Taking the time to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate programming will ultimately result in more effective programming. When the monitoring is ongoing and systematic, rather than occasional or sporadic, agencies are better able to make changes and strategize for improvements. Documenting and analyzing results on an ongoing basis provides the required evidence to determine if progress is being made. Successes can be validated and, if necessary, processes and/or targets can be re-evaluated.

As literacy practitioners, we talk to learners about setting goals and measuring achievement towards those goals. We offer opportunities for monitoring those goals through assessment at the beginning, throughout and at the end of the program. We encourage learners to assess their own progress. Learner goal achievement can be reported to the funder, to other training providers, to employers, to family members and to others. Since we want our learners to set goals and monitor their progress, why wouldn’t we do the same for our programs?

Who Uses Performance Management?

Performance management is not a new concept. It is not unique to the Labour Market and Training Division, nor to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. It is used by governments, corporations and not-for-profit organizations around the world. In Canada, there is a government-wide shift to results or performance-based management.

As a result of this widespread use, there are many examples of how performancebased management is being used successfully not only in Canada, but globally. In order to better understand the applicability of performance management in literacy programming, it is helpful to examine how it has been implemented elsewhere. One notable example from outside of Canada is the Outcomes and Outputs Framework being used by the Australian government to benchmark and manage the performance results of their main service delivery agencies.

Another good example is the outcomes-based National Reporting System for Adult Education Programs that was developed by the United States’ Department of Education Division of Adult Education and Literacy. Please see Appendix 2 for more detailed information about this system.

Australia: The Outcomes and Outputs Framework

The Australian government’s results-based management system is called the Outcomes and Outputs Framework. Benchmarking is a key component of how programs are managed in the main service delivery agencies in Australia, and each government ministry or government-funded agency benchmarks its operating procedures and its results in comparison with other similar agencies or organizations in the private sector. ^{Endnote 7}