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Prepared by: Goss Gilroy Inc. Management Consultants Suite 900, 150 Metcalfe Street Ottawa, ON K2P 1P1 Tel: 613-230-5577 Fax: 613-235-9592 Email: [email protected]
Date: March 19, 2019
Lessons Learned from the Consolidation of DND/CAF Staff through the Carling Campus Initiative
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Lessons Learned from the Consolidation of DND/CAF Staff through the Carling Campus Initiative i
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ............................................................................................. i
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ ii
1.0 Introduction .......................................................................................... 1
1.1 Objective of the study .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 1
2.0 Background and Context ....................................................................... 3
2.1 The issue ................................................................................................................................................... 3
2.2 The initiative ........................................................................................................................................... 3
2.3 Context....................................................................................................................................................... 4
2.4 Project delivery of refit and relocation projects ...................................................................... 5
3.0 Lessons Learned .................................................................................... 9
3.1 Governance and oversight ............................................................................................................... 10
3.2 Funding and approvals ..................................................................................................................... 12
3.3 Change management ......................................................................................................................... 14
3.4 Relationship management............................................................................................................... 16
3.5 Outcomes management .................................................................................................................... 17
3.6 Project management .......................................................................................................................... 19
4.0 Conclusions ............................................................................................. 23
List of Acronyms ........................................................................................... 24
Appendix A: Methodology for the Study of Lessons Learned......................... 25
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Lessons Learned from the Consolidation of DND/CAF Staff through the Carling Campus Initiative ii
Acknowledgements
This study was undertaken by a team of 4 consultants, all of whom brought a unique and valued
contribution. Goss Gilroy Inc. would like to thank these team members, including Sandy Moir,
James Hamilton, Laura Conroy and Marianne Corriveau.
The study team would also like to thank Public Services and Procurement Canada, the Department
of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, Shared Services Canada, Treasury Board
Secretariat of Canada and Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions who supported our work
throughout the assignment.
Of course, no study of this kind can be undertaken without the generosity of those who
participated in interviews and workshops. Many of those we consulted for the study were asked
to provide additional documents, clarification and participate in the validation of the findings. We
thank them for their insights and commitment to continuous improvement in their organizations
and the Government of Canada as a whole.
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Lessons Learned from the Consolidation of DND/CAF Staff through the Carling Campus Initiative 1
1.0 Introduction
Goss Gilroy Inc. (GGI) was hired by the Office of the Chief Audit Executive at Public Services and
Procurement Canada (PSPC) to undertake a Study of Lessons Learned from the Consolidation of the
Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF) staff as part of the joint
PSPC-DND/CAF Carling Campus initiative. The study was undertaken to inform other current and
future large scale transformation initiatives that will rely on infrastructure as a lever to drive change.
As such, PSPC would like to thank its partners that participated in this study such that PSPC can benefit
from these lessons learned for future initiatives.
This study was launched in late February 2018 and data collection was completed in September 2018.
1.1 Objective of the study The objective of the study was to gather lessons learned related to the management of the initiative
from 2010 (or acquisition of Carling Campus) until present day.1 This involved capturing stakeholder
perspectives on what did and did not go well throughout the planning and ongoing implementation of
the initiative. The lessons learned study included how the work of PSPC, Shared Services Canada
(SSC), DND/CAF, as well as Treasury Board Secretariat, impacted the overall success of the joint
management of the initiative. The study considered the overall contextual factors influencing the scope
of the initiative which includes being a large, complex, multi-year assignment with changing
requirements.
1.2 Methodology Based on a planning phase that included key informant interviews and a review of documents, GGI
designed and implemented a methodology that included a series of interviews and a half-day
workshop. We also consulted and reviewed many different documents from a variety of sources.
Appendix A provides more details regarding the methodology for the study.
During the examination phase, every effort was made to obtain the views of all relevant stakeholders.
Public servants from PSPC, DND/CAF, SSC and Treasury Board Secretariat were consulted. The study
design sought representation of public servants at all levels of the organization, including employees,
managers and executives. We also consulted many from outside of government including
representatives of private sector entities involved in the initiative (vendors and consultants). In all, we
spoke with almost 30 individuals with varying degrees of responsibilities related to the initiative.
1 This includes the relocation of the first wave of DND/CAF employees in January 2017 and the ongoing monitoring activities that are currently in place
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Lessons Learned from the Consolidation of DND/CAF Staff through the Carling Campus Initiative 2
To conduct the analysis, the study team met several times to discuss and consolidate the main findings
and identify the lessons learned. All the lessons contained in this report are based on the consultations
and supported with the team’s knowledge of leading practices in these areas. It was critical for the
study to validate the views and opinions of respondents. We did this in three ways.
1) We tested and validated concepts from documents, interviews and a workshop.
2) As we synthesized and reviewed the results, we sought out areas of agreement and
disagreement and identified where opinions were held by many or a few or by only certain
types of participants. Any areas of disagreement or confusion were followed up with additional
validation through a review of documents and judgment based on our professional expertise
and experience. Also during the analysis of the evidence, the team brought their considerable
and varied experiences to help interpret what we heard and to apply known leading practices.
3) We shared preliminary findings with the project’s Director General Interdepartmental Steering
Committee (DGISC) and the Senior Project Advisory Committee (SPAC).
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2.0 Background and Context
2.1 The issue The 2008 DND/CAF Accommodation Strategy stated a clear desire to consolidate DND/CAF’s strategic
and administration functions. DND/CAF personnel have been distributed in many locations across the
National Capital Area (NCA), mainly leased commercial space. These locations have been costly to
lease, refit, secure and renew on a recurring basis. To address this strategic objective and these
inefficiencies, in 2008, the Government began evaluating sites for the purpose of consolidating
DND/CAF operations in the NCA. In 2010, the auction of the Carling Campus, the former headquarters
of Nortel, presented Public Works and Government Services Canada (now PSPC) with an exceptional
real estate opportunity to purchase a facility that represented considerable value for money for
Canada.
