Results: what we achieved

Background: what is a Departmental Results Framework?

In 2018–19, the Department made a shift in its reporting framework from the formerly published Program Alignment Architecture (PAA) to the new Departmental Results Framework (DRF). This new framework outlines what the Department does (Core Responsibilities), what it strives to achieve or influence (Departmental Results) and how progress is assessed (Departmental Result Indicators). The well-being of Veterans and their families is at the centre of this framework.

In developing the framework, the Department considered and leveraged well-established research on the domains of well-being, which form the basis of many of the departmental results we seek to influence. Research has identified key factors that contribute to Veterans’ well-being. These factors include health, purpose, and financial security. The results we are aiming to achieve under the Core Responsibility of Benefits, Services and Support speak squarely to Veterans’ well-being, while the results of the second Core Responsibility are focused on Commemoration.

The framework represents a balance between short and medium term results, and those that are longer-term, and more ambitious results. VAC cannot do this work alone. To truly influence the well-being of Veterans, the government must continue to work closely with partners across all levels of government, with stakeholder groups, and with individual communities across the country.

In this first year of the framework, the Life After Service Study (conducted every three years) was relied on heavily as a data source. While it is the best source of information and evidence available, work continues with other government departments to identify other data sources to supplement the Life After Service Study findings; build capacity in data analytics; increase frequency of collection; and partner with other government departments to expand the Department’s knowledge of the Veteran community.

The following section is organized according to the framework and outlines the results that were achieved.

Complete framework methodologies, as well as financial, human resources and performance information for VAC’s Program Inventory are available in the GC InfoBase.

Core Responsibilities

Benefits, Services and Support

Description: Support the care and well-being of Veterans and their dependents or survivors through a range of benefits, services, research, partnerships and advocacy.

Results

• On 1 April 2018, the Department implemented a comprehensive package of programs, including:
  • An Education and Training Benefit to help eligible Veterans further their education and achieve their post-service employment goals.
  • A redesigned Career Transition Services program to help participants develop the skills and tools needed to effectively search, apply for and obtain civilian employment.
  • A Caregiver Recognition Benefit to formally recognize the contribution of those who provide care to Veterans. This benefit is paid directly to Veterans’ caregivers.
  • An expansion of the Veteran Family Program/ Military Family Services Program to a national-level program.
  • A three-year agreement (2019–2022) with the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre to establish the Centre of Excellence on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and related Mental Health Conditions.
  • A Veteran Emergency Fund to provide quick access to funding to address financial emergencies that Veterans and their families may face.
  • A Veteran and Family Well-being Fund to foster innovative programs, services and supports for Veterans by funding organizations across the country who work on Veteran-centric initiatives. The first call for applications in 2018–19 resulted in 155 applications submitted. From these applications, 21 projects were selected to receive funding for a total of $3M for the fiscal year 2018–19. These initiatives focus on areas including Veteran homelessness, mental health and transition to post-service life. More information about the projects approved in 2017-18 can be found on the Department’s website.
• Throughout 2018–19, VAC prepared to implement two important changes with regard to how we deliver services: Pension for Life (PFL) and adjustments to the Rehabilitation Program.
  • Preparations for the implementation of PFL included:
    • moving client files to the new PFL suite of benefits;
    • creating new operational units to reflect new ways of operating;
    • setting up a special outreach unit to contact Veterans directly to explain changes to the financial benefits being offered to them;
    • hiring and training new employees to successfully carry out these tasks; and
    • hosting town halls and public outreach sessions to raise awareness amongst Veterans, clients and the general Canadian public.
  • For Rehabilitation Services, the one-year time limit on Vocational Rehabilitation Services for eligible spouses and survivors was eliminated.
• Significant progress was also made towards a seamless, Veteran-centric transition model. The VAC-CAF Transition Group continues to work to improve the transition experience for serving members, Veterans and their families.
• The Department worked on several initiatives to further understanding of the ever-changing Veteran population as well as emerging treatment methods, including:
  • the release of Family Well-being and Veteran Suicide reports to inform to better inform the public on Veteran issues;
  • the launch of the fourth cycle of the Life After Service Studies to understand the transition from military to post-service life; and
  • the testing of a Veteran identification question for the 2021 Census to help us better identify Canada’s Veteran population.

