Evaluations and Responses

Evaluations and Responses - Evaluation of the Pleasure Craft Licensing Service Initiative

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

On March 30, 2006, Service Canada, Service New Brunswick and Transport Canada signed a Collaboration Agreement concerning delivery of Pleasure Craft Licensing (PCL). In accordance with the Agreement, as of April 1, 2006, Service Canada and Service New Brunswick began delivering Pleasure Craft Licensing (PCL) on behalf of Transport Canada.

This evaluation, conducted between November 2006 and April 2007, focused on the development and implementation of the Pleasure Craft Licensing service offering. It was not intended as an evaluation of Transport Canada's Pleasure Craft Licensing program. Pleasure craft program and policy development is the sole responsibility of Transport Canada.

The evaluation focuses on issues related to the implementation of the PCL service and Value-for-Money. Specifically, it examines:

  • Implementation
    • Design and Delivery
  • Value-for-Money:
    • Relevance
    • Cost-effectiveness

The partnership worked well because each partner was strongly motivated to see the initiative succeed. Service Canada, Service New Brunswick and Transport Canada all assumed a significant level of risk throughout the development stage. This was mitigated through frequent open communication and attention to the development of mutual respect and trust. Dedicated, empowered project leadership, support at senior levels, and the establishment of a multi-discipline project team to guide activities were all key factors contributing to success.

The project was characterized by tight and inflexible time frames which helped focus resources, but put significant demands on staff. The short time frame resulted in less than optimal consultation with stakeholders. This contributed to initial dissatisfaction on the part of boat dealers, an underestimation of transaction volumes and storage requirements for historical records, and a lack of awareness of the complexity of certain types of transactions.

In general, implementation went smoothly with the exception of a serious problem attributed to insufficient band width. This caused frequent time-outs during transactions leading to longer than anticipated transaction times and lost data. The problem, which was quickly identified, could likely have been avoided if more thorough load testing had been conducted.

Systems development was challenging, not only as a result of tight timelines, but also due to a lack of complete functionality specifications at the outset. These challenges were overcome due to the commitment and expertise of development staff and cooperation amongst the partners to resolve issues as they arose.

Service Canada Service Centre staff was adequately prepared for the introduction of the PCL service. The training-for-trainers model was effective and technical support provided by National Headquarters (NHQ) staff was very good. However, the level of resources required to adequately fulfill this requirement was underestimated, thus leading to some delays in responding to questions.

Regions were consulted throughout the project and the training-for-trainers model worked, although greater care could have been taken to ensure a consistent training experience for Service Delivery Agents. Service Delivery staff generally welcomed the new service offering as a positive addition to Service Canada's business lines and viewed PCL transactions as an opportunity for positive interaction with clients.

Service Canada did not implement PCL specific financial coding until fiscal 2007/08. In order to support cost-effectiveness calculations, Community and Client Services Branch staff had to devote additional time to identifying project costs for both the development period and the first year of the service offering.

For Service Canada, PCL represents an important early step in the transformation of Service Canada. The PCL service offering provides clear and tangible evidence that Service Canada is moving beyond the traditional role of delivering only legacy HRSDC programs such as Employment Insurance. The initiative is a practical example of collaboration between government and across Federal Departments and supports Service Canada's goal of providing easy access and one-stop service for Canadians.

For Service New Brunswick, PCL presented an opportunity to generate revenue and expand its suite of commercially driven services provided on behalf of other levels of government. Development and maintenance of the PCL data base and systems is consistent with and builds upon Service New Brunswick's expertise and interest in property registries.

For Transport Canada, the PCL system provides a platform to deliver its program and contribute to boating safety by assisting law enforcement and search and rescue authorities to quickly assess risk and deploy resources accordingly. The utility of the PCL system to search and rescue and law enforcement agencies would be improved by permitting them to directly access and query the database. Transport Canada is investigating options to make the system more responsive to the needs of search and rescue and law enforcement agencies.

The PCL service offering incurred total costs of $1,519,934 in 2006/07, exceeding the $1.3 million allocated by Transport Canada to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) by about $219,934 or 17 percent. The increase in costs can be attributed to the higher volume of licenses processed in 2006/07, higher infrastructure cost associated with the computer-based PCL system (compared to the previous paper-based model), an expanded service delivery network and the addition of service channels. Unless new financial arrangements are negotiated this funding gap can be expected to continue.

The PCL service initiative was cost-effective. Overall cost per license issued ($12.33) was comparable to that incurred under the previous CBSA model ($12.38). In-person service was the most cost-effective channel. In-person cost per license issued by Service Canada was $10.63 compared to $12.38 when delivered by CBSA, a saving of $1.75 per licence. Service New Brunswick inperson cost per license issued was $12.48.

In summary, the key elements to the successful design, development and implementation of the PCL service included:

  • Dedicated, empowered leadership
  • A strong, multi-discipline Project Team
  • Regional engagement and participation
  • Staff training
  • Communications – internal and with partners
  • Expert and experienced systems developers
  • Service excellence culture

Areas that presented significant challenges and risks included:

  • Tight timelines
  • Insufficient stakeholder consultation
  • Insufficient systems load testing
  • Underestimation of resources required for NHQ project team during early implementation
  • Lack of Service Canada financial codes for tracking project costs, including labour

Observations

  1. Consultation with key stakeholders is a key element in the design and development of service offerings. Conducted properly, this activity ensures that the service model meets client needs and expectations and, ultimately, contributes to overall client satisfaction.
  2. It is easy to underestimate transaction volumes and complexity when developing a new service offering. Consultation with previous providers of a service (if applicable), research and planning are important to the accurate estimation of transaction types, costs and volumes.
  3. The active participation of Regions in the design of a new service offering is critical to its successful implementation. Regions provide necessary insight into the practical and operational issues associated with the introduction of new services.
  4. Systems development and testing is a costly and challenging component to the design and implementation of a new service offering. In the absence of a competitive process, it is difficult to ascertain whether development costs are minimized.
  5. Service Canada is in a position to leverage its identity management expertise to improve the integrity of programs and services delivered on behalf of policy departments.
  6. The traditional service model tends to treat all clients in the same manner. The launching of new service offerings like PCL demonstrates that the traditional model may no longer be optimum and that the new service experience model will need to take into account more varied client needs and expectations.
  7. For some of these clients, the traditional service model may no longer be optimal to provide excellence in service delivery and experience.
  8. As additional services are assumed by Service Canada, there will be a cumulative impact on Regions and Service Centres that should be taken into account when making resource allocation decisions.
  9. The management of internal communications is critical during the implementation of a new service offering. The volumes of information being transmitted can be daunting and requires a structured and organised approach to ensure maximum effectiveness.

Evaluation of the Pleasure Craft Licensing Service Initiative - Management Response

A tripartite Collaboration Agreement sets out the terms and conditions of Service Canada's partnership with Transport Canada and Service New Brunswick (SNB). As noted in the evaluation, the PCL Partnership approach builds on the respective strengths and mandates of Transport Canada as the policy department and the data ‘owner' from a regulatory perspective. It also builds on Service Canada as the service delivery network where people can apply for their licence and obtain a PCL. This partnership is further strengthened by Service New Brunswick (PCL Centre in Fredericton) as the on-line application developer/owner of the electronic PCL registry and provider of technical support on the PCL system. The benefits of this partnership arrangement are extensive.

Service Canada has increased the number of services it provides to Canadians, increased its number of cross-government service offerings and transcended as the Government of Canada network of choice. Transport Canada has automated a paper-based system to enable a searchable database. The PCL system allows Law Enforcement and Search and Rescue agencies to respond to emergency and life threatening situations on a 24/7 basis. The system is also being used to meet other business requirements such as the information sharing of provincial sales tax. In addition, the PCL Centre at SNB has demonstrated that they have the capacity and technical support for a federal service offering.

