Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Corporate Services

Prepared by: Departmental Audit and Evaluation Branch

Assisted by: Prairie Research Associates Inc.

Evaluation of the Income Security Reform Initiative Project 01/20 May 2003

Table of Contents Page

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i Section 1 - Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Purpose of the Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Data Collection Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Limitations of the Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Organization of the Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Section 2 - ISR Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Overview of the ISR Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Section 3 - Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Relevance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Design and Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Effectiveness of Approach and Alternatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Lessons Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Section 4 - Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Relevance/Rationale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Design and Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Effectiveness and Alternatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Annex Terms of Reference

Acronyms appearing in this report AHRDA

Aboriginal Human Reso urces Development Agreem ent

AHRDS

Aboriginal Human Reso urces Development Strategy

AFN AFNQL

Assembly of First Nations Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador

APC

Atlantic Policy Co ngress

CAP

Canada Assistance Plan

CFNFA

Canada First Nations Funding Agreement

CHST

Canada Health and Social Transfer

DAEB

Departmental Audit and Evaluation Branch

DIAND

Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development

FSIN

Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations

FTA

Financial Transfer Agreement

FNGA

First Nations Governance Act

HRDC

Human Resources Development Canada

ISR

Income Security Reform

INAC

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

NCB

National C hild B enefit

NGOs

Non-government organizations

OECD

Organization for Economic Coo peration and Developm ent

PCG

Policy Coordinating Group

PRA

Prairie Research Associates Inc.

RCG

Regional Coordinating Group

RCAP SA SAR

Royal C omm ission on Ab original Peo ples Social Assistance Social Assistance Recipient

SD W G

Social Development W orking Group

SEPP

Socio-Economic Policy and Programs

SITAG

Saskatchewan Indian Training Assessment Group

Executive Summary Background The Income Security Reform (ISR) Initiative of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) funded over 270 demonstration projects in First Nation communities with two goals: