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My Role in the CFDS
Rocky Dwyer: Evaluating DND programs to support Defence affordability
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Rocky J. Dwyer helps to maintain Defence affordability through his work as a principal evaluator within Chief Review Services. His job consists of providing evaluation services to Chief of the Defence Staff senior-level leadership by letting executives know whether or not DND’s programs had their intended impact.
All programs undertaken by DND, from grants and contributions to multi-billion-dollar expenditures, are evaluated in accordance with Treasury’s Board evaluation policy. Using a matrix team approach, Mr. Dwyer and his colleagues measure the progress of DND/CF programs to ensure they are returning their expected results, contributing to the achievement of the Defence strategic outcomes and ultimately, supporting federal government priorities.
These evaluations allow senior leadership to align resources with priorities in order to effectively deliver value for money. Mr. Dwyer and his colleagues used a variety of strategies to evaluate the various programs identified in DND’s Program Activity Architecture, the instrument used by all federal departments and agencies.
For each evaluation file, personnel working across DND/CF are interviewed in depth, enabling the evaluation team to identify perspectives and issues which may require further exploration and analysis. To do this, a team with a certain amount of expertise in the subject area is essential.
“We contribute,” says Mr. Dwyer, “in demonstrating that our expenditures align and represent good value for money.”
His work enables senior management to make sound strategic decisions. Reports and recommendations tie back to the ability to demonstrate that Canada’s Defence Policy is relevant, given the operational activity, both abroad and in Canada.
“I think demonstrating that our programs are relevant and that supporting departmental priorities and outcomes, as well as the Government of Canada’s priorities, are important,” says Mr. Dwyer. “We are spending significant sums of money and we want to be able to ensure we are having the impact identified by the department to support government priorities.”
By supporting Defence affordability, Mr. Dwyer is strengthening key military capabilities through management of investments in each of the four pillars of the Canada First Defence Strategy (CFDS): personnel, equipment, readiness and infrastructure.
“If you look at the CFDS, what we are ultimately looking at is whether or not the areas that we assess are demonstrating a need and if they meet the needs of Canadians,” Mr. Dwyer says.