Service Canada began the delivery of pleasure craft licences on April 1, 2006 and as of October 5, 2007, more than 225,000 PCL transactions have been made. Clients now have access to a broader in-person service delivery network (327 Service Canada Centres (SCCs) and 38 SNB service centres) that specialize in delivering service to Canadians. Service Canada has tripled the number of points of service from when it was previously delivered by the Canada Border Services Agency.

The evaluation findings identify lessons learned resulting from the first year of Service Canada's delivery of pleasure craft licences. These lessons learned have already resulted in planned or actual improvements in areas such as greater budget management and control, system monitoring and enhancements, internal communication with Regions and external consultation with partners and clients.

Since April 1, 2007, the start of the second year of Service Canada's delivery Pleasure Craft Licenses and the beginning of the PCL peak season, noticeable improvements and efficiencies are evident in the reduction in system errors and Regional issues.

Conclusions and Lessons Learned

Implementation: Design and Delivery

In summary, the key elements to the successful design, development and implementation of the PCL service included:

  • Dedicated, empowered leadership
  • A strong, multi-discipline Project Team
  • Regional engagement and participation
  • Staff training
  • Communications – internal and with partners
  • Expert and experienced systems developers
  • Service excellence culture

Areas that presented significant challenges and risks included:

  • Tight timelines
  • Insufficient stakeholder consultation
  • Insufficient systems load testing
  • Underestimation of resources required for NHQ project team during early implementation
  • Lack of financial codes for tracking project costs.

Management Response

The key elements that defined the successful design, development and implementation of PCL during the last year will be continued and enhanced this year:

  • A dedicated PCL team in the Service Offerings Unit established a PCL Working Group with members from across Service Canada and Transport Canada.
  • Regions will continue to be consulted and engaged in the delivery of PCL through regularly scheduled conference calls, a risk identification session, etc.
  • On-line training modules are updated and continuously available for staff.
  • An internal and external communications plan is part of the PCL operational plan

The areas that presented challenges and risks will be addressed and mitigated this year.

  • Timelines for the expansion of PCL activities will be planned and managed realistically to avoid the tight timelines and “scope creep” that occurred with the build and implementation of PCL
  • Boat dealers and marine associations will continue to be consulted as enhancements to the PCL system are considered
  • The PCL Team has now been sufficiently resourced with 4 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) which will ensure sufficient capacity to manage the ongoing operational requirements of PCL and pursue the PCL on-line expansion
  • A complete budget analysis for 2006/2007 has been conducted (fully documented file prepared explaining each expense incurred)
  • Two project codes (one for PCL regular and one for E-Licensing) created to track all PCL expenditures (with guidelines for proper use sent to regions and NHQ)
  • A budget tracking workbook has been prepared to track all invoices and expenses related to PCL (includes a rollup tab, annual NHQ tab, annual regional tab, annual SNB tab, and a list of commitment numbers and guidelines) and communicated to administrative support;
  • PCL budget to regions and NHQ have been notionally allocated based on 2006/2007 actual transactions completed
  • Quarterly budget review meetings will be established with Transport Canada to ensure ongoing management of funds.

Observations

  1. Consultation with key stakeholders is a key element in the design and development of service offerings. Conducted properly, this activity ensures that the service model meets client needs and expectations and, ultimately, contributes to overall client satisfaction.

    Management Response

    • Citizen and Community Services Branch (CCSB) agrees that consultation with key stakeholders is vital to citizen centred service.
    • As stated in the report, tight timelines prevented the team from engaging boat dealers and clients in the development of PCL.
    • As Service Canada explores opportunities with Transport Canada to expand PCL, consultation activities and client surveys have been incorporated into the research and planning phases.
    • A PCL Client Profile is being developed.
    • PCL clients and stakeholders will be consulted as part of the Client Satisfaction Survey and an overall Engagement Strategy will be developed to establish ongoing consultations with the community.
    • Client consultation will be part of the design of the service offering development methodology and will be incorporated and performed as time permits.
    • Service Canada met with marine association representatives in Ottawa on May 2, 2007 and delivered a PCL presentation at the Canadian Marine Advisory Council's (CMAC's) annual meeting on May 3, 2007.
    • Service Canada senior management also met with members of the Canadian Marine Manufacturers Association on May 30, 2007.
    • The PCL Product Manager will attend marine conferences including CMAC's national meeting in Ottawa from November 5-8th.

  2. It is easy to underestimate transaction volumes and complexity when developing a new service offering. Consultation with previous providers of a service (if applicable), research and planning are important to the accurate estimation of transaction types, costs and volumes.

    Management Response

    • As mentioned above, consultation with key stakeholders is critical in the development of any service offering. This activity will be integrated in the tools and methodologies being developed to define the scope of future service offerings.
    • Volume forecasts will be embedded into the planning and development of service offerings to ensure sufficient capacity is available to deliver the service.

  3. The active participation of Regions in the design of a new service offering is critical to its successful implementation. Regions provide necessary insight into the practical and operational issues associated with the introduction of new services.

    Management Response

    • Regions and local Service Canada Centres continue to play a crucial role in the successful delivery of pleasure craft licences.
    • Bi-weekly PCL Regional Conference Calls are held to discuss operational issues and relay information on the system, the training, the SOPs and PCL related communications materials.
    • The NHQ PCL team also visited the PCL Centre in Fredericton to get a first hand look at how the licences are processed and the Moncton SCC to observe clients obtaining a PCL in a SCC.
    • All channels, including the Regions, will be included in the service offering development methodology.

  4. Systems development and testing is a costly and challenging component to the design and implementation of a new service offering. In the absence of a competitive process, it is difficult to ascertain whether development costs are minimized.

    Management Response

    • As mentioned in the evaluation, “scope creep” and time frames put significant demands on the systems developers at Service New Brunswick. This resulted in systems specifications arising during the development of the PCL system resulting in increased costs for the initial development.
    • Change requests to the system were necessary to rectify issues once PCL was operational which also resulted in additional costs.
    • Future expansion of PCL, including an on-line self serve component, will be subject to a full competitive process. Project work plans and timelines will realistically reflect this lengthy process.

  5. Service Canada is in a position to leverage its identity management expertise to improve the integrity of programs and services delivered on behalf of policy departments.

    Management Response

    • This is recognized as an organizational priority as Service Canada continues to develop partnerships and expands the delivery of new service offerings.
    • The Integrity Branch is working on long term solutions to allow for this increasing capacity.

  6. The traditional service model tends to treat all clients in the same manner.

  7. The launching of new service offerings will introduce new client groups with differing needs and expectations into Service Canada's delivery network. For some of these clients, the traditional service model may no longer be optimal to provide excellence in service delivery and experience.

    Management Response

    • Service Canada is developing a Service Experience Model that recognizes the shifting role of delivering foundational programs to new types of offerings.
    • The culture of Service Canada and other federal government departments, such as Transport Canada and Passport Canada, must adapt and change to reflect this new service delivery paradigm.

  8. As additional services are assumed by Service Canada, there will be a cumulative impact on Regions and Service Centres that should be taken into account when making resource allocation decisions.

    Management Response

    • A resource determination model is being developed for client service in theregions.

  9. The management of internal communications is critical during the implementation of a new service offering. The volumes of information being transmitted can be daunting and requires a structured and organised approach to ensure maximum effectiveness.

    Management Response

    • CCSB agrees that the management of internal communications is critical not only during the implementation of a new service offering, but throughout the delivery of a service offering.
    • The Service Offerings directorate has implemented a Service Offering Advisory Group to oversee service offering development and implementation and also established monthly reporting processes on all service offerings.
    • New or expanded service offerings are also vetted through CCSTC and Service Canada Management Board (SCMB) to ensure a structured and organized approach.
    • New tools and methodologies will be implemented to provide a consistent approach to the development and implementation of new service offerings.
    • Many activities, such as bi-weekly PCL Regional Conference Calls and regular e-mail updates are currently being done to facilitate information sharing and ongoing communication.
    • In order to improve the dissemination flow, a PCL Intranet Landing Page has been developed that houses all PCL related documentation that Regions can access. This includes the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Training Guide, Fact Sheets, Safe Boating Guide, Qs&As, transaction volumes, Conference Call records of decisions, monthly PCL updates, PCL 07-08 Operational Plan, etc.

