Analytical units in federal and provincial governments: origins, functions and suggestions for effectiveness

: This paper presents an overview of the organizational entities (individuals and groups) within government which provide information, analysis, and advice to senior officials and politicians. These entities are referred to as analytical units. Much of the existing Canadian literature on such units has focused on policy units and evaluation units at the federal level. This paper extends the analysis to the provincial level and to a wider range of analytical activities. A major focus of this paper is on social policy ministries at the federal and provincial levels. A historical overview of the development of analytical units, based on the existing literature, is presented. As little has been written about these units in Canada since the early 1980s, the authors provide an update to the 1990s and project some possible future trends. The reasons for the development of analytical units are presented along with a discussion of their structural location and how they function within their host organizations. A considerable overlap exists in the analytical functions carried out by these units. A mapping of this overlap is presented and discussed. There appears to be a clustering of analytical activities into a three-part continuum of: forward-looking activities such as policy formulation/analysis and planning; ongoing activities to ensure organizational efficiency and effectiveness such as internal audit and operational review; and technical and evaluative activities such as research and evaluation. Based on their analysis, the authors present five suggestions regarding how staff in analytical units may be able to increase their contribution to their organizations and five suggestions, for the consideration of senior officials, regarding how they may be able to enhance the quality of the analysis they receive from their analytical units. Sommaire: Cet article presente un apercu des entites organisationnelles (personnes ou groupes) situees au sein du gouvernement et fournissant renseignements, analyse et conseils aux hauts fonctionnaires et aux politiciens. On donne ici a ces entites le nom d» unites d'analyse «. Une forte proportion des articles et etudes existant au Canada a leur sujet porte sur les unites de politiques et les unites d'evaluation a l'echelon federal. Le present article etend la portee de cette litteature a l'echelon provincial ainsi qua une gamme plus vaste d'activites d'analyse. Il presente un apercu historique du developpement de ces unites, base sur la litterature existante. Puisque tres peu a eteecrit sur ce sujet au Canada depuis le debut des annees 1980, les auteurs offrent une mise a jour allant jusquaux annees 1990 et presentent une projection de tendances futures possibles. Ils expliquent les raisons justifiant le developpement de ces unites et examinent leur place ainsi que leur mode de fonctionnement au sein des organismes hotes. Il y a un chevauchement considerable des fonctions analytiques executees par ces unites. Les auteurs delimitent ce chevauchement et l'examinent de plus pres. Les activites analytiques se regroupent dans un continuum comportant trois parties distinctes: les activites previsionnelles telles que la formulation, l'analyse et la planification des politiques, les activites courantes visant a assurer l'efficacite organisationnelle, telles que la verification interne et la revision operationnelle; enfin, les activites techniques et d'evaluation telles que la recherche et l'evaluation. Les auteurs presentent certaines propositions qui permettraient au personnel des unites d'analyse d'ameliorer leur apport a leurs organisations. En conclusion, l'article offre certaines suggestions a l'intention des hauts fonctionnaires, pour leur permettre eventuellement d'ameeliorer la qualite des analyses qu'ils recoivent de leur propre organisation.