Outreach Review and Recommendations

Final Report

Vanessa Nelson
March 14, 2013

Background

In June 2012 a formative evaluation of the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman (OPO) was conducted which highlighted a number of key findings and provided recommendations to improve the Office's ability to meet its legislated mandate.  One of these identified that the OPO, while successful in building awareness within the federal government procurement community, had low awareness among suppliers.  In its recommendations, the evaluation identified a need to conduct additional analysis to assess the most appropriate communications strategy to “maximize awareness of the OPO among suppliers to the federal government” – the stakeholder group whose concerns the Office was instituted to address. 

In response, the OPO – and the Ombudsman himself – publicly committed to increasing outreach efforts and building awareness in both the OPO's Annual Report and in the Office's 2012-2013 Integrated Business Plan. 

To ensure it is able to meet this commitment, the Office has requested a review and analysis of its current Communications Strategy and Outreach Plan.

Objective

The objective of this review is to provide an analysis of the activities and strategies identified in the existing Communications Strategy and Outreach Plan to determine whether these are the most effective for meeting the objective of raising awareness among stakeholders and to provide recommendations for improvements and additional activities as required. 

Specifically, this review focuses on identifying activities which will improve awareness and outreach with federal government suppliers as awareness is particularly low among this group although they represent the Office's key users.

Review Process

To effectively assess and analyse the activities of the OPO and provide recommendations for improved or enhanced outreach, a thorough review of existing materials, reports, plans, and strategies was conducted.  In addition, interviews were conducted with OPO employees.  Finally, a review of the activities of federal departments and agencies targeting the same stakeholder groups, and of like organizations in Canada and the United States was undertaken to identify gaps and opportunities in current activities and potential opportunities for cross promotion.
The activities conducted are identified below.

  1. Interviews with OPO Employees

    In addition to an initial meeting with key OPO personnel, telephone interviews were conducted with:

    • Frank Brunetta, Procurement Ombudsman
    • Eimer Sim, Director, Procurement Practices Review
    • Janet Barrington, Director Quality Assurance and Risk Management
    • Gilles Pineau, Communications Manager

    Additional feedback was received in email format from Lyne Roy, A/Director Procurement Inquiries and Investigations.

  2. Interviews/Survey of Stakeholders

    To gauge awareness among stakeholders – specifically within the supplier community, informal discussions were conducted with target audience members (individuals, small groups of individuals, contracting agencies). While not a formal survey process, this quick “pulse-check” included:

    • informal discussions with 13 independent consultants who currently contract to the Federal Government; and,
    • email contact with 15 contracting agency representatives (in various positions within their agencies – recruiters, contract management specialists, bid developers etc.).
  3. Speaking Opportunities/Engagements

    A review of the speaking opportunities, meetings and engagements attended in both 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 (to date) was completed.  In addition, the activities/events identified for participation (potential) in the Outreach Plan were reviewed.  Finally, the criteria used to identify which events the OPO will participate in were assessed.

  4. Communications and Outreach materials - Existing

    A review of existing communications materials was conducted. These included a brochure distributed to stakeholders at meetings, trade shows or other events, and the OPO's website. In addition, a proposal for promotional materials was reviewed.

    As it represents a key outreach tool – and perhaps the most public “face” of the Office - a complete review of the existing OPO web site (content and architecture) was conducted. In addition, a review of the architecture, navigation and design of the OPO's new site was completed to identify potential gaps and opportunities. 

  5. Review of Similar Organizations

    As a number of Canadian federal and provincial governments and agencies have implemented an Ombudsman's Office, a review of the activities of these offices (as available on-line) was conducted. Two American offices were also reviewed for comparison. Among the sites reviewed:

    • Canada
      1. Ontario Ombudsman
      2. Saskatchewan
      3. Quebec
      4. New Brunswick
      5. Passport Canada
      6. Canada Post
      7. Taxpayers Ombudsman
      8. CBC
    • United States:
      1. U.S. Small Business Administration Ombudsman
      2. U.S. Office of Personnel Management Ombudsman

    Finally, a review of those organizations or agencies with whom the OPO shares a key target audience – suppliers, was conducted.  This included:

    • Office of Small and Medium Enterprises
    • MERX
    • ProService (PWGSC main sites)
  6. Review of the Communications Strategy and Outreach Plan

    The Communications Strategy and Outreach Plan currently in effect at the OPO were thoroughly reviewed. Specifically, an analysis was completed which identified gaps and opportunities for improvement between existing and proposed activities and an assessment of the effectiveness of past activities in meeting the established outreach objectives.

