EMPLOYMENT ONTARIO LITERACY AND BASIC SKILLS (LBS) PROGRAM 2013-2014 Service Provider Site Business Plan Instructions docx

EMPLOYMENT ONTARIO LITERACY AND BASIC SKILLS LBS PROGRAM 2013-2014 Service Provider Site Business Plan Instructions Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities... 2013-14 Business

EMPLOYMENT ONTARIO LITERACY AND BASIC SKILLS (LBS) PROGRAM 2013-2014 Service Provider Site Business Plan

Instructions

Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities

Contents

Introduction

Measuring, Demonstrating and focusing LBS Program Objectives 3

Overview of Business Planning

Purpose 4

Service Provider Responsibilities 4

What’s New in 2013-2014?

2013-14 Business Plan General Instructions 7

Completing the template (Page 1) 8

Preparing for business planning

Completing the template (Pages 2 and 3) 9

Contact information

Completing the template (Page 4) 10

Performance Management Framework

Completing the template (Page 5) 12

Site Performance Targets

Completing the template (Page 6) 14

Service Delivery and Information and Referral

Completing the template (Pages 7 and 8) 15

Continuous Improvement – Understanding Results and

Causes and Improvement Strategies

Completing the template (Page 9) 16

Approvals

Completing the template (Page 10) 17

Submitting the Template

INTRODUCTION

LBS Program Objectives

The objectives of the LBS Program are to:

1 Provide instruction to adults who lack the required literacy and basic skills to prepare them for successful transition to goals related to the five goal paths: Employment, Apprenticeship, Post-Secondary Education, Secondary School Credit and

Independence

2 Provide learners with appropriate referrals to access additional supports they may need to achieve their goals

3 Coordinate literacy and other services to help move Ontario toward a seamless adult education and training system that supports an adult's lifelong learning

4 Provide learners with quality literacy services that meet their needs

5 Focus literacy services on those adults most in need of them

6 Ensure accountability to government, to the public, and to learners in the provision of literacy services that are effective, efficient and satisfy customers

Measuring, Demonstrating and Focusing LBS Program Objectives

Performance

Dimensions

Measures LBS Program Objectives Annual Business

Priorities

Customer

Service

1 Customer Satisfaction

 Provide learner centred quality instruction that meets needs

Providing quality instruction

2 Service Coordination

 Provide appropriate referrals

 Coordinate literacy and other services

Facilitating seamless, effective learner transitions Effectiveness 3 Suitability/

Learner Profile

 Focus literacy services on adults most in need of them

4 Completion of Goal Path

 Provide Transition oriented instruction

 Provide learner centred quality instruction

Facilitating seamless, effective learner transitions Providing quality instruction

5 Learner Progress

 Provide learner centred quality instruction

Providing quality instruction

6 Learner Gain  Provide learner centred

quality instruction Efficiency 7 Learners

Served

 Focus literacy services on adults most in need of them Organizational Capacity: planning, resourcing, measuring and

communicating

Analyzing and improving LBS program

performance

OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS PLANNING

The Employment Ontario 2013-2014 LBS Service Provider Site Business Plan is to be completed by all service providers requesting funding to deliver LBS services This

document contains specific instructions on how to complete the business plan template provided

Purpose

The purpose of the business planning process is for LBS service providers to plan how they will achieve their targets, in agreement with the Ministry, within budget and within an annual business management cycle that ends on March 31st of each year

The Business Plan outlines your organization’s plans to:

 Meet your LBS Performance Management Framework Phase I (See Page 6 of this document) interim performance targets

 Deliver LBS programming in communities as agreed at the Literacy Services Planning & Coordination meetings, facilitated by your regional network

The Ministry operates on a fiscal-year based business cycle (April 1st to March 31st) The 2013-2014 Business Plan will reflect this business management cycle and will include deliverables for improvement from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014 LBS Providers must submit a business plan for each site where LBS services are offered

Once completed, the Business Plan will inform the responsibilities and targets in your LBS legal agreement

Ministry Responsibilities

The Ministry will review each business plan submission, once it is received, and consider if performance commitments are appropriate for the funding to be received Please note that for the majority of LBS support organizations, funding for 2013-2014 will remain consistent with the base operational funding for 2012-2013

Service Provider Responsibilities

Ministry staff will support your organization in developing your plans; however, your

organization will be held accountable for the outcomes as part of the Literacy and Basic Skills Performance Management System (Section 4.1 of the Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) Service Provider Guidelines) Service providers are responsible for their plan and how they will achieve their targets to deliver LBS, within budget In Phase II, MTCU will define

provincial standards based on actual results

WHAT’S NEW IN 2013-2014?

Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement provides a way to integrate the use of performance measurement and planning for the purpose of service delivery improvement into the organization

Continuous improvement systems require that service delivery site managers use

information to identify weaknesses and strengths Sites must be able to compare their performance over time

The process enables the ongoing effective management and success of the LBS site by enabling service providers to understand the results they have achieved so far and to understand the cause of the achievement to develop strategies for improvement and to adjust those strategies on an ongoing basis

This exercise will also enable the Ministry to better support to the service providers

Please see section 2.7 of the LBS Service Delivery Guidelines entitled Continuous

Improvement in the Ministry’s Business Planning Cycle for more information

Along the lines of continuous improvement, MTCU has the following priorities for the

Literacy and Basic Skills Program Support Organizations for 2013 – 2014:

 Facilitating seamless, effective learner transitions

 Analyzing and improving LBS program performance

 Providing quality instruction to learners

These priorities will help ensure that the LBS program continues to provide quality service

to adult learners in Ontario

Employment Ontario (EO) Self-Service

The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities has developed Employment Ontario Self-Service (EOSS), an online portal scheduled for public launch in March 2013 on the Employment Ontario (EO) website Employment Ontario Self-Service will enable Ontarians

to pre-screen for EO programs and services, and to start the application process online Ontarians will be able to conveniently submit their application to an EO service provider for follow-up

Employment Ontario Self-Service is being developed to provide Ontarians with convenient, online access to information and referral for EO programs and services anytime, through any computer with Internet access Employment Ontario Self-Service will direct Ontarians

to the EO programs and services most appropriate to their needs, and provide a listing of

EO service providers who can help them

Clients have the option to submit an online application to the service provider of their

choice in their community

To assist in your organization’s business planning process for 2013/14, the following EO Self-Service standards should be taken into consideration:

 You, as the selected service provider will contact the client in the manner requested

on their online application (telephone, email)

 Initial contact with the client will occur within 2 business days of submitting an online application

 Client’s online application will not be forwarded to another service provider without their consent

 Client’s online application will not be forwarded more than twice to another service provider(s) after the initial submission of the application

 As an EO Service Provider, you will keep your contact information up-to-date, and update your availability to accept online applications and provide follow-up services

to client through EOIS-CaMS

 Client’s privacy is important and you are committed to protecting their personal information All personal information the client chooses to provide is collected in compliance with appropriate legislation

It is expected that the EO Self-Service will also provide enhanced service provider intake features:

 Service Providers will have access to clients’ basic eligibility information and

interests prior to clients’ arriving at their door

 Service Providers will be able to extract client data into the Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System (EOIS-CaMS) to create a new Client Case

We look forward to continuing to work with our EO service providers to implement this exciting initiative The Ministry will be consulting with a select group of service providers in the Fall to further discuss the components of this initiative, with an expected launch date of end of fiscal 2012-13

2013-2014 LBS Service Provider Site Business Plan

Instructions

The Employment Ontario 2013-2014 LBS Service Provider Site Business Plan Template is

to be completed by all service providers requesting funding to deliver LBS services

The following pages will give you step-by-step instructions on how to complete the

business plan using the template provided

It is recommended that you have some or all of the following documents with you prior to attempting to complete your business plan:

 A copy of the 2012-2013 LBS Agreement (refer to Schedule B)

 A copy of the October 2012 Detailed Service Quality Report (#64)

 2012-2013 Program Monitoring Report

 2012-2013 Estimate of Expenditure Reports and Quarterly Status and Adjustment Reports

 A copy of the most recent Literacy services plan

 A copy of your 2012-2013 Business plan

 The ministry requires the submission of the business plan electronically, as well as a signed hardcopy

Tip: Save a copy of the business plan on your computer in a folder that you will be able to access easily Print a copy of the business plan and give it to your

organization's authorized signing officer for signature

 The completed business plan must be printed and signed by your organization's

authorized signing officer, prior to submission

 It can then be submitted by email as a PDF attachment along with the XML file, which is automatically generated through the completion of the template

 This is the preferred method (Alternatively, the signed hardcopy can be sent by fax or regular mail The contact information is on the template)

