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ANNEX 1 - Background information on the development of the 2007–2009 SDS
A. Historical considerations
Sustainable development as an evolving concept
The concept of sustainable development emerged about 30 years ago, in response to a rising awareness of the need to balance economic and social development with concern for the stewardship of our natural resources. A milestone event was the 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development, during which the report Our Common Future was released. This publication, also known as the Brundtland Report, included a working definition of sustainable development that is still in use by the Government of Canada: à development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (For more information, see document number A/42/427 at http://documents.un.org/)
A few years later, the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (1992), was an unprecedented conference on environment and development, both in terms of its size and the scope of concerns it addressed, placing sustainable development on the forefront of the global agenda. The vision expanded to include elements such as social justice, solidarity, cooperation and the fight against poverty as key principles of sustainability of development. During the conference, a plan for sustainable development in the 21st century was released, entitled Agenda 21, which has formed the foundation of government initiatives for sustainable development for many United Nations member nations, including Canada.
More recently, the 2005 World Summit emphasized the importance of considering the three interconnected and mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development: economic; social; and, environmental. In Canada, the adhesion to the idea of the three pillars is also built on the earlier Auditor General Act amendments. They consider sustainable development as a continually evolving concept based on the integration of social, economic and environmental concerns. This may be achieved through the integration of the environment and the economy, the protection of ecosystems and health of Canadians, the promotion of equity, the prevention of pollution or through an integrated approach to planning and making decisions for example. It is with these pillars in mind that the 2007–2009 DFO SDS was created.
In December 1995, the Auditor General Act was amended to help strengthen the federal government's performance in protecting the environment and promoting sustainable development. The position of Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) was created to monitor the extent to which departments and agencies have met the objectives and implemented the action plans set out in their strategies. Results are presented in the Commissioner's Annual Reports to the House of Commons.
The SDS provides the CESD and all Canadians with a sustainable development framework to ensure accountability. In other words, the nature of the SDS can be summarized by four general steps: 1) planning of sustainable development activities in relation to DFO’s mandate and Coast Guard’s operational service duties; 2) implementing the planned activities; 3) monitoring of outcomes and results; and, 4) reporting back to Canadians on progress and achievements.
In recent recommendations, the CESD is encouraging departments to go beyond business as usual in the planned commitments of their SDS. The present document is an attempt at balancing this objective while ensuring that DFO’s planned activities represent a needed shift towards a more tangible approach with realistic commitments that are achievable and measurable (see Section 2 Action plan).
B. Surveying opinions
Departmental consultations and public opinion surveys
One of the best ways to define sustainable development is through the values that support sustainable development. Recent departmental consultations and public opinion surveys helped DFO gain a better understanding of the potential issues, impact, and expectations related to sustainable development. The Department proceeded to gather opinions from a variety of sources, to ensure alignment between its sustainable development vision and the interests of Canadians. Results guided the development of the 2007–2009 priorities and conceptualization.
The SDS was developed based on the outcomes of a variety of internal and external consultations conducted over the past year, including: a DFO SDS working group; internal focus group discussions; a stakeholder e-survey; and, results from public opinion surveys.
In addition to internal departmental focus groups, opinions from a broader external audience were required to improve the document’s resonance with stakeholders and Canadians in general. The 2006 DFO Baseline Public Opinion Survey of Coastal, Northern, Freshwater and Inland Residents in Canada - also known as the Baseline Survey - provided DFO with quantitative data about the factors shaping public opinions and perceptions on certain issues and included a strong sustainable development component.