1. Introduction

This document presents results of Service Canada's evaluation of the implementation of the Pleasure Craft Licensing (PCL) Service Delivery Initiative. This initiative represents one of Service Canada's first efforts at developing and implementing a national service offering for a Department other that Human Resources And Social Development (HRSD) – in this case Transport Canada. The initiative is of particular interest in that it involves a partnership with Service New Brunswick, a corporation owned by the Province of New Brunswick.

The evaluation focused on the development and implementation of the PCL service offering. It was not intended as an evaluation of Transport Canada's Pleasure Craft Licensing program. Pleasure craft program and policy development is the sole responsibility of Transport Canada. (See Annex A for a description of the objectives and legal mandate of the PCL Program.)

2. Background

A pleasure craft licence is the number placed on the side of each pleasure craft, as required under the Small Vessel Regulations of the Canada Shipping Act. The licence is mandatory for all pleasure crafts of 15 gross tons or under (12 metres or less) that are equipped with a motor of 10 horsepower (7.5 kW) or more (including personal watercraft). There is no cost for a pleasure craft licence. About 2.2 million pleasure boats licences have been issued in Canada since licensing began in the 1940s, with an average of 105,000 new and transferred licences granted annually.

On March 30, 2006, Service Canada, Service New Brunswick and Transport Canada signed a Collaboration Agreement concerning delivery of Pleasure Craft Licensing (PCL). In accordance with the Agreement, as of April 1, 2006, Service Canada and Service New Brunswick began delivering Pleasure Craft Licensing (PCL) on behalf of Transport Canada. (The roles and responsibilities of each of the three signatories to the Agreement are outlined in Annex B of this report.) Both Service Canada and Service New Brunswick deliver pleasure craft licensing services in compliance with Transport Canada's Standard Operating Procedures for Pleasure Craft Licensing. These procedures set out the day-to-day operational guidelines and procedures for the administration of the pleasure craft licensing system.

The intent of the PCL Service Delivery Initiative was to modernize and improve the PCL system. Prior to implementation of the PCL Service Delivery Initiative, applying in person at on of the 120 Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) offices was the sole channel available to boat owners and pleasure craft dealers. As of April 1, 2006, clients were able to apply for pleasure craft licences through multiple channels including in-person application at over 320 Service Canada Centres and the 37 Service New Brunswick Service Centres. The number of inperson points of service has since risen to 365 (327 Service Canada, 38 Service New Brunswick).

Under the CBSA system, emergency access to PCL records was hampered by the fact that the system was paper-based, with hand written or typed records being stored in filing cabinets at Border Agency offices across Canada. As a result, to gain access to information pertaining to a boat or boat owner, law enforcement and Search and Rescue agency officials had to identify (based on the licence number) and call the CBSA office responsible for the particular file in question. For non-emergencies, requests for information had to be made through the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) office of Transport Canada.

With the introduction of the new PCL Service, information for licences issued since April 1, 2006 can quickly be made available to law enforcement and search and rescue agencies in cases of emergency. This service is available on a 24 – hour a day, seven ­ day a week basis. For searches involving paper records (i.e. those licences issues prior to April 1, 2006), the service standard is a two hour response time.

2.1. PCL Service Channels

Individual Boat Owners
Two service channels are available to clients who require a pleasure craft licence. Individual boat owners wishing to licence a previously unlicensed pleasure craft, transfer an existing licence or a obtain duplicate of their licence can apply either in person at a Service Canada Centre or Service New Brunswick Service Centre or by mailing their application to the National Pleasure Craft Licensing Centre (NPCLC).

Pleasure Craft Dealers
Although optional, pleasure craft dealers may licence a pleasure craft prior to final sale in order to minimize last minute licence application and allow sufficient time to properly apply licence markings to boats prior to delivery. Once a boat is sold, the licence must then be transferred to the new owner.

Dealers can submit applications via one of three service channels, either in person at a Service Canada Centre or Service New Brunswick Service Centre, or by sending their applications by fax or mail to the NPCLC.

PCL Information
Information concerning the application process is available at Service Canada and Service New Brunswick Service Centers and via the Internet, 1 800 O-Canada and Transport Canada's Boating Safety Hotline.

3. Evaluation Scope

This evaluation focussed on issues related to the implementation of the PCL service and value-for-money. Specifically, it examines:

3.1. Implementation

Design and Delivery

  • Partnership building: Did the partnership approach work? What issues arose and how were they addressed?
  • Implementing an enterprise-wide service offering: What were the major challenges in implementing the service offering? What worked and what went wrong?

3.2. Value-for-Money

Relevance

  • Service model contribution to the Service Delivery and PCL Program objectives: Is the PCL service delivery initiative consistent with, and does it support, the mandates and objectives of the partners?

    Cost-effectiveness

  • What are the costs of achieving PCL service objectives and what service delivery results were produced?

3.3. Out-of-scope issues

The evaluation did not directly address issues related to client satisfaction and stakeholder awareness.

Client satisfaction is a key issue that should be measured at a future date. Several options exist including an exit survey which would have to be conducted during peak boating season in order to capture a representative sample. A telephone survey of recent clients might also be considered, however this methodology would require use of the PCL data base as a sample frame. This may prove problematic as the data base is the property of Transport Canada and the Collaboration Agreement does not specifically address the need for access to the data base for the purposes of evaluation of the service. It should be noted that development and administration of a stand-alone PCL client satisfaction survey would be costly. Therefore, the possibility of piggybacking PCL specific questions on the next Service Canada Client Satisfaction Survey should be considered as an economical option for collecting this type of information.

Pleasure craft industry officials were not interviewed as part of the evaluation for a number of reasons. These included concerns with respect response burden and potential confusion stemming from the fact that Service Canada Community and Client Services Branch and Transport Canada were actively engaged in consultation with industry officials during the period of the evaluation. As well, evidence provided by key informants point to the conclusion that many pleasure boat dealers were not satisfied with the PCL service.

4. Methodology

The approach used for this evaluation of the PCL service initiative is based on three primary lines of inquiry.

4.1. Document Review

The main goal of the review of documentation was to provide key information to assist in the development of other components of the evaluation such as interview guides and cost-effectiveness analysis. The main documents reviewed included:

  • The PCL Collaboration Agreement
  • PCL Service Charter
  • Standard Operating Procedures
  • Minutes of meetings
  • Operational data
  • Training materials
  • Budget information

4.2. Key Informant Interviews

A main line of evidence for this evaluation was key informant interviews. Key informants were selected in order to reflect the range of activities associated with the design, development, implementation and application of the PCL service. They included policy and privacy experts from Transport Canada, corporate, systems and processing experts with Service New Brunswick and emergency users of PCL information at Canadian Cost Guard and law enforcement agencies. The range of key informants consulted at Service Canada included service managers and analysts at National Headquarters, Regional coordinators and Service Delivery staff and supervisors.

Interview guides were developed for each key informant group. Interviews were conducted one-on-one or, in some cases, with small groups in order to minimize impact on operations. A copy of the guide was sent to each participant prior to the interview. Both in-person and telephone interviews were conducted in the official language of choice of the participants.