Review Findings and Recommendations

The review process allowed for a better understanding of the role of the OPO, its mandate and the current status of awareness among the Office's stakeholders.  It also supported the development of recommendations to improve awareness and enhance the outreach efforts currently underway.

Specifically, it identified a number of gaps between the objectives of the Office as identified in the Communications Strategy and the activities defined in the Outreach Plan.   These observations – and the recommendations developed - have been grouped into 3 key categories: supplier outreach and awareness activities; the public image of the office and the Ombudsman himself; and new outreach activities.

Supplier Awareness and Outreach

Among the key concerns identified by the review process is that there continues to be a lack of awareness of the OPO within the supplier community. 

Telephone discussions with individuals and organizations involved in providing services and supplies to government (contracting agencies, freelancers, and small and medium sized businesses) confirmed that the OPO remains largely unknown to the very stakeholders whose concerns it was put into place to address.  When asked the question “Have you ever heard of the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman?” not one of the individuals contacted was able to answer affirmatively.  When given an overview of the Office's mandate they were, however, interested in learning more and were pleased to hear that such an organization existed. In fact, one went so far as to say “it is about time”.  Finally, the question was asked: “Where do you get your information on procurement policies and processes?”. Those contacted admitted that they, for the most part, relied on the procurement specialists managing the RFP and contracting processes for advice and guidance.   
In order to address this lack of awareness it is necessary to look at the activities currently undertaken by the OPO and identify the specific concerns related to these.

Presentations and Event Participation

Interviews with OPO employees highlighted that the activities currently being undertaken by the OPO are not targeting the right audiences thus limiting the ability to expand awareness among suppliers.  More specifically, events and meetings being attended with supplier organizations and associations are most often with a small number of executives or industry representatives.  While these are effective relationship building activities, they are not effective as information and awareness building opportunities as they are too focussed and limited in their scope.  It was also noted that the identification of the events attended and who represents the OPO at events has been too restrictive to date and has been undertaken in a reactive rather than pro-active manner:  waiting for invitations or opportunities to be presented rather than seeking out or developing opportunities in collaboration with other organizations.

This was also confirmed by a review of the events attended in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013Footnote 1.  In 2011-2012, the OPO gave 16 presentations at events, tradeshows or workshops. Of these presentations, only 5 (31%) were at events hosted by organizations for whom suppliers were the primary audience; the remainder being at events hosted by organizations focussed on government procurement and targeting procurement specialists.  In 2012-2013, the OPO has attended 24 events to date.  Of these 24 only 7 (30%) at events hosted by organizations for whom suppliers were the primary audience while 10 have been with organizations focussed primarily on government procurement specialists  7 have been with external interested parties (international delegations, academia or other).    

Finally, discussions with OPO employees also identified concerns related to how events are selected for participation and how individuals are selected to represent the OPO at these events.  Almost all commented on the lack of long-range planning related to events and presentations.  The feeling is that the OPO has a tendency to wait to be approached rather than seeking out or identifying opportunities locally and nationally in which the OPO's participation would be of benefit to the Office and its stakeholders (trade shows, fairs, association annual meetings). In addition, the feeling is that the OPO is not effectively using its internal resources to effectively plan for these outreach opportunities and that a more structured and proactive approach would be beneficial to the entire organization and its stakeholders. The selection of individuals to represent the OPO at events was also of concern: the feeling being that most often a subject matter expert is sent to an event at which there expertise is not required (trade shows, industry fairs or other) taking them out of the office and away from more relevant activities.

Recommendations

The OPO, should develop an annual outreach and engagement event plan which will support the promotion of the office nationally through regional events which target key stakeholders: forums and trade shows, association meetings, Chamber of Commerce events or regional activities/events hosted by the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises. 

