2003/04 Annual Service Plan Report -- Ministry of Management Services

Performance Reporting

Goal 1: Provide enterprise-wide Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) and business process policy, governance, and strategic direction within which Government can implement e-Government and service delivery

Discussion

The CIO became part of the Ministry of Management Services in February 2003. The CIO provides a leadership and co-ordination role across all of government, ensuring that information and communication technology is procured, developed, managed and used efficiently as a tool to enable better delivery of government services to citizens, businesses, and core government.

This function is now a key strategy under a broader goal of "Effective electronic service transformation". This change was made in recognition of the fact that much of the ministry's efforts are designed to transform service to customers. See Appendix D for a comparison of the previous and revised goals.

Core Business Area: Governance and Integration

Objectives:

1. Create the strategic frameworks for Information Management/Information Technology decision-making

Strategies	Status Update
Develop and deliver all key elements of the e-BC Strategic Plan	e-BC Strategic Plan completed March 2004
Implement the key initiatives defined in the ASD Strategy	ASD Project Secretariat established and seven ASD projects launched in 2003/04
Develop and communicate Enterprise-Wide IM/IT Governance, Standards and Architectures	Part of the e-BC Strategic Plan
Define the Service Delivery Framework	The e-BC Strategic Plan is consistent with the Client-Centred Service Delivery Framework
Implement privacy legislation, policy and procedures to support business and service delivery initiatives	The Personal Information Protection Act was enacted in January 2004

2. Enable cross-ministry collaboration

Strategies	Status Update
Provide support to ministries in the implementation of e-BC and ASD initiatives	Support provided to the Health, Provincial Revenue, Sustainable Resource Management, and Management Services ministries
Proactively manage and integrate the Information Resource Management Plan (IRMP) process while creating awareness of the benefits of collaboration	Government-wide IRMP review completed
Review all IM/IT Treasury Board Submissions	See "Discussion" box

3. Provide leading practice research and opportunity analysis expertise

Provide leading practice and value proposition/analysis support to ministries

Performance Measure Targets	2003/04 Actual
On time submission of all IRMPs with identification of cross-ministry collaboration opportunities	Cross-government plans submitted; summary of Plans released in March 2004
Treasury Board members indicate that the analysis of IM/IT submissions is rigorous, comprehensive and takes a government-wide approach	See "Discussion" box

Discussion

IRMPs present each ministry's approach to using information technology to achieve their business/program objectives. The Ministry of Management Services, through the CIO, has overall responsibility for co-ordinating IRMPs across government. The primary objectives of the IRMP review are to improve the cross-government knowledge and understanding of information technology projects, to ensure government-wide policies and standards are being met, and to identify opportunities for sharing common solutions. Tangible benefits arising from the IRMP process include reduced duplication of effort, increased collaboration, and improved efficiencies. Next steps call for establishing forward-looking performance targets, rather than relying on evaluations based on past successes.

The second performance measure, "Treasury Board members indicate that the analysis of IM/IT submissions is rigorous, comprehensive and takes a government-wide approach", is not being reported. There are no criteria available to define what is meant by the terms "rigorous", "comprehensive", and "government-wide". Other performance measures that measure the effectiveness of co-ordinated government-wide information technology strategies are being explored.

Objective:

4. Develop a privacy, access and information management legislative and governance framework

Review and amend the FOIPP Act
Co-ordinate government's participation in the all-party FOIPP Act legislative review
Develop and implement personal information protection legislation for the private sector

Performance Measures	2003/04 Target	2003/04 Actual
FOIPP Act	FOIPP Act amended: implement amendments and policy	Achieved. See "Discussion" box
FOIPP Act	All party legislative review started; support and co-ordinate for government	Achieved. See "Discussion" box
PIPA legislation	PIPA Act passed	PIPA Act passed October 2003; Act came into force January 1, 2004

Discussion

The FOIPP Act sets out the privacy and access rules for government, including how government deals with the personal records of individuals. During fiscal year 2003/04, 19 new amendments were made to the legislation, and the Act's power was extended to a number of additional public bodies. The ministry also updated policy and procedures to reflect the legislative changes. An all-party legislative committee was also established, supported by the ministry.

PIPA is British Columbia's streamlined private sector privacy legislation. Had this provincial legislation not been enacted, citizens and businesses in British Columbia would have fallen under the coverage of the federal government's private sector privacy Act (the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act), which is more complex and heavily regulated. For more information about PIPA, go to www.mser.gov.bc.ca/foi_pop/Privacy.

Objective:

5. Develop an overall action plan to bridge the digital divide

Strategies	Status Update
Obtain the maximum amount of funding from the federal government for high-speed broadband access	Strategy in place to access federal funding
Work with partner ministries to ensure that their activities are co-ordinated and integrated with bridging the digital divide	Part of the NetWork BC tactical and strategic plans
Conduct a detailed review, in conjunction with the private sector, of all the possible business models for bridging the digital divide
Develop an implementation plan to bring broadband access to First Nations communities

Performance Measures

2001/02 Actual

2002/03 Actual

2003/04 Target

2003/04 Actual

2003/04 Variance

Percentage of population with access to broadband facilities

N/A

82%

85%

89%

+4 percentage points

Revised measure

Percentage of communities¹ with access to broadband facilities

44%²

48%³

N/A

54%⁴


¹	The Premier's Technology Council defines a community to mean a location in BC with both a place name, and one of either a public school, a library or healthcare facility.
²	160 of 361 communities.
³	173 of 361 communities.
⁴	197 of 366 communities.

Discussion

Closing the digital divide is one of Government's New Era commitments. British Columbians will benefit through improved access to health and education services, and businesses will be able to take advantage of opportunities for expansion. This measure is an indicator of the success in bridging the digital divide.

Originally the ministry had reported the targets as a percentage of the British Columbia population who have access to broadband facilities. However, the ministry has begun to report on the number of communities across BC that are able to access the Internet through broadband connections. This change in the ministry's performance measure aligns with that of the Premier's Technology Council.

For information on how the percentage of communities has been defined, please see Appendix F.