Once the Carling Campus was purchased, PSPC began working with the DND/CAF and SSC on
consolidating a large part of the DND/CAF’s headquarters operations at the Carling Campus. An
undertaking of this scope presented a number of unique challenges. Though some of these were
anticipated and their related risks mitigated for the Carling Campus initiative, others were
unanticipated and have resulted in both delays and additional projects costs.2
2.2 The initiative The infrastructure aspects of the initiative, which consists most significantly of the refit of the Carling
Campus and consolidation and relocation of DND/CAF personnel at Carling Campus (referred to in this
report as the ‘refit and relocation project’), is expected to generate savings for Canadian taxpayers as
well as an increase in the operational efficiency of DND/CAF operations. The consolidation will see
DND/CAF move from over 47 offices to approximately 7 major locations in the NCA, which is expected
to produce $750 million in net savings in accommodations costs over a 25 year period, plus an
additional $160 million for DND/CAF in cost avoidance. These savings are based on the reduction of
higher cost leased accommodation in the Ottawa downtown core occasioned by the movement to a
crown-owned suburban location. This major refit and relocation project represents one of the largest
office consolidations in Canadian history. 3 The infrastructure aspects of the initiative also include GC
Workplace 2.0 accommodation standards and a modern work environment, as well as provide an
opportunity to better leverage new technologies and new Information Management/Knowledge
Management policies and practices.
2 Proservices RFP nº 10057755 3 Proservices RFP nº 10057755
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Lessons Learned from the Consolidation of DND/CAF Staff through the Carling Campus Initiative 4
The initiative served as a catalyst for DND/CAF to reconsider its use of infrastructure as a lever to
operate in better alignment with and contribute to the achievement of its Defence Priorities and
Strategic Outcomes. These included a new security and strategic environment with new
organizational structures, renewed governance model, new business practices, and new HR policies,
which were driven by other initiatives such as the Security Review Initiative and the Defence Renewal
Initiative.
The Carling Campus initiative was also viewed as an opportunity to contribute to tri-partite objectives
(between PSPC, DND/CAF and SSC) of “streamlining project planning, implementation and
operations”, in a manner consistent with the GC’s objective to “utilize sustainable development
initiatives to the Departments’ maximum fiscal and cultural advantage.”4
As noted, the initiative consists primarily of a number of refit and relocation projects to be delivered in
three phases. The infrastructure aspects of the initiative and the refit and relocation projects are
included in the scope of this engagement. The Security Review and Defence Renewal Initiatives were
not included in the scope of this engagement.
2.3 Context
The opportunity In 2010, the Government of Canada (GC) (through PSPC, then known as PWGSC) was presented with
the opportunity to purchase the former Nortel Carling Campus located at 3500 Carling Avenue,
Ottawa, Ontario. On November 18, 2010, the Treasury Board approved the acquisition of Carling
Campus from Nortel Networks Technology Corporation and Nortel Networks Limited, which was
effectively purchased on December 17, 2010. Three years later on December 12, 2013, PSPC, DND/CAF
and SSC presented a joint request for the approval of planning, design and implementation authorities
to launch the Carling Campus Initiative.
The Carling Campus opportunity came at a time when PWGSC (now PSPC) had been evaluating sites to
support DND/CAF’s identified need to undergo a transformation in terms of its use of space and
resources within the NCA. While the DND/CAF’s existing 40 plus locations were in the
Ottawa/Gatineau core and thus closer to Parliament and to Other Government Departments, and made
it easier to employ staff from Quebec and Ontario, the 40 plus locations were leased at capacity,
presenting expansion challenges, and were costly to operate.5
As well, DND/CAF was dissatisfied with how their employees located in Ottawa-Gatineau were
fractioned and how this negatively impacted the department’s horizontal integration, efficiency and
decision-making ability. For DND/CAF, the transformation initiative was driven by a need for
4 PSPC (2013). Project Charter. Carling Campus Project. Page 2. 5 CCP Presentation to SPAC, July 4, 2018. Slide 5.
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Lessons Learned from the Consolidation of DND/CAF Staff through the Carling Campus Initiative 5
increased quality and speed of decision-making, a need for increased intra-departmental collaboration
and organizational effectiveness.
The initiative allowed the consolidation and relocation of at least one third of DND/CAF full time
equivalents in the NCA – a number then estimated at 8,500 employees – from numerous downtown
core locations (from over 40 across the NCA) to a single suburban campus. The move was expected to
start in December 2015 and to be completed by June 2019. The initiative also included change-
management support to impacted DND/CAF staff. In its end state, the Carling Campus workspace will
conform with Workplace 2.0 combined with modern IT infrastructure and security features.
2.4 Project delivery of refit and relocation projects
Roles of key players The Project charter, which covered the refit and relocation projects that form part of the infrastructure
aspect of the Carling Campus initiative, as well as other documentation (such as the DND/CAF
Performance Measurement Plan) define the roles of the three main departments, PSPC, DND/CAF and
SSC, as follows:
PSCP is the “mandated custodian of the Campus and the Single Project Authority, accountable to
Treasury Board for project delivery.”
DND/CAF is the “tenant of the buildings and grounds, responsible for the definition of
requirements, and remains accountable for the information technology infrastructure within the
DND/CAF legislative mandate.” DND/CAF is also responsible for the physical security of the site.
SSC is the “provider of information technology infrastructure services within the SSC legislative
mandate to support National Defence’s business operations.”
Implementation details The three priorities identified in the project charter were cost, time and scope. The charter also
highlighted a number of anticipated challenges relating to the significant scope and scale of the
initiative, procurement timeframes, design and construction security protocols, the differences in
departmental motivators of the parties involved (PSPC, SSC, DND/CAF), and departmental initiative
requirement implementation interdependencies.6 The Project Charter identified a governance
structure, financial structure (including cost-sharing principles), and other considerations about
management approach, dispute resolution mechanisms, requirements and solutions, security
requirements, a communication strategy, reporting mechanisms, and processes for project charter
updates.
6 PSPC (2013). Project Charter. Carling Campus Project. Page 5-6.
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Lessons Learned from the Consolidation of DND/CAF Staff through the Carling Campus Initiative 6
PSPC applied its National Project Management System methodology to ensure “efficient, effective and
standardized project management”7 and delivery. A number of key documents were developed to
support the initiative design and delivery (e.g., joint management plan, performance management
plans, etc.) along with the fulfilment of numerous reporting requirements.
Initial scope and timeline The refit and relocation projects comprise the refit of 11 buildings totalling 2.5 million square feet, and
was estimated to cost over $500M, and requires over 5 years for completion.8 Over time, less space
was required for special purpose freeing up this space to include additional workspaces. The refit of
and relocation was intended to occur in three phases.
Phase 1, which included four buildings (buildings 6, 7, 8 and 9), was designed to host 3,741
workspaces with occupancy planned to start in 2017.
