2020-21 Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+)

The following structures will support ISC's work in implementing GBA+:

• An Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM)-level Departmental Champion for GBA+, to ensure integration of GBA+ into decision-making, policy and service delivery
• Departmental GBA+ focal points across the National Capital Region and regions, to support the inclusion of GBA+ in service design and delivery
• An Indigenous Women's Well-being Advisory Committee, established in December 2018, to advise on GBA+ considerations in the delivery of First Nations and Inuit health services
• An informal Feminist Government / GBA+ Network, shared with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), to contribute an Indigenous gender and diversity lens to policy discussions, and to gather and disseminate information and best practices in GBA+ across both departments
• An Interdepartmental GBA+ Committee with Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) to obtain training and learning materials
• Engagement with WAGE's Indigenous Women's Circle to gain Indigenous female perspectives on the impact of GBA+ on the delivery of ISC's programs and services
• A joint ISC-CIRNAC ADM-level Working Group to engage with Indigenous partners on the co-development of an Indigenous-First GBA+ Framework and Toolkit

The following resources will support ISC's work in implementing GBA+:

• 2 FTEs (across six positions) supported a Senior ADM in her role as Departmental Champion of GBA+, and supported an ADM in her role as Departmental Champion of Gender Inclusive Services
• 1 FTE (across two positions) dedicated to GBA+ Annexes in Memoranda to Cabinet and Treasury Board Submissions pertaining to First Nations and Inuit Health
• 1 FTE (across several positions and sectors) dedicated to GBA+ Annexes in Memoranda to Cabinet and Treasury Board Submissions pertaining to other programs and services
• 1 FTE dedicated to GBA+ in performance measurement, evaluation, and strategic operational planning and analysis with respect to First Nations and Inuit Health
• 0.5 FTE (across several positions and sectors) dedicated to GBA+ in performance measurement, evaluation, and strategic operational planning and analysis pertaining to other programs and services
• 0.5 FTE (across several positions and sectors) dedicated to supporting the preliminary work to establish an ADM-level Working Group on co-development of an Indigenous-First GBA+ Framework and Toolkit

In support of ISC's renewed commitment to GBA+ and its work to strengthen implementation, ISC is in the early stages of a collaborative process with (CIRNAC), Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE), and Indigenous partners to co-develop distinctions-based GBA+ approaches and tools. This work is intended to promote more responsive, culturally competent policies and services that meet the unique needs of Indigenous women, men, and gender diverse peoples. To advance these efforts, ISC will work closely with the Advisory Committee on Indigenous Women's Wellbeing, national Indigenous organizations, and Indigenous rights holders in this co-development work to ensure these new GBA+ approaches are designed and guided by Indigenous peoples. The Secretariat for the Advisory Committee on Indigenous Women's Wellbeing will organize a meeting of the committee in January 2020 to support the work of ISC on developing a culturally competent GBA+.

ISC will also continue to conduct internal engagement and training to improve GBA+ uptake, capacity, and application across sectors. These internal efforts will include: a GBA+ training challenge in early 2020, training sessions on completing GBA+ annexes for key policy documents, provision of guidance on how to incorporate GBA+ earlier into the policy/program development cycle, and dissemination of best practices in engaging Indigenous partners during the GBA+ process.

Currently, there are few ISC programs that collect and keep sufficient individual recipient micro-data information to undertake GBA+ or to monitor GBA+ implementation at the individual recipient level. To reduce reporting burden on Indigenous partners, the community-Based Reporting Template and other Data Collection instruments have been simplified. However, gender-disaggregated and other data contained in these reporting instruments are not easily extracted for the purposes of GBA+.

GBA+ is nonetheless undertaken across all major initiatives requiring Cabinet approval, using gender-disaggregated data and other socio-economic data and indicators where available. Collaboration and information-sharing with Indigenous partners is also used to embed gender and diversity considerations into program and service design.