The purpose of CAMERA: Taking it to the field was to train a substantial number of assessors and administrators throughout Ontario’s literacy field on assessment and programming for employment-bound LBS learners. PTP also investigated the feasibility of adapting their curriculum and assessment materials for other streams.

Le Cap chose not to pursue development of the pre-apprenticeship/apprenticeship path for two reasons. First of all the CSC was already exploring this pathway. Secondly, learners in Le Cap’s L'alphabétisation et la Formation de Base (AFB) program are also on an employment path, and Le Cap saw greater benefit for their learners in working on the translation and adaptation of CAMERA.

The role of the remaining twelve projects was to provide direction on the development of the framework. Several projects focused on development of resources and assessment tools based on Essential Skills. Two focused on professional development for instructors. Most of the projects focused on learners’ employment goals.

A structure was developed for ensuring full participation of all projects and an efficient means for flowing project information into a central workgroup. See Appendix B for the organizational chart which shows the relationship of the established teams. Terms of reference were also developed by TCU to outline the duties, expectations and responsibilities of the teams.

Four meetings were scheduled during the first four months of 2007 to bring representatives of umbrella groups, streams and sectors to work together, collaborate on their projects and make decisions about the framework. The Project Team communicated between meetings by phone and email. The CSC recognized the importance of the ongoing involvement of the other sectors and streams from the inception of the project and tried to ensure that the framework took into consideration their advice and recommendations as much as possible.

The model did not prove effective. Although other sector and stream projects were eager to contribute to the development of the framework and pleased to participate in the initiative, the large size and cumbersome structure of the group made the process of sharing information difficult. Expectations were not always met. For their part, team members were under immense pressure to produce a draft assessment framework in very short timeframe which didn’t allow for the kind of collaboration that would have made this process a more positive and cohesive experience. Furthermore, the Project Team was not comfortable sharing information about the framework without a better grasp of the validity issues surrounding it and the possible implications for programs. While general information on the framework has been shared with the field in a variety of ways, it has not been shared consistently.