Target audiences should be clearly identified on an annual basis and planning should ensure that the OPO is participating in events which will allow it to reach these. In addition, objectives and outcomes should be identified: increased awareness, enhanced education, improved relationships are all examples of identifiable outcomes for event participation which can be linked to the OPO's mandate and key objectives.

Events should be researched and identified at the beginning of the fiscal year and selected based on existing criteria with the addition of:

  • What type of resource is required at the event – subject matter expert or outreach focussed?
  • Will the activity/event allow the OPO to reach an audience/regional group/association which has been identified as a target audience in the annual plan and does it  meet the criteria for attendance, scope and visibility desired (suppliers vs. association executives for example)?
  • Will the activity/event allow the OPO to reach other target audiences (e.g., procurement specialists, parliamentarians or other)?
  • Are there opportunities which can be developed by the OPO in conjunction with Associations and Regional organizations (Chambers of Commerce, the OSME or other) which could benefit stakeholder awareness and education?
  • Has the audience been addressed through other events (i.e., procurement specialists who may attend multiple training seminars and conferences nationally)?

To best support outreach, the Office should identify a key resource within the organization tasked with the identification and management of events and opportunities on an annual basis (1/4 FTE).  While outreach events have been identified in the Outreach Plan for 2011-2014, adding a more detailed level of planning and a committed resource would better support the objectives of the Plan and result in more effective and successful outreach event participation for the OPO.

Finally, the OPO needs to better identify the type and number of resources required at each event (through better planning).  A number of comments noted that often a subject matter expert is identified as being required at an event when an alternative representative (communications staff or program officer) would suffice – making better use of internal resources.

Communications Materials

The review identified that the current communications activities and materials — publications, reports and brochures — are all responsive.  While each fulfils a specific mandate of the office – reporting is required under the legislative mandate, a brochure is required to provide information to stakeholders, and a web site offers basic information to visitors – they are all predominantly historic in nature: identifying what the office has done, what investigations have been completed and what the Office has been established to accomplish.  

To date the materials created do not effectively meet the objectives of outreach which is to inform the target audience of the service the OPO offers to them which they might not otherwise have been aware of and to engage them in developing a further understanding of the Office's services. Currently, none of the existing materials encourage continued stakeholder interest or engagement: while informative once read they have little value for the reader and thus are not creating a top of mind awareness of the OPO - therefore falling short of their intention.

Media awareness also confirms this as media coverage of the OPO has focused solely on presented findings related to wrong-doing and procurement mal-practice in federal procurement.  No positive messaging is communicated vis-à-vis the role of the OPO in education – both for suppliers and procurement specialists, or of the important role the Office has in supporting effective procurement practices across the Federal government. 

Recommendations

The OPO needs to develop pro-active materials which communicate the successes of the Office and the important work being done to support good procurement practices through the education of procurement specialists in government and the resolution of concerns and issues between suppliers and the federal government on a daily basis. 

The Office houses a wealth of expertise in contract administration and procurement policy but this expertise is largely unknown outside of parliamentarians and procurement specialists.  For suppliers, the Office could be positioned as a key information and education resource: providing up to date information on policy and best practices in public sector procurement facilitating their participation in procurement processes and reducing the potential for conflict.

To effectively share this messaging with suppliers and media, the Office should undertake to develop story ideas, case studies and short articles for distribution to stakeholder publications.  These could include association newsletters and web sites, public service internal communications publications, regional Chambers of Commerce web sites and publications.  While this has been identified in the Communications Strategy, it is missing from the Outreach Plan and represents a key, easy to implement approach which will have a direct impact on building awareness by increasing audience reach – all for minimal investment of financial and human resources. 

In addition, a media outreach campaign should be undertaken to communicate the work being completed by the Office in the areas conflict resolution, supplier and procurement specialist education, and support of improved transparency and accountability across the Federal government procurement process.  Again, this approach involves little to no financial investment by the OPO but with time and effort could effectively increase general awareness of the Office's service among suppliers and all Canadians.