Phase 2, initially intended to host 3,900 workspaces, included buildings 2, 3, and 5, as well as a
pavilion and a service centre. After design, however, the Phase 2 buildings were found capable of
hosting 4,382 workspaces and were designed as such. Occupancy was initially slated for 2018-
2019.
Phase 3, which included building 10, was designed to host 1,323 workspaces, rather than an
anticipated 1,190 with occupancy anticipated by 2019.
In total, there would be 9,446 workspaces, as opposed to the anticipated 8,500.
Costs The refit and relocation project tracked three sets of costs: purchase costs, fit-up costs and transition
costs. Purchase and fit-up costs are costs associated with the purchase and renovation of the campus
itself. Transition costs are costs associated with carrying costs such as on-going operations while
waiting for the relocation to happen. According to a joint tri-departmental presentation to SPAC, the
total project authority (purchase, fit-up and transition) has evolved to reach $837.6M (excluding HST)
by February 2018 , the third time the project was presented to TB. The overall performance was
deemed to be on time, on budget and on scope. The deck presented the following overall status /
budget update as of December 2013, June 2015 and February 2018.9
Project Authority December 2013 ($M)
June 2015 ($M)
February 2018 ($M)
Purchase 208.3 208.3 208.3 Fit-up 506.0 506.0 537.3 Transition 41.2 77.9 92.0
7 PSPC (2013). Project Charter. Carling Campus Project. Page 2. 8 BGIS (2017). Lessons Learned Report. p.4. 9 SPAC presentation deck, July 2018. Slide 8.
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Lessons Learned from the Consolidation of DND/CAF Staff through the Carling Campus Initiative 7
Total (excl. HST) 755.2 792.2 837.6
As of July 1st, 2018, the value of the fit-up work done was $316.2M, or 58.8% of the budgeted $537.3M,
with:
Phase 1 complete (budget spent at 94.2%).10
Phase 2 in progress (budget spent at 41.2%).
The largest outstanding spending in Phase 3 (5.2% of current budget).11
Budget and schedule amendments Approval to increase the original fit-up budget of $506.0M to $537.3M was received. Reasons for the
increase in costs, as articulated in the status reports to TB,12 include:
Upgrades to DND/CAF’s security policies (resulted in $19.6M additional costs);
Accelerated procurement process combined with low quality design packages for Phase 1
(resulted in $12.2M additional costs);
Revised IT security requirements due to the inability to use existing IT pathways (resulted in
$4.3M additional costs); and
Increased IT costs (by $1.6M), offset by decreased IT fit-up costs (by $6.4M).
Approval for a change in schedule was also received with a delay for the final move-in date for all three
phases from March 2019 to late Fall 2019. Reasons for the schedule change, as articulated in the status
reports to TB, include:
Phase 1 move-in date delayed nine months (from December 2015 to September 2016) due to the
combined effect of the slower than planned ramp-up process for the design consultant and
construction manager as well the recapitalization work (glazing and seismic upgrades) that had to
be added to the Phase 1 buildings scope of work;
Phase 1 move-in date further delayed three months (from September to December 2016) due to
the large number of changes and corrections resulting from Buildings 8 and 9 being tendered with
66% design packages; and
Phase 1 move-in date further delayed one month (from December 2016 to January 2017) due to
DND/CAF’s decision to wait until after the Christmas and New Year break to ensure a better user
experience.
10 Note that some site work part of Phase 1 is ongoing. 11 SPAC presentation deck, July 2018. Slide 10. 12 PSPC, DND/CAF, SSC (March 2018). Carling Campus Project: Semi-Annual Report to Treasury Board. As of December 31, 2017. Pages 4 to 6.
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Lessons Learned from the Consolidation of DND/CAF Staff through the Carling Campus Initiative 8
These delays resulted in the Phase 2 post tenders construction schedule and the Phase 3 preliminary
schedule that suggest that the Carling Campus Project move-ins will resume late Fall 2018 with a view
for all move-ins to be completed late Fall 2019.
Procurement and competitive process PSPC contracted out the work using a Real Property-2 (RP-2) procurement vehicle, whereby the GC
identified a requirement for the services of a company to provide Real Property Management, Project
Delivery and Optional Services for PSPC buildings located on the Carling Campus and Tunney’s Pasture
Campus. The Request for Proposals went out on MERX on September 21, 2012. Bidders engaged in the
competitive process were only required to submit a single bid for both campuses. The contract was
issued to the successful bidder on June 3, 2013.
The bid was won by Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions (BGIS), who then became the sole vendor
group responsible for the management of construction and retrofitting operations of the Carling
Campus facilities. This included the hiring of subcontractors involved in various aspects of the site
renovations and upgrades required for the campus to host DND/CAF’s employees and meet
departmental security requirements. As such, BGIS hired and oversaw the work of a consortium of
NORR Architects and HOK (hired as principal architect) and EllisDon Construction (hired as
construction manager).
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3.0 Lessons Learned
Through the analysis of the consultations and documents, the study team has identified eight lessons
in six major areas as outlined in the figure below. Most of these lessons have been learned and
implemented through continuous improvement throughout the management of the Carling Campus
initiative. The value of this work will come from using the lessons for other infrastructure initiatives in
the future. Perhaps the one area that remains an area for improvement for the Carling Campus
initiative is outcomes management where there has been little integration of the project outcomes and
initiative outcomes.
Each of the lessons is described in more detail below. In each case, the lesson is outlined and
supporting evidence subsequently presented.
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3.1 Governance and oversight
Governance Governance is a tool to increase accountability of all players. The need for governance exists anytime a
group of people come together to accomplish an end.13 Governance determines who has power, who
makes decisions, how other players make their voice heard and how accountability is rendered.14
Governance is a critical function in any transformation initiative or large scale project. Effective
governance should include proper levels of decision-making, delegation and sign-off.
Lesson 1: Effective governance design should support decision-making at appropriate levels and ensure partners deliver on their respective accountabilities, in accordance with the Project Charter.
The Carling Campus initiative integrated major transformational objectives for DND/CAF, both
operational and strategic, with a large construction refit and relocation project managed by PSPC and
IT infrastructure managed by SSC. As a result, many accountabilities were shared by the partners and
there were significant interdependencies between the separate accountabilities of each
partner. Further, governance of the infrastructure initiative also included other stakeholders to the
project, including Treasury Board Secretariat, vendors, advisors, etc.
