Relevance and Effectiveness of the WEPA

Relevance of the WEPAs

An evaluation of the WEPAs completed in 2002 concluded that the WEPAs provide a flexible economic development tool able to respond to regional priorities; they continue to be relevant in meeting federal and provincial goals; and that they have been effective in establishing strong federal/provincial economic development goals. The 2002 evaluation found the WEPAs to be instrumental in advancing projects that would not have otherwise moved ahead.

Findings from the final 2008 Evaluation of the WDP report found that the terms and conditions of the WDP align with western Canada’s current economic and diversification needs. WEPAs, being a sub-component of the WDP, therefore align with western Canada’s economic and diversification needs as well. The current WDP evaluation concludes that WDP sub-components such as WEPA’s respond appropriately to the needs of the various provincial agencies and departments involved.

As a result of the relevance of the WEPAs within western Canada, there exists the desire from the western provincial governments to see the agreements renewed. The governments of Saskatchewan and Manitoba announce their participation in the agreements and included its renewal in their budget estimates for 2008-09.

Effectiveness of the WEPAs

The WEPA logic Model (Appendix A) recognises that collaboration and partnerships is a critical component underlying the way business in conducted in all investments. The results expected from this component of the logic model include:

• Joint identification of priorities between partners, and focussing on investments in projects that addresses them.
• Leveraging of investment from project partners.
• Improved communication and cooperation between WD and provincial partners, and an overall capacity to address economic development needs in the west.

Key informants were generally pleased with the results of the WEPAs. The WEPAs are seen as effective and affordable particularly in terms of skill development. Because economic development and diversification is seen as a shared responsibility between the provincial and federal governments, each provincial WEPA is able to accommodate this shared mandate and are able to address the needs of the economic community and respond to changes within that community.

Key informants reported that the western provinces would likely not do projects without the federal support the WEPA provide. 91% of WEPA funding recipients indicated that WEPA funding allowed partners to carry out activities that would not have been done otherwise. Respondents reported that the federal and provincial governments decide together which priorities will be funded and work together to coordinate federal and provincial strategies. 88% of WEPA funding recipients agreed that WEPA funding allowed all partners in a project to focus on common priorities. However, under the agreements, some projects may not fit entirely within the Department’s mandate. In order to allow for this, some projects may be funded fully from provincial contributions.

Amount of Investment Generated

A total of 133 projects included in the administrative database was analysed to determine the amount of investment generated from all sources (other federal departments, provincial departments, municipal departments, private sector funding and client contributions).

WEPAs contributed $94,098,102 to the projects reflecting 33% of the total project costs. Funding from other sources amounted to $249,352,210 which represented 67% of total funding. Thus, for every dollar the Department invested through the WEPA agreements, an additional $1.65 was leveraged from other sources.

Improvement of Federal/Provincial Relations

Key informants used the WEPAs as an example of successful partnerships and/or strategic alliances in the WDP evaluation. WEPAs were a means of bringing both the provincial and federal governments to the table to work on shared priorities. The WEPAs increased coordination and cooperation between the federal and provincial governments and were considered complimentary and supplementary. In essence, the WEPAs link departments together and create a medium for discussion, thus increasing federal/provincial dialogue and understanding. Use of the WEPAs helps to ensure that federal and provincial projects and programs do not duplicate one another. The potential for some overlap between the WEPA projects and projects that are completed by Infrastructure Canada or the Urban Aboriginal Strategy was mentioned by some key-informants.

Though it was reported that the regions have different WEPA management structures, a common theme was that a management committee with both federal and provincial representatives was in place for each WEPA. The WEPAs also have generated working groups that help to develop projects. Meetings are often held to discuss projects and a great deal of networking is conducted. The fact that the federal and provincial governments undertake multiple projects under one agreement rather than through multiple agreements was recognised as a benefit of the WEPAs.