Finally, using contact lists from the OSME, the Office should undertake to develop a quarterly or bi-annual electronic newsletter which could include case studies, updates on best practices and interpretations of policies and procedures in federal procurement by the OPO, and interesting FAQs on procurement.  Once the initial newsletter has been distributed, stakeholders could be encouraged to register or sign-up for RSS feed updates twitter feeds from the OPO – facilitating the continued development of awareness among suppliers and procurement specialists.

Web Site

The OPO web site is a key communications activity which, in it is current state, fails to meet the objectives of the Office.  The site provides basic information on the office, its legislative mandate and the services offered, but there is nothing to pro-actively engage visitors unless they are looking to file a complaint or have a concern.  Specifically, there is nothing which meets the Office's objective of education which would engage visitors and encourage repeat visitation to the site and promote awareness of the OPO as a key source of information on procurement policy, best practices and conflict resolution for stakeholders.

Plans are in place to revise and replace the existing website in the very near future and this lack of focus is addressed in the new site architecture.  

Recommendations

For many stakeholders the OPO website is the front door to the Office: the first communication experience visitors have.  Currently, the OPO website provides a variety of static content related to the mandate of the Office, key executive officers, and contact information.  Operational reports are also presented as are policy and practice reviews.  These documents, while a key component of the operations of the Office, do not support education of stakeholders as a key objective.  They also do not encourage repeat visitation or identify the OPO as a key resource for suppliers as they do not clearly identify the services, information and educational resources the Office is able to offer.

It is strongly recommended that the OPO pursue its current plans to re-develop the website and specifically the new sections which focus on education and support dialogue between the Office and stakeholders. The addition of these sections to the website will affirm the OPOs identity as a key resource for procurement information and education for BOTH suppliers and procurement specialists and maximize awareness among all stakeholder groups.  

Note:

Content in these new sections must remain timely and relevant or stakeholders will lose confidence in the OPO as a resource and site visitation will decline.  To support continued visitation and engagement a detailed content update plan should be put into place and RSS and Twitter feeds used to communicate updates to registered visitors.

Promotional Items & Corporate Identity

The OPO has produced promotional items in the past - a USB stick, magnets and most recently a mobile screen cleaner – and a guidance document has been presented which recommends the development of additional items moving forward.  With little to hand out to stakeholders, other than a brochure which is often put aside after one reading, the OPO currently has little to offer which would encourage visitation to the OPO website or act as encouragement to further investigate the services of the OPO

The mobile screen cleaner currently offers a handy, easy to distribute and inexpensive way to keep the OPO top of mind with stakeholders and encourage engagement and interest in the activities of the Office – for both suppliers and procurement specialists.

Recommendations

The OPO should continue to distribute the mobile screen cleaner and put serious consideration into implementing the recommendations of the Communications Guidance proposal developed.  Specifically, the OPO should follow the recommendation to develop an identity which would allow it to be easily recognizable to stakeholders and which would distinguish it as a key resource and THE neutral and objective authority on matters of federal procurement in Canada (as intended in its legislative mandate).

Once this has been created, promotional items should be developed for distribution which will be useful to stakeholders and act as a reminder of the Office's services and mandate and encourage stakeholders to engage with the Office by providing internet contact information (web address).  A number of promotional items have been identified in the Guidance document and the most cost effective and those with direct usefulness to the end user should be considered: pens, note pads, coffee mugs.  These are easy to transport and distribute allowing for maximum exposure and impact at a low per unit cost. 

Public Image of the Office & the Ombudsman

In discussions with OPO employees, there was a clear concern raised around the public image of the Office and of the Ombudsman himself. Specifically, many felt that the public profile of the Office and awareness of its activities could benefit from the Ombudsman himself being more involved in external activities and events.

While it was understood by all that this was not the current Ombudsman's style, many felt that Mr. Brunetta would be able to increase the profile of the Office through public appearances and participation in speaking opportunities as he is well respected public servant with proven experience and expertise in ensuring transparency and accountability in government procurement. 

Recommendations

While aware of his desire to maintain a low profile, it is strongly recommended that Mr. Brunetta be encouraged to undertake a number of high profile speaking engagements with stakeholder associations and government groups across the country over the coming year.  These could be combined with trade shows, annual general meetings of associations or OSME regional events but should target events with larger audiences to maximize awareness. Local and national media should also be engaged at these events to develop interview opportunities for Mr. Brunetta during which key messages could be communicated.