The governance structure for the infrastructure aspects of the initiative included representatives from
all three organizations and consisted of:
The Executive Steering Committee
The Interdepartmental Senior Project Advisory Committee
A Director General Interdepartmental Steering Committee
A Joint Project Management Committee
A Senior Project Manager Committee
Project Team Committees, dealing with Schedule, Design, Construction, Site Design Development, Furniture Focus, Telecommunications, Security, Budget, etc.
According to many of those consulted for this study, the multiple levels of governance has minimized
delays and prevented the need for all matters to be escalated to senior management.
Observations related to managing shared accountability to help maximize buy-in and participation of
partners and support discharge of respective accountabilities include:
Maintaining a co-chair or rotating chair model for governance committees.
Maintaining a strong secretariat function to establish and distribute agendas, take and distribute records of decisions, and tracking of action items.
13 Institute on Governance. (2018). https://iog.ca/what-is-governance/ 14 IBID
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Lessons Learned from the Consolidation of DND/CAF Staff through the Carling Campus Initiative 11
Clarifying roles and expectations of other stakeholders in regular attendance.
It was also observed decision-making and problem solving related to the refit and relocation projects,
and communication between partners was enhanced by the co-location of PSPC’s, DND/CAF’s, and
SSC’s project management office. Using a single integrated project management schedule was
identified as important to identifying interdependencies, monitoring overall progress, and addressing
issues.
We understand DND/CAF developed a governance structure to support the change management
accountabilities of DND/CAF for the Carling Campus and its other renewal initiatives, although the
study did not examine these.
Oversight Project oversight offers an ongoing independent and comprehensive review of a project, including its
people, processes and effectiveness. Project oversight begins during the planning phase and continues
until the project’s completion.15
Lesson 2: Mechanisms to assess project progress should be implemented from project initiation to provide project managers, stakeholders and oversight bodies with updates on and insight into progress.
Currently, Treasury Board receives semi-annual progress reports on the refit and relocation project
that are informed by semi-annual Project Health Reviews (a special type of review that is conducted
between predetermined project gates). The integrated project team semi-annual progress report was
first issued in 2015 and replaced the annual report and mid-year dashboards previously submitted to
Treasury Board.16
PSPC engaged the services of a third party to conduct the semi-annual Project Health Reviews. These
Reviews assess three factors – time, scope and budget.17 The assessment process followed the
Treasury Board Secretariat Reviewer’s Handbook for discovery and analysis.
Periodic lessons learned exercises are/were also completed by each of the participating departments
as well as by the integrated project team and by BGIS. The purpose of the lessons learned exercise led
by BGIS was to identify significant successes achieved (and how to replicate them) as well as how
issues, problems, and other setbacks were encountered, how they were overcome, and how they
could be avoided in the future.18 Conducting ongoing lessons learned exercises were seen as team
building opportunities by some stakeholders, which allow for better mutual understanding of
participants needs.
15 Modus. (2018). Project Oversight. http://www.modus-group.com/expertise/project-oversight/ 16 PWGSC.DND/CAF.SSC. (2016).Carling Campus Project: Semi-Annual Report to Treasury Board 17 PWGSC.DND/CAF.SSC. (2016).Carling Campus Project: Semi-Annual Report to Treasury Board 18 BGIS.(2017).Lessons Learned Report Carling Campus Project
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It is the view of the study team that implementing mechanisms that form an integrated part of the
project delivery from project initiation are an effective way to provide updates/reflections on progress
to help inform project managers and key stakeholders, as well as provide insight into progress to
oversight bodies.
3.2 Authorities and approvals
Lesson 3: Complexity should be minimized when designing the approach for seeking expenditure authorities, where possible.
According to the TB Policy on the Management of Projects,19 in exercising oversight, TB Ministers limit
the expenditure authority exercised by departmental ministers, requiring those ministers to bring
expenditures that exceed those limits to TB Ministers for approval. Based on a department’s project
management capacity and the assessed project complexity and risk, project approval limits are then
established. In the case of the Carling Campus initiative, given the planned expenditures and project
complexity, all departments had to seek TB Minister approval for expenditure authorities (EAs).
According to the policy and those from Treasury Board Secretariat interviewed, there are no
requirements dictating the approach departments take to seek authorities except they must be
calibrated with the assessed project risk and complexity and approvals can only be granted for project
phases that have been appropriately defined and assessed.
In the case of the Carling Campus initiative, the approach for seeking approval from Treasury Board
for authorities was divided into three phases, each of which required separate EAs and Treasury Board
Submissions. Further, for each of these three phases, authorities were sought for each of the three
departments (PSPC, DND/CAF, and SSC) involved in each of the three phases. As a result, nine
separate budgets were approval for the Carling Campus Initiative.
The reason why each department sought separate EAs when both DND/CAF and SSC provided funds to
PSPC to execute work on their behalf was not discussed during consultations for this study. However,
the interviews with Treasury Board Secretariat personnel revealed that it is not uncommon for
projects to be structured where each participating department seeks its own authorities.
The approach designed to support the authorities for the Carling Campus Initiative was unanimously
described as being complex and creates challenges to managing the financial aspects of the Initiative.
As well, according to most, the benefits from using this complex authority approach were not evident.
Although funding within a phase could be reassigned to future years, by having separate EAs and
Treasury Board Submissions for each phase, authorities cannot be transferred between EAs. In the
case of the Carling Campus initiative, while the EA1 was exceeded, at the time of writing, EA2 is
19 TB (2007). Policy on the Management of Projects. https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=18229. Accessed February 11, 2019.
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expected to be underspent. However, as mentioned, authorities could not be transferred without
Treasury Board approval.
The administrative burden of managing authorities and approvals under this approach was identified
by study participants as heavy given that each of the nine budgets require individual management.
Each of these nine budgets required the development of a substantive estimate, once information was
available and known with sufficient certainty, prior to seeking approval. This also required ongoing
management and reporting of nine budgets at the departments and to Treasury Board. Changes
involving expenditure levels (delays or accelerations) within each of the phases required each
department to adjust cash flow statements accordingly to each of the nine budgets, as appropriate.
Further, all three departments must account for their authorities both departmentally and to Treasury
Board despite the fact that a portion of these were transferred to PSPC via Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) or recovered through Specific Service Arrangements. Consideration of
alternative approaches might explore opportunities for fewer budgets, while still maintaining
sufficient accountability reporting.
