In Canada, federal and provincial funding agreements have been structured to offer grants and/or loans to select initiatives that meet a specific set of criteria and strive to advance certain aspects of sustainability and innovation. With the treasuries on both levels increasingly pushing for accountability, the need has intensified to identify and quantify the improvements resulting from funded initiatives. Since a measurement system appropriate for evaluating such programs was not commonplace when these funding agreements were created, governments have enlisted IISD to lead the assessment, development, integration and evaluation of an appropriate measurement system and related capacity building.
The Government of Manitoba contracted with IISD to develop a measurement system to assist in the assessment of project applications and quantify the results of Sustainable Development Innovation Fund Open Category projects. As a first step, IISD created a needs assessment and a draft measurement system based on those needs. In order to ensure that the draft measurement system met the needs of all users, IISD conducted interviews with staff, peer reviewers and potential applicants, then made adjustments and recommendations based on those results. The next phase envisioned for this work will focus on capacity building and implementation.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities contracted with IISD to develop a measurement system to assess the environmental benefits of initiatives funded through the Green Municipal Fund. The first phase of this work began with a detailed needs assessment. The second phase built upon the needs identified with the structuring of an appropriate measurement system and an internal guidance document to assess the environmental benefits of funded initiatives. The third phase allowed us to test the measurement system and make recommendations for refinement. The work focused on an assessment of completed capital projects. We made adjustments and recommendations based on those results. The next phase envisioned for this work will focus on capacity building and implementation.