Disclosing General Assessment Scores and Ratings
The Government of Canada applies an array of tools to ensure the sound management of funds through agreements with recipients. These tools are consistent with Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Policy on Transfer Payments and Departmental policies, directives and guidelines. The General Assessment (GA) is one such tool.
The GA measures the risk associated with each recipient funding agreement, based on the track record of the organization. Strengths and risks are identified in four categories:
- Governance
- Planning
- Financial management
- Program management
The GA also supports meaningful dialogue between the Department and funding recipients and helps in identifying management development opportunities for willing partners.
As part of its commitment to transparency and accountability, it is important for AANDC to disclose GA scores for three reasons:
- AANDC provides more funding through grants and contributions programs than any other federal department. In fact, more than 80 per cent of Departmental spending goes directly to recipients through transfer payments. As such, the Department has a responsibility to account for its management of these transfer payments.
- First Nation recipients have access to flexible, block funding arrangements that are not available to other recipients. AANDC uses a risk-based approach to its funding arrangements. Recipients who are at a lower risk of defaulting on the terms and conditions of their funding agreements are eligible to access more flexible funding arrangements.
- The Department is accountable to assure Parliament, Aboriginal recipients and all Canadians that these flexible funding arrangements are being used appropriately.
Over time, increasing flexibility and reducing the administrative burden for low-risk funding recipients will allow the Department and funding recipients to free up effort so that more attention can be focused on what matters most, delivering essential programs and services. This approach also helps the Department focus more resources to assist recipients where the management risks are higher. The end goal is fewer administrative requirements for funding recipients with a strong and proven management track record. For willing partners, longer-term agreements, more flexible funding arrangements and fewer reporting requirements could be available.
A GA workbook is completed by Departmental staff for all funding recipients holding agreements with the Department. The findings are reviewed by a regional committee and are then shared and discussed with recipients before being finalized. The tool and process has evolved over time and is continually refined.
Funding recipients delivering multiple programs represent the most complex funding relationships. In these situations, there is generally a longer-term commitment to fund the recipient, and the agreement encompasses funding for the delivery of multiple programs. Because of the complexity of the relationship, the assessment includes organizational capacity, as well as specific program management/delivery capacity. These recipients include First Nations, Tribal Councils, National Aboriginal Organizations, other service delivery organizations, cultural centres and economic development corporations.