2007 February Status Report of the Auditor General of Canada

The National Research Council should establish clear and concrete targets for the results measured by its key performance indicators. It should also move urgently to establish a comprehensive and adequately resourced plan for addressing gaps and implementing its new corporate performance management framework. This planning process should include steps to link results to the costs incurred in achieving them and continue to explore ways to strengthen systems and practices for assuring the reliability of performance information. (Auditor General's March 2004 Report, Chapter 1, paragraph 1.108)

The introduction of the NRC Strategy has delayed the development of the Management, Resources and Results Management Structure, which is the basis to improve measurement and reporting of performance. As a result, this recommendation will only be addressed during the development of the NRC's first corporate business plan, as part of the implementation of the NRC Strategy.

The National Research Council should present results for its 28 performance indicators against clear and concrete expectations in its future performance reports, and it should link costs to results—at least at the level of strategic outcomes. (Auditor General's March 2004 Report, Chapter 1, paragraph 1.117)

There is no significant improvement in presenting performance results in the NRC's performance reports.