does expect to achieve. The evaluators would suggest that as part of this recommendation, ITU program managers review this MRRS measure and determine if there is a more appropriate measure to employ.

Follow through on the SITT HR Plan commitment to develop and implement a succession plan for SITT

The evaluation revealed that 60% of SITT EX's and 25% of SITT ENG are eligible to retire by 2012. This represents a challenge to continuing Industry Canada's ongoing success at the ITU. While Industry Canada managers suggested that there is ongoing succession planning activities and staff supported this view, to date there is no official succession plan. The 2008–2009 SITT HR Plan indicated that developing a robust succession plan is a top priority for 2008–2009 and beyond. It is the recommendation of this evaluation that SITT follow through on this commitment.