In addition to Mr. Brunetta's increased participation, increasing messaging and communications activities related to the positive activities of the Office and the resources and services it offers to suppliers in Canada will support an enhanced public profile for the OPO: contributing to increased awareness among all stakeholder groups (see activities identified in previous section).    

New Outreach Activities

Links from PWGSC Supplier/Procurement Related Sites

The review process identified a number of opportunities available to the OPO at little to no cost but which would be very effective in maximizing awareness in the supplier community.  Specifically, the review identified that currently, links to the OPO from supplier focussed federal government websites are difficult – if not almost impossible – to locate.  For example, on www.buyandsell.gc.ca — a Public Works and Government Services (PWGSC) website providing information and resources for suppliers interested in selling goods and services to the federal government, links to the OPO are two to three “clicks” down and accessible only under the menu item “Supplier Complaint Process”.  While the complaint process is a key component of the OPO's mandate, at no point are the additional services of the Office listed (education, procurement policy). 

The same concerns exist with the Office of Small and Medium Enterprise (OSME).  While there are direct business links between the OPO and the OSME: both offer services to businesses interested in or already providing services and goods to the federal government and the OPO currently works closely with the OSME and participates in regional events the OSME hosts, there are no direct links to the OPO on the OSME's web page on the PWGSC site.  In fact, in order to locate the OPO or identify the process for complaint resolution visitors must click through a number of pages and eventually return to the Buy and Sell web page (above) from which they gain access to the “Supplier Complaint Process”.  This is not only annoying and time consuming for suppliers who may already be frustrated with the procurement process but it goes against the OPO and the Ombudsman's commitment to transparency and increased awareness. 

Finally, MERX, the centralized procurement website for the Government of Canada and multiple provincial and municipal governments, has no link to the OPO.  While the scope of the site is broader, MERX is generally seen as a federal site by suppliers and as such should have a link to the OPO and the variety of resources available to the supply community through PWGSC.

Recommendations

Working with PWGSC the OPO should develop a button for placement on all web pages directed towards the supplier community.  This button would provide a direct link to the OPO main web page.

The button should include the OPO's identity (branding as developed per recommendations detailed earlier), the Office's 3 objectives: educate, facilitate, investigate; and a clickable Learn More linking to the OPO website.  This should be included on:

Ideally, links could also be placed on supplier association and chamber of commerce websites but this may be perceived as a conflict of interest.  Further investigation is required before this could be undertaken.

By placing the OPO link on sites/pages frequented by suppliers, the objective is to increase visual awareness, stimulate interest and generate increased traffic to the OPO web site.  With a comprehensive and engaging web site which offers its visitors information and education which has a direct relationship to their business interactions with the federal government, the OPO will be able to effectively position itself as a key resource for suppliers and maximize awareness among its key target audience.

Use of Social Media

While much discussion has been held around the use of social media in government, few public service organizations are making effective use of the tools and resources currently available to them. While policies surrounding the use of social media have been quite restrictive for government departments and agencies in the past, recent decisions from the Treasury Board are opening the doors to the use of Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools to communicate with the Canadian public.

The current Outreach Plan and Communications Strategy of the OPO identify the use of Twitter and RSS feeds to communicate with stakeholders and the general public. 

Recommendation

The use of Twitter is highly recommended to improve awareness of the OPO among stakeholders.  A request (already underway) to PCO should be completed without delay and a Twitter link placed on the OPO's new website. 

A communications plan should be developed specific to the use of Twitter which identifies clear guidelines for the timing of Twitter messages (daily, weekly or spontaneous), a key resource responsible for the development of messages, and a monthly and annual message themes based on OPO activities and events.  Twitter messaging could also be used to share useful resources with stakeholders: information on training programs, articles relevant to suppliers and procurement specialists, and links to updates on the OPO website.

Twitter also offers an exceptional opportunity to enhance the profile of the Office through increased promotion of the Ombudsman as a respected leader in federal government procurement education, facilitation and investigation.  If the Ombudsman himself were to provide regular updates on OPO commitments and activities it could have a significant impact on stakeholder awareness and confidence in the Office.  This approach has been successfully undertaken by the heads of a number of national museums and associations - Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Canada Science and Technology Museum,  – and has significantly increased top of mind awareness among stakeholders of the Museum Directors as leaders in their respective fields, and the Museum's themselves as respected information sources.