This approach also created financial management challenges unique to initiatives that cover a number
of years. It is generally expected, and was indeed the refit project team’s experience, that priorities
and GC policies change over time (such as the level of DND/CAF security required or the Greening of
Government policies). The limited flexibility created by this approach of nine budgets, created
challenges in managing the financial impacts of changing priorities and policies.
Managing the financial aspects of complex infrastructure initiatives can also be complicated by the fact
there is a great deal of unknown information, which was particularly the case with Carling Campus
where Building Condition Reports described several buildings as being in poor quality. For example,
the phase-based approach to the approval of authorities ignored known additional expenditures in the
development of Phase 1 budgets.
The consequences of these various layers of complexity created by this approach of nine budgets and
three EAs have been:
Significant investment of time and resources to write multiple Treasury Board Submissions and
other authorities design documentation for one Initiative.
Significant investment of time and resources for budget management at all three departments.
A requirement for overly complex MOUs between the players.
A requirement to establish complex communication and financial reporting protocols between the
departments.
Some possible alternative approaches that might be pursued for future complex initiatives to reduce
complexity that could be considered include:
Having a lead agency (in this case, PSPC) responsible for the management and reporting of the
budget for the refit and relocation projects. While there could still be multiple authorities, funds
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would flow from the three departments to PSPC early on and PSPC would be solely responsible for
the expenditure management and reporting to senior management and Treasury Board.
Structuring the initiative with one department seeking expenditure approval to exercise
expenditure authority from Treasury Board. The lead agency (in this case, PSPC) would then
define, identify and seek Treasury Board approval for the EAs for each phase when sufficient
information is known. Regular reports to the Senior Project Advisory Committee and Treasury
Board Secretariat should be in place to ensure sufficient accountability for expenditure authority
attribution to departments.
Defining phases by time rather than by building. There wo uld be more certainty about the
expenditures anticipated in the next two years, for example, rather than the various activities
required to fully move into four buildings. This would also allow for an evolution of requirements
from the client as well as the policy and standard perspectives.
The extent to which these alternatives can be fully exercised for future complex initiatives should be
explored by PSPC with Treasury Board Secretariat, Office of the Comptroller General (policy owners)
and Treasury Board Secretariat, Government Operations Sector, to leverage flexibilities in the project
management policy and the design of Treasury Board submissions. This engagement needs to occur at
the earliest stages of the initiative to ensure funding authorities are simple and also reflect the
necessary oversight.
3.3 Change management According to leading practice, successful change management requires buy in from those affected by
the change, and support for staff and managers to help them adapt to change. Change leadership is also
critical to success. Change leadership requires leaders to take both accountability and responsibility
for the change, that is, accountability for outcomes management and responsibility for driving the
change operationally.
Lesson 4: Change management should be treated and resourced as a priority from the earliest phase of the Initiative to support successful transformation.
Given the transformation objectives associated with the Carling Campus initiative, change
management had to be championed and owned by DND/CAF since they were the organization
undergoing the change and only they could facilitate that change throughout the lifecycle of the
initiative. This study focused on the change management activities for the Carling Campus Initiative
and did not include study of activities related to the Security Review and Defence Renewal Initiatives.
Change management for the initiative had a number of important features:
Early planning and consideration of change management;
Support from organizational leaders;
Clear roles/responsibilities and governance;
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Communications ;
Regular monitoring of progress; and
Individuals’ adoption of the change.
The study team found change management was generally well done by DND/CAF. DND/CAF’s
approach to each of these features is described below as they present good practices for change
management.
Early planning and consideration of change management. Front-end change management activity
implemented by DND/CAF included a change management plan, the establishment of a change
management team, and clear initiative parameters in terms of what exactly was changing and how.
Support from organizational leaders. DND/CAF secured senior leadership endorsement for the
project and the related alignment of resources by delivering important change management activities
(e.g., stakeholder analysis, Transformation Steering Committee for change governance). The DND/CAF
transformation team enhanced their skills in change management by administering and receiving
executive coaching in leading change, providing support to leadership, and aligning changes with the
project timetable.20 Since not all managers had the key skills to lead in this type of transformation
environment, it was important to ensure training and coaching support was available to managers as
well.
Clear roles/responsibilities and governance. DND/CAF developed a Master Implementation Plan
that proposed a governance model for managing the transformation. This model laid out change paths
at both the organizational and individual levels, identifying them both as equally important.
Communications. DND/CAF engaged in extensive communication from leaders and the
transformation team. Best practices in communication involved developing a strong communication
strategy with key messages, making the information about the relocation available, accessible and
tailored to intended audience, and dedicating resources to the communication. Examples of the
communications developed by DND/CAF for the initiative were a dedicated Carling Campus webpage,
mentions in the Guard of Honour newspaper and the Maple Leaf newspaper, the development of a
Chain of Command toolkit, communications on the NDHQ concourse, a liaison officer, TV screen
messages and visual presentations in various DND/CAF buildings, IT capabilities to describe the
campus, and the creation of an email address for Carling Campus related information requests.21
Regular monitoring of progress. The DND/CAF change management team highlighted the
development of performance measure metrics for the assessment of the transformation success both
at individual and organizational levels as a best practice. DND/CAF also developed a value model for
HQ2020 that highlighted key initiative interdependencies, corporate opportunity and risk, and
20 SPAC CMP Presentation Deck. Slide 1 / SPAC joint deck. p.22. 21 SPAC CMP Presentation Deck. Slide 6.
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Lessons Learned from the Consolidation of DND/CAF Staff through the Carling Campus Initiative 16
organizational practice potential, as well as the necessary activities for enabling initiative and strategic
outcomes success.22 As the initiative is still ongoing, measurement against these measures is still in its
early stages.
Individuals’ adoption of the change. DND/CAF identified several best practices in regard to adoption
of change.23 In particular, the team recognized that the operationalization of the change happens at the
individual level. As such, the team tried to remain nimble in acknowledging and addressing the
concerns of employees, understanding there was no “one size fits all” approach, and that varied,
ongoing communication was crucial to keeping employees continually engaged throughout the
process. It was mentioned that transformational initiatives are largely cultural transformations and
the transitions need be tailored to reflect the micro-transformation level (individual) as much as the
organizational one.
It was reported that the physical move to the Carling Campus initially encountered resistance and
reluctance at the DND/CAF employee level, but with continuous engagement from the communication
team, site visits during phase 1, and outreach efforts, those consulted for the study felt that the
resistance was effectively managed and eventually resulted in positive feedback.
