July 2011
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The evaluation found that the pilot project was relevant and addressed a clear need to reduce emissions from HDD municipal fleet vehicles. Furthermore, the PPRE’s objectives were found to be clearly aligned with current federal government priorities and Environment Canada’s strategic outcomes to take action on climate change and reduce air emissions, as well as complementary to other federal programs such as CARA and ecoFREIGHT. By maintaining an exclusive focus on reducing GHGs and CACs from on-road public HDD vehicles, the PRRE addressed a unique gap. However, it is similar to initiatives under NRCan’s FleetSmart program.
Recognizing that air quality management is a shared responsibility between multiple government jurisdictions and stakeholders engaging in complementary measures like the PPRE pilot was appropriate for the federal government. Beyond the pilot stage, responsibilities for building capacity and reducing emissions from the in-use municipal fleet are also strongly aligned with provincial and municipal roles and responsibilities.
The evaluation found a logical and appropriate program design for the pilot project, one that was built on an identified need and utilized organizations with relevant expertise to assist in implementation. There was evidence of a clearly defined and understood structure for managing projects, including a clear articulation of expectations for deliverables and reporting requirements to be prepared by organizations who received PPRE funding. The pilot was successful in achieving its intended outputs: all but one of the planned outputs for the pilot project was completed. Regarding the planned output that was not completed, Environment Canada hoped that the FCM could help establish a national baseline of the municipal HDD fleet across Canada by designing and distributing a survey to municipal fleet managers, but the response to this survey was too low to be quantified.
The evaluation found evidence that Environment Canada partnered with existing organizations to achieve the program’s objectives in an efficient manner, and to leverage a small amount of funding (i.e., from the FCM) for project activities. Furthermore, all stakeholders viewed the PPRE as a good use of public funds, and that the delivery approach taken was economical.
The expenditure information provided for this evaluation indicates that the majority of PPRE funds were spent through internal departmental activities, or by distributing PPRE funds (through contracts or G&C agreements) to consultants and non-governmental organizations.
Despite developing a specific performance indicator for this project, the evaluation did not find evidence of formal reporting against this indicator, nor was a formal internal reporting mechanism to senior management or federal partners developed to communicate results of the project and report on its performance. Rather, performance information was provided by funded partners in a timely manner, and focused on outputs. As the pilot has come to a close, performance data are not required to support future decisions, but it is relevant to determine whether the pilot has achieved its expected outcome. Environment Canada is expecting that the results of an FCM follow-up survey, to be made available in the near future, will allow the department to report on the project’s performance indicator.