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 LBS Service Provider Site Business Plan
November 13, 2012
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Contents



Introduction
LBS Program Objectives 3
Measuring, Demonstrating and focusing LBS Program Objectives 3

Overview of Business Planning
Purpose 4
Ministry Responsibilities 4
Service Provider Responsibilities 4

What’s New in 2013-2014?
Continuous Improvement Requirement 5
Employment Ontario Self-Service 5

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

2013-14 LBS Service Provider Site Business Plan
November 13, 2012
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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
2013-14 LBS Service Provider Site Business Plan
November 13, 2012
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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.


2013-14 LBS Service Provider Site Business Plan
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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.

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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.

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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.
2013-14 LBS Service Provider Site Business Plan
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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


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
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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

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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.
2013-14 LBS Service Provider Site Business Plan
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Phase I (2012-14)


DIMENSION

MEASURE
MINIMUM
STANDARD

WEIGHT

SQS VALUE
Customer Service


1. Customer
Satisfaction
85% 33.33% 2.83
Effectiveness


2. Suitability / Learner
Profile
• OW/ODSP
• Age (>45 to <64)
29% 33.33% 0.97
Efficiency


3. Learners Served 90% 33.33% 3.00
Service Quality Standar
d
6.80

Site Targets for 2013-2014

The table below outlines the actual targets that have been set for your site against each of
the core measure standards, and the overall LBS Service Quality Standard. These targets
will be reflected in your legal agreement with the Ministry. All sites must commit to
achieving the overall Service Quality Standard of 7.13.


LBS CORE MEASURE
SERVICE QUALITY
TARGET SITE
COMMITMENT
WEIGHT
SQS
VALUE
Customer Service - Customer Satisfaction
(Percentage of all exiting learners who
score 4 or 5 on the survey)
85%
33.33% 2.83
Effectiveness -
Suitability/Learner Profile (Percentage of
learners who are ODSP/OW clients, or
over 45 and under 64)
29%
33.33% 0.97
Efficiency –
Learners Served
100%

33.33% 3.33
Service Quality Standard Commitment 7.13

Select NEXT PAGE to move to Page 5
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Completing the template (Page 5)
Site Performance Targets


Useful documents to have:

 The 2013-2014 LBS Program Guidelines
 A copy of the 2012-2013 LBS Agreement (refer to Schedule B)
 2012-2013 Program Monitoring Report
 A copy of the most recent Literacy Services Plan for your community
 A copy of the October 2012 Detailed Service Quality Report (#64)
 A copy of your 2012-2013 Business plan


This page identifies the site targets for Learners Served and includes information about the
learners you intend to serve. As well as the Training Supports your organization requests.

You should commit to targets which are based on previous performance and analysis of
available resources and organizational capacity. While you are expected to continue to
commit to improvements over past results, you are also expected to set realistic targets
that are achievable. You are encouraged to consider your capacity to deliver the LBS
program using the Ontario Adult Literacy Curriculum Framework (OALCF) and to report on
learners using EOIS-CaMS.

 Confirm that all information contained within the business plan conforms to what was
agreed at the Literacy Services Planning and Coordination meetings to discuss 2013-
2014 activity.

 Enter the percentage of learners to be served who will have goals according to the five
LBS goal paths (employment, apprenticeship, secondary school credit, postsecondary
education, independence). The total of the five percentages must total 100%.

 Please indicate the anticipated OALCF complexity level(s) served at the site in 2013 –
2014. The form allows you to select more than one level.

o The Curriculum Framework uses broad competencies to organize learning
content and describes learner proficiency using three levels of performance.
These levels are informed by the same factors that drive complexity at
Essential Skills (ES) Levels 1, 2, and 3.

 Enter the total number of learners to be served in 2013-2014.

o As of 2012-2013, a learner is defined as someone who receives training
services at your site to achieve a milestone or learning activity. Adults who
are referred elsewhere, even if assessed by your site but who are not
expected to receive training at your site, will be defined as clients, and will not
be considered learners.
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 Indicate if you require Training Supports.

o For mutual understanding, expenditure is what you have spent, allocation
what the Ministry has issued to you and request is what you would need
based on an internal needs analysis.

