GLOSSARY OF TERMS
- Accountability
- The basic rules that the Department must follow in making decisions, allocating funding, and demonstrating the results achieved through the use of public funds. Many of these rules also apply to the organizations that receive the public funds. These organizations also have their own accountability frameworks defined by legislation, their own by-laws, and their internal governance policies.
French equivalent: imputabilité - Advocacy
- Advocacy is defined as "the act of speaking or of disseminating information intended to influence individual behaviour or opinion, corporate conduct or public policy and law." Advocacy is one of many ways of participating in the process of developing public policy.
French equivalent: action sociale - Community Development Architects
- Community development architects are individuals and institutions and organizations in the community, private, public, and quasi-public sectors that contribute to the development of their communities. Prominent among these architects are the leaders of community associations and institutions, as well as community opinion leaders and different levels of government.
French equivalent: architectes de développement - Evaluation
- The systematic collection and analysis of information on the performance of a policy, program or initiative to make judgements about relevance, progress, or success and cost-effectiveness and/or to inform future programming decisions about design and implementation.
French equivalent: évaluation - Indicator
- A statistic or parameter that, monitored over time, provides information about the development of trends and whose meaning extends beyond the properties of the statistic itself.
French equivalent: indicateur - Output
- Direct products or services stemming from the activities of a policy, program or initiative, and delivered to a target group or population.
French equivalent: extrant - Planned Results (Targets)
- Clear and concrete statement of results (including outputs and outcomes) to be achieved within the parliamentary and departmental planning and reporting timeframe (1-3 years), against which actual results can be compared.
French equivalent: résultats prévus ou cibles - Quasi-Public Bodies or Arm's-Length Public Agencies
- Public agencies refers to schools, hospitals, etc. that operate (to varying degrees) at arm's-length of the government, but are mandated and funded by government.
French equivalent: institutions parapubliques ou organismes publics indépendants - Result
- The consequence attributed to the activities of an organization, policy, program or initiative. Result is a general term that often includes both outputs produced and outcomes achieved by a given organization, policy, program or initiative. In the government's results-based management plan and in Results for Canadians, the term result is more specific and does not include outputs. Results may be described as immediate, intermediate or final, direct or indirect, intended or unintended.
French equivalent: résultat - Strategic Outcome
- A long-term and enduring benefit to Canadians that stems from a department's mandate, vision and work. It represents the difference a department or agency wants to make for Canadians and should be a clear measurable outcome within the department or agency's sphere of influence.
French equivalent: résultat stratégique - Support for Action: Details
- Funds in support of action provide assistance for regular and ongoing activities such as:
- Citizens' participation and good governance (e.g., elements of democratic life – AGM and Board of Directors, management infrastructure, statement of accounts);
- The organization's fundamental activities that represent its contribution to structuring community development or created a living environment (e.g., recurring leadership training by youth groups, basic operation of a community centre, large-scale public events);
- Mobilization of community and public resources (e.g., analysis of and research on support for advocacy and the skills needed to apply for support from various funding bodies).
- Support for Innovation: Details
- Funds to support innovation must be used for one-time or cyclical activities that do not require ongoing funding. The activities supported by Support for Innovation are of limited duration and may take place over a period ranging from a few months to a few years. For example:
- Pilot or demonstration projects designed to learn about influences on development and about services to the public;
- Establishing and building new construction sites for community development;
- Restructuring the community sector to respond to new challenges;
- Development of advocacy strategies linked to a particular initiative or a major public policy decision.
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