3.4 Relationship management
Lesson 5: To support successful relationship management, relationships should be defined and invested in early on, and be supported with ongoing effective communication and trust-building opportunities.
Relationship management should encompass all parties affected by an initiative, including the
organization leading the transformation (DND/CAF), the organizations carrying out the refit work
(PSPC, SSC) and other partners, such as central agencies, and those outside the GC (vendors,
municipalities and others). This was particularly true of the infrastructure aspects of the initiative due
to the shared accountabilities for the refit and consolidation.
While relationship management was a challenge in the early days of the initiative, this facet has
become one its key strengths. The early challenges were driven by departments working in silos and
the tension stemming from the different organizational cultures. There were also challenges with
respect to available capacity (i.e., skills, availability of personnel, turnover). The vendor responsible for
the refit (BGIS) prepared a lessons learned report suggested some solutions to these challenge,
including improving collaboration strategies, creating an integrated organization chart of all
stakeholders, and increasing verbal communication amongst stakeholders among other things.
22 DND/CAF. Value Model for HQ2020. Slide 1. 23 SPAC CMP Presentation Deck. Slides 2-3 / SPAC joint deck. P. 23-24.
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Relationship management was greatly facilitated by co-locating PSPC, DND/CAF, SSC and BGIS team
members at the Carling Campus. This co-location increased access to the members of each team, eased
communications, and facilitated issue negotiation and resolution.
As well, periodic team-building opportunities played an important role in improving and maintaining
strong relationships. Team-building activities included one-day team building / lessons learned
workshops and social activities (e.g., summer BBQ, Christmas lunches). Part of the focus of these
activities was attracting, retaining and motivating individuals to work together with a common goal
over that period of time while maintaining a healthy professional morale.
Some relationship management challenges remain. For example, a Health Check report from 2017
mentioned “communication issues among the many stakeholders and large number of meetings on
numerous deliverables without a common record of decision has been rated as the number one
concern during the interview process.”24
3.5 Outcomes management Outcomes management is a term for the identification and tracking of the various outcomes and
benefits of transformation initiatives. Success must be defined and a plan to measure progress
established. Performance is then assessed before, during and after implementation.
Lesson 6: Outcomes management should be broadly defined, ownership for outcomes should be clearly assigned, and where there are interdependencies among partners for outcome achievement, these should be clearly understood. Further, achievement of outcomes should be the preoccupation of all partners. To this end, operational and strategic outcomes should be tracked regularly and inform decision making.
The refit and relocation projects of the Carling Campus initiative are an example of relatively
straightforward real property projects. What is unique is the projects are being undertaken to support
a complex organizational transformation within DND/CAF. As a result, outcomes management (or
benefits realization) must occur at both the refit project level and the operational and strategic
transformational level.
PSPC is the lead for project management and thus is responsible for determining the extent to which
the refit and relocation project is on time, within scope, and within budget. DND/CAF is a consumer of
the project information, and is also the lead for defining and measuring the outcomes related to the
transformation.
24 Hans Gartner. Richard Hart (2017).Carling Campus Project Independent Health Check Semi-Annual Review. p. i.
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Lessons Learned from the Consolidation of DND/CAF Staff through the Carling Campus Initiative 18
In the case of the real property refit and relocation at the Carling Campus, the monitoring of success
focused largely on the project management triangle of budget–time–scope, with a special emphasis on
scope. The study found that the tracking of budget–time–scope was generally well-done.
Beyond, budget-time-scope, DND/CAF is accountable for defining the requirements that PSPC then
delivered on. As such, DND/CAF is also interested in the overall quality of the refit project relative to
those requirements. This is measured by ensuring Acceptance Test Plans are consistent with
Requirements Traceability Matrices and Detailed Test Procedures. These are then mapped to
DND/CAF’s Statements of Requirements for both accommodations and facilities, and IT Networks to
identify gaps. Identified deficiencies are then to be addressed prior to occupation (or immediately
after in the case of minor deficiencies).25
PSPC, as the provider of office accommodation to the GOC is also interested in occupancy costs across
the entire real estate portfolio. Cost savings was identified in the Project Charter. More specifically, it
was noted consolidation at Carling Campus and release of previously occupied space would:
“enable PWGSC rationalization of its downtown real estate portfolio.”26 and
“improve the affordability and quality of the of the government's real estate portfolio as it allows
the subsequent release of low-quality, high cost spaces and contributes to the reduction target of
PWGSC holdings in downtown Ottawa.”27
Based on the study team’s review of documents for the initiative to date, cost savings have not been
measured or reported (perhaps due to the fact that only phase 1 moves have taken place). However,
we understand that financial updates on the initiative include “transition costs” which include factors
such as unused space prior to move-in, empty space for which the GC continues to pay a lease, etc. The
study team did not find fault with this approach, although the project management teams from the
various departments did comment that developing these transition costs figures, which are often
estimates, can be onerous.
Many assessments have been undertaken by PSPC regarding progress towards the refit project’s
success and DND/CAF has been conducted satisfaction surveys with employees who moved in Phase 1.
DND/CAF is accountable for achieving the operational and strategic outcomes related to the
organizational transformation that would accompany the refit project, and their relocation and
consolidation at Carling Campus.28 These include:
A modern workplace making smart use of affordable, interoperable tools and systems to improve
networking, access to data/customer svc.
25 DND/CAF (2014). Performance Measurement Plan, November 2014. p.9. 26 PSPC (2013). Project Charter. p. 2. 27 PSPC (2013). Project Charter. p. 2. 28 DND/CAF. Value Model. Slide 1.
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Open networked environment that enables more effective ways of working together, sharing
services, information, exchanges of talent, and enhances access to government information and
services.
Whole-of-Government approach that enhances service delivery and value for money by focusing
on efficient and, where reasonable, consolidated operations to increase flexibility.
A capable, confident and high-performing workforce that stresses the importance of competent,
engaged and productive leaders, managers and employees.
Collective evidence-based options for decision-makers
These outcomes would then lead to:
Improved strategic decision-making.
Lead and efficient headquarters.
Improved strategic clarity, business execution, innovation, openness and trust.
However, it was determined there was very little integration of the two lenses for outcome
management. DND/CAF is accountable for the achievement of transformation outcomes. It is through
DND/CAF’s definition of requirements they ensure the refit Carling Campus will help them to achieve
their desired transformational outcomes. PSPC is accountable for delivering the refit project.