Training support is financial assistance for learners who could not otherwise participate
in the program. Learners must be enrolled in and attending LBS training to be eligible
for this assistance.

Training support may be used by learners for transportation and child care expenses. It
is designed to assist those learners who have no other access to transportation or child
care assistance. In exceptional circumstances, and with prior written approval from the
LBS field consultant, training support may be used for a learner expense other than
transportation and child care.

Only a limited amount of training support funding is available. It is not guaranteed to
learners in the LBS Program, not is it intended to cover the entire cost of child care or
transportation.

The Training Supports section of the template is not applicable to e-channel providers.

Select NEXT PAGE to move to Page 6
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Completing the template (Page 6)
Service Delivery and Information and Referral

Service Delivery

All Service Providers are expected to update their contact information on the Ministry’s

public website (Find Employment and Training Services).

Information and Referral

In this section, we ask you to identify the Employment Ontario as well as the Literacy and
Basic Skills information and referrals you do as an organization.

Information and Referral is an important part of any Employment Ontario Program and is a
program priority this year.


Select NEXT PAGE to move to Page 7
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Completing the template (Pages 7 and 8)
Continuous Improvement
Understanding Results and Causes and Improvement Strategies


Useful documents to have:

 The 2013-2014 LBS Program Guidelines
 2012-2013 Program Monitoring Report
 October 2012 Detailed Service Quality Report (#64)
 Quarterly Status and Adjustment Report


Starting with this year’s business plan submission, each site will be asked to identify one
area of strength and one area for development for their site. Each service delivery site will

need to identify improvement targets, depending on results to date in meeting the overall
Service Quality Standard (SQS).

The service delivery site will use different performance tools (Q1 and Q2) to assess which
one of the core measures is your strength. Analyze why this measure is a strength (i.e.
what has your organization done to achieve this?). When answering this question, think
about the Organizational Capacity Indicators in the Service Provider Guidelines (Planning,
Resourcing, Communicating and Measuring) and what impact these have had on your
success.

The service delivery site will then use the performance tools (Q1 and Q2) to assess which
one of the core measures is in need of improvement. It is important to note that continuous
improvement does not necessarily mean increased results each year. What continuous
improvement means is the capacity of the Service Delivery Site SDS) to manage the
program and achieve the SQS within whatever economic or programmatic changes that
may occur. It’s the capacity of the SDS to achieve results despite these external factors.

For this exercise, you should identify key deliverables and strategies that will support you in
achieving the performance targets and overall Service Quality Standard.


Please see section 2.7 of the LBS Service Delivery Guidelines entitled Continuous
Improvement in the Business Planning Cycle for more information.

Tip: Please keep responses brief

Select NEXT PAGE to move to the next page
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Completing the template (Page 9)
Approvals


Useful documents to have:

 A printed copy of the completed 2012-2013 Service Provider Site Business Plan


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.

Obtain the necessary approvals and signature from your 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 or
designate etc. Typically a Program Coordinator is not a Corporate Head.


Select NEXT PAGE to move to Page 10
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Completing the template (Page 10)

2013-2014 LBS Service Delivery Site Business Plan submissions must be made to the
Ministry by 5:00 PM on December 10, 2012.

The last page of the form gives you detailed instructions on how to submit your completed
business plan to the ministry.

Tip: Print out the template in the paper size that corresponds to the size of your
scanner i.e. if your scanner can only scan letter size then print out in letter size.

Step 1: Save completed Business Plan by selecting the “Save" button

Step 2: Print a copy of the Business of the Business Plan for signature. Once signed,
Scan signed Business plan as a PDF or if unable to scan Fax or Mail it to the Ministry

Step 3: Select one of the three (3) submission methods. Depending on which option you
pick the instructions below the selection box will change automatically.

Tip: To help you choose which submission method will be more convenient for you,
select of the methods one by one and read the instructions to see which one may be
easier for you.

Note: It is very important that you follow the instructions on the form very carefully so that
you submit all the required documents correctly.