The Government of Canada committed to focus on value-for-money to invest in high-growth areas like housing, infrastructure, defence and productivity, aiming to reduce operational costs and increase program efficiency. Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS), departments and agencies and evaluation communities, along with the community counterparts, play an important role in providing evidence-based information to support decision-makers.

This will be a mixed panel, engagement approach with a policy, practitioner, and community focus. First the TBS Results Division will present on why assessing value for money (VFM) in evaluation is important. Next, we will have a panel of experienced evaluation Executives who will share their VFM experiences. Then and more importantly, we will be seeking audience feedback and participation to help us understand what evaluators need to help them use VFM methods and approaches. The discussion will help us create a common understanding of what supports the evaluation community’s needs to assess VFM in the future.

Following the on-stage discussion, at their tables, participants will be asked to Spill the Tea about:

• What would you need to help you apply VFM in your practice?
• Where do you think VFM is useful and not useful?

 

MODERATOR: Elena Petrus, Director General. Internal Audit and Evaluation, Treasury Board Secretariat
Elena Petrus is the Head of Evaluation at Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. As one of Canada’s first Credentialed Evaluators, her background is largely in Evaluation, though she is working on her Audit Practitioner Certification and is enjoying learning more about audit’s many intersections with evaluation. While Elena has been in government for almost 20 years, she was a private sector evaluator prior to joining government.

Andres Velez Guerra, Executive Director, Treasury Board Secretariat
Andres Velez Guerra brings extensive experience in socio-economic policy, international development, and government-wide results issues. He has held senior roles at Treasury Board Secretariat, Global Affairs, Employment and Social Development Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and other organizations. Passionate about measuring the impact of federal programs, Andres has evaluated diverse initiatives across departments. He also supported crisis management as Senior Advisor to ESDC’s Deputy Minister during the pandemic (2020–2022), helping implement emergency programs for Canadians.

Andres holds a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering and a Master’s in Environmental Studies and Urban Planning.

Anna Engman, Manager, Results Division, Treasury Board Secretariat
Anna Engman works as Manager in the Results Division at the Treasury Board Secretariat. Anna has worked in in program evaluation, audit and applied research for almost twenty years. Anna holds an undergraduate degree in Social Science from Lund University in Sweden, a Master’s in Public Administration from Dalhousie University, a Graduate Certificate in Program Evaluation from the University of Ottawa, and is a Certified Internal Auditor.

Cedric Menard, Director of Evaluation, Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities
Cedric Menard is a government-wide leader in evaluation, audit, and performance measurement with more than 15 years of experience, driving results-based management, value for money, and efficiency across the federal public service. His expertise spans both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, enabling evidence-based decision-making that strengthens accountability and impact. Throughout his career, he has built collaborative partnerships and championed innovation and transformation. Since 2021, Cedric has been working as a Director of Evaluation at Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities. Prior to HICC, he worked as a senior Results Policy and Functional Community Engagement Advisor within the Results Division at Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada.

Donna Smith, Director, Employment and Social Development Canada
Donna Smith has over 20 years of experience in research and evaluation, with substantive expertise in criminology-related evaluations developed during her roles at Correctional Service Canada and Public Safety Canada. While at Public Safety, she contributed to the development of cost-benefit analysis into federal programs during the experimentation phase in implementing Social Impact Bonds. Donna is currently a Director at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), where she oversees a diverse portfolio of evaluations spanning disability programs, Old Age Security, education initiatives, foreign worker programs, labour standards, the Canada Pension Plan, and a broad range of skills development programs. She has served as a guest lecturer at universities and a frequent speaker at national evaluation conferences. Donna recently published a book chapter highlighting evaluation methodologies used across the Government of Canada, reflecting her commitment to advancing evidence-informed decision-making in the public sector.

Donna has a BSc and Criminology Diploma from the University of Toronto and a MSc from the University of the West Indies.

Jérôme Mercier, Head of Evaluation, Employment and Social Development Canada
Jérôme Mercier is the Head of Evaluation at Employment and Social Development Canada since December 2021. Prior to joining the evaluation area in September 2019, Jérôme worked at the Treasury Board Secretariat on expenditure and compensation analysis in the areas of pay equity; at the OECD where he contributed to a publication on long-term care financing and the Employment Outlook and at the Department of Finance in the areas of personal income tax and federal-provincial relations.

Jérôme Mercier holds a master’s degree in economics from Queen’s University and a bachelor’s degree in industrial relations from Laval Université.

Jeanette Steffler, Director General, Evaluation Branch, Indigenous Services Canada
Jeanette Steffler is the Director General of the Evaluation Branch at Indigenous Services Canada where she leads a team of professional evaluators. She has over twenty-five years’ experience working with Indigenous, federal, and academic partners in the data, research, governance and evaluation spaces. Throughout her career, Jeanette has been passionate about working with Indigenous partners andorganizations to support and advance Indigenous-centered ways of knowing and understanding.

Jeanette has a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Mathematics and a Master of Arts in Economics. Outside of work, Jeanette loves to spend time with family and friends, hiking, being close to nature, and reading.

David Kurfurst, Director of Evaluation and Head of Evaluation, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
David Kurfurst is the Director of Evaluation and Head of Evaluation at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), where he has been leading a dedicated team responsible for assessing the outcomes of federal immigration programs, pilots, and policies. With over 25 years in this field, he is a long-time evaluation and performance measurement practitioner. Through his extensive experience, he has worked on and overseen countless evaluations and performance measurement projects across a vast array of topic areas, sectors and client groups, and continually strives to build results practices and culture.