Evaluation of the Georgia Basin Action Plan

GBAP Project Partners - formal and informal - Interviewees

Address

Dear __________:

Re: Evaluation of Georgia Basin Action Plan

We are writing to invite you to participate in an interview to assist in an evaluation of the Georgia Basin Action Plan (GBAP). Elevate Consulting has been contracted by Environment Canada to conduct this evaluation, and would greatly value your input from the perspective of a Project Partner with the GBAP.

As you know, the GBAP is a joint program of federal, provincial, local and aboriginal governments to strengthen the collective capacity to protect and restore the health of the Georgia Basin ecosystem while working cooperatively to provide economic opportunities and enhance human well-being. Environment Canada has committed to conducting a formative evaluation mid-way through the program (2005-2006) with the primary aim of assessing the degree to which the GBAP has become established and whether the program is operating as effectively and efficiently as possible within its evolving policy and budgetary context.

Elevate Consulting has been contracted by Environment Canada to conduct this evaluation, and would greatly value your input. Our evaluation will be based on data gathered from interviews, focus groups, surveys, case studies and a review of program documents.

We anticipate that our interview with you should take 45 to 60 minutes. We have attached the interview questions, so that you can review them in advance. Of course, your participation is voluntary and any information you provide will be kept strictly confidential. All information will be reported in summary format only, without any connection to any individual comments.

Should you have further questions about this evaluation, please contact Mary Beth Berube, Manager of the GBAP, at 604-713-9528, or mary.beth.berube@ec.gc.ca. We will be contacting you very shortly to schedule a time that we can conduct the interview. Thank you for your consideration.

Yours truly,

Bruce MacInnis

Elevate Consulting

Given Elevate's past experience and Mary Beth's willingness to assist in this matter, I would suggest that the following process be followed for those interviewees with contact information provided:

• One email from Elevate, followed up by a phone call to confirm that the email has been received.
• After two days, if no response, Elevate issue a follow-up email, with a cc to Mary Beth.
• Mary Beth could then use that as a prompt to phone the individual in question and ask that the individual call Jess and either (a) schedule an interview, or (b) let her know why one cannot be scheduled. (I think it is important to separate those unfamiliar with the program from those who are simply unavailable, travelling, etc.)
• If there is no response to Jess within 2 business days, then Mary Beth would send the following email (cc'ing elevate) with the following:

  I do not wish to unduly take up your time. I understand that you have recently declined to participate in the evaluation of the Georgia Basin Action Plan. Would you be so kind as to confirm whether:

  1. you declined because you do not recognize GBAP or do not believe that your project is related to GBAP, or
  2. you are simply not interested in the evaluation, but may have a connection to GBAP

  Please reply all to this email and simply indicate (a) or (b) in the subject or body of the email. I sincerely appreciate your time in this matter.

Thank you, ...