Continuous Improvement Performance Management System

SECTION 1: Introduction to CIPMS

Introduction

The Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) introduced the concept of a Continuous Improvement Performance Management System (CIPMS) to Ontario’s Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) adult literacy delivery agencies in 2001 when it implemented a computer-based Information Management System (IMS).

The idea of CIPMS, however, wasn’t new. Performance management has been an important concept in business and government around the world, and MTCU itself had previously implemented CIPMS in Job Connect agencies across the province. Later in this manual, we will look at some examples of how CIPMS has been beneficial for Job Connect and for a number of other organizations.

Since 2001, MTCU has continued to introduce components of CIPMS to the Ontario literacy field. Implementation has varied across the province, so in 2007, MTCU funded Community Literacy of Ontario (CLO), the Ontario Literacy Coalition (OLC), the Deaf Literacy Initiative (DLI), the Ontario Native Literacy Coalition (ONLC), and La Coalition francophone pour l’alphabétisation et la formation de base en Ontario (La Coalition) to provide CIPMS training to their respective members.

As part of CLO’s commitment to providing CIPMS information and training to the Anglophone community-based sector, we have

• delivered introductory training at Laubach Literacy Ontario’s annual conference (Kitchener, June 2007; 34 people trained)
• moderated a discussion on AlphaCom (http://alphacom.alphaplus.ca) from January to March 2008 (60 people enrolled)
• developed two CIPMS Bulletins (October 2007 and February 2008) www.nald.ca/clo.htm. Please click on “Newsletters”
• produced CIPMS e-communiqués (October 2007 and March 2008) www.nald.ca/clo.htm. Please click on “E-Communiqués”