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Almost 60% of respondents already knew that the main role of DFO is to ensure the sustainable development of Canada’s oceans and waterways. Most respondents (70%) had a favourable impression of DFO’s ability to balance the needs of the environment with the economic and social needs of Canadians. Respondents largely expressed their confidence in the ability of the Canadian Coast Guard to provide good services in terms of emergency response, including oil spills (score of 8 out of 10 or higher for half of the respondents). Many respondents believed that decisions being made by DFO in relation to sustainable development are very good (11%) or somewhat good (59%). |
In the survey, sustainable development was defined as "the careful and responsible use of Canada’s oceans and freshwater resources, so that future generations will be able to continue using them". Most respondents (70%) had a favourable impression of DFO’s ability to balance the needs of the environment with the economic and social needs of Canadians. In the balance of these needs, more weight was generally placed on the environmental side (45% of all respondents, including 22% who opted completely for environmental considerations), at the expense of economic or social considerations. However, although 70 % of respondents indicated that a compromise usually needs to be made between the three pillars of sustainable development, a perfect balance was the preferred scenario for 38% of all respondents. Residents of the west coast were the most likely to give the environment the highest priority when making trade-offs (53%), followed closely by those living close to bodies of freshwater (49%), followed by the North (42%), the East (41%) and Inland (37%).
Another striking result of this survey is that 32% of respondents identified the DFO goal of becoming a world leader in sustainable fish and shellfish farming industries among their top three priorities. They also strongly affirmed their belief that DFO is actually succeeding in being a world leader in sustainable development of fisheries, fish farming and other ocean resources (66% are in agreement, while 18% stressed their "strong agreement").
Overall positive impressions and performance rating of what DFO does included very good (11%) and somewhat good (59%) decisions being made by DFO in relation to sustainable development. Of note as well is that generally Canadians’ views tended to be more critical in the West which also consistently demonstrated higher levels of concern about the environment.
E-Survey with stakeholders
A targeted e-survey was conducted as a means to obtain more specific information on the expectation of key stakeholders, on what sustainable development means to them and how they perceive DFO’s role in achieving sustainable development objectives. Targeted key national stakeholders answered a questionnaire online and expressed their opinions on the work the Department is doing in terms of sustainable development. The results complemented the previously mentioned initiatives in providing guidance in the development of the current SDS.
Respondent organizations were from different regions across Canada and mostly represented recreational or commercial fishing or boating associations, conservation or environmental organizations, government, maritime industries, and academic or scientific organizations.
Most respondents were aware that the mandate of DFO included sustainable development. However, respondents believed that DFO could improve the balance of environmental needs with economic and social needs of Canadians, including fishing communities, when making decisions. However, results of the survey also show a strong emphasis on the value of DFO as champion of fish habitat protection, fisheries research and fisheries management. The Department was commended for its sustainable management of fisheries, but many surveyed stakeholders believe further improvements would be helpful.
Respondents generally agreed that DFO’s SDS should contain clear commitments that all Canadians - not only public servants and stakeholders - can understand and relate to. However, most felt that the content of SDSs was already adequately communicated to DFO’s stakeholders and it should act as a tool for collaborative sustainable development work between DFO and its stakeholders.
Finally, one of the strong messages stemming from this survey is that sustainable development is meaningful to DFO’s stakeholders. They expressed a strong interest in participating actively in future discussions on DFO’s sustainable development priorities and activities and want to be asked for their input more often.
C. Linking to federal priorities
Evolving context
Supported by the Government of Canada approach and the spirit of a new Accountability Act, DFO is committed to an increased focus on clear accountability and integration of its processes. Obtaining results for Canadians is a federal priority and the raison-d’être of the SDS process.
In 2005-2006, Environment Canada led the development of guidelines on common federal objectives available to departments to increase policy coherence and accountability in departmental SDSs. This fourth round of SDSs provides an opportunity to implement this approach by developing common standards. While departments are expected to contribute to the federal sustainable development goals where appropriate to the nature of their operations, they are also encouraged to advance their own departmental SDS commitments.
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The federal guidelines developed by Environment Canada in collaboration with other federal departments and agencies articulate the sustainable development goals around two main categories: 1) Environmental Quality Goals
2) Sustainable Development Management Goals
For more information please visit: http://www.ec.gc.ca |
DFO’s Track Record
The history of DFO’s SDS starts in 1997, with the publication of the very first SDS Sustainable Development – A Framework for Action. Building on this first framework, a second strategy was released in 2001: Building Awareness and Capacity: An Action Plan for Continued Sustainable Development.
