Evaluation of the International Legal Programs Section

1. Introduction

The International Legal Programs Section (“ILPS” or the “Section”) is located within the Policy Sector of the Department of Justice Canada (the “Department”). The Section is responsible for developing and implementing the Department’s cooperation initiatives in support of the efforts of foreign countries seeking to reform their justice system.

1.1. Purpose and Scope of the Evaluation

The evaluation was completed in accordance with the 2009 Treasury Board Policy on Evaluation, which requires departments to evaluate all direct program spending. The primary purpose of the evaluation was to assess the relevance and performance of the Section. In terms of relevance, the evaluation considered the continued need for the Section and alignment of its activities with the Government of Canada priorities, departmental strategic outcomes, and federal roles and responsibilities. With regard to performance, the evaluation considered both the effectiveness (i.e. the extent to which the Section has achieved its intended outcomes) and efficiency and economy (i.e. the degree to which appropriate and efficient means are being employed to achieve the desired outcomes). The evaluation assessed the Section’s performance as a whole and not the outcomes of individual technical assistance projects.

The evaluation focused on the Section’s activities from 2009-10 to 2013-14. During this evaluation period, the ILPS comprised of two administrative sub-divisions: the International Development Group (IDG) and the International Relations Group (IRG). In April 2014, the IRG was moved to the Intergovernmental and External Relations Division (IERD) of the Policy Sector. As the ILPS no longer has the responsibility for managing the IRG, this group was not included in the evaluation.

The Department of Justice Evaluation Division conducted the evaluation. An Evaluation Advisory Committee (EAC) consisting of representatives from the Section provided input into the evaluation. This was the first evaluation of the Section.

1.2. Structure of the Evaluation

The report contains five sections, including the introduction. Section 2 provides the background of the ILPS, describing its structure, resources and services. Section 3 describes the methodology used in the evaluation. Section 4 summaries the key findings, and Section 5 presents the conclusions, recommendations and management response.