Introduction

Canadians want to know whether public funds are being used wisely and government programs and services are working well. Traditionally, governments have kept track of and reported on their use of inputs, e.g., the human resources allocated, and the amount of money spent, in their delivery of programs and services. While this is an important part of accountability, governments also need to report on whether their programs and services are effective in achieving their intended goals: they need to report on results.

This publication outlines efforts on the part of the federal government to implement reporting on results and to improve the effectiveness of its reporting over the past decades; recent initiatives on results‑based reporting; observations by auditors general on the quality of the information reported; systemic challenges that inhibit the effectiveness of reporting on results; and some practices in other jurisdictions.