Public Affairs Bureau — Continued

Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Results

Public Affairs Bureau supports the Five Great Goals by communicating the province's policies and programs to the public in a consistent and informative manner and communicating fact-based information to the public. The figure below illustrates how the Public Affairs Bureau's goals and objectives are aligned with, and contribute to, the success of government's Five Great Goals.

Communication of government policies and programs will provide British Columbians with the information needed to understand government programs and policies and the challenges the government faces through a variety of sources including Members of the Legislative Assembly, media, public events and forums, public policy studies, fact-based public information and awareness initiatives as well as a variety of communications support materials.

Ensuring all British Columbians have access to or receive consistent information regarding government's policies and programs is essential to informing British Columbians of government planning decisions and accomplishments.

Performance Measure:

Government's ability to communicate policies and programs to the public in a consistent and informative manner can be measured by the percentage of ministry service plans and annual service plan reports posted to the government website.

Ensuring British Columbians have access to or receive fact-based information regarding government policies and programs is essential to allowing British Columbians to form opinions based on fact and allows for informed public debate on decisions taken.

Performance Measure:

Government's ability to communicate fact-based information to the public can be measured by response times to media enquiries and public response to fact-based public information and awareness initiatives. Performance for individual initiatives is measured depending on the nature of the project. Performance may be measured by increased demand for services (for example, web services), requests for supporting materials, and increased consumer contact with ministry service outlets.

The Bureau recognizes its dependence upon the support and professionalism of a highly skilled and knowledgeable workforce. By attracting, retaining and developing staff, government will develop a team of qualified communications professionals dedicated to the delivery of top-notch communications services and a team of qualified, specialized staff to support them. Over the coming years, the Bureau will pursue additional opportunities to provide its employees with recognition, support and career opportunities.

Performance Reviews and Employee Performance and Development Plans: EPDPs provide an important linkage between the activities of individuals, their business unit and the organization as a whole. Identifying performance expectations within EPDPs also supports greater accountability and improves communication between staff and supervisors.

Performance Measure:

Performance will be measured by identifying the percentage of staff with EPDPs in place commencing 2005/2006.

Government has moved to a model focused on flexibility, evidence-based risk taking and accountability for results. This shift requires a knowledgeable and innovative workforce. The Bureau will actively encourage the development of new skills based on formal and non-traditional learning opportunities.

Performance Measure:

Providing staff with additional learning opportunities will increase skill capacity within the Bureau, benefiting our employees and enhancing the quality of our services. Performance will be measured by surveying staff to determine the percentage of staff that agrees that learning and development opportunities are available.