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(October 2005)
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The Canada-France 2004 program is the international dimension of the Canada 2004-2008: 400 years of dialogue and discoveries commemorating the first French settlement in Canada. The Canada-France 2004 program, held between 2002 and 2005, aimed to increase the visibility in France of Canada's richness, that is its linguistic duality, its cultural diversity, its values and its many technological innovations. For this reason, the Canadian Embassy in Paris launched a program of events with the following objectives:
The 2004 Canada-France Program received funding of $18.8 million for a period of 3 years ending March 2005. The Program was based on 4 major projects and 5 cross-cutting issues or themes:
Modification of the French perception of Canada--Prior to the program, the French perception of Canada was generally positive, although stereotyped, incomplete and focussed on Quebec.
As a consequence of its multiple initiatives, the Canada-France Program contributed to the projection of a renewed image of Canada. The positive media coverage of Canadian themes is a telling example. In fact, the communication activities used by the Canadian Embassy is Paris served to promote a new Canadian image by targeting the French media.
For example, a comparative analysis of data collected during surveys conducted in April, 2003 and data from the BVA quantitative survey of March 2005 indicates that Canada seems to be more recognized for its success in immigration, business, foreign investment and the fight against insecurity and poverty.
However, the major Canada-France Program projects present limited potential for changing public perception. Most of the projects proposed commemorative and historical content, and thereby presented limited potential for projecting an innovative image of Canada.
The Canadian Embassy in Paris, through its role as an intermediary, facilitated networking among French and Canadian stakeholders of civil society. The calls for projects were the most significant networking initiative. It helped over fifty-six highly diverse organizations, most of them French organizations, to carry out projects linked to Canadian realities as well as with the citizens they represent.
The major projects strengthened existing relationships between French and Canadian entities and consolidated several highly distinct types of partnerships. Moreover, in addition to Canadian funds, the major projects received French support illustrating the type of budget partnerships that the Canada-France Program created.
The major projects continue to have limited potential for generating direct, immediate economic spinoffs for Canada. The indirect spinoffs remain hypothetical and probably are of greater benefit to French organizations and other entities involved in developing major projects.
Although it is plausible that several networking initiatives undertaken during the Canada-France Program lead to economic spinoffs for Canada, the relative youth of the projects makes it difficult to appraise such spinoffs. Moreover, it should be noted that the very limits of the Canada-France Program did not encourage promotion of commercial projects, which limited the possibilities of meeting this objective from the outset.
The Canada-France Program was able to initiate over a very short period of time, activities that substantially increased the operating budget of the Canadian Embassy in Paris. The rapid implementation of projects had some unfortunate consequences.
The major projects were chosen so as to rapidly implement large-scale activities. However, this choice remains questionable given the gap between the orientation of the major projects and the three objectives of the program.
The underlying vision and the energy of the Canada-France Program got the program quickly off the ground. However, the concentration of responsibilities (design, implementation, management) in the hands of one individual sometimes proved to be an obstacle to the Program's management. These limitations are illustrated in particular by a lack of analysis of the risks associated with the development of the projects as well as inadequate measurement of project performance.
At the time of the evaluation in January 2005, the sustainability of all the projects seemed to be jeopardized by uncertainty surrounding the issue of decommitment management. While the Canada-France Program was drawing to an end, fund-raising and strategic vision for the major projects became the responsibility of French and Canadian partners, hence the importance of a certain degree of control on the part of the Embassy.
Given that the open diplomacy programming promoted by the Embassy will continue in coming years, it is reasonable to conclude that the projects initiated during the Canada-France Program will continue to receive attention in the Embassy.
The Canada-France Program is distinct from other types of FAC intervention in 3 ways:
Such a programming structure is welcomed at FAC because it consolidates diplomacy exerting influence. Indeed the structure of the Canada-France Program allows networks to be developed outside the usual diplomatic settings.
Since the Embassy made available human and financial resources enabling diplomatic work of high caliber, the Canada-France Program was highly relevant for the Canadian Embassy in Paris and made it possible to carry out activities of major importance. Through media tours and rapprochement with French government officials and representatives from civil society, and through the promotion of Canadian artists in influential circles, to name but a few initiatives, the Embassy was able to Canada's outreach in France.
All of the beneficiaries think that the Embassy fulfilled the principal expectations, i.e. securing funding to pursue or start up activities, or establishing or consolidating partnerships. Many indicated that the funding granted by the Embassy proved essential to carrying out the proposed projects.
Overall, the Canada-France Program registered a positive outcome. It was implemented despite a precipitated context, and reached a broad range of French stakeholders working in a variety of social spheres. According to the data gathered, the Canada-France Program enabled Canada to broaden its range of influence.
Despite its strengths, the program did demonstrate weaknesses, such as the choice of major projects, the limited risk management. Nevertheless, the Canada-France Program is a public diplomacy project that should be continued because some of the model's components have the potential to advance Canadian foreign policy objectives while influencing a variety of networks and target groups.
The evaluation of the Canada-France 2004 Program is part of a broader framework of the simultaneous evaluation of four FAC programs (including Canada-France). Universalia, a consulting firm specializing in evaluation, was selected by the Evaluation Division of the Office of the Inspector General to conduct four individual evaluations, including those of the Academic Relations with Canada Program, the Arts Promotion Program, and the Advocacy of Canada's Public Policy Program, which were completed at the same time. Each of the evaluations was designed in terms of common problems, and the results gathered made it possible to support a fifth phase in the evaluation process, i.e., the preparation of a report on the cross-cutting issues likely to impact the Third Pillar of Canadian foreign policy.(1)
This report is divided into the following sections:
The major evaluation objectives, as defined in the Terms of Reference, were to assess the effectiveness, the efficiency and the relevance of the Program.
The analysis of the effectiveness component involves an assessment of the attainment of the program's principal objectives and the quality of the program's design. In this case, the three principal objectives of the program, as articulated for formulating the Terms of Reference(2), are as follows:
The evaluation of the efficiency component is an assessment of the program's management as implemented (planning, monitoring, evaluation and decommitment) and a consideration of the cost-benefit ratio for the investment.
The evaluation of relevance aimed to determine the extent to which the Program met the needs of its various stakeholders (beneficiaries, FAC as a whole, geographic bureaux, and the other Canadian departments).
Finally, the evaluation had to identify a certain number of lessons, particularly to determine whether the program design supported the targeted objectives and what lessons might be learned from the implementation of the Canada-France Program. The purpose of such a summary was to advise FAC on the development of a similar program model in the future.
Based on the objectives described above, the evaluation team developed a methodology to grasp all of the key dimensions of the program that called on several different perspectives in order to triangulate the collected information.
The methodology used to evaluate the Canada-France Program therefore contained four components.
The team consulted and analyzed several dozen documents pertaining to Canada-France Program, including a Treasury Board submission, project reports and others.
In order to collect relevant information to ensure precise understanding of the issues affecting the program, the evaluation team conducted several interviews with individuals and groups. Among those encountered were Canada-France Program managers at FAC (Canada) and program managers involved in the program's implementation, various staff members of the Canadian Embassy in France, as well as French partners and stakeholders in the political, cultural, trade, media and social spheres, and Heritage Canada representatives. In total, more than fifty individuals were interviewed.