According to PSPC documentation (such as the Project Charter), PSPC’s responsibility ends at
delivering a set of buildings that meets the agreed-upon requirements. This is a reasonable
assignment of accountabilities, but there are clear interdependencies among these accountabilities.
It is the view of the study team that the achievement of end-user outcomes must be the preoccupation
of all concerned. Thus, outcomes management should be broadly defined, ownership for outcomes
should be clearly assigned, and where there are interdependencies among partners for outcome
achievement, these should be clearly understood. Additionally, decisions must be made knowing and
considering the impact of the decision on the achievement of outcomes.
3.6 Project management
Contracting There is a long history of outsourcing real property project delivery services in the GC, also referred to
as Real Property Services Management (RPSM).29 The first generation started in 1998 with the
issuance of 13 contracts valued at $1.8B.
29 PSPC. Real Property Services Management (RPSM) Overview Factsheet.
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Lesson 7: Key features of construction contracts should include clear roles and responsibilities of key players and clear performance metrics for the contractor, and should also allow for scope and financial flexibility and efficient delivery.
In 2013 (the third generation of RPSM), the Real Property-2 (RP-2) contract was established for
property management (and other) services for the newly-acquired Carling Campus and Tunney’s
Pasture.30 The RP-2 contract outsources property management, project delivery services, and tenant
services, among other services.
The fundamental aim of this kind of contract is to increase the efficiency of the delivery of these types
of services since the successful vendor is not required to follow complex and cumbersome federal
government rules and policies, as well as to download some risk from the GC to the contractor. With
these types of contracts, the role of the GC is to provide “intelligent oversight” and “neutral guidance”,
rather than directive management, which includes: reviewing and approving annual plans submitted
by the vendor; reviewing and approving the design; brokering key decisions; and reviewing and
approving milestones (linked with budget, cost, quality, and timelines).
For the purpose of the optional project delivery services for Category III projects, through which the
refit and relocation projects were transacted, the RP-2 contract had some very positive features,
including:
Flexibility. The clause for optional project delivery services is very short (less than half a page) and
generic. As well, there is no ceiling on the dollar amount that could be included in services
delivered under this clause. All of those consulted for the study agreed that this flexibility was an
advantage since the project team at PSPC could scope the work how they wished to meet the
objectives of the project.
Efficiency. While the procurement of the RP-2 contract was a long process that followed the
various procurement rules and regulations, the contracting of sub-vendors was much faster than
the GC could have achieved since BGIS could leverage industry contracting best practices (e.g., fee
structures). Reportedly, the BGIS RFPs attracted bids from large and well-respected firms. They
pre-qualified 4 design bidders and 3 construction manager bidders.
Contract features that might have improved the suitability of this vehicle include:
Clear roles and responsibilities, in particular in relation to the contracting authority. Early issues
were experienced with clarifying the “rules of engagement” for PSPC and other stakeholders when
dealing with vendor and sub-vendors. There was general agreement among those with direct
involvement in the project that the right balance was quickly found and all players are satisfied
with the current level of involvement of PSPC. Failure to maintain the proper balance could result
30 PSPC. RP-2 FactSheet.
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in the contract authority influencing rather than overseeing, diminishing benefit of downloading
the risk to the vendor.
Performance measures for the contractor: There are no specific project delivery service key
performance indicators (KPIs) built into the RP-2 contract (existing indicators are generic such as
“project quality,” “project timelines” and “project cost efficiency,” among others). During the study,
it was reported that the KPIs and associated baseline and benchmark performance ranges related
to the refit and relocation project were still being negotiated. The result is that PSPC does not have
a strong legal basis to holdback 15% of the fees for non-performance.
Taking these advantages and challenges together, the study found that, in the case of the refit and
relocation project, the contracting approach had more advantages than disadvantages. Many of those
consulted for the study, however, felt this was largely a function of the personalities involved on the
PSPC and vendor sides, rather than due to a well-designed and executed contract. Thus, in future
initiatives, the selection of the contracting vehicle must consider these complexities.
Resource planning In project management practice, resource planning is a significant challenge for project management.
Projects require enough staff – even when things do not go quite according to plan.31 Further, federal
real property managers and staff require a concise presentation of the various considerations—
ranging from principles and logic to practical advice—that are needed to deliver real property
services. 32 The challenge of resource planning becomes more acute for transformation initiatives since
the required skills are broader and include change management.
Lesson 8: Participating departments in transformation initiatives should engage in HR planning early to ensure appropriate change management and project management capacity for the full lifecycle of large and complex initiatives.
The importance of change management in informing the development phase of a transformational
initiative was flagged by most of those consulted in the study. In the case of the Carling Campus
initiative, developing skills and implementing formal structures within departments to address change
management was a challenge for some departments in the beginning. DND/CAF and SSC hired
dedicated resources to support this role within their departments. However, both organizations cited
the challenges associated with finding qualified resources in change management.
31 PM. (Expert Blog). (n.d.) Resource Planning in Project Management – A Challenge for PMO, Project and Line Managers .https://www.theprojectgroup.com/blog/en/resource-planning-in-project-management/ 32 Treasury Board Secretariat. (2011). Guide to the Management of Real Property.https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rpm-gbi/doc/gmrp-ggbi/gmrp-ggbipr-eng.asp
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The study team heard that real property expertise was strong at PSPC and DND/CAF. However, it was
noted having multiple buildings under construction made the project complex from a capacity
management, resources, and logistics perspective. This created some unevenness in capacity,
particularly related to project management. Stakeholders also highlighted the need for the early
establishment of a dedicated Project Management Office (PMO) as part of the design phase to help get
initiatives up and running quickly.
Many stakeholders emphasized the importance of having experienced and knowledgeable people
involved in the project, although recognized that staff will come and go in long term projects. That
said, at times the departure of key individuals meant the loss of an entire skill set or capacity (e.g.,
experienced project managers, corporate memory and relationship management) which significantly
increased HR and competency risks. Accordingly, a project HR plan (e.g., determining the capacity of
HR to undertake a project early on) should be developed in the design phase and adjusted as necessary
throughout the project. HR planning includes a consideration of the available skills sets brought by
vendors. Thus selecting contractors via least cost (cheapest price) may create a liability from a HR
planning perspective as it does not guarantee the immediate presence of trained staff. Best value
criteria, on the other hand, if designed properly, can ensure that contractors have sufficient capacity to
undertake required work.