Interviews began in November 2006 and were completed in early May 2007. In total 49 key informants participated as follows:

  • Transport Canada (5 key informants)
  • Service New Brunswick Headquarters and PCL Processing Centre (4)
  • Service Canada National Headquarters (5)
  • Alberta/NWT/Nunavut Regional Office (2)
    • Edmonton Meadowlark Service Canada Centre (1)
    • Camrose Service Canada Centre (3)
  • British Columbia/Yukon Regional Office (3)
    • Surrey Service Canada Centre (3)
    • Greater Victoria Service Canada Centre (2)
    • Cowichan (Duncan) Service Canada Centre (1)
  • New Brunswick Regional Office (2)
    • Fredericton Service Canada Centre (3)
    • Woodstock Service Canada Centre (1)
  • Ontario Regional Office (3)
  • Quebec Regional Office (2)
    • Montreal North Service Canada Centre (3)
    • Laval Service Canada Centre (5)
  • Canadian Coast Guard Search and Rescue (SAR):
    • Victoria (1)
    • Trenton (1)
    • Quebec City (1)
  • Law Enforcement
    • Ontario Provincial Police Marine Safety (1)
    • Sûreté du Québec (1)
    • Royal Canadian Mounted Police (1).

4.3. Analysis of costs

A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted in an attempt to measure the impact of the new service offering on PCL delivery costs for the first year of operation (2006-07).

Development of PCL required a one-time investment to cover costs associated with initial records management, start-up maintenance and support, delivery of the basic system and delivery of duplicate license functionality. These costs, which were absorbed by Service Canada, are estimated at about $1.2 million in the financial arrangements annex of the Collaboration Agreement. Actual start-up costs were not available at the time of the evaluation. It should be noted that these one-time investments were not included in the cost-effectiveness calculation as they are not considered part of the on-going cost of PCL delivery.

Cost-effectiveness analysis is based on cost per license issued. This was calculated based on figures provided by the Citizen and Community Service Branch (CCSB) of Service Canada. Two cost types were included in the calculation:

  • Overhead costs which include monthly maintenance of the PCL system, hosting for transactions processed, printing, translation, letterhead/envelopes, help desk costs, systems support and training. The overhead cost per license issued was calculated by dividing the total overhead cost by the total number of licenses issue.
  • Transaction and in-person delivery costs.

For Service Canada, in-person cost per licence issued was calculated by dividing regional PCL in-person costs by the total number of licences issued at Service Canada Service Centres and then adding the overhead cost. For Service New Brunswick, the invoiced transaction cost by channel was divided by the number of transactions by channel. The overhead cost was then added to each figure to arrive at a cost per licence issued by service channel.

Readers should note that Collaboration Agreement provides for a ‘floor amount' to be charged by Service New Brunswick in the event that the number of mail transactions is less than the number projected from historical information. This was the case in 2006/07. The floor amount is based on 25 percent of the original projected volume and would be payable to Service New Brunswick to cover staff and resources engaged to provide the anticipated level of effort. Based on the number of transactions processed in fiscal 2006/07, the floor amount would be $68,198.81. Because the amount was not paid during fiscal 2006/07, and had not been paid by June 2007 when the evaluation was completed, it is not included in cost calculations.

Access to CBSA cost data was limited. CBSA cost per licence issued was calculated by dividing the total cost of the program ($1.3 million) by the estimated number of licenses issued in 2005/06 (105,000).

5. Limitations

5.1. Methodology

Results presented in this evaluation report are largely based on qualitative responses gleaned from key informants and, as such, represent an interpretation of the opinions of those interviewed. While not all offices and stakeholders could be contacted, an attempt was made to be as inclusive as possible and to incorporate the comments of the partners and a variety of regions and Service Centre types. In general, comments and issues raised during the interviews tended to converge and are presented as findings in this report.

5.2. Data Limitations

Cost calculations are based largely on un-audited financial data provided by Service Canada, Citizen and Community Services Branch. Service Canada salary and O&M costs are based on total funds transferred to the Regions for the delivery of the service and are assumed to reflect actual expenditures. In measuring cost-effectiveness of the PCL initiative, an attempt was made to compare current costs to those of the previous service delivery model. CBSA was unable to provided detailed expenditure figures or PCL delivery.

6. Findings

6.1. Implementation: Design and Delivery

6.1.1. Partnership Building

Overall, key informants reported that the partnership approach worked well. Because the initiative was consistent with and relevant to the goals and objectives of all three parties, all had a strong interest in seeing the initiative successfully implemented. This was a key factor in ensuring success.

Notwithstanding the shared interest in a successful result, collaboration across multiple jurisdictions and departments presented challenges. The culture and needs of each partner shaped its perspective and contribution to the initiative. For example, Transport Canada's regulatory view differed from the client service focus of both Service Canada and Service New Brunswick as well as with the commercial orientation of Service New Brunswick. While the differing paradigms of the three partners presented risks and potential for difficulties in negotiating the partnership, these were mitigated by a strong desire to succeed as well as sustained efforts to foster face-to-face communication and problem solving. The partnership worked because each party contributed its specific and specialized expertise to resolve issues and problems.

The bulk of the PCL service offering design and development was accomplished over a roughly three month period starting in January 2006 and ending with the introduction of the service on April 1, 2006. While a letter of intent was signed by the Ministers responsible for Service Canada and Service New Brunswick in February, actual roles and responsibilities of the partners were developed and articulated over the course of PCL development.

Service Canada and Service New Brunswick developed a Service Charter at the outset of the project to provide a general framework for PCL systems development. A comprehensive PCL Collaboration Agreement between Service Canada, Service New Brunswick and Transport Canada describing legal authorities, project scope, financial arrangements, confidentiality requirements, reporting requirements and steering and management committee structures was developed concurrently with the PCL offering. As such, it accurately reflected the actual roles and responsibilities assumed by each of the partners. Because the Agreement was not signed until days before the service was introduced, there was an absence of a formal process for dispute resolution during the design and development process and each party assumed a significant level of risk throughout these stages. This was mitigated by attention to the partnership and specifically, to the development of mutual respect and trust.

6.1.2. Designing and implementing an enterprise-wide service offering

Overall, the consensus amongst those consulted is that design, development and implementation of the PCL service delivery initiative went well. While some teething problems were encountered, these had been expected and the partners were constructive and resourceful in addressing the challenges faced. The fact that the PCL transaction was, and remains, relatively straightforward contributed to the successful rapid development and implementation of the initiative.

Key informants from the three partner organizations agreed that the time frames associated with this project were extremely ambitious. In fact, several of those interviewed expressed the opinion that the time frame of three months was unprecedented for an enterprise-wide implementation. Many of the challenges identified during the evaluation were at least partly attributable to the limited amount of time available for planning and implementation of the service offering.

While tight time frames helped focus resources and identify critical priorities and tasks, they also created some problems. For example, they put significant demands on staff and systems developers by making formal project planning and the detailed identification of systems specifications prior to the start of development impossible. Tight project timelines also limited the amount of consultation possible during the PCL design phase. This contributed to an underestimation of volumes. The PCL service was designed based on an anticipated volume of about 105,000 transactions annually. In fact, 123,312 licenses were processed in 2006/07.

The most serious issue during implementation related to insufficient band width for the transmission of data between Service Canada Service Centres and the Service New Brunswick host system. This caused frequent time-outs during transactions leading to longer than anticipated transaction times and lost data. This nation-wide problem led to frustration amongst clients and staff. This issue escalated immediately to the Director General responsible for the initiative and, as a result was quickly and satisfactorily addressed.

During the initial stages of the evaluation, Service Canada's PCL expenditures were difficult to ascertain as PCL specific financial coding was not implemented during the development phase, nor in the first year of the service. This problem has since been addressed.

6.2. Key elements to successful implementation :

6.2.1. Leadership

The initiative was characterized by strong leadership and commitment at the highest level on the part of all partners. This provided continuity and focus throughout the negotiation process up to the conclusion of the Collaboration Agreement.

It was understood that the Deputy Head of Service Canada considered the PCL initiative to be a priority and the Director General responsible for the project was given the authority to make decisions and move the project forward at a rapid pace. Issues that needed to be elevated to the Deputy Head received quick attention and support as required.

The overall leadership role played by Service Canada was critical in ensuring the coordinated effort needed to design, develop and implement this enterprise-wide service offering in such a short time frame. The engagement and day-to-day active participation by the Director General responsible was critical to maintaining focus, momentum and rapid problem solving.