In order to gain a deeper understanding of the development of the program's principal components, the evaluation team conducted a field mission at the Canadian Embassy in Paris to meet with its staff and to determine the sites to be visited. The team made three regional visits to discover certain major projects, i.e. the French-Canadian genealogical research program (PREFEN), the Maison de l'Émigration and the Maison Champlain, as well as several visits with partners in the Paris area.
In addition, during field missions conducted in Berlin, and in Brasilia to evaluate the Academic Relations with Canada Program, the Arts Promotion and the Advocacy of Canada's Public Policy Program, members of the evaluation team were able to discuss the Canada-France Program with FAC representatives that had been closely or remotely involved with this program.
Universalia also devised a questionnaire that was sent to French and Canadian recipients of financial support from the Canada-France Program under the Call for projects. The questionnaire was sent by e-mail to fifty individuals, and 16 questionnaires were completed and returned to Universalia. This low response late is explained by the fact that the list of personal contacts had not been updated for several months and contained addresses no longer in use.
To grasp the rationale for the Canada-France 2004 Program, it is important to understand the historical, linguistic and cultural dynamic that exists between the two countries and particularly between certain provinces or regions of Canada and France. Quebec's political class and civil society have long established privileged relations with France and this is also the case for organizations such as the Société nationale de l'Acadie (SNA), established in 1881, and the Amitiés Acadiennes in Paris who have enjoyed an attentive response in France for many years. This triangular relationship has experienced ups and downs on both sides of the Atlantic. The Canada-France Program is part of public diplomacy aiming to promote Canada and all its assets, while strengthening and recalling the historical ties between the two countries.
In 1999 the Sommet de la Francophonie was held in Moncton, New Brunswick, five years after the 400th anniversary of the establishment of a French presence in America.
It was during the summit that the idea of celebrating Samuel de Champlain's establishment of the first colonies of New France in 1604 began to take shape on both sides of the Atlantic. The initial version of the project was called the Decade of Champlain 2004 and would last ten years. Activities were to be held in France, the Maritimes, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the United States. At that time, three countries were expected to contribute.
The year 1999 was rich in exchanges between Paris, Ottawa and Heritage Canada (PCH), and one of the objectives was to set up an interdepartmental committee to determine the definitive form of the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Champlain in Canada.
On October 18, 2001, the Treasury Board approved the sum of $1.5 million for a project called Champlain 2004 which would finance various projects to promote Canada's identity and historical heritage. Champlain 2004 was the result of a joint presentation by PCH and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) and was intended to provide funding for the preparation of the Canada 2004-2008 program: 400 years of dialogue and discovery, citizenship, diversity and democracy (or Canada 2004-2008). From the sum of $1.5 million, $1.3 million was allocated to Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) and $200 000 to PCH and to the Canadian Science and Technology Museum.
In the end, Canada 2004-2008 was never fully implemented, since the Treasury Board declined to grant the total requested funding of approximately $72 million. The national dimension was shelved, apart from an amount of $5 million granted to the Maritime provinces for the 400th anniversary celebrations. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) matched this amount, i.e. $5 million. The international dimension received funding requested during the summer, i.e., $18 million. The Canada-France 2004 component was thus developed independently of the initial Canada 2004-2008 program objectives, as described in the Treasury Board Submission. In June 2000, the Prime Minister of Canada officially announced the international dimension, and the entire program was supported by discussion between the Prime Minister and the President of France.
From its very beginnings to its implementation, the Canada-France 2004 program was gradually modified. A few design documents, mainly the Public Diplomacy Strategy (3) 2000-2003 developed by the Canadian Embassy in Paris, the Applicant's Guide for Partners and monitoring and evaluation frameworks for the major projects and cross-cutting issues make it possible to outline the foundations and the strategic objectives of the Canada-France Program.
The development of the Canada-France 2004 program was reconstituted using these documents and exhaustive interviews. Table 4.1 illustrates the transformation of its objectives over a period of approximately five years. Table 4.2 sheds light on the development of its components over time.
|Correspondence Paris-Ottawa
|March 2000
|Strategy 2000-2003
Planning of the Canadian embassy on Paris activities Public Diplomacy Program (PDP)
|2001 (preparation - Champlain 2004)
|Phase to define the program Canada 2004-2008: 400 years of dialogue and discovery, citizenship, diversity and democracy (or Canada 2004-2008)
|Joint PCH and DFAIT presentation
|Treasury Board Submission
|December 2002
|Applicant's Guide and Project Submission Form (Paris, December 2002)
|Reference Document
|Program Profile Over Time
|Mission presentation document of the evaluation team (Paris, January 2005)
|Program Name: Canada-France 2004
|Components - Major projects
|Canada et modernité
- That's Canada
- Cyber-Explorer $4.6 million - Canada
$2.8 million - France
|1. Maison de l'émigration française in Canada
$500 000 - Canada
$4.12 million - other sources
2. Programme de recherche sur l'émigration française (PREFEN)
$2 million - Canada
$1 million - others
|Champlain et histoire (Maison Champlain)
$1.9 million - Canada
$1.9 million - France
|Archives Digitization
$600,000 - Canada
$600,000 - France
|Cross-cutting issues
|Culture, language and publishing
|Events (call for projects)
$1.87 million Canada
$1.87 million (+-) France and Canada
|Communications $1.2 million
|Youth $440,000
|Imagination $290,000
|Applicant's Guide and Project Submission Form (Paris, December 2002)
|Program Name: Canada-France 2004
|Components - Major projects
|Exhibition: Imaginer le Canada
|Maison de l'Émigration
|Genealogical research
|Maison Champlain
|Digitization of historical documents
|Culture, language and publishing
|Cross-cutting issues
|Dialogue and meetings
|Treasury Board Submission- summer 2002
(contribution from French partners of approx. $10,000,000, Champlain 2004 results)
|Program Name: Canada 2004-2008: 400 years of dialogue and discovery, citizenship, diversity and democracy (or Canada 2004-2008)
|- Imaginer le Canada: Canada et modernité ($3,960,000)
|- Champlain et histoire ($3,920,000)
- Partners: Conseil général de la Charente-Maritime and Archives de France and the National Archives of Canada
|- Maison de l'émigration française en Canada, including the Programme de recherche sur l'émigration française (PREFEN) ($2,060,000)
- Partners: Communauté des communes du Haut-Perche and a consortium of five French universities and five Canadian universities
|- Culture, language and book publishing ($2,170,000)
- Beneficiaries: Canadian Embassy in Paris and Canadian Cultural Centre (CCC)
|Cross-cutting issues
|Communications and public events
$3.34 million
$1.39 million
|General expenses
$1.2 million
|Letter (including appendices) to the Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister - 1999
|Program Name: La décennie Champlain 2004
|Undefined components; activities planned for Acadia, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the United States
Funding sources: Canada, France and the United States--$5 to 6 million over ten years
As the two tables above illustrate, the orientations of the Canada-France Program evolved over the years. Its objectives were elaborated between 1999 and 2003. The intervention context was radically altered, though. The Canada-France Program was intended to be a part of a whole to be carried out mainly in Canada. It became an entity in and of itself, and was mainly carried out in France.
