Departmental Plan 2023-2024

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• Her Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of the Treasury Board, 2023
• Catalogue No.: SC100-9E-PDF
• ISSN: 2371-8382

From the Minister

As the Minister responsible for the Canada School of Public Service, I am pleased to present the School's Departmental Plan for 2023-24. The School is the Government of Canada's common learning provider, offering a wide variety of courses, events, programs, and learning tools that serve to establish a strong learning culture within the public service.

This year, while continuing to provide high-quality common learning to the core public service, the School will extend its efforts in ensuring that federal public servants have access to relevant learning that will allow them to excel in their professions and respond to the expectations of the Canadians they serve.

In support of the commitments contained in my mandate letter from the Prime Minister, the School will continue to develop learning products intended to keep public servants safe from sexual harassment and violence, racism, and all forms of hate. The School will do so by delivering learning designed to change attitudes and behaviours, enable greater inclusion in the workplace, and set the groundwork for the creation of more inclusive policies and services. These learning products will also be reflective of the legal and policy drivers that are advancing equity, diversity and inclusion, including the Clerk's Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service, the Public Service Accessibility Strategy, and the 2SLGBTQI+ Federal Action Plan.

The School will further support the Government of Canada's commitment to reconciliation and the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. In doing so, the School will continue to work with Indigenous communities and Elders, and other departments across government, to develop and provide courses, events and other learning products aimed at increasing knowledge of the diverse histories, cultures, and perspectives of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples, including their long-standing relationships with the Crown.

In addition, the School will collaborate with Women and Gender Equality Canada to develop and deliver learning products that are aligned with the Government of Canada's commitment to Gender-based Analysis Plus, in an effort to educate public service learners on how to uphold the goals, objectives, and indicators of the Gender Results Framework.

By working towards building a whole-of-government approach for the improved collection, analysis, availability, and publication of disaggregated data, the School will continue to create learning opportunities that strengthen skills and knowledge around data literacy, data analytics, the prioritization of data as an asset, and using data to make informed and evidence-based decisions. To this end, the School will strive to increase data literacy for data practitioners and leaders across the public service through learning activities that complement the implementation of a renewed federal data strategy.

In further support of advancing Canada's Digital Government Strategy and my own commitment towards building a modern digital government, the School will expand its suite of learning products to respond to the demand for skills such as service design, data analytics, product management and the use of new technologies. At the same time, the School will continue to deliver learning products, tools and events that promote innovation and novel approaches to policy, program and service design delivery. This will lead to more agile and effective ways to best serve the needs of Canadians.

I am confident that the School will achieve its goal of continuing to provide a broad range of timely, relevant, and meaningful learning opportunities to federal public service employees, and sustaining a culture of learning within the public service of Canada.

Plans at a glance

Established on April 1, 2004, under the Public Service Modernization Act, the Canada School of Public Service operates under the authority of the Canada School of Public Service Act (CSPS Act).

Under the CSPS Act, the School has the mandate to:

• encourage pride and excellence in the public service
• foster a common sense of purpose, values, and traditions in the public service
• assist deputy heads in meeting the learning needs of their organizations
• conduct research and encourage greater awareness of public management, administration, and innovation

The School plays a key role in helping public servants serve Canadians with excellence in a digital age, where Canadians expect their government to be effective, transparent, and open by default.

The School delivers a common curriculum to equip public servants with knowledge, skills, and competencies across five business lines:

• Government of Canada and Public Sector Skills
• Transferable Skills
• Digital Academy
• Indigenous Learning
• Respectful and Inclusive Workplace

For more information on the Canada School of Public Service's organizational commitments, see the Minister's mandate letter.

For more information on the Canada School of Public Service's plans, see the "Core responsibilities: planned results and resources" section of this plan.

Core responsibilities: planned results and resources

This section contains information on the department's planned results and resources for each of its core responsibilities.

Common public service learning

Description

The Canada School of Public Service provides common learning to all employees of the core public service to serve Canadians with excellence.