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+)

• VAC continued to expand corporate knowledge in the area of Gender-Based Analysis Plus through participation in targeted workshops, the publication of papers looking at the principles of GBA+, and applying a GBA+ lens to our programs so VAC can better understand the characteristics of the Veterans it serves. Highlights from 2018-19 include:
  • developing a Case Management Screening Tool using GBA+ principles to assess the risk and needs of Veterans.
  • modifying the VAC National Survey to consider gender and ethnic diversity, and increasing the sample size to allow more thorough GBA+ analysis of the results;
  • supporting several projects including an online portal to help female Veterans and still-serving members transitioning out of the CAF through the Veteran and Family Well-Bring Fund; and
  • planning for the 1^st Annual Women Veterans’ Forum, the first of its kind in Canada, to bring together Canadian women Veterans and key stakeholders to help direct future research, develop ideas and solutions to policy and program challenges and promote areas of collaboration among women Veterans and stakeholder groups.

Experimentation

• • VAC funded a Service Dog Pilot Study to evaluate the use of psychiatric service dogs as a support for Veterans with PTSD. The study examined the effects of service dogs on psychiatric symptoms, daily/social functioning and quality of life. The pilot found that Veterans who completed the study had a reduction in PTSD symptoms, improved sleep quality, and increased physical activity. However, it did not find a reduction in the use of medication or in the dependency on caregivers. Although the study had promising results, it had a very small sample size – started with 31 Veterans and finished with 18 – which can limit the ability to generalize the study findings.
  • Guided Support, implemented in late 2018, is an approach where a Veterans Service Agent (VSA) takes full responsibility of a Veteran and their family as their primary point of contact. This service is the result of consultations with employees from across the country who identified opportunities to improve service delivery to VAC clients who might benefit from extra support and guidance as well as to Veterans who have completed case management. Employee involvement in this pilot project confirmed the benefits of providing personalized support in many contexts. Veterans were engaged in discussions prior to and following the pilot, which informed national implementation, training, guidelines, and business processes. A formal evaluation of Guided Support will start in winter 2019–20 to evaluate the success of implementation and its impact on Veterans.
  • The Borden Transition Trial is an ongoing pilot project, conducted jointly with CAF, to achieve a consistent, personalized approach to transition. The desired outcomes are: 1) To ensure successful integration/reintegration of CAF members into post-service life while maintaining or enhancing well-being and quality of life; 2) To ensure that all CAF members and their families are informed, prepared and empowered throughout the transition process; and 3) To achieve positive post-transition outcomes related to purposeful/meaningful activity (including employment), finances, health, life skills, social integration, housing/physical environment and cultural and social environment.
  • In 2018–19, the Department continued to develop and implement a new screening tool to identify the risks associated with adjusting to post-service life, frailty, suicide, homelessness and to help triage VAC clients and potential clients into various levels of support. A user trial was conducted in several VAC offices, where staff used the proposed nine-item risk screening tool with consenting Veterans. In January 2019, VAC implemented the new “VAC Screening Tool,” replacing four existing tools and increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the screening process.

Results achieved

The indicators identified with an asterisk (*) in the following table are measured using data from the Life After Service Survey (LASS). This survey is only conducted every three years as significant changes in responses would not be expected to occur over shorter periods of time. Increased frequency of the survey could also result in survey fatigue of respondents and would be costly. The 2016 LASS results noted below were first released in 2017; the results for the 2019 LASS are expected to be available in 2020.

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)

2018–19 Main Estimates	2018–19 Planned spending	2018–19 Total authorities available for use	2018–19 Actual spending (authorities used)	2018–19 Difference (actual minus planned)
4,263,463,384	4,263,463,384	4,628,904,114	4,528,562,537	265,099,153

Human Resources (full-time equivalents)

2018–19 Planned full-time equivalents	2018–19 Actual full-time equivalents	2018–19 Difference (Actual full-time equivalents minus Planned full-time equivalents
1,951.1	2,076.4	125.3

Commemoration

Description: Pay tribute to the sacrifices and achievements of those who served in Canada’s military efforts.