It should also be noted that from a structural standpoint, three characteristics distinguish the Canada-France Program from other programs evaluated as part of this exercise. First of all, the Canada-France Program targeted only one country, France, which distinguishes itself from other programs whose geographic scope encompassed several nations. Canada-France was also carried out over a determinate, relatively short period of time (3 years) in contrast to certain programs with successive phases over several years. Finally, this program enjoyed substantial funding which, since it only targeted one country, constitutes a third structural peculiarity.
Canada-France 2004 is specific in many respects, particularly its operating cycle. The Canada-France Program is mainly ex facto since many of its components were initiated before 2002. Canada-France 2004 thus encompassed the following initiatives: "That's Canada!", the Maison de l'émigration française en Canada, PREFEN, the Maison Champlain and the Archives Digitization project. Indeed these initiatives emerged at the end of the 1990s. Some of them, including PREFEN and the Archives Digitization initiative received funding form the Public Diplomacy Program.
The final form of the Canada-France Program included four major projects, two of which were subdivided into two sub-components. These projects are related to five cross-cutting issues or major horizontal themes.
The "Canada et modernité" project comprised two components. The first was the "That's Canada!" exhibition, held at the Cité des Sciences de Paris, from December 16, 2003 to August 31, 2004. From a financial perspective, the exhibition was the most significant project, as it received about $4.6 million from the Canada-France Program, matched by a French contribution of $1.8 million for a total of $6.4 million. The principal objective of this exhibition targeting the general public was to promote the image of a modern Canada, calling on advanced technological models. The content focused both on traditional themes (nature, wide-open spaces) and the urban and multicultural realities of Canada.
The second aspect of the "Canada et Modernité" exhibition was Cyber-explorer, a multimedia, interactive, networked communications platform, which made it possible to bring together interlocutors, separated by thousands of kilometres, in a real time and delayed time virtual environment. As part of the Canada-France Program, the purpose of Cyber Explorer, also known as Cyber-module, was to complement the "That's Canada!" exhibition by facilitating direct dialogue with French visitors to the Cité des Sciences and Canadians networked through the Université du Québec à Montréal, which also had its own module. Cyber-module was operational at the Cité des Sciences from June 30, 2004, the inauguration date, to September 30, 2004. The funding for the development of Cyber-Explorer was part of the budget envelope of $4.6 million granted for the "That's Canada!" exhibition.
The "Maison de l'Émigration en Canada" project encompassed two components, the first, Maison de l'Émigration française en Canada in Tourouvre, and the second, PREFEN. The Canada-France Program invested $550 000 in the construction of the building, and the remainder of the funding originated with France and the European Union (EU), i.e., the sum of $4.12 million. The Maison, currently under construction, was designed to be an interpretation centre and a memory site for Canadians of French origin. This dimension was supplemented by PREFEN whose goal was to take inventory of public and notarial acts in a large data base. PREFEN received $2 million from the Canada-France Program. France provided $1 million in support of the project through Université de Caen, the Conseil Général de l'Orne and the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) in France.
The "Maison Champlain et histoire" project is an interpretation centre located in Brouage, the birthplace of Samuel de Champlain. The Canada-France Program invested $1.9 million in this project, with the support of the Conseil Général de Charente-Maritime, which matched the contribution. In addition to being a museum, the Maison should also house a digital archives collection focused on the interpretation of the history of France and Canada.
The "Archives Digitization" project, which included the creation of a portal, aimed to digitize notarial acts dating from the time of Champlain. The Program contributed to a grant of about $660,000, and the French government paid an equivalent sum. Initiated by Archives de France and the National Archives of Canada, the project's goal was to make 600,000 documentary images and about one thousand cartographic documents available to the public.
In addition to the five projects are the cross-cutting issues "Culture, Language and Publishing," "Events," "Communications," "Youth," and "Imagination." The most significant cross-cutting issue in financial terms was "Events" (or the Call for projects), which received some $1.87 million from the Program, an amount that was matched by the French. The four calls for projects financed small-scale projects. Over three years, 56 projects were carried out. The major themes of the funded projects were art and culture, theatre, history, youth, multimedia and others. In total, 64.9% of the beneficiaries were French and 35.1% were Canadian, but it should be noted that 52.5% of the funds were granted to Canadians.
Among other cross-cutting issues, "Language, Culture and Communications" received $786 000 from the Canada-France Program. It mainly contributed to promoting events organized by the Canadian Cultural Centre (CCC) and to ensuring a Canadian presence at the Salon du Livre de Paris. The "Communication" cross-cutting issue received $1.2 million and financed 14 media trips, new technology projects and public relations. The "Youth" cross-cutting issue received approximately $400,000. Efforts focused mainly on the implementation and promotion of the mobility agreement encouraging exchange between French and Canadian youths wishing to spend time in the partner country. Finally, the " Imagination" cross-cutting issue received $225 000 from the Canada-France Program. It funded conferences and round tables principally designed for political stakeholders. Table 4.3 presents the specific funds allocated to the major projects and the cross-cutting issues.
|Major Projects and Cross-Cutting Issues
|Budget Allocated by the
Canada-France Program ($)
|That's Canada!
|$4.6 million
|Maison de l'émigration française en Canada
|Programme de recherche sur l'émigration française (PREFEN)
|$2 million
|Champlain et histoire (Maison Champlain)
|$1,9 million
|Digitization of archives
|Culture, language and publishing
|Events (call for projects)
|$1,87 million
|$1,2 million
|Total :
A number of factors impacted the evaluation process, and they should be explained.
First of all, as previously mentioned, the major projects of the Canada-France constituted an ex facto program. These projects existed independently, with a context-dependent rationale. Internal cohesiveness and more specifically, between-project cohesiveness, therefore posed a major challenge because the Canada-France Program was not designed with a specific purpose. The program's common denominator was concerned with reinforcing the Public Diplomacy Strategy already in force.
Moreover, the context for the Canada-France 2004 Program changed because the Canadian component of the Canada 2004-2008 program did not retain its initial scope. Thus, the international dimension became an end in itself. Specific objectives, drawing on the Public Diplomacy Strategy developed by the Canadian Embassy in Paris, had to be added to existing projects.
In addition, it is difficult to assess the real scope of the total budget envelope for certain Canada-France Program projects. In addition to $18.8 million, $1.3 million was allocated to Champlain 2004. However, several major projects and certain cross-cutting issues benefitted from the Public Diplomacy Program. For example, before receiving funds from Canada-France 2004, the CCC completed its funding through Public Diplomacy; PREFEN was also funded through this measure. One thing is certain: the Canada-France 2004 Program benefitted from a budget exceeding $20 million.
The monitoring and evaluation procedures jointly developed by the Embassy and FAC under the Program yielded modest data collection, because of a shortage of time and resources. In this context, the assessment of results proved difficult, given the lack of reference data that would have made it possible compare the expected results with the results attained. Few documents specified performance indicators for the major projects or the cross-cutting issues. The relative newness of the major projects made it impossible to draw clear conclusions about economic spinoffs, as these may occur in the medium term or the long term.
Finally, since certain projects, specifically the Maison de l'Émigration and PREFEN, were not completed, it is difficult to formulate a judgment.
The principal key findings in this section concern evaluation issues, i.e., the effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of the program.
Efficiency is measured by the extent to which a program attains the objectives it has established. Evaluation of efficiency usually requires comprehension of the program's purpose and functions. The purpose of the Canada-France 2004 Program is closely tied to its three principal objectives, while the program functions can be related to its major projects and cross-cutting issues.
The main limitation to assessment of the efficiency of the Canada-France Program stems from the fact that many of its components were not developed to meet the objectives stipulated in the Applicant's Guide of 2004. These components were designed to fulfill a different agenda, i.e., to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the establishment of New France, from the dual perspective of strengthening a cohesive Canada through celebration while enhancing Canada's visibility in France.
This objective was designed to broaden the French perspective, specifically to help the French discover the Francophone reality outside Quebec and to introduce them to a modern, diverse Canada.
Finding 1: Prior to the implementation of the Canada-France Program, the French perception of Canada was generally positive, although stereotyped and focused on Quebec. Comparison of the results of two surveys, one conducted in 2003 and the other in 2005, demonstrates a positive change in perception.
Changing the perception of a population, like changing behaviour, requires sustained, long-term efforts on the part of the agent of change. Nevertheless, a comparative analysis of data collected during the qualitative IPSOS survey and the quantitative BVA survey, conducted in April 2003, along with that collected for the quantitative BVA survey of March 2005 shows a number of positive changes in the French perception.
The French perception of Canada is clearly reflected in the first survey conducted by the IPSOS firm in 2003. This survey presents the reference situation and reveals that the French perception of Canada is generally positive, although based on a number of stereotypes.
Indeed, the survey indicates that the general French public imagines Canada as tied to a mythical geographical concept often evoking an all-encompassing nature, a vast landscape, many kinds of exotic animals and people, such as lumberjacks and Native persons.
The French perception of Canada as a reality varies between a lack of knowledge and a fragmented view. Quebec is in the foreground, whereas there is little understanding of governance or the economy.
A comparison of quantitative data collected by the firm BVA enables us to stress a few positive changes in public opinion. The general French public views Canada as the most popular country, following France, even in comparison with other European countries and the United States. Canada's already strong popularity did not change much over 2 years, and remains at the level of 70, with 100 as the highest rank.
Within the general public category, 89% of respondents considered Canada as modern, or very modern. This reveals a difference with the information collected during IPSOS survey of 2003, in which the perception of Canada as a modern nation did not figure among the primary concepts evoked. Another interesting fact is that whereas for 52% of respondents in 2003 Quebec immediately came to mind when they thought of Canada, in 2005, the figure dropped to 38%.
Surprisingly, in 2005, French opinion leaders ranked Canada as the most popular country, with a rating of 76.7, thereby outranking their own country, assigning it second place. A clear majority (+60%) of opinion leaders queried in 2003 and in 2005 considered Canada to be more advanced than France in terms of integrating immigrant populations, foreign investment, business and the economic system. This perception has since somewhat strengthened. Opinions shifted significantly in terms of politics. Whereas in 2003, 29% of opinion leaders thought that Canada had a more advanced political system than France, in 2005, 41% made this observation.
Students surveyed also expressed positive opinions about the integration of immigrant groups, business and the fight against insecurity and violence and also believe Canada to be more advanced than France. This perception appeared to gain ground between 2003 and 2005, as the percentage of respondents who agreed with the above-mentioned points increased by 8 points.(5)
Finding 2: Media coverage of Canadian themes has been particularly sustained and positive over the past five years, to a certain extent because of the Canada-France Program. Many articles written about Canada likely influenced the French perception of Canada, although specific causal links are difficult to establish here.
As many Canadian and French respondents mentioned, Canada enjoys sustained popularity in France, particularly over the past five to six years. While some attribute this heightened interest in Canada to the special ties that developed between Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and President Chirac (which predated the launch of the Canada-France Program), others claim that the Canada-France Program reinforced the promotion of a positive image of Canada beyond the friendship of the Heads of State.
More specifically, it would appear that the Communications cross-cutting issue has made it possible to promote a new image of Canada through activities primarily targeting the French media. The most significant initiative undertaken in this cross-cutting area was implemented through media trips. Many believe that the 14 funded media trips constituted the major success of the Canada-France Program and formed the main levers influencing French public opinion. Indeed, the media trips, part of a special theme, produced concrete results: the publication of numerous laudatory articles in the major national dailies and weeklies such as Le Monde, La Croix, Le Figaro, Les Échos and L'Express. These articles contributed to projecting a new image of Canada by underscoring the country's achievements in electronic media, avant-garde blackberry (6) technologies, renewable energy sources, immigration, and the promotion of the Francophonie and cultural industries. Nunavut was also the subject of many articles, some published in the daily Le Monde.
The BVA survey conducted in March 2005 confirms the positive impact of sustained media coverage. The survey indicates that 54% of the general public said that they had heard about Canada in the media in recent weeks, whereas only 30% of respondents made the same statement in 2003.
The special report published in the weekly L'Express devoted to Canada(7) is one of the most remarkable examples of a positive portrayal of Canada. The special report, entitled "Le pays qui fait rêver les Français" (the country that captivates the French imagination) was led by the paper's special correspondent, Jean-Michel Demetz, a journalist who took part in several media trips to Canada. In the approximately ten pages devoted to the country, the weekly praised the merits of Canada in the areas of multiculturalism, economic development and reform of government structures. The impact on the readership was considerable given the weekly circulation of 650,000 copies.
Through the "Communications" cross-cutting issue, much was said and written about Canada. A review of the media coverage of the various Canada-France initiatives shows that Acadia was one of the topics that most attracted the attention of journalists. Several articles were published in daily or weekly papers such as Le Figaro magazine and Ouest-France. Even the prestigious daily Le Monde underscored the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Samuel de Champlain and shared Acadian history and culture with its readership. It should be noted that the participation of the Société Nationale de l'Acadie at the Festival Interceltique of 2004 played an important role in generating media interest in Acadia.
The media trips, and the resulting media coverage, also resonated beyond the major national dailies. In fact, several correspondents representing French regional dailies were invited to join in trips organized by the Canadian Embassy. This was the case for Ouest-France and Sud-Ouest which later published several articles dealing with Canadian themes.
As previously mentioned, the media trips had a significant impact on journalists. They contributed to creating positive media positioning of Canada in France. However, it is difficult to make a precise assessment of the impact of media coverage on the perception of the general public.
Finding 3: Several public diplomacy activities undertaken in the Canada-France Program helped to project a renewed image of Canada among diverse groups.
The cross-cutting issue "Imagination," combined with public diplomacy activities, reached certain groups such as the political class, including French parliamentarians, but also French civil society organizations such as youth movements from different French political parties. The activities that were held thanks to available funding attracted the interest of French decision-makers, particularly through the presence of significant Canadian figures in France, and to spark interest in Canadian political realities. According to most of the respondents who were queried both in France and in Ottawa, and as suggested by the press review, the French political class today has a much better understanding of Canadian society and of a number of facts, achievements and practices (immigration, federal structures, etc.).
In the opinion of the political team at the embassy in Paris, the success indicators for the round tables, conference and study trips that took place are the multiple and media references expressed by certain French decision-makers, such as Jean-Pierre Raffarin, as to the Canadian governance model. The reform of the Canadian State attracted a great deal of interest in a context in which the budget deficit of France is, other things being equal, significant. Recently,(8) the Journal Le Monde cited Canada as an example among the G8 countries for public debt reduction and established comparisons between Canada and France, the latter having a public debt/GDP ratio (61%), nearly double that of Canada (35%).