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4.0 Conclusions
The overall assessment of the lessons learned study is that the Carling Campus initiative has been and
continues to be a success. The end-user (DND/CAF) is satisfied with the extent to which the refit and
relocation projects will help them meet their objectives and the refit and relocation projects are on
track in terms of budget, time and scope.
The study found that there were several early “growing pains” which have been reflected in this report
as lessons. In some cases, actions were taken to address these growing pains and have contributed to
the success experienced. These areas include governance, oversight and change management.
In other cases, the lessons are in areas that are committed for the rest of the project lifecycle and
cannot be meaningfully altered. These include the structure of expenditure approvals, the contracting
approach and the availability of project managers and change management practitioners in
government.
One area where further improvements could be made to support the larger transformation initiative is
in outcomes management. The study found that there has been effective measurement of the progress
of the refit and relocation projects against the time-budget-scope metrics, but that measurement of the
transformation initiative outcomes is still in its early stages. In terms of the operational and strategic
outcomes, outcomes management should be broadly defined, ownership for outcomes should be
clearly assigned, and where there are interdependencies among partners for outcome achievement,
these should be clearly understood. As well, it is critical that decisions be made with the resultant
impact on the achievement of outcomes kept top of mind. Further, progress towards outcome
achievement should be periodically reported in initiative tracking documents (where data are
available).
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List of Acronyms
BGIS Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions
DND/CAF Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces
DGISC Director General Interdepartmental Steering Committee
EAs Expenditure Authorities
GC Government of Canada
GGI Goss Gilroy Inc.
HR Human Resources
HST Harmonized Sales Tax
IT Information Technology
KPIs Key performance indicators
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
NCA National Capital Area
NDHQ National Defence Headquarters
PMO Project Management Office
PSPC Public Services and Procurement Canada
RP Real Property
RPSM Real Property Services Management
SPAC Senior Project Advisory Committee
SSC Shared Services Canada
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Appendix A: Methodology for the Study of Lessons Learned
The study was undertaken in four main phases: planning, examination, analysis and validation, and reporting.
Phase 1: Planning Start-up-Meeting: A meeting was held on February 21st 2018 between GGI and representatives
from the PSPC evaluation branch to discuss the background and approach to the review.
Documentation was identified and sent to GGI shortly after the meeting.
Preliminary review of documents: After the start-up meeting GGI conducted a document
preliminary review of several key documents to gain a more in-depth understanding of the Carling
Campus initiative.
Site tour: On March 23, 2018, GGI also attended a tour of the DND/CAF Carling Campus at 60
Moodie Drive. In attendance for this tour were members of the PSPC evaluation branch, the GGI
consulting team, and staff from the DND/CAF and SSC. The tour of the facilities was conducted by
the Carling Campus Project Director of Real Property Services (PSPC) and his team of project
managers. It included a tour of both completed facilities and areas still under construction. This
helped to t shed light on the process and phases involved in the construction (wiring,
communications, security, etc.).
Methodology Report: Based on this preliminary work, a methodology report was developed that
outlined the approach to the lessons learned study.
Instrument design: In order to capture stakeholder perspectives about the unfolding of different
aspects of the relocation initiative, GGI developed an interview guide to find out what did and
didn’t go went well and what could/should be done differently in the future.
Phase 2: Examination Key informant interviews: The examination phase included the conducting of interviews with
key players and stakeholders of the initiative at PSPC, DND/CAF, SSC and Treasury Board Secretariat, as well as representatives of private sector entities involved in the initiative (vendors and consultants). These were officials from government departments and agencies who played key roles and were able to share in-depth qualitative information on lessons learned to date. A total of 22 interviews were completed, with 26 individuals from a variety of stakeholder groups:
o PSPC: This included interviews with members of the PMO and the Real Property Services
Directorate who could speak to the approvals process, funding approaches, and
governance/accountability.
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o DND/CAF and SSC: This included interviews with individuals who are knowledgeable of
the initiative, had regular interactions with the PSPC PMO and were active and involved
members of their respective organizations within the Carling Campus project team.
o Treasury Board: This included interviews with representatives of the Government
Operations Sector who could comment on the various submissions to and approvals as well
as representatives of Acquired Services and Assets Sector regarding policies affecting the
initiative.
o Vendors and external consultants were also consulted to provide an overall view of the
program and its day to day operations (initiative scope, governance/roles, initiative
management and relationship management).
The majority of interviews were conducted in person. GGI consultants lead the interviews, and at
times, members of the PSPC evaluation team were present for the interviews. Findings were
compiled in an evidence matrix.
Review of documentation: Throughout the study, GGI received a number of documents related
to the relocation initiative. Some were provided by the project authority, others were provided by
participants from the different departments, prior to or following their interview. Approximately
twenty to twenty-five documents were reviewed in depth and coded against the study
questions/areas of exploration. Findings were compiled in a document review evidence matrix.
Data collection workshop: GGI had originally intended and planned to conduct 2 workshops, one
to solicit views from all affected stakeholders (including PSPC, DND/CAF, SSC and Treasury Board
Secretariat); and a second one for the purpose of validation, after the completion of the data
collection phase and the compilation of findings into preliminary lessons learned. In the end, due
to scheduling and coordination complications over the data collection period, it was deemed
preferable by GGI and the project authority to limit the number of workshops to a single, post-data
collection, findings validation workshop (see validation workshop discussion below).
Phase 3: Analysis and validation To conduct the analysis, the study team met several times to discuss the main findings and identify the
lessons. As a result a presentation of preliminary lessons was completed. Validation of the preliminary
lessons was completed using the following approaches:
Presentations to senior committees: GGI shared preliminary findings with the following committees:
o August 28th, 2018: Director General Interdepartmental Steering Committee
o September 14th, 2018: The Senior Project Advisory Committee
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Members of each committee posed questions and provided their advice regarding additional level of details or areas requiring clarification.
Findings validation workshop: The validation workshop was held after incorporating comments
from the senior committees. In preparation for the workshop, the team prepared a presentation
deck and a one-page handout about the main lessons learned. The workshop included
participation from PSPC, DND/CAF, and SSC. In addition, a separate follow-up findings validation
interview was conducted with a vendor representative since they were not able to attend the
workshop.
Phase 4: Reporting GGI developed 2 main deliverables as part of the study. The first was a presentation of preliminary
lessons that was developed during the validation phase. The second was a final report (this
deliverable).