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Presidents Corner

President Reports on Second Annual Leadership Council Meeting

The Agencys executives from both the field and headquarters gathered for the second Annual Meeting of the Leadership Council at the former Ottawa City Hall on Sussex Drive on May 1718, 2010. Over these two days, the group had a real opportunity to look back at CIDAs many accomplishments over the last year, substantially discuss exciting future directions for the Agency, and examine the priorities and areas of focus for this year, in line with the vision of CIDA in 2015. The Agency has come a long way since the Leadership Council was established last June. At that meeting, the council identified priorities for the coming year, which were integrated into the Corporate Public Service Employee Survey Action Plan. Among the achievements to date:

The new corporate committee system is providing more transparent, inclusive, and accountable decision making in the Agency; The business modernization initiative has accelerated progress on decentralization and the rollout of the new directive process, and broadened into responsive programming Agency-wide; and Internal communications have been strengthened with the redesign of Entre Nous, including new features such as the Presidents Corner and the e-knowledge site, and with regular meetings between staff and the President and Executive Vice-President.

These are important achievements, especially in view of the fact that they coincided with tremendous work that was done on the policy and programming side (see Looking back with pride! (PDF, 1.04MB, 13 pages). CIDA has made great strides in implementing the aid effectiveness agenda, with the publication of the Aid Effectiveness Action Plan, the completion of the country strategies, and the multilateral effectiveness review. The Agency has also developed main thematic strategies: food security, children and youth, and sustainable economic growth. At the same time, CIDA has strengthened its accountability through a strong evaluation function and better reporting to Parliament.

I am proud of what we have accomplished together. CIDA is a more focused, effective, and accountable organization, with clear priorities and strengthened governance. The results of these discussions have been incorporated into the Agencys new Strategic Planning Framework Priorities for 20092010 to 20112012 (PDF, 66 KB, 1 page).

It was in this context that the Leadership Council turned to the future, envisaging development dynamics in 2015 (see The World in Focus (PDF, 727 KB, 20 pages)). It heard from both internal and external development experts on topics such as:

trends in demographics, especially the youth tsunami; the economy, focusing on the impact of the financial crisis on the poorest countries; ongoing security concerns; and the environment, especially climate change and its impact on food security.

The council also discussed the changing face of international development with the emergence of middle-income countries, including China and India, in worldwide investment, development assistance, and global governance. The discussion included a look ahead to the G8 and G20 meetings and the work to be done on maternal and child health, as well as the UN Special Summit this fall, which will review the progress made toward the Millennium Development Goals.

Several directors from the field addressed the council, outlining how many of these factors are influencing CIDAs programs and activities. The thematic priorities position the Agency well to deal with many of these challenges over the next five years; however, the council agreed that it needs to look at other enablers to get to 2015 as an agency that is targeted, decentralized, and innovative.

Among the key elements explored were the use of staff knowledge and experienceCIDAs value-addedto focus efforts where Canada can make the greatest difference. The council also underscored the need to adapt to the changing development environment, seeking out new kinds of partnerships, adopting new technologies, and intensifying support for innovation. The group noted that the Agency needs to get its message out to Canadians, agreeing that with the strategic framework in place, it is now time to tell a coherent and compelling development story.

The year 20102011 is a pivotal one for CIDA. Business modernization will be an overarching priority as the first wave of focus countries (Bangladesh, the Caribbean, Ghana, Tanzania, and Ukraine) decentralizes and as the Agency finalizes the renewal of programming with Canadian partners, fully implements integrated business planning, and continues re-engineering its business processes. Staff are also deeply involved in preparations for the G8/G20 meetings, MDG Summit in September, and Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in 2011; the implementation of the LAquila Food Security Initiative; and the reconstruction of Haiti.

It is not business as usual, but we are up to the challenge. It is time to consolidate our gains, reap the benefits of our hard work in business modernization, and build on the progress we have made in the aid effectiveness agenda. We have our strategies, plans, and priorities. We will stay on course toward the CIDA of 2015.

Again, I am really proud of what we accomplished together over the past year, and I am excited about the future prospects for CIDAone of the most effective development agencies in the world. I encourage you to review and discuss the material that was distributed at the Leadership Council, including CIDAs Strategic Priorities for 20102011.