The "Events" cross-cutting issue, through the Call for Projects, also made it possible to reach various groups, including numerous university research institutes, historical museums, and Quebec and Acadian cultural associations. However, the information gathered, which is rather limited, does not allow us to quantify a change of perception of Canada. It is true that certain small projects influenced the French business community which acquired better basic knowledge of the Canadian economic base, but this hypothesis remains to be verified in the future. Certain respondents stated that a number of small projects contributed to making Acadia known in France, although in some French circles this knowledge predated Canada-France. Finally, although the sampling of our questionnaire respondents was very small, it should be noted that 11 of the 16 questionnaire respondents believed that the French participants who had been involved in a small project had changed their perception of Canada.
Finding 4: The four major projects present limited potential for modifying public perception, among other things, because of the type of content promoted.
The first objective of the Canada-France 2004 Program was to update the perception of the French and to provide them with the image of a modern, dynamic and diversified Canada. Since most of the projects predated Canada-France 2004 and they were of a commemorative and historical nature, elements such as "new technologies" and "openness to the general public" were added in order to attain the objectives formulated in December 2002. Today, this approach seems to have been a risky wager, although no survey of visitors (except for "That's Canada!") makes it possible to arrive at a clear judgment on a change of perception among the French.
In the opinion of some respondents, the Maison Champlain contributes to raising awareness of some facets of Canadian diversity, particularly through information disseminated on Acadia and the existence of French Canada outside Quebec. The construction of the building was completed in November 2004 (scenography), which resulted in the launch of the permanent exhibition. During the evaluation team's visit in January 2005, the content and the programming procedures were being discussed. For the time being, no inquiry on visitors' perception has been carried out.
Our review of the PREFEN and Archives Digitization projects, just like the testimony of those who produced the projects, highlights the many benefits these projects offer researchers but also the limited potential for influencing French perception. Finally, the, Maison de l'Émigration en Canada presents little potential for changing perception because of its non-strategic location in an isolated region. The Maison is still under construction and is only expected to be completed in 2006.
For the major projects mentioned above, a study conducted of users would enable us to determine whether the use of avant-garde technology is "noticed" and to go beyond the historical link and draw attention to the innovativeness of Canada. Moreover, it should be noted that the technology at the Maison Champlain is French, that the search engine and the portal (Archives Digitization) and that the software developed for PREFEN is the result of French and Canadian collaboration.
As for the "That's Canada!" exhibition, a qualitative study conducted in 2005 by the Cité des Sciences shows that the French perception of an imagined Canada had changed after the exhibition but in a qualified way. According to this study, when comments were collected from individual visitors immediately after the exhibition, their perception seemed to have altered and went beyond stereotypes. However, when other visitors were questioned in discussion groups a few days after the visit, the traditional perceptions (nature, cold, open spaces) were restated. The real change in perception seems to have occurred with neophytes, whereas the exhibition was less well received by Canada connoisseurs and enthusiasts.
Finding 5: Certain major projects of the Canada-France Program presented limited potential for attracting the general public, whereas others seem more promising.
At the outset, the objective of the Canada-France 2004 Program was to reach large numbers of French population. As the evaluation team observed during its visits to France, PREFEN reached a very targeted group of researchers, historians, archivists and genealogists. To date, the impact on the general public seems to be rather limited. PREFEN has above all attracted genealogists and has had 2,764 visitors since 2002.
Development of the Maison de l'Émigration en Canada is not yet completed. Therefore it is premature to assess the interest that it may generate among the general public. However its location in the department of Perche, ranked 93rd out of 95 for its tourist attraction potential, may mean that it cannot reach a broad public. A general public impact would require an extensive communications plan, high-end animation and specialized staff. The Communauté des Communes du Haut-Perche, today responsible for the development of the Maison de l'Émigration, has limited financial resources to support such a project.
As for the Maison Champlain, it is too early to render judgment because the Maison only opened in November 2004. However, the Syndicat mixte and the Conseil général are concerned because the architecture of the Maison can only accommodate about fifteen people at the same time, the inside multimedia cupolas are limited to very small groups of two to three visitors, which makes group visits or school visits rather difficult. The total duration of the exhibition is three hours, which might discourage some tourists. In contrast, the village of Brouage where the Maison Champlain is located, greets approximately 500,000 visitors yearly, which represents significant customer patronage potential.
It should be noted that since its launch, the portal of the Archives de la Nouvelle-France has attracted 58 470 visitors for one rather short visit, ranging from four and twelve minutes. The portal user profile is as yet unknown.
Of all the major projects, "That's Canada!" is the one that has, to date, the best outreach for a diversified general public, including Parisians, the French from other regions and tourists. The number of visitors was anticipated to be 100,000 for the duration of the exhibition, but 50,000 individuals visited this exhibit which experienced a number of glitches, among others, a bottleneck at admission because of the limited number of available "compagnons minisat" (portable mini-computers essential to the visit). In addition to the limited number of "minisat companions", many of them were out of circulation because of equipment breakdown (1200 instances of maintenance). Despite these problems, Cité des Sciences officials remained, overall, satisfied with visitor attendance at the Exhibition.
As for the Cybermodule, delays in installation of the device had the effect of restricting the number of visitors, and according to the Cité des Sciences, only 800 visitors were able to discover Cybermodule. The technological device, which was supposed to be operational at the beginning of the exhibition, that is, in mid-December 2003, was only inaugurated on June 30, 2004 and remained open until September 30, 2004. Many felt that the physical distance separating the Cybermodule, located at the Cyberbase of the Cité des Sciences, from the "That's Canada!" exhibition undermined the link between the two projects, and thereby curbed reinforcement of the Canadian theme. In fact, according to the officials responsible for the Cybermodule in la Vilette, in many cases the visitors to the Cyberbase were quite different from those attending the various exhibitions in la Vilette. Others stressed that the time zone difference only allowed for a dialogue over a few hours between visitors in France and Canadians connected to the Cybermodule at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).
There are many definitions of the term partnership. Essentially, a partnership is an agreement between two or several parties undertaken to carry out a project or an initiative. The degree of partnership is variable. It may be limited to a financial contribution, or encompass collaboration, or even cooperation requiring reciprocity as the foundation of the alliance.
It should be clearly stated that in general, the Canada-France 2004 Program led to the creation of several partnerships since it brought about the interaction of individuals, institutions and businesses. However, it is impossible to quantify this achievement, draw up a typology of partnerships and make a statement about the sustainability of the initiatives.
Finding 6: The Canadian Embassy in Paris, because of its upstream work, facilitated the interaction of French and Canadian civil society stakeholders. This is one of the main achievements of the Canada-France Program.
The efforts displayed within the framework of the Canada-France Program clearly illustrate the "upstream" work that the Embassy accomplished. In fact, as indicated by several respondents, the Embassy favors a new approach to diplomacy, in which Canada is no longer merely represented abroad through its diplomats but also by its citizens. In order to expand Canada's presence in France, the Embassy therefore decided to strengthen its role as intermediary between French and Canadian stakeholders.