Planning highlights

The School has four expected results under its core responsibility. It will deliver common learning that is responsive, of high quality and accessible, and that will strengthen the capacity for innovation across the core public service.

1. Common learning is responsive to learning needs

   The School will continue to deliver a common curriculum across five business lines to better equip public servants with knowledge, skills, and competencies while responding to emerging and ongoing priorities.

   The Government of Canada and Public Sector Skills business line will provide core learning pertaining to the craft of government. It will support all public servants, including those in specialized functions, in understanding their obligations as government employees in areas such as official languages, human resources, procurement, and financial management. Through this business line, the School will collaborate with partners across the federal public service to design and deliver high-quality, innovative learning products that meet learners' needs and that align closely with the Government of Canada's priorities.

   The Transferable Skills business line will continue to help public service employees to develop portable knowledge and skills that have value both within and outside government. Through this business line, the School will deliver a range of learning products related to project management, business acumen, human-centred leadership, communications, experimentation, and facilitation.

   Through the CSPS Digital Academy, the School will support the Government of Canada's digital ambitions, including the modernization of services and policies, and the workforce transition to delivery of digital government to Canadians. The School will provide an expanding suite of learning products intended to increase the digital and data acumen of public servants and increase their understanding of in-demand skills such as service design, data analytics, product management, and the use of new technologies.

   The Indigenous Learning business line will support the Government of Canada's commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Through courses, events and other learning products, it will help public service employees to improve their cultural competence and increase their knowledge of the history, cultures and perspectives of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, including their long-standing relationships with the Crown.

   Through the Respectful and Inclusive Workplace business line, the School will deliver learning to increase the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary to effect behavioural change leading to more inclusive workplaces and more inclusive policies and services for people in Canada. Learning products will support implementation of the legal and policy drivers aimed at advancing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), including the Clerk's Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service, the Public Service Accessibility Strategy, and the 2SLGBTQI+ Federal Action Plan.

   Key topics will include foundational concepts in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) (for example, Gender-based Analysis Plus, unconscious bias, neurodiversity and autism, and combatting systemic racism and discrimination), accessibility, anti-Black racism, mental health, 2SLGBTQI+ inclusion, and healthy workplaces (including violence and harassment prevention, and addressing all forms of hate).

   Executive Learning at the School will complement these five business lines by equipping public service executives with the knowledge, competencies, and skills they need to respond to government priorities and to meet the current and future needs of Canadians. Learning themes will focus on the development of broad horizontal and inclusive leadership approaches and adapting to emerging priorities. In collaboration with the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer and the Public Service Commission of Canada, the School will deliver the Executive Leadership Development Program to support the creation of a forward-looking and representative executive workforce.

2. Quality common learning is provided to the core public service

   Engagement and consultation are essential to developing and delivering high-quality learning. To enhance curriculum development, the School will apply the "Nothing About Us Without Us" principle. Under this approach, learning priorities and products are co-created with interdepartmental learning advisory committees that include people with lived experience.

   The School will collaborate across the public service, and with Indigenous Peoples, academia, policy centres, international organizations and communities, functional communities, horizontal organizations, and other stakeholders. It will work transparently using a coordinated approach and within clear guidelines among functional communities to identify training needs and develop learning programs.

   The School will continue to prioritize data as an asset and ensure that learning priorities are informed by evidence-based decision-making focused on the user experience. To this end, the School will increase data literacy at scale for data practitioners and leaders across the public service. These efforts will support the implementation of the renewed data strategy called for by the Clerk of the Privy Council.

3. Common learning is accessible to all employees of the core public service

   The School continues to explore innovations in accessibility, including new tools and technologies such as vision and audio enhancements, to ensure that all employees, clients and learners have full access to and training in the use of information and communications technologies. The School is continuously testing its learning products, external digital products, and platforms by engaging with learners with disabilities and seeking feedback from sources with lived experience and expertise. In so doing, the School is able to identify and respond to barriers to accessibility and provide training and tools for course creators. Indeed, the School's new learning platform, launched in February 2022, will continue to evolve to improve the learning and registration experience of all public service learners.

