Results at a glance: Formative evaluation of the Compliance Program

Program Implementation

The Agency has seen an increase in prevention and response strategies since the introduction of the Guidelines. Barriers to communication within the program, however, have led to some potential gaps in the provision of appropriate guidance to field units. This has caused issues in distributing compliance-related material consistently across the Agency, difficulties in communicating with the full complement of compliance staff, and a lack of awareness of the online tools and templates available for use by program staff.

Resources

Evidence shows that many field units have reported challenges in dedicating the staff time and resources required to fully implement the program. For instance, a small number of field units have a dedicated Prevention/Compliance Coordinator. In addition, competing priorities sometimes leave insufficient time to manage the compliance program or to focus on those compliance issues that could help minimize the risk to public safety, loss of life or damage to property and/or natural or cultural resources (i.e., human-wildlife conflict, vandalism, etc.).

Alignment of Planning Processes

There is evidence that the compliance planning process has helped align and create efficiencies between the planning processes of the field units and the Law Enforcement Branch (LEB). There is high satisfaction in regards to the sharing of reliable information between the field units and the LEB, which has reduced duplication of efforts and promoted continual dialogue and understanding of key concerns.

Monitoring and Tracking

The Mobile Compliance Reporting application presents an opportunity to consistently track prevention and response actions associated with the Compliance Program across the Agency. The application has the potential to coordinate the efforts of Compliance Program staff with the Law Enforcement Branch staff, who will use a similar application (in development).

Accountabilities

It was found that the Compliance Guidelines clearly outline program accountabilities. Challenges with the governance structure were noted where accountabilities do not align between compliance and law enforcement. There are areas of concern in regards to the accountability structure and that it does not adequately support field units in delivering and implementing of the compliance program. This was largely related to the splitting of accountabilities for delivery of the Compliance Program between with the field unit superintendents and the LEB.

Roles and Responsibilities

There is opportunity to improve the identification of and communication of the functional manager responsible for the Compliance Program within field units. The clarity and awareness of roles and responsibilities of staff supporting the Compliance Program was also identified as an area for potential improvement, particularly around the role of the Compliance Leads. There did not always exist a clear Compliance Lead, making it more difficult to implement the issues identified in the compliance plans. Furthermore, it was found that the Compliance Program was more effective when it was promoted and advocated for at the field unit superintendent and manager level.