The initiatives undertaken within the scope of the five cross-cutting issues ("Culture, Language and Publishing," "Events," "Communications," "Youth," and "Imagination") had a significant impact on the development of contacts and networking.
The Call for Projects was the most significant activity in terms of networking. It allowed fifty-six highly diverse organizations, most of them French, to carry out projects linked to Canadian realities. This was the case for the cultural organizers Croque-Musique-SARL-Magic Blues which held a musical event entitled "Les nuits acadiennes" (Acadian nights), honoring artists of that region. In the academic sphere, the linguistic laboratory of the Université d'Avignon organized a conference on the comparative grammar of French as written and spoken in different regions, and several Canadian French language specialists presented their research findings there. As the following comment by a French beneficiary indicates, the visit of the Choeur canadien Neil-Michaud to France also enabled the French public to discover a new facet of Canada.
The participation of the Choeur Neil-Michaud in the ceremonies marking the inauguration of the Centre Juno and concerts in the peripheral region made it possible to introduce a French audience, unfamiliar with French Canadian culture, to Canadian and Acadian folklore. The contribution of Canadian soldiers to the liberation of France (Landing of June 6, 1944) has been strongly appreciated since these events of the Second World War. The choir's visit and participation in concerts and meetings and their billeting in families cemented the ties of friendship between the French and the Canadian peoples. (translation)
In some cases, the Call for projects enabled reinforcement of other existing programs (Public Diplomacy, Academic Relations). In other cases, it stimulated the establishment of new networks that provided the opportunity to raise Canada's profile in various spheres of French society which had not been previously reached. This was the case for the École d'architecture de Normandie, the Grand Manitou de Lyon theatre troupe, the Association pour la Formation, la Prévention et l'Accès au Droit, the Université de Poitiers and the Centre International de la Mer, to name but a few. Ten respondents who answered the evaluators' questionnaire stated that the Call for Projects allowed French organizations to develop stable partnerships with their Canadian counterparts.
The "Youth" cross-cutting issue also contributed to expanding France-Canada networks through the development of the Accord de mobilité pour les jeunes, whose objective is to improve and simplify the administrative procedures applicable to the entrance and stay of young Canadians and young French people wishing to travel to the other country to pursue education or knowledge upgrading. In the opinion of the Embassy team, the implementation and the promotion of the accord created genuine interest in Canada on the part of French youths, which was demonstrated during certain promotional meetings but also through in an increase in visa applications for a 6- to 12-month stay in Canada. It should be noted this type of stay has the potential for establishing long-term connections, even collaboration between citizens of France and Canada. It is also important to stress that the promotional initiatives taken by the Embassy contributed to strengthening formal partnerships between la Haute et la Basse Normandie and the Atlantic provinces, to the signing of a youth exchange agreement between Calvados and New Brunswick as well as to collaboration between the Canadian agency Cybercap and the Centre d'Orientation Sociale de Nanteau-sur-Lantain in order to develop a virtual network allowing educators and young people to pursue exchanges across the Atlantic.
Finally the "Culture, Language and Publishing" cross-cutting issue, through a variety of events organized by the CCC and support for Canadian publishers at the Salon du livre de Paris made it possible to introduce several Canadian artists to the French cultural community and thereby facilitate collaboration between these artists and French cultural organizers and promoters. For example, thanks to the financial support of the Canada-France Program, many authors of Montréal publisher "Les allusifs" were able to travel to France to promote their work in French literary circles.
Although the exact nature of the spinoffs of the partnerships and networking that were established is not easily pinpointed, it should be noted that the Embassy team considered all the beneficiaries of the Call for Projects and drew up a summary. Based on their knowledge of the projects and partners involved, the Embassy team evaluated the foreseeable spinoffs following project financing. Overall, supported projects seem to have potential for being renewed or having an impact that extends beyond their initial framework. In fact certain exhibitions such as "Terre Neuvas Anita Conti" could be presented in other locations, and certain academic or historical meetings will give rise to the publication of a number of texts and works, to name but a few examples. In the opinion of the Embassy, the collaborative endeavours encouraged by the Call for Projects have sown the seeds for many other cultural, academic and political endeavours. Likewise, several partnerships established through the "Youth" and "Imagination" cross-cutting issues have been followed up and thus appear to guarantee a degree of sustainability.
Finding 7: The major Canada-France projects contributed to consolidating existing partnerships between French and Canadian entities.
Beyond the links established between Canada and France through small projects, the major projects also allowed the Canada-France Program to attain its partnership objective, often by strengthening existing relationships and promoting highly distinctive partnership types.
The "That's Canada!" exhibition is an outstanding example of business partnerships. It required the participation of French stakeholders, including the Cité des Sciences, and Canadian businesses such as Immersion,(9) Lambert and M2CI. These businesses were responsible both for the development of content, and for the technology required to support the content. The Cité des Sciences then took over in order to present the exhibition. Since then, thanks to this collaboration between France and Canada, the Cité des Sciences has demonstrated its interest in raising the profile of the "minisat companion" technology at future exhibitions. In addition, in Canada, collaboration between the firms Lambert and Immersion produced results, since they pooled their efforts develop the Canada pavilion at the next universal exposition to be held in Aichi in Japan.
The Archives Digitization initiative is a scientific partnership--a partnership initiated before the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between Canada and France since the National Archives of Canada have had a representative in France since 1870. This partnership required close coordination between the Archives de France, the National Archives of Canada and the Archives du Québec both in terms of sharing information and integrating technologies. The Canada-France Program made a financial contribution to re-awaken a historical collaboration and made it possible to design an innovative search engine.
The PREFEN is also a scientific partnership which, although already in existence, agreed to provide computerized content of legal documents to the Maison de l'Émigration en Canada. As part of the program, in addition to the hiring of staff, financial support received from the Embassy gave the impetus needed to develop matching software jointly produced by Canada and France. Thanks to this software and the computerized data bases, all events in the life of individuals can be gathered from various notarized documents.
The Maison Champlain is an illustration of a financial partnership that consolidated a scientific partnership between the universities of Poitou-Charente (including Larochelle) and universities in Quebec.
Beyond scientific and financial considerations, the major projects also strengthened political ties, for example the Maison Champlain, which engaged the Conseil Général de Charente-Maritime, or the Maison de l'Émigration en Canada, as the Communauté des Communes du Perche will benefit from the installations once completed.
Finding 8: As for financial contributions, each of the major projects received French funds in addition to Canadian funds, which illustrates the type of budgetary partnerships initiated by the Canada-France Program.
The significant financial contributions of the Canadian Embassy in Paris enhanced the credibility of the major projects and fostered the emergence of formal agreements guaranteeing a financial investment from France. Apart from the "That's Canada!" exhibition and PREFEN, all the other major projects received equivalent or higher funding from the French.
The "That's Canada!" exhibition was mainly funded by the Canadian Embassy in Paris which granted $4.6 million, whereas the Cité des Sciences contributed the equivalent of $1.8 million. We must stress the significant contribution from the Cité des Sciences to the development of a large-scale advertising campaign. The public relations team of la Villette developed advertising for "That's Canada!" that was disseminated in several Parisian venues, including public transportation. No other project enjoyed this type of advertising campaign.
PREFEN received $2 million from the Canada-France Program and $1 million from Université de Caen et al.