6.2.2. The Project Team

Design and implementation was directed by a multi-disciplinary project team responsible for identifying and coordinating tasks, guiding day-to-day activities, integrating key elements of the work plan and identifying priorities. The PCL project team included members with the critical expertise needed to successfully develop and implement this service offering including representatives with specific knowledge of PCL program policy, intergovernmental agreements, systems, legal affairs, communications, service delivery and other operational issue.

The project team met on regular basis and members established open and collegial working relationships - key factors to building trust and reinforcing a common understanding of shared goals and objectives. The technical strength of the Project Team and the working relationships facilitated efficient communications and rapid problem solving; both crucial given the tight and inflexible timelines that had been imposed.

During implementation, dedicated National Headquarters staff operated help lines to assist Regions and Service Centres and acted as a liaison with policy experts at Transport Canada. Support provided by these staff was very good, however the level of resources required to adequately fulfill this requirement was underestimated, thus leading to some delays in responding to questions.

6.2.3. Regional Engagement and Participation

Regional offices played a critical roll in the development and roll-out of the PCL service offering. Regional expertise and involvement was particularly important in the delivery of training and in identifying operational impacts and potential issues related to delivery. This level of insight could not be provided from National Headquarters.

During the roll-out of the service offering, many Regional coordinators provided direct support to Service Delivery Agents by developing additional information resources (for example definitions of boat types, information on United States boat registration documentation). Regional coordinators played a key role in feeding questions and issues to the national PCL team; although this function was not consistent across Regions and likely led to some inefficiency in researching and responding to questions. A more coordinated approach would have facilitated a more rapid development of national information tools to support Service Centres.

Regions consulted during the evaluation felt they were generally well informed about the PCL initiative and understood the expectations placed on them. This service offering did not come as a surprise and, notwithstanding tight timelines, there was no sense that this initiative was dropped on them suddenly and unexpectedly. Key informants generally felt that Regions were engaged at the appropriate levels.

Despite the fact that PCL was launched at the beginning of the boating season when transaction volumes were high, the Regions interviewed during the course of the evaluation indicated that they were generally able to absorb the additional workload. However, PCL posed a significant burden on some offices and access to additional resources was limited. This was considered manageable for this particular initiative, but there is concern around the cumulative effect as more and more programs and services are offered with many being rolled out simultaneously.

6.2.4. Staff Training

Training was an important contributor to Service Delivery Agent comfort with the PCL implementation. A training-for-trainers approach was utilized with national headquarters providing training to leads in each region who, in turn, were responsible for the training of Service Delivery Agents. In general, the approach worked, but there was some inconsistency in the amount of training given to Service Delivery Agents. Tight timelines also meant that system development was on-going during the training period. As a result, a final version of the system was not available for training purposes.

Training material was generally judged to be good, although some important definitions (e.g. boat/hull types) were not covered. As well, ‘non-standard' transactions (for example the validation of foreign ownership documents) were not covered in adequate detail. Service Delivery Agents noted that, given turnover and the seasonal nature of this particular service, there is an on-going need for on-line access to PCL training, both for new employees and as a means to refresh knowledge prior to the start of the peak boating season.

6.2.5. Internal Communications

Through the use of regular conference calls, the Project Team and Regional Coordinators maintained open lines of communications and kept each other upto- date with respect to project status and outstanding priorities and issues. Those interviewed indicated that this was an effective means of gathering and disseminating information concerning the initiative.

During implementation, a considerable volume of information was sent to regions and Service Centres. This information often related to changes to operating procedures. These directives were disseminated via e-mail which was unstructured and therefore difficult for regional Coordinators and Service Centres to manage. This increased the risk that certain directives or changes in procedures may have been missed.

6.2.6. Stakeholder Consultation

The PCL program has a number of key stakeholders. Among the most significant are individual boat owners, pleasure craft dealers, provinces, search and rescue, law enforcement agencies and the CBSA. Unfortunately, due to the tight timelines associated with the project, stakeholder consultation was limited. This led to a number of problems ranging from pleasure craft dealer dissatisfaction to an underestimation of transaction volumes.

The most obvious shortfall was consultation with boat dealers. Consultation, mainly done by Transport Canada, was limited. As a result industry needs and expectations were not clearly understood. This led to problems and complaints when PCL launched. There was dissatisfaction due to limited office hours (no weekend service), line-ups at Service Centres and the time required to process licenses using the facsimile channel.

Key informants reported that there were instances of boat dealers presenting themselves at Service Canada Centers and expecting immediate service to process up to 50 pleasure craft licences. This had not been anticipated. As a result, Regions and Service Centres were forced to rapidly develop and implement solutions to meet the needs of this important client group. Solutions included scheduling appointments, using drop boxes, adding after hours access and introducing outreach services.

Insufficient consultation with CBSA, the former service provider, contributed to an underestimation of workloads, both nationally and at the Service Centre level. The large number of dealer generated transactions was not anticipated. Nor was the volume of Search and Rescue and law enforcement emergency inquiries. Further consultation with CBSA might have been useful in predicting these volumes, as well as the nature and number of ‘non-standard' transactions likely to be encountered. Finally, additional consultation with CBSA would have been useful with respect to anticipating storage, document management and retrieval costs for historical paper records. The number of actual records was grossly underestimated leading to higher than expected storage and information management costs.

6.2.7. Systems Development and Implementation

The development of the PCL system was undertaken by Service New Brunswick which was able to leverage its experience in developing provincial registries to develop the new application. Given the tight timelines imposed on the project, Service Canada and Transport Canada were not able to tender this requirement; nor were they in a position to adapt existing systems for use with PCL. The lack of a competitive bid process makes it difficult to determine whether system development costs were reasonable and represent best value-for-money.

Due PCL system development was begun in the absence of complete functionality specifications. This presented significant challenges to the developers and represented a significant risk to Service New Brunswick. The lack of specifications led to numerous discussions and initial disagreements around whether certain features were enhancements or part of the core requirement. These issues could have been better managed if the system had been developed in a modular fashion with built in decision points, detailed functionality requirements and associated cost estimates.

The majority of Service Delivery Agents consulted over the course of this evaluation judged the PCL system to be user friendly. However implementation was challenging as connectivity issues became apparent as soon as the service offering went live. Problems included frequent time-outs which led to data loss from screens; resulting in both client and staff frustration. The problem was quickly identified as being due to inadequate band width and could likely have been avoided if more thorough load testing had been conducted.

Some key informants reported initial problems around user code and password requirements. These were likely a result of built in protocols that reflected valid Service New Brunswick standards that differed from those familiar to Service Canada staff.

There were some misunderstandings around system help desk functions. Service Canada was of the view that Service New Brunswick was to have played a more active role in addressing individual Service Delivery Agent issues. Service New Brunswick, on the other hand, saw itself as responsible for rectifying applicationwide issues only.

6.2.8. Service Excellence

In general, PCL was seen by key informants as an excellent first step in moving Service Canada towards its goal of becoming the one-stop shop for government programs and services. Service Delivery staff generally welcomed the new service offering as a positive addition to Service Canada's business lines and viewed PCL transactions as an opportunity for positive interaction with clients.

Interviewed Service Canada staff demonstrated a strong focus on providing service excellence and reported numerous instances where PCL clients were provided with information concerning the availability of other services and benefits. For example, a service agent reported that when completing a pleasure craft license application, the client mentioned travel plans to the United States. The client was informed of requirements to have passports on board when traveling to the United States, which resulted in the client's application for a passport.

A focus on service excellence was also evident in the way Regions and Service Centres responded to boat dealer concerns. Special and unique arrangements were introduced by some offices including allowing for drop-off and pick-up of batches of applications, scheduling appointments and outreach services at boat dealers, sometimes on weekends. Discussions are currently underway with boat dealers associations to work towards achieving longer-term solutions that better meet their needs.