Due to timelines associated with the release of a new Strategic Plan and the Departmental Assessment and Alignment Project (DAAP) for DFO, it was decided that only a Progress Report on the 2001-2003 Strategy would be produced in 2004, rather than a full scale strategy. The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) audited the departmental strategies that were tabled, but because DFO’s strategy was off cycle, it was not part of the audit.
Our Waters, Our Future – Striking a Better Balance, DFO’s SDS for 2005-2006 was released in March 2004. The SDS highlighted that a core part of the Department’s new departmental vision is about sustainable development and that sustainable development has an important part in DFO’s activities (previous publications are available at http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/publication_e.htm).
Indeed, with the release of the 2005-2010 Departmental Strategic Plan, a new departmental vision was outlined: excellence in service to Canadians to ensure the sustainable development and safe use of Canadian waters. With such a vision, DFO plays an important stewardship role and leads Canada in setting an example in terms of sustainable development and operations on the global scene.
The 2007–2009 SDS now aligns DFO with the regular Government of Canada reporting cycle, in time for the fourth round of departmental SDSs released in December 2006. The departmental approach is to be consistent with federal guidelines, while providing for the Department’s own vision and other existing planning documents such as the Departmental Strategic Plan, previous SDSs and annual business plans.
D. DFO’s approach
Lessons learned
For the fourth round of SDSs, DFO has taken into consideration the overall CESD recommendations and completed an internal evaluation of its 2001-2003 SDS to improve future SDSs. The evaluation determined: the extent to which DFO was in compliance with the federal policy requirements for sustainable development; whether the goals, objectives and planned results of the SDS 2001-2003 had been achieved; and, whether the SDS objectives were relevant to the departmental mandate.
In response to this internal evaluation, a Management Action Plan acknowledged areas for improvement and highlighted future plans designed to fill the gaps. For example, the 2007–2009 SDS carries on the work done on the performance measurement strategy which was already integrated into the 2005-2006 SDS process and document, including a logic model and performance indicators. Track records from the previous strategies have shown that DFO is committed to achieving its planned targets. However, reaching DFO’s ultimate sustainable development goal is a process that will also require time. Since the beginning of SDS publications, continuous improvements ensure that strategies build on previous commitments and results, reflect contextual issues, present stronger accountability structures, and are increasingly meaningful and accessible to all.
Logic model methodology
A logic model is used to succinctly illustrate the activities that make up a policy, program or initiative and the sequence of anticipated outcomes flowing from these activities. It establishes an overall strategy for future direction and sets the parameters for action. It also presents qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an outcome that will gauge the performance of the planned activities. The logic model for 2007–2009, based on DFO’s vision, guides the work of the Department in terms of what it wants to achieve, what it will do, and how it will measure its results.
The following table illustrates the structure of this approach, and shows the methodology used to develop DFO’s more detailed Action plan. The arrow demonstrates the logic chain of results expected, from planned activities to expected outcomes and precise performance indicators. DFO’s ultimate goal consists of including sustainable development in decision making to help achieve DFO’s three departmental outcomes. This logic model is complementary to the tables that can be found in the Action plan, which illustrate the same logic, but provides greater details on the actual activities, outcomes, performance measures and targets.
Logic model for DFO’s vision
| What will be achieved | How it will be achieved | How to measure results | |||
| Ultimate goal | Goals | Outcomes | Activities | Performance indicators | Target dates |
Assessment and Measurement
As part of the modernization of management practices, and taking into account the views of the CESD to better integrate sustainable development into business and operational planning, DFO has instituted changes to the departmental planning process to more closely link human resources, financial, strategic and business planning. Changes ensure that priorities are updated based on environmental scanning, demographic analysis and aligned with financial resources. As well, consistency of data collection and analysis, will aid in monitoring and evaluating goals. The goals are then reported to Parliament in the Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) and the Departmental Performance Reports (DPR).
The Audit and Evaluation Division of DFO continues to monitor progress on commitments of DFO’s SDS.