   In its recently published Accessibility Plan 2023−25, the School has committed to 26 concrete actions to address barriers to accessibility. These actions include accessibility monitoring and improving the learning product review cycle, and implementing modern learning approaches such as gamification and neuro-learning in School products. Equally, the School offers learning resources and courses on accessibility for all public servants, to raise awareness of the barriers to accessibility and how we all benefit from inclusive and accessible workplaces and services.

   The School will continue to provide a digital learning environment that is based on a user-centred approach and with accessibility standards by design and by default. This means the School will make its learning platform, standards and processes available to other federal government departments so they can manage their own learning experiences.

   The School will also focus on increasing the accessibility of learning opportunities, including in-person learning, for public service employees across Canada. To this end, the School will continue to refurbish its learning centres nation-wide to ensure that all public service employees have access to modern learning environments.

4. Strengthened capacity across the core public service to use innovative approaches

   The School will continue to streamline, digitize and automate internal back-office processes to offer more consistent and optimized services to employees.

   The School will support innovation and experimentation among public service employees by providing learning, practices and support for digital- and human-centred design-led innovation through a suite of learning covering the entire program, policy, and service life cycle.

   By taking a project-based, learning-by-doing approach, the School will work with partners to understand how novel technologies and approaches can be used to advance public policy objectives and how they can be deployed across the public service. This includes creating opportunities to strengthen skills and knowledge around data literacy, data analytics, artificial intelligence, user experience, automation, and design practices. The School will continue to assess its practices and work with users to adapt to the evolving nature of learning delivery, workplaces, and work styles.

   Through the GC Data Community, the School will seek out opportunities for high-impact innovation in the context of community communications, learning events, and projects. This work will employ evidence-based methods such as prototype testing and behavioural science interventions to improve engagement with communications channels, boost event registration and attendance, and measure the attainment of learning objectives. In addition, the School will combine data-driven and human-centred design approaches to develop solutions for the recruitment, development, and retention of data talent. This will include leveraging qualitative and quantitative methods to better identify and respond to the needs of users. To determine whether solutions are effective and worthy of being scaled, prototypes will be tested on a small scale in real-world settings and iterated accordingly based on results.

   Gender-based analysis plus

   In 2022-24, the School will foster collaboration with Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) and other departments and agencies to develop and deliver learning products that are in line with the Government of Canada's commitment to Gender-based Analysis Plus and equip learners to uphold the goals, objectives, and indicators of the Gender Results Framework. As a service provider, the School recognizes the value of diversity and provides public servants with continuous and in-depth learning opportunities that go beyond raising awareness, to help advance equity, diversity and inclusion outcomes in the public service. Through events and courses, the School helps learners understand the different types of barriers that people face, and how to better address the needs of those who are marginalized or oppressed.

   In 2023-24, the School will continue to work to apply the "Nothing About Us Without Us" principle to co-develop learning products and events. Intersectional analyses and other strategic and analytic lenses (climate lens, disability inclusion), including the Quality of Life Framework for Canada, will also be considered in the development of learning products and events. GBA Plus products that are currently in development include the course Introduction to Intersectionality, an interactive case study on data collection, and a series of job aids on Cabinet documents.

   United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

   The School's courses in areas such as green procurement, sustainable strategies for existing federal facilities, and optimizing energy performance of existing buildings support public service employees in learning about key priorities of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including industry, innovation and infrastructure, and responsible consumption, in keeping with Sustainable Development Goals 9 and 12.

