10.1 – Public Commitments to Service Standards
Overview
- A service standard is a public commitment to a measurable level of performance that clients can expect under normal circumstances.
- Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s (TBS) Policy on Service requires departments to establish and publish service standards.
- WD has set four grants and contributions (G&C) service standards to help maintain quality programming service, manage client expectations, and reinforce accountability:
- WD will contact a client within 12 business days after reviewing a funding request;
- WD will provide a funding decision within 90 business days of receiving a complete proposal;
- WD will provide a payment claims instruction package to the client within 10 business days of the client accepting the funding; and,
- WD will issue a claim payment cheque within 15 business days of receiving the claim for funds.
- WD also has one service standard for when clients can expect a response from WD to web inquires:
- WD will reply to inquiries received through the departmental website within two business days for a routine response, and five business days for a more detailed response.
- These standards are shared on WD’s public website along with annual results for the last three fiscal years.
- WD has met and exceeded all G&C service standards and targets over the past two fiscal years, but is not on track to meet these in the current 2019-20 fiscal year owing to decisions outstanding through the election period. WD will publish final 2019-20 service standard results to the department’s website in the summer of 2020.
Next Steps
- Effective April 1, 2020, the new TBS Policy on Service and Digital comes into effect. The objective of this policy is to improve client service experiences and government operations through digital transformation approaches.
- The new policy will drive WD client experiences to be more integrated, online, and client-centred. For example, the new Grants and Contributions Program Management (GCPM) system, developed by and for all Regional Development Agencies, will provide clients with real-time, secure access to program and project information.
- TBS guidance and implementation plans for the new Policy on Service and Digital are coming over the next few months, which will provide time for departments to adjust to its requirements. There may be additional direction related to service standards in the new guidance. WD will review its service standards in accordance with the new TBS policy.
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