The Maison de l'Émigration en Canada received $500,000 from the Canadian Embassy whereas a consortium of French partners paid $4.12 million. The Maison Champlain was jointly financed by the Conseil général de la Charente-Maritime, each party releasing a sum of $1.9 million. Finally the Archives Digitization initiative was also jointly financed by the Archives de France, in the amount of $600,000.
According to the objectives of the Canada-France Program, significant investment in a program such as Canada-France should create economic spinoffs for Canada in the short-, medium- and long-term. While we might speculate about the emergence of these spinoffs, it remains difficult to assess their impact, because, on the one hand, there is little reference data to enable a comparison, and on the other hand, the few follow-up reports do not provide information in this regard. Finally, the performance and evaluation frameworks for the Canada-France Program reveal little about economic spinoffs.
Finding 9: At present, the immediate economic spinoffs of the Canada-France 2004 Program are limited, particularly for the major projects.
Based on the data collected from officials in charge of the major projects and from the beneficiaries, the major projects are not initiatives that offer intrinsic opportunities for the generating direct economic spinoffs--and the indirect spinoffs remain hypothetical. It would appear that the Maison Champlain may generate additional revenues for the Syndicat mixte, a French organization, through admission fees. This will also hold true for the Maison de l'Émigration en Canada once it has been completed, although the anticipated spinoffs will occur in France rather than in Canada. PREFEN and the Archives Digitization initiative are scientific projects whose leadership is assumed by public institutions and whose economic benefits, if any, will likely be reinvested in these French institutions.
"That's Canada!" and Cybermodule are the main projects that enabled Canadian businesses (Lambert, M2CI, Immersion) to develop their respective expertise. Everyone recognizes how much this project contributed to their sales (short-term spinoffs) and to their positioning for projects of similar scope in the medium term. Aside from that, the prospects for economic spinoffs remain limited because the exhibition is over and it did not create enough interest for a travelling exhibition. The promotion of the "minisat companion" by the Cité des Sciences might, however, one day lead to trade opportunities in Europe.
It should be noted, however, that the financial investment of the Canadian Embassy in Paris in the installation of the exhibition and Cybermodule show a potential for sustainability. In fact, while certain electronic materials of the exhibition were transferred to the Maison de l'Émigration, CyberModule, was used at the Musée de l'homme de Paris as part of an exhibition on Inuit culture. The Canadian Embassy is currently working with the Cité des Sciences in order to find a sustainable use for Cybermodule.
As for the cross-cutting components of the Canada-France Program, it continues to be difficult to provide a precise evaluation of their economic spinoffs, because several of them were related to other program objectives.
Finding 10: Some of the Canada-France Program are very recent, and this makes it difficult to assess economic spinoffs.
Everyone agrees that the Canada-France Program facilitated many networking endeavours. It is certainly plausible that such connections may result in investments or economic spinoffs in Canada. For example, as pointed out earlier, the participation of the SNA in the Festival interceltique de Lorient, through the enthusiasm generated, and the integration of Acadia in the Festival network (the SNA is included in the programming for 2005), open doors for collaboration.
The "Et si..." association and the firm Mucho Media held experimental activities with youth audiences and thereby allowed the French to discover LopArt, the highly innovative Canadian drawing software. An agreement has been signed between Mucho Media and LopArt to market the software in France.
Some major projects, mainly the Maison de l'Émigration en Canada and the Maison Champlain, could remain showcases for Canada, stimulating tourist interest.
However, several major and smaller projects got off the ground during the Canada-France Program some three years ago. Thus, at this stage, it is too early to make an accurate assessment of the economic spinoffs of these projects. For example, since the Maison de l'Émigration has not yet been inaugurated, it is difficult to estimate whether the scenography presented by Cultura will captivate the interest of other French investors. An evaluation of the economic spinoffs of the major projects must be carried out after these projects have reached maturity.
In retrospect, the economic spinoffs objective of the Canada-France Program was not very realistic, given the program parameters, which did not encourage funding of commercial projects. Certain initiatives, however, present long-term potential. Moreover, it is interesting to note that 25% of respondents in the 2005 BVA survey belonging to the Opinion Leaders category stated they would be interested in investing in Canada within the next five years.
For the purposes of this evaluation we define program efficiency in terms of quality-cost ratio for the various management phases of the Canada-France Program, specifically the Program's planning, management and implementation, and the management of transition once the Program concludes within a few weeks.
Finding 11: Within a very limited time frame, the Canada-France Program successfully initiated or pursued significant activities that quickly and substantially increased the operating budget of the Canadian Embassy in Paris.
Over a short period of time, the Canada-France Program transformed the scope of the activities of the Canadian Embassy in Paris. The figures are astonishing, since the budget allocated to the Embassy rose from about $50,000 in 2002, to $500,000 in 2003, reaching $5,000,000 in 2004 (and plummeted to $50,000 in 2005). Even though some of the activities of the Canada-France Program had already been underway for some years (the Maison de l'Émigration en Canada was officially announced in June 2000, PREFEN was underway, etc.), this situation required a significant turnaround in the day-to-day operations of the Embassy and considerable capacity for absorption, which was achieved. For this reason, the Program managers deserve to be congratulated for exceptional achievement.
However, the rapidity of implementation entailed compromise. The review of data collected from respondents reveals three weaknesses:
The selection of the major projects provoked many responses concerning whether or not these projects best reflected Canada's modernism. The answer is relatively simple and acknowledged by the Canada-France Program managers: the major projects constituted a timely response to an urgent need for rapid implementation of large-scale activities.
It should be recalled that no typical planning was carried out other than the repatriation of various projects under one umbrella, i.e., Canada-France 2004. Nevertheless, the selection of projects is questionable, especially given the objectives presented in the Applicant's Guide in December 2002. The profile of the Canada-France Program reflects a gap between the rationale of certain major projects and the three objectives (vertical consistency). Indeed, the major projects of a historical nature do not seem likely to meet the objectives of the Applicant's Guide, more specifically, altering the French perception and securing economic spinoffs for Canada.
Although performance follow-up and measurement were used to a certain extent in the planning of the Canada-France 2004 Program, the limited implementation of these tools prevented the rigorous collection of reference data. In the absence of such data, a follow-up of the various components of the Canada-France Program 2004 proved difficult.
Moreover, it must be understood that the follow-up and evaluation tools were difficult to implement given the limitations on time and available resources.
Conceptual gaps impacted the horizontal consistency of the Canada-France Program. Our review of the major projects and the collected data suggest that the potential synergies between projects were not a decision criterion. These synergies were not optimized.
As for the cross-cutting issues, their "malleability" in terms of the Canada-France Program objectives fostered greater overall consistency.
Finding 12: The vision and energy underlying the Canada-France Program enabled it to rapidly assume capital scope and significance for the Embassy. However, the day-to-day management of the program demonstrates some weaknesses.
The vast majority of respondents claimed in no uncertain terms that the Canada-France Program was driven by the vision of an official without whose energy the activities and projects could not have been completed in such short time frame. Confronted with accelerated implementation and the release of funds, the Embassy was required to hire locally to ensure specific management of certain projects and cross-cutting issues. Overall, the staff hired was competent and fulfilled their duties.