Results

• In 2018–19, the Department:
  • Marked significant military anniversaries—the centennial of Canada’s Hundred Days and the Armistice of the First World War, the 65^th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice and the 5^th anniversary of the end of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan—through a variety of initiatives in Canada as well as leading Government of Canada delegations overseas to France (Amiens), Belgium (Mons) and Korea (Seoul).
  • Distributed more than 4.7 million learning resources and historical products to engage youth and educators with specific content about the end of the First World War and the Korean War Armistice.
  • Completed 12,141 repairs (21% of the total 57,179 repairs) in year one of a five-year project to address Veteran grave maintenance items.
  • Developed plans to mark the 75^th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy.
  • Transferred the plaque honouring Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel S. Sharpe from the foyer of the House of Commons to The Royal, one of Canada’s foremost mental health care and academic health science centres, which will be the home of the plaque while Parliament’s Centre Block is closed for renovations.
  • Moved the Books of Remembrance to the Room of Remembrance in the Visitor Centre of the West Block to ensure they remain accessible to the public during renovations in Centre Block.
  • Confirmed a site on LeBreton Flats, east of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, as the preferred location for the National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan.
  • Provided funding for 253 commemorative projects through the Commemorative Partnership Program.

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+)

• Ensured multi-generational representation in Overseas event delegations to both Korea (May 2018) and Amiens, France (August 2018).
• Celebrated in-Canada events to honour Canada’s Hundred Days that included participation of Veterans, Indigenous groups, youth groups, and current serving members of the CAF. A photographic exhibit in Ottawa, Canada’s Hundred Days: The End of the First World War included images of serving men and women and reflected a variety of ethnic backgrounds. Learning materials also captured a diversity of Canadian identities.

Results achieved

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)

2018–19 Main Estimates	2018–19 Planned spending	2018–19 Total authorities available for use	2018–19 Actual spending (authorities used)	2018–19 Difference (actual minus planned)
42,409,890	42,409,890	46,546,511	45,032,805	2,622,915

Human Resources (full-time equivalents)

2018–19 Planned full-time equivalents	2018–19 Actual full-time equivalents	2018–19 Difference (Actual full-time equivalents minus Planned full-time equivalents
89.6	86.0	(3.6)

Veterans Ombudsman

Description: Provide an independent and impartial review of complaints and issues related to programs and services delivered by the Veterans Affairs Portfolio and uphold the Veterans Bill of Rights.

Results

• The Office of the Veterans Ombudsman (OVO) closed 2,144 of the 2,448 files in the inventory including 2,000 new files received in 2018–19 and 448 files carried over from the previous year.
  Although more files were addressed during 2018–19, 68% of complaints received were closed within 60 working days, compared to the target of 75%. A couple of factors contributed to this result:
  • an increase in the complexity of complaints received by the OVO, resulting in more time required to complete each file.
  • high turnover of operational staff leaving primarily for promotions in other organizations, which resulted in slower response times.
    • To mitigate these challenges, the OVO:
    • started a recruitment drive to ensure an adequate pool of qualified candidates is available, should departures occur.
    • continued to apply a LEAN^{Footnote 8} process;
    • developed a new training program to deal with complex files; and
    • conducted a full review of OVO operations.
• Seven recommendations were made in the report Meeting Expectations: Timely and Transparent Decisions for Canada’s Ill and Injured Veterans. To date, two of the seven recommendations have been implemented; two have been partially implemented; and the remaining three have yet to be implemented.
• In follow-up to the November 2017 Transitioning Successfully: A Qualitative Study, the OVO conducted Public Opinion Research (POR) with the spouses of Veterans in order to better understand the experience of spouses and families who transition out of the Forces along with their Veteran. An academic poster on the OVO’s findings from the POR was presented during the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR) Forum 2018.
• In 2017, the OVO informed VAC of its discovery of an indexation calculation error for Disability Pension Benefits, for which the correction should have been applied retroactively. The Department has since conducted months of research and analysis in order to identify the number of individuals and estates affected. It was determined that there are approximately 267,000 clients affected, 180,000 of which are estates, at a cost estimate upwards of $165 million. A source of funds was then approved and payments began to be issued in September 2019. The Department expects to continue to issue retroactive payments into 2020 for some of the more complex cases.
• The OVO pursued a variety of approaches to engage with the Veteran community, including the publication of four infographic education pieces (Timely and Transparent Decisions; What to do if you Disagree; Fairness for All – GBA+; Pension for Life). As of 31 March 2019, the English version of the infographic on Pension for Life reached 41,956 people and resulted in 9,818 engagements; in French, it reached 6,544 people, resulting in 3,152 engagements.
• The OVO continues to develop an online chat function to better support Veterans’ real-time access to OVO services and to fully integrate the online complaint form with the GC case management system. These improvements were postponed for 2018–19 by VAC in order to implement Pension for Life. These initiatives will now occur during 2019–2021.