RSS feeds are also identified in the Outreach Plan and offer an excellent opportunity to communicate targeted information to stakeholders.   Once users have registered on the OPO website, RSS feeds can be used to provide updates on new procurement policies; share best practices and case studies; and provide details on the findings of investigations completed by the Office: developing an engaged and interactive relationship between the OPO and its stakeholders.

Both of these outreach tools should be implemented with the launch of the new OPO website and plans should be developed immediately to identify content and messaging for the coming months.  In addition, a dedicated resource should be identified to manage social media activities and coordinate all messaging.

Prioritization of Recommended Activities

To maximize impact and awareness among stakeholders, it is strongly recommended that the following priority be placed on the activities identified in this report:

  1. Improvements to the website (underway) and development of RSS/Twitter feeds and associated plans.
  2. Placement of link buttons on PWGSC procurement and small business websites.
  3. Improvements to the planning and management of stakeholder engagement events and opportunities.
  4. Development of a targeted proactive communications plan which includes: 1. articles and information pieces for associations and supplier focussed newsletters/websites; 2. media engagement and promotion of positive messaging related to the work of the OPO; 3. development of an e-newsletter to be distributed to stakeholders.
  5.  Identification of opportunities for the Ombudsman to promote the Office with stakeholders – suppliers and procurement specialists.
  6. Development of additional promotional items and a new visual identity for the program.

This prioritization has taken into consideration:

  • the resources required to implement the recommendations;
  • the time and effort required to complete;
  • estimated financial expenses related to each recommended activity (including estimated expenses related to travel, material production, human resources); and,
  • the impact or return on investment in the form of quantifiable increases in awareness afforded by each. 

While the development of the new website will require a financial investment, the project is already underway and will represent a significant advance in outreach for the OPO.  The development of an expanded and more pro-active event and opportunity plan could be completed concurrently as it is not dependent on the web site's completion to be successful.  Finally, the planning and development of more targeted, pro-active communications could also be undertaken immediately depending on availability of internal resources and the funds available to engage external support.

Evaluation

Although a key function of the OPO is to provide conflict resolution services, an increase in the number of cases handled is not a key objective of the Office's outreach plans or an accurate single measure of the success of outreach activities undertaken.  

Within one month of the launch of the new website, an evaluation of visitation should be conducted to assess:

  • how many visits the site has received;
  • how many users have registered with the site; and,
  • the profile of registered users.

To assess the impact of the outreach activities identified in the Plan and recommended in this report, it is suggested that a further evaluation be completed in one and two year's time (to allow for comparison).  This evaluation should specifically examine web site visitation and registration of stakeholders over the course of the year and provide comparative information related to the timing and placement of articles in external publications (association newsletters etc.), as well as participation at stakeholder events and audiences reached.

In addition, a brief on-line survey of suppliers (through the OSME or other) and procurement specialists could be conducted on an annual basis to gauge awareness and provide guidance for new communications and outreach activities.  This survey could be posted to the website immediately for a specific period (1 month) and again in 1 and two years' time to identify trends and potential new directions for OPO outreach activities. 

Conclusion

While the current intentions and commitments of the OPO and the Ombudsman are to increase awareness among stakeholders, and more specifically among suppliers, this review identified that the activities currently being undertaken could be improved in order to more effectively meet the established objectives.  That said, significant strides have been taken to develop a strategy and activities which will further the objectives of the Office.

The recommendations outlined in this report build on this excellent foundation, and aim to respond to the concerns and recommendations made by employees, stakeholders and previous evaluations with the intent to enhance rather than change the direction currently being taken by the Office.  

In conclusion, if the activities recommended in this report are implemented the OPO will be able to increase awareness among suppliers and stakeholders, and improve recognition of the Office as a key source for procurement policy and practice education and information: allowing it to meet multiple objectives and commitments.

Footnotes

Footnote 1

For the purpose of the review and analysis, meetings with individuals were excluded.

Return to footnote 1

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