Staff focus on the client service experience was evident in comments made with respect to the impact of mixing PCL clients with traditional clientele. Some key informants felt that the introduction of new clientele with different needs, expectations, and social status, might cause discomfort or embarrassment to some of Service Canada's traditional clientele. Also, there was some concern that the processes implemented to meet boat dealer needs may have constituted preferential service.

Some of the Service Centre staff consulted as part of the evaluation suggested the need to expand their Commissioner of Oaths' powers to include the administration of the statutory declarations required for some PCL transactions. Several expressed discomfort/scepticism around what is deemed acceptable documentation for a PCL transaction. Specifically, criteria for documenting proof of sale was considered to be too loose and inconsistent with rules and procedures applied when administering other programs and services.

6.3. Value-For-Money

6.3.1. Relevance

Service Canada

Service Canada's main objective is to achieve better outcomes for Canadians through service excellence. Service Canada's goal is to provide Canadians with one-stop, personalized service they can access however they choose – by telephone, Internet, or in person. Service Canada's main activities include providing seamless, citizen centred services and collaborative, networked government services. The PCL initiative is relevant to the overarching objective and consistent with Service Canada's goals.

By making the PCL program accessible through the entire Service Canada and Service New Brunswick service delivery networks, the service offering supports Service Canada's goal of providing seamless, citizen-centred service for Canadians. At the time of launch on April 1, 2006, access was immediately improved as the number of points of service expanded to 357 (320 Service Canada, 37 Service New Brunswick) compared to the 120 available through CBSA.

Key Service Canada informants at the national, regional and Service Centre levels viewed the introduction of the PCL service as an important early step in the transformation of Service Canada to the primary service delivery organisation of the Federal Government. For many of those consulted, the introduction of the PCL service offering provided clear and tangible evidence that Service Canada was moving beyond the traditional role of delivering only legacy HRSDC programs such as Employment Insurance.

PCL is a practical example of collaboration between two levels of government and across multiple federal Departments. The service offering utilizes multiple service channel options, the primary one being in-person service at all Service Canada and Service New Brunswick Service Centres. However, PCL service is also available through mail and facsimile (for boat dealers). Web-based service is restricted to information provision at this time.

Service New Brunswick

Like Service Canada, Service New Brunswick's mission includes improving the delivery of government services to the public. SNB is market-driven and its services are provided commercially. Among its regular clientele are provincial and federal government agencies, municipalities and the private sector.

Service New Brunswick's role in the PCL initiative is consistent with and relevant to its mission. Development of the PCL data base and systems was accomplished based on Service New Brunswick's expertise in the development and maintenance of real property registries. The PCL collaboration agreement also provided Service New Brunswick with an opportunity to generate revenue and expand it's suite of commercially driven services provided on behalf of other levels of government.

Transport Canada

Transport Canada's mandate includes developing and administering policies, regulations and programs that contribute to a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly transportation system. The PCL service is relevant to these objectives as it provides a means by which individual pleasure craft can be identified and, in cases of emergency, can assist law enforcement and search and rescue authorities to quickly assess risk and deploy resources accordingly.

The PCL service delivery initiate was of immediate importance to Transport Canada. At the time that the PCL service offering was proposed, Transport Canada was seeking an alternative to the CBSA delivery model. Not only had CBSA indicated that it was not interested in continuing with its role as a service delivery agent for PCL (thus causing an immediate need to find an alternative), the old paper based licence system required modernisation to better meet the needs of search and rescue, law enforcement and security agencies. As well, there were concerns with respect to the integrity of the PCL program as standard operating procedures for the issuance of pleasure craft licenses were not being applied consistently across the CBSA delivery network.

The new PCL system provides the required data integrity and is generally viewed by law enforcement and search and rescue as being an improvement over the CBSA model. As a paper based system, access to PCL records through CBSA was not consistent across the country. While some large CBSA offices that are open 24 hours a day seven days a week could offer comparable (and sometimes faster) response to SAR inquiries, search and rescue officers often had to contact several CBSA offices to locate the office where a particular boat was licensed. As well, there were instances reported of police having to be dispatched to locate CBSA officials on weekends and outside core office hours. In general, the convenience of having a single point of contact for enquiries, regardless of the location of the vessel, is viewed as an improvement over the former service model.

Despite the progress achieved through the new service delivery model, key informants indicated that there is still room for improvement. There are approximately 3,000 boxes of paper records for pleasure craft licenses issued prior to April 1, 2006. Service New Brunswick has provided Transport Canada with a cost estimate for transferring the paper records to the PCL data base, but at the time of the evaluation, a decision to proceed had not yet been taken. As well, the accuracy of some older documents may be questionable. In the view of one key informant, almost 50 percent of the information retrieved manually is inaccurate and out-of-date suggesting the need to regularly update pleasure craft licence information to ensure its accuracy.

SAR and law enforcement were unanimous concerning the need to have direct access to the PCL database. This is already available for commercial marine vessels and aircraft. This was not an option with the previous paper-based service. The new system provides a platform that could be used to support this requirement. Transport Canada is investigating options to make the system more responsive to the needs of search and rescue and law enforcement agencies.

6.3.2. Cost-effectiveness

Transport Canada provides funding to Service Canada for costs incurred in administration and delivery of Pleasure Craft Licensing services. The maximum financial contribution provided by Transport Canada for each of the first two fiscal years of the Agreement (starting on April 1, 2006) is $1,300,000. Service Canada, in turn, provides a financial contribution to Service New Brunswick as per specific amounts set out in the annexes of the Collaboration Agreement.

Between April 1, 2006 and March 31, 2007, there were a total of 123,312 PCL transactions processed by Service Canada and Service New Brunswick. This volume represents an increase of 17 percent compared to the 105,000 transactions processed under the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) during the previous fiscal year. About half (49 percent) of all transactions processed were related to licence transfers, 41 percent were for new licenses, seven per cent related to either cancellations or requests for duplicates, and three per cent were requests for amendments.

The in-person service delivery channel was by far the most utilized in 2006/07, accounting for over 89 percent of transactions. By comparison, just over eight percent of transactions were processed by facsimile and two percent by mail.

Service Canada's combined salary, operating and maintenance costs associated with PCL was $597,964 in fiscal 2006/07. An additional $187,000 was allocated to help desk operations, printing, translation, training, systems support and workshop costs. Service New-Brunswick's overall transaction costs for the same period is estimated at $451,000 and an additional $353,000 was allocated for system maintenance. Therefore, during its first year of operation, the PCL service offering incurred total costs of $1,519,934, exceeding the $1.3 million allocated by Transport Canada to CBSA by $219,934. The increase in costs can be attributed to the higher volume of licenses processed in 2006/07, higher infrastructure cost associated with a computer-based system (compared to the previous paper-based model), an expanded service delivery network and the addition of service channels. Unless new financial arrangements are negotiated this funding gap can be expected to continue.

Despite an increase in total expenditures, the PCL service was cost-effective. Overall cost per license issued ($12.33) remained comparable to that incurred under the previous CBSA model ($12.38). In fact, in-person cost per licence issued by Service Canada was only $10.63 compared to $12.38 under the CBSA, a saving of $1.75 per licence. Service New Brunswick in-person cost per license issued was $12.48.

Cost per license issued varied considerably by service channel. In-person transactions processed by Service Canada were the least expensive at $10.63 each, followed by Service New Brunswick in-person and mail-in transactions at $12.48 each per license issued. The most costly transactions were those processed by facsimile and those requiring manual searches. These cost $20.88 and $24.83 respectively per license issued/search conducted.

7. Conclusions and Lessons Learned

7.1. Implementation: Design and Delivery

The partnership worked well because each partner was strongly motivated to see the initiative succeed. Service Canada, Service New Brunswick and Transport Canada all assumed a level of risk throughout the development stage. This was mitigated through frequent open communication and attention to the development of mutual respect and trust. Dedicated, empowered project leadership, support at senior levels, and the establishment of a multi-discipline project team to guide activities were all key factors contributing to success.