   Innovation

   As a learning institution, the School will play an important role in fostering a culture of innovation by promoting public management excellence, efficient business processes, and experimentation. It will deliver learning products and events that promote a culture of innovation and the development of knowledge and skills related to innovation, evidence-based decision-making and novel approaches to policy, program and service design delivery in the Government of Canada. For example:

   • The Public Sector Experimentation team will employ an innovation framework to assess opportunities for high-impact innovative projects. The team and partner departments will conduct small-scale learning-by-doing projects that foster a shift to a more entrepreneurial culture. Such projects, are well suited to addressing uncertainty and documenting what works and lessons learned. Evidence, insights and artifacts will be shared broadly across the public service through various learning channels and methods.
   • The Technology Lab will experiment with and test a variety of cutting-edge ideas, concepts and approaches, and leverage new-to-context technologies to enhance learning outcomes. Specifically, the Lab will identify opportunities to create interactive, inclusive and impactful learning (for example, gamification and virtual reality) and develop innovative technical solutions to enhance the delivery of learning content and support the modernization of learning across the public service.
   • The CSPS Digital Academy will create executive- and manager-level foundational digital products that capture and share successful modernization practices across the public sector and that support public servants in building an enabling work environment and culture. The Digital Academy will also deliver an experiential team-based learning journey that guides participants through a digital innovation and design process blending asynchronous learning with faculty engagement and feedback, and experiment with multiple learning formats and flows between formats to increase learner engagement.

The financial, human resources and performance information for the Canada School of Public Service's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Canada School of Public Service's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Canada School of Public Service's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Internal services: planned results

Description

Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:

• management and oversight services
• communications services
• legal services
• human resources management services
• financial management services
• information management services
• information technology services
• real property management services
• materiel management services
• acquisition management services

Planning highlights

The School is continuing to transform its internal services. In previous years, the School adopted and deployed tools such as Robotic Process Automation and Client Relationship Management software to rethink its internal service processes in ways that not only increase back-end efficiency, but also improve employee experiences and yield more robust and meaningful data. In 2022-23, these investments achieved key milestones with large service areas such as information technology (IT) and procurement being launched as wholly digital services. Work in 2023-24 will be focused on increasing the scale of service offerings at the School, with the intention of making a critical mass of services available through our new client portal.

The School is continuing to support a culture of inclusion by taking steps to increase the recruitment and retention of persons with disabilities. Some of these steps include:

• ensuring that hiring practices are purposefully designed to remove barriers
• incorporating the guidance and best practices of subject-matter experts on reducing barriers into the criteria identified in job posters
• ensuring that selection committees are diverse and include board members who self-identify as persons with disabilities

Furthermore, the School is continuing to support the promotion of both official languages. It has created the CSPS Official Languages Action Plan 2022-2025, which aims for excellence in leadership, language of work, and the advancement of both official languages in the workplace. The School's action plan is based on the Official Languages Maturity Model of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. It articulates 8 primary objectives as expected results and 12 actions that the School will undertake over the next 3 years to promote linguistic diversity in the workplace.

Planned spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of the department's planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2023-24 with actual spending for the current year and the previous year.

Planned spending

Departmental spending 2020-21 to 2025-26

Statutory spending is comprised of employee benefit plans, forecasted respendable revenue, and unspent revenues carried forward from the previous fiscal year, in accordance with subsection 18(2) of the Canada School of Public Service Act.

Increased spending in 2022-23 compared to previous years is mainly due to investments in the revitalization of the School's learning and office spaces across the country, evergreening of information technology devices, and development and curation of new and revised training courses to meet current and future needs and expectation of learners.

Planned spending will remain stable over the next three years and include sustained investments in the School's learning platform to keep it up to date and relevant for public service users.

A higher spending level in 2022−23 is mainly due to investments in the revitalization of the School's learning and office spaces across the country, the evergreening of information technology devices, and the development and curation of new and revised training courses to meet the current and future learning needs of public service employees.

Over the next three-year planning period, the School will continue to invest in the modernization of its physical and virtual learning infrastructure, and in the review and updating of its curriculum to meet the learning needs of public service employees and reflect governmental priorities.

The School will continue to host pan-governmental initiatives to leverage, on behalf of the entire public service, knowledge and research in public service administration and policy development.

Planned human resources

The following table shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for each of the Canada School of Public Service's core responsibilities and for its internal services for 2023-24 and the other relevant years.