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+)

• VAC regulations, policies and programs were reviewed with a lens of “Fairness for all” taking into account the diverse Veteran community. For instance, as a result of OVO’s findings within the report Meeting Expectations: Timely and Transparent Decisions for Canada’s Ill and Injured Veterans, VAC is undertaking an extensive gender-based analysis of Veterans Affairs’ disability benefits processing to better understand why applications from female Veterans often take longer to process.
• The OVO re-engaged its Veterans Ombudsman Advisory Council, integrating GBA+ within the membership and roles.

Results achieved

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)

2018–19 Main Estimates	2018–19 Planned spending	2018–19 Total authorities available for use	2018–19 Actual spending (authorities used)	2018–19 Difference (actual minus planned)
5,386,623	5,386,623	5,360,084	3,735,430	(1,651,193)

Human Resources (full-time equivalents)

2018–19 Planned full-time equivalents	2018–19 Actual full-time equivalents	2018–19 Difference (Actual full-time equivalents minus Planned full-time equivalents
38.0	34.3	(3.7)

VAC’s Internal Services

Description: Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct service categories that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department. The 10 service categories are:

• Acquisition Management Services
• Communications Services
• Financial Management Services
• Human Resources Management Services
• Information Management Services
• Information Technology Services
• Legal Services
• Materiel Management Services
• Management and Oversight Services
• Real Property Management Services.

Results

• In 2018-19, VAC continued to find ways to leverage the use of technology, including:
  • Developing the Pension for Life customer relationship management system in line with Government of Canada Digital Standards.
  • Implementing Government of Canada Secret Infrastructure (GCSI) Phase I, which will improve the security of the Department’s infrastructure and data as well as protecting information against current and future threats.
  • Adapting new technology in mobile devices to allow for more work and telework options for employees and managers, in line with the GCWorkplace Initiative.
• VAC also applied the principles of open and transparent government, such as:
  • Supporting the Open Government initiative by regularly publishing datasets and by monitoring trends in Access to Information requests for opportunities to identify frequently requested information.
  • Consulting Canadians in an accessible manner through the Open Government website.
  • Posted Briefing Note titles to the Open Government online portal.
• Progress was also made in support of Green initiatives, including:
  • Developing Pension for Life as a fully digital end-to-end process, which will greatly reduce the amount of paper generated at VAC.
  • Using an electric-hybrid vehicle for mail delivery to VAC’s eight Charlottetown area offices to help reduce fossil fuel consumption.
  • Reducing the number of printers by half in many offices, influencing new paperless processing and reduction of paper consumption.
• Employees were supported through various initiatives, such as:
  • Reinforcing talent management to support succession planning and to build leadership.
  • Establishing a Workplace Wellness unit to deliver key initiatives, including training sessions and tools to support well-being. In addition, a Mental Health and Well-Being Action Plan was finalized in collaboration with employees and unions.
  • Launching a VAC Youth Network which provides members with a forum to discuss VAC initiatives, promotes career development opportunities, and provides a youthful perspective on issues that affect VAC.
  • Celebrating diversity and inclusion throughout the year by hosting various events, activities, and launching education and awareness sessions.

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+)

• Created a Digital Advisory Board to support VAC’s Digital Transformation, which is chaired by VAC’s Chief Information Officer. The Board includes representatives from: Youth Council, Accessibility, National Employee Council, CAF Veteran, and Service Delivery. This diversity ensures that informed decisions are made that consider the Department’s mandate, along with client and employee needs.
• Ensured that GBA+ training was identified in “Map Your Career” as a training requirement. Map your Career is an initiative designed to support employee learning and development, and the management of one’s career at VAC.

Experimentation

• Completed Phase 1 setup of the DND-VAC Canadian Forces Health Information System (CHFIS) pilot. The project is part of the initiative to reduce the need to scan paper at DND and send it to VAC.
• Following a successful experiment in 2017–18, VAC is now using Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Cognitive Computing to determine items of business value on shared network drives. Other opportunities for AI to support service delivery are being explored.

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)

2018–19 Main Estimates	2018–19 Planned spending	2018–19 Total authorities available for use	2018–19 Actual spending (authorities used)	2018–19 Difference (actual minus planned)
83,294,535	83,294,535	115,087,113	113,132,181	29,837,646

Human Resources (full-time equivalents)

2018–19 Planned full-time equivalents	2018–19 Actual full-time equivalents	2018–19 Difference (Actual full-time equivalents minus Planned full-time equivalents
646.1	671.0	24.9