The project was characterized by tight and inflexible time frames which helped focus resources, but put significant demands on staff. The short time frame resulted in less than optimal consultation with stakeholders. This contributed to initial dissatisfaction on the part of boat dealers, an underestimation of transaction volumes, an underestimation of the storage requirements for historical records and a lack of awareness of the complexity of certain types of transactions.

In general, implementation went smoothly with the exception of a serious problem attributed to insufficient band width. This caused frequent time-outs during transactions leading to longer than anticipated transaction times and lost data. The problem was quickly identified and could likely have been avoided if more thorough load testing had been conducted.

Systems development was challenging, not only as a result of tight timelines, but also due to a lack of complete functionality specifications at the outset. These challenges were overcome due to the commitment and expertise of development staff and cooperation amongst the partners to resolve issues as they arose.

Service Canada Service Centre staff was adequately prepared for the introduction of the PCL service. The training-for-trainers model was effective and technical support provided by National Headquarters (NHQ) staff was very good. However, the level of resources required to adequately fulfill this requirement was underestimated, thus leading to some delays in responding to questions.

Regions were consulted throughout the project and the training-for-trainers model worked, although greater care could have been taken to ensure a consistent training experience for Service Delivery Agents. Service Delivery staff generally welcomed the new service offering as a positive addition to Service Canada's business lines and viewed PCL transactions as an opportunity for positive interaction with clients.

Service Canada did not implement PCL specific financial coding until fiscal 2007/08. In order to support cost-effectiveness calculations, Community and Client Services Branch staff had to devote additional time to identifying project costs for both the development period and the first year of the service offering.

In summary, the key elements to the successful design, development and implementation of the PCL service included:

  • Dedicated, empowered leadership
  • A strong, multi-discipline Project Team
  • Regional engagement and participation
  • Staff training
  • Communications – internal and with partners
  • Expert and experienced systems developers
  • Service excellence culture

Areas that presented significant challenges and risks included:

  • Tight timelines
  • Insufficient stakeholder consultation
  • Insufficient systems load testing
  • Underestimation of resources required for NHQ project team during early implementation
  • Lack of Service Canada financial codes for tracking project costs, including labour

7.2. Value-for-Money: Relevance

The PCL service delivery collaboration is relevant to the goals and mandates of the three partners.

For Service Canada, PCL represents an important early step in the transformation of Service Canada. The PCL service offering provides clear and tangible evidence that Service Canada is moving beyond the traditional role of delivering only legacy HRSDC programs such as Employment Insurance. The initiative is a practical example of collaboration between government and across Federal Departments and supports Service Canada's goal of providing easy access and one-stop service for Canadians.

For Service New Brunswick, PCL presented an opportunity to generate revenue and expand its suite of commercially driven services provided on behalf of other levels of government. Development and maintenance of the PCL data base and systems is consistent with and builds upon Service New Brunswick's expertise and interest in property registries.

For Transport Canada, the PCL system provides a platform to deliver its program and contribute to boating safety by assisting law enforcement and search and rescue authorities to quickly assess risk and deploy resources accordingly. The utility of the PCL system to search and rescue and law enforcement agencies would be improved by permitting direct access to query the database. Transport Canada is considering how to address this issue.

7.3. Value-for-Money: Cost-effectiveness

The PCL service initiative was cost-effective. Overall cost per license issued was comparable to that incurred under the previous CBSA model. The cost per license issued by Service Canada was $10.63 compared to $12.38 when delivered by CBSA, a saving of $1.75 per licence. Service New Brunswick inperson cost per license issued was comparable to the CBSA cost at $12.48 per licence issued. Facsimile and manual search transactions were the most costly at $20.88 and $24.83 respectively.

8. Observations

8.1 Consultation with key stakeholders is a key element in the design and development of service offerings. Conducted properly, this activity ensures that the service model meets client needs and expectations and, ultimately, contributes to overall client satisfaction.

8.2 It is easy to underestimate transaction volumes and complexity when developing a new service offering. Consultation with previous providers of a service (if applicable), research and planning are important to the accurate estimation of transaction types, costs and volumes.

8.3 The active participation of Regions in the design of a new service offering is critical to its successful implementation. Regions provide necessary insight into the practical and operational issues associated with the introduction of new services.

8.4 The active participation of Regions in the design of a new service offering is critical to its successful implementation. Regions provide necessary insight into the practical and operational issues associated with the introduction of new services.

8.5 Systems development and testing is a costly and challenging component to the design and implementation of a new service offering. In the absence of a competitive process, it is difficult to ascertain whether development costs are minimized.

8.6 Service Canada is in a position to leverage its identity management expertise to improve the integrity of programs and services delivered on behalf of policy departments.

8.7 The traditional service model tends to treat all clients in the same manner. The launching of new service offerings like PCL demonstrates that the traditional model may no longer be optimum and that the new service experience model will need to take into account more varied client needs and expectations.

8.8 As additional services are assumed by Service Canada, there will be a cumulative impact on Regions and Service Centres that should be taken into account when making resource allocation decisions.

8.9  The management of internal communications is critical during the implementation of a new service offering. The volumes of information being transmitted can be daunting and requires a structured and organised approach to ensure maximum effectiveness.

ANNEX A: Pleasure Craft Licensing Program

Objectives

Transport Canada's mandate includes developing and administering policies, regulations and programs that contribute to a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly transportation system. Through its Marine Safety Division, the Department endeavours to "continuously maintain and enhance safety and the protection of life, health, property and the marine environment through:

  • the development, maintenance and implementation of an effective regulatory regime;
  • education and awareness; and
  • monitoring and enforcement."1

Within the Marine Safety Division, the Office of Boating Safety acts as Transport Canada's focal point for the recreational boating community. The Office of Boating Safety also delivers prevention-based programs to improve safety and reduce the environmental impacts of boating on Canadian waters.

Pleasure Craft Licensing, one of the programs delivered by the Office of Boating Safety, supports law enforcement and search and rescue agencies by providing the necessary means to identify individual pleasure craft and their owners. This information helps search and rescue authorities to quickly and efficiently deploy resources, thereby enhancing boater safety. Law enforcement agencies utilize pleasure craft licence information when investigating boating incidents including those related to safety and border security.

________________________________________________
1 http://www.tc.gc.ca/marinesafety/about-us/menu.htm

Legal mandate

Under the Canada Shipping Act, Transport Canada has the responsibility to administer the pleasure craft licensing system and may delegate its powers and duties to any person with whom it has an agreement or arrangement. For the purpose of the Act, the term pleasure craft refers to any vessel used by an individual for pleasure and not for a commercial purpose.

The specific provision for regulating and licensing of pleasure craft is provided for under part 10 of the Small Vessel Regulations.

"Licensing of pleasure craft
202. (1) If a pleasure craft is required by regulations made under this Part to be licenced, the owner of the craft shall not operate it, or permit it to be operated, unless it is licenced.

Transfer of licence
(2) When the ownership of a pleasure craft referred to in subsection (1) changes, the new owner shall not operate the craft, or permit it to be operated, until the licence for that craft is transferred to the new owner in accordance with the regulations.”

Specific regulations concerning licensing are outlined in Part 1 of the Small Vessel Regulations. A pleasure craft that:

“does not exceed 15 tons gross tonnage and is equipped permanently or temporarily with a motor of 7.5 kW of power or more or with more than one motor, the aggregate power of which is 7.5 kW or more”is required by law to have and display a licence.

ANNEX B: Collaboration Agreement Responsibilities

Transport Canada

Under terms of the Agreement, Transport Canada continues to provide strategic policy direction with respect to the pleasure craft licensing system. In addition, the Department retains full authority and responsibility for the legislative and regulatory framework governing pleasure craft licensing.