 Please ensure that the information submitted on your PDF, fax or mail report matches the data elements contained in the XML file

Business plans must be received by the Ministry by 5:00 pm on December 10, 2012

More detailed instructions on how to submit the plan are located on the last page of the template and in these 2013 - 2014 LBS Service Provider Site Business Plan instructions Please contact your local TCU Consultant for assistance

Completing the template (Page 1)

Preparing for Business Planning

Useful documents to have:

 A copy of the 2012-2013 LBS Agreement (refer to Schedule B)

 A copy of your 2012-2013 Business plan

The 2013-14 service provider business plan template and instructions are posted on the Employment Ontario Partners Gateway Website (EOPG) at

http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/eopg/programs/lbs.html

The business plan template is a PDF form and so you must have Adobe Acrobat installed

on your computer to use it Please contact the IT technical support person or department in your organization should you need assistance with Adobe Acrobat

The form has navigation buttons built into it to allow you to move from one page to another

It is recommended that once you have completed the form you save it on your computer’s hard drive in a folder that you can easily access

The form must only be completed online Handwritten submissions will not be accepted Remember to print out a completed template for your organizations signing authority to review and sign

Tip: Print a blank copy of the business plan before attempting to complete it so that you can familiarize yourself with all the different sections

Detailed instructions on how to send the email to the ministry are at the end of the form and

in later pages of this document

It is your organization's responsibility to ensure that the information submitted on your PDF, fax or mail report matches the data elements contained in the xml file

Select NEXT PAGE to move to Page 2

Completing the template (Pages 2 and 3)

Contact Information

This page allows you to provide your Service Provider Organization (Corporate Head

office) and Site Contact information as per the headings

Service Provider Information

Please enter your corporate contact information including the name of the Corporate Head Only an Officer or representative vested (explicitly, implicitly, or through conduct) with the powers to commit the authorizing organization to a binding agreement can be listed as the Corporate Head Examples are Chief Executive Officers, Presidents, and Executive

Directors etc Typically a Program Coordinator is not a Corporate Head

Select NEXT PAGE to move to Page 3

Site Contact Information

Your organization must complete a separate business plan for each funded service delivery site

Tip: The EOIS Number can be found on your 2012-2013 Schedule B Please ensure that you include the full site number in the business plan including the letter

characters i.e 4315A and 4315B are two different sites and care must be taken to identify the correct site

Select NEXT PAGE to move to Page 4

Completing the template (Page 4)

Performance Management Framework

Useful documents to have:

 The 2013-2014 LBS Program Guidelines (Appendix 1)

The 2013-2014 Service Provider Site Business Plan builds on the interim performance targets that establish the baseline for a continuous improvement business management cycle focused on increased customer service, effectiveness, and efficiency

Your organization’s performance, intake activity, and funding allocation will form the basis

of the Schedule B for your organization’s funded LBS site Your organization is expected to meet performance targets in the 2013-2014 fiscal year

Interim Performance Management Framework & Provincial Service Quality Standard

The LBS Interim Performance Management Framework and the Service Quality Standard (SQS) will be implemented in two phases: in 2012-13 and in 2014-15

Phase I started in 2012-13 and continues in 2013-14 Data will be collected in 2012-13 and 2013-14 for all seven measures; however, for those two years of Phase I, service providers will only be held to standards set for three of the seven measures Past results reported through IMS indicated a Customer Satisfaction rate of 85% is being achieved and that continues to be the standard The standard for Learners Served is set at 90%, consistent with the Employment Services Program For Suitability/Learner Profile, the Information Management System (IMS) indicated in 2010/11 a standard of 29% for the two indicators already collected: Age (over 45 and under 65) and OW/ODSP recipient Data will also be collected for ten (10) new Suitability/Learner Profile indicators (total 12), and four (4) new measures: Service Coordination, Completion of Goal Path, Learner Progress, and Learner Gains

Past provincial results reported through the LBS IMS indicated:

 Customer Satisfaction: 85% ( 85% of learners indicate overall satisfaction with the LBS Program)

 Suitability / Learner Profile:

o OW / ODSP: 34% (34% of learners are in receipt of OW/ODSP)

o Age (>45 and <64): 24% (24% of learners are aged over 45 and under 64)

 Target Achievement: 90% (90% of the targeted number of learners on the

Schedule B achieved)

The interim SQS for Phase I is set at 6.80