The number of FTEs has grown in 2022-23 as a result of increased activities related to updating the School's learning curriculum, courses and other new initiatives It is expected to remain stable over the next three years.

Estimates by vote

Information on the Canada School of Public Service's organizational appropriations is available in the 2023-24 Main Estimates.

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

The future oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of the Canada School of Public Service's operations for 2022-23 to 2023-24.

The forecast and planned amounts in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The forecast and planned amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.

A more detailed future oriented statement of operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations with the requested authorities, are available on the Canada School of Public Service's website.

Total expenses include amortization costs and costs related to services received without charge for accommodations, as well as the employer's contribution to employee benefit plans. Total expenses exclude those related to the acquisition of capital assets.

The reduction in the net cost of operations before government funding and transfers is mainly due to increased spending in 2022-23 related to investment in the revitalization of the School's learning and office spaces across the country, updating of curriculum, courses, and a decrease in revenue as the School is not forecasting a revenue carry-forward from 2022-23 to 2023-24 in planned results.

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister: The Honourable Mona Fortier, P.C., M.P., President of the Treasury Board

Institutional head: Taki Sarantakis, President

Ministerial portfolio: Treasury Board

Enabling instrument: Canada School of Public Service Act, S.C. 1991, c. 16

Year of incorporation/commencement: 2004

Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

Information on the Canada School of Public Service's raison d'être, mandate and role is available on the organization website.

Information on the Canada School of Public Service's mandate letter commitments is available in the Minister's mandate letter.

Operating context

Information on the operating context is available on the Canada School of Public Service's website.

Reporting framework

The Canada School of Public Service's approved departmental results framework and program inventory for 2023-24 are as follows.

Supporting information on the program inventory

Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to the Canada School of Public Service's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information table is available on the Canada School of Public Service's website:

• Gender-based Analysis Plus

Federal tax expenditures

The Canada School of Public Service's Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures.

Tax expenditures are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for government¬ wide tax expenditures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report provides detailed information on tax expenditures, including objectives, historical background and references to related federal spending programs, as well as evaluations, research papers and gender-based analysis plus.

Organizational contact information

Mailing address

Telephone: 1-866-703-9598
Fax: 1-866-944-0454
Email: https://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/contact_us/inquiries-eng.aspx
Website: https://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility(responsabilité essentielle )

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A document that sets out a department's priorities, programs, expected results and associated resource requirements, covering a three year period beginning with the year indicated in the title of the report. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A change that a department seeks to influence. A departmental result is often outside departments' immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that consists of the department's core responsibilities, departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department's actual performance in a fiscal year against its plans, priorities and expected results set out in its Departmental Plan for that year. Departmental Results Reports are usually tabled in Parliament each fall.

experimentation (expérimentation)

The conducting of activities that explore, test and compare the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform decision-making and improve outcomes for Canadians. Experimentation is related to, but distinct from, innovation. Innovation is the trying of something new; experimentation involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, introducing a new mobile application to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new application and comparing it against an existing website or other tools to see which one reaches more people, is experimentation.

full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person year charge against a departmental budget. Full time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

An analytical process used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and services based on multiple factors including race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2023-24 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the Government's agenda in the 2021 Speech from the Throne: building a healthier today and tomorrow; growing a more resilient economy; bolder climate action; fighter harder for safer communities; standing up for diversity and inclusion; moving faster on the path to reconciliation and fighting for a secure, just, and equitable world.

high impact innovation (innovation à impact élevé)

High impact innovation varies per organizational context. In some cases, it could mean trying something significantly new or different from the status quo. In other cases, it might mean making incremental improvements that relate to a high-spending area or addressing problems faced by a significant number of Canadians or public servants.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative in which two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

non-budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)

What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within a department and that focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

An inventory of a department's programs that describes how resources are organized to carry out the department's core responsibilities and achieve its planned results.

result (résultat)

An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead, they are within the area of the organization's influence.

statutory expenditures(dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.

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