Transport Canada is responsible for developing and issuing both Pleasure Craft Regulations and the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for pleasure craft licensing. Under terms of the Agreement all parties recognize that Transport Canada maintains ultimate control and ownership of PCL data and responsibility to handle information requests from non-licensees under the Access to Information and Privacy Acts.

Transport Canada provides an annual financial contribution of up to 1.3 million dollars to cover costs incurred by Service Canada and Service New Brunswick in delivery of pleasure craft licensing services and maintenance of the PCL computer system and data base.

Service New Brunswick

Under terms of the Collaboration Agreement, Service New Brunswick assumes responsibility for delivering the pleasure craft licensing system via its Service Centre locations within the Province of New Brunswick. Service New Brunswick offers easy-to-access, one-stop, personalized services, using a range of service channels.

Service New Brunswick is also responsible for development, implementation and administration of the automated pleasure craft licensing system/data base. This system is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (excluding scheduled down time for system maintenance). All PCL transactions processed after April 1, 2006 are immediately entered into this data base. Service New Brunswick also maintains historical, paper-based PCL records on behalf of Transport Canada.

Service New Brunswick processes all PCL mail and facsimile applications and, upon request by authorized officials, performs manual searches of paper records. Service New Brunswick is responsible for responding to emergency information requests from search and rescue and law enforcement agencies. This service is provided on a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week basis.

Under terms of the Collaboration agreement, Service New Brunswick provides Service Canada with regular reports on PCL activity.

Service Canada

The PCL service model reflects Service Canada's goals of promoting collaborative, networked government and providing Canadians with easy-toaccess, one stop, personalized services via a range of service channels. Service Canada played a critical role in establishing the intra/inter-governmental partnership that ultimately led to the signing of the PCL Collaboration Agreement.

Under terms of the Agreement, Service Canada is responsible for the delivery of national pleasure craft licensing services. The PCL service delivery model utilizes Service Canada's broad and expanding in-person services network and incorporates multiple access channels developed around technology-based systems.

Service Canada's responsibilities include acting as a single point of contact between the three Parties and custodian of the Service Level Agreement (SLA). Service Canada also monitors service delivery statistics provided by Service New Brunswick, reports activity levels to Transport Canada and conducts financial reconciliation in accordance with financial arrangements specified in the Agreement.

Shared Responsibilities

In addition to the unique responsibilities stipulated within the Collaboration Agreement, the Parties are also responsible for certain shared aspects of the initiative.

Transport Canada/Service Canada

  • Responding to access to Information Act requests from licensees.
  • Collaborating on PCL service delivery standards.
  • Communications activities including regionally based activities and products unless they have an impact on Service New Brunswick operations. (Service New Brunswick may carry out communications activities in the Province of New Brunswick.)

Transport Canada, Service Canada and Service New Brunswick

  • The design/selection of the PCL service delivery model
  • Consulting with and informing stakeholders on matters concerning the PCL service initiative.

Service Canada and Service New Brunswick

  • Implementation of the national, multi-channel PCL service initiative.
  • Issuing pleasure craft licences in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedures developed and maintained by Transport Canada.
  • Providing input to Transport Canada regarding Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) revisions and updates.

PCL Service Delivery Initiative - Roles/Responsibilities

Transport Canada

  • PCL Policy
  • Pleasure Craft Regulations
  • PCL Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
  • Control/ownership of PCL data
  • Financial contribution
  • Access to Information Act and Privacy Act requests (non-licensee)

Service Canada

  • Facilitate intra/inter-government partnerships
  • Single point of contact between Parties
  • Maintain Service Level Agreement (SLA) (Custodian)
  • Monitor service delivery statistics and report to Transport Canada.
  • Financial reconciliation
  • Privacy Act requests (licensee)

Service New Brunswick

  • Develop and administer PCL Data base and application (System)
  • 24/7 response to SAR/law enforcement emergency information requests
  • Service delivery activity reporting
  • Maintain historical paper records
  • Manual searches of paper records for Transport Canada/Service Canada
  • Information requests under the Protection of Personal Information Act (NB)
  • Report PCL activity

Shared between Transport Canada and Service Canada

  • Access to information Act requests (licensee)
  • Develop PCL service delivery standards
  • Communications activities

Shared bewteen Service Canada and Service New Brunswick

  • Implement national multi-channel PCL service
  • Issue pleasure craft licences
  • Provide input to SOP

Shared between Transport Canada, Service Canada, and Service New Brunswick

  • Design service delivery model
  • Consult with and inform stakeholders/clients

ANNEX C: Costs (April 1, 2006 - March 31, 2007)

Total Costs Amount
SNB Costs 
Monthly Maintenance $352,740.00 
Transactions: 
SNB Over the Counter (OTC) $9,172.80 
Mail $21,204.75 
Fax $165,516.75 
Hosting $92,497.50 
Manual search of paper records $94,137.75 
Sub-total $735,269.55 
Service Canada Costs 
Printing, Distribution, and Stationary $28,013.77 
Translation of PCL material $9,148.25 
Regional PCL In-Person $597,964.00 
PCL hotline/help desk salaries $75,000.00 
Systems support $73,000.00 
PCL Workshop - September 2006 $307.13 
Installation of additional phone line (summer student) $300.00 
Envelopes for PCL centre $990.80 
Sub-total $784,723.95 
Total PCL delivery costs in 2006/2007 $1,519,933.50 
Cost per licence issued ($1,519,933.50/123,312) $12.33 
ANNEX C: Overhead Costs
Overhead Costs Amount
Monthly Maintenance $352,740.00
Hosting $92,497.50
Printing, Distribution, and Stationary $28,013.77
Translation of PCL material $9,148.25
PCL hotline/help desk salaries $75,000.00
Systems support $73,000.00
PCL Workshop - September 2006 $307.13
Installation of additional phone line (summer student) $300.00
Envelopes for PCL centre $990.80
Total $631,997.45
Overhead cost per licence issued ($700,196.26/123,312) $5.13

Note on costs:

Readers should note that Collaboration Agreement provides for a 'floor amount' to be charged by Service New Brunswick in the event that the number of mail transactions is less than the number projected from historical information. This was the case in 2006/07. The floor amount is based on 25 percent of the original projected volume and would be payable to Service New Brunswick to cover staff and resources engaged to provide the anticipated level of effort. Based on the number of transactions processed in fiscal 2006/07, the floor amount would be $68,198.81. Because the amount was not paid during fiscal 2006/07, and had not been paid by June 2007 when the evaluation was completed, it is not included in cost calculations.

Cost by Service Channel

  1. Service Canada In-Person
    Regional PCL In-Person/Licences issued in-person + overhead cost per licence issued
    $597,964.00/108,673 + 5.13 = $10.63
  2. Service New Brunswick (SNB) Over-the-Counter (In-person)
    SNB Over the Counter (OTC) Costs/Licences issued OTC + overhead cost per licence issued
    $9,172.80/1,248 + 5.13 = $12.48
  3. SNB Mail
    Mail costs/Licences issued by mail + overhead cost per licence issued
    $21,204.75/2,884 + 5.13 = $12.48
  4. Facsimile
    Fax costs/Licences issued by fax + overhead cost per licence issued
    $165,516.00/10,507+ 5.13 = $20.88
  5. SNB Manual searches*
    Manual search costs/number of searches + overhead cost per licence issued
    $94,137.75/4,778 + 5.13 = $24.83
    * Manual searches may be required for a number of transaction types, for example: the issuance of duplicate licences, emergency law enforcement/search and rescue inquiries, and inquiries made under the auspices of Access to Information and Privacy Act provisions. It was not possible to disaggregate this category based on the operational data available at the time of the evaluation.

ANNEX D: Number of Transactions by Service Channel/Type (2006/07)

Transactions by Service Channel/Type (2006/07)
  In-Person Facsimile Mail Manual
Search
Service Canada 108,673 0 0 0
Service New Brunswick 1,248 10,507 2,884 4,778