Nevertheless, and as is often the case in circumstances of hasty management, certain functions might have been better designed. Although the development of the Canada-France Program was supervised by an internal Embassy committee which met numerous times, a number of respondents hold the view that many responsibilities - for design, implementation and management - remained in the hands of a sole individual. Such concentration of roles, according to Embassy staff, resulted in limitations for the Canada-France Program which might have benefited from a more pragmatic management approach at times. The comments of some respondents may have been coloured by former rivalries concerning the distribution of Canada-France financing, however, this observation was raised by several individuals.
Managerial shortcomings were also illustrated through a limited risk analysis of the major projects. For example, several respondents asserted that from the outset, "That's Canada!" was a risky undertaking because of the innovative technology involved in supporting the exhibition. Despite this fact, no testing of the technology was planned for in the Cité des Sciences environment. Had such testing been conducted, many technical problems and difficulties with the public's familiarity with the device could have been identified.
Moreover, many individuals felt that the exhibition suffered from the fact that too much importance was granted to technological development, to the detriment of content. Many thought that there were significant discrepancies between the "high-tech" aspects and the content of the exhibition, which was much less innovative. Moreover, the content required a budget that exceeded the one stipulated on signing the contract. In addition, the representatives of Lambert claim they succeeded in creating a unique sensory experience for visitors, even though they were subjected to the technical limitations of the mini-sat.
In addition, infrastructure funding also proved risky, particularly with respect to the viability of the installations following decommitment- financial viability but also sustainability of the overall concept.
Finally, as we previously pointed out, performance benchmarks for the projects leave much to be desired. Several activity reports were submitted for the major and smaller projects. However, most of these reports do not indicate the extent to which the three objectives were pursued or their potential success.
Finding 13: Call for Projects were Subjected to Rigorous Management.
It should be noted that specific selection criteria were implemented for the Call for Projects. The selection of each project required the participation of a committee comprising staff from different sectors of the Embassy in order to optimize synergy between projects. Although it was often difficult to choose a project that might fulfill the three objectives, the committee used its judgment to choose the projects that offered the most potential. The chosen organizations had to demonstrate management, communication abilities and profound knowledge of the French context as well as connections with the Canadian counterparts. "The quality of a project was judged on the basis of the quality of the partners."
The Canada-France Program is drawing to a close, and many people question the afterlife of Canada-France, a program whose planning was precipitated. However, it is true that within a very short period of time, following the design, planning and implementation of the Program over just under three years, the day-to-day energy and effort of staff was required to implement activities. Nevertheless, today the management of decommitment is one of the Program's weaknesses.
Finding 14 : The Embassy's long-term commitment and the supply of adequate resources are important for the viability of several projects, minor or major.
The sustainability of certain major projects, more specifically the Maison de l'Émigration en Canada, PREFEN and the Maison Champlain are now the responsibility of French partners, who committed to assuming a greater share of financial responsibilities. Viability is a problem that must be addressed from two perspectives: financial mobilization and appropriation, particularly follow-up on accomplishments, in other words, a strategic vision.
PREFEN, at the time of the mission in France, was awaiting a funding guarantee for the 2005-2008 phase. Funding was urgently required for 2005-2006. When the evaluation team visited Tourouvre, the prospect of having to lay off four employees was a real one.
The Maison de l'Émigration en Canada is the responsibility of the Communauté des Communes du Haut-Perche. Currently, this community has limited resources to ensure, programming for the investments once construction is completed.
The partners' choices not only affected the ability to mobilize resources, but also the strategic orientation of projects. Thus the Maison Champlain and the Maison de l'Émigration en Canada will require a visionary approach to ensure programming that will support two infrastructures which are otherwise museums. Programming that is up to the task requires a certain degree of organizational will on the part of the Conseil général and the Communauté des communes. Moreover, certain respondents expressed reservations about the ability of these two organizations to ensure the development and the sustainability of the financial and human investments in the two projects to date.
Since several projects are still in their initial phases, supervision on the part of the Embassy remains important for supporting the strategic vision. Without direction from the Embassy, the activity schedule may not be met over the coming year. Embassy staff clearly indicated the will to provide follow-up both in terms of financial mobilization and programming. At the time of evaluation in January 2005, it was difficult to determine the extent to which the Embassy possessed the human resources required to ensure follow-up of the major projects. Uncertainties about the scope of follow-up implied that disinterest on the part of the Embassy might send the signal to partners that it was possible to develop projects that need not consider Canadian content.
Cross-cutting issues contributed to the establishment of partnerships and networks both throughout France and between France and Canada. The existence of such networks now requires follow-up from the Embassy in order to preserve existing links. As many respondents and embassy staff mentioned, "Without follow-up, 2004 would have been a complete waste of time." During the evaluation mission, some embassy staff members expressed doubts about the human resources available to maintain these networks once certain of the local agent positions were abolished, whereas others anticipated that the wind-up of the Canada-France 2004 funding would lead to declining interest on the part of several key stakeholders who had been enthusiastic up to this point.
For example, the lack of funding to support multiple media trips will have implications for media coverage of Canada. Without media trips, several journalists may prefer to cover other issues. In addition, reduction of funding for political or "imagination" activities may impact the confidence that was secured within political circles. If Canada wishes to remain a reference for modernism, governance, and so forth for the French political class, the Embassy must organize and support sustainable activities such as round tables or others.
It should be recalled that from the outset, all the Canada-France projects were part of the Public Diplomacy strategy which mainly aim to promote Canada in France outside the usual diplomatic channels. Since the public diplomacy programming will be sustained in coming years, it is reasonable to conclude that the Canada-France projects will continue to receive attention within the Embassy. However, at the time of evaluation in January 2005, the resources that were going to be allocated to supporting existing initiatives for periods of time after April 2005 had not yet been identified.
Finding 15: The cost/benefit ratio for major projects is rather unsatisfactory; however, it seems appropriate for small projects.
The cost/benefit ratio will be analysed separately for the major projects and the small projects, given the difference in the results obtained.
As previously indicated, each major project received funding from Canada-France 2004 of over $500,000, the "That's Canada!" project having received over $4 million. Each project perhaps attained its own objectives before being piggybacked on the Canada-France Program. However, the performance of each project in terms of modifying French perceptions, the establishment and strengthening of partnerships and economic spinoffs remained rather limited. Therefore the significant investments deployed to develop major projects did not optimise potential.
The lower sums allocated to the cross-cutting issues and thereby to the small projects seem to represent a better investment given the satisfactory results.
The Canada-France Program involved a large number of stakeholders, each with specific interests. The Program's relevance is therefore the degree to which Canada-France was able to respond to these interests and to a variety of expectations, while maintaining its major guidelines. It is important to recall that the Canada-France Program, through its significant budget, offered funding possibilities to various stakeholders and organizations having generally limited resources. This is indeed the case for the Canadian Embassy in Paris, whose mandate implies the development of diplomatic initiatives mobilizing considerable resources but also several Canadian and French organizations, who must seek funds to implement their programming.
Finding 16: The Canada-France Program is relevant insofar as it reached various stakeholders and met their financial and other needs with respect to implementing projects bringing France and Canada together.
The various components of the Canada-France Program distinguish it from other initiatives implemented by FAC, such as the International Academic Relations Program, the Arts Promotion Program, or the Public Diplomacy Program. There are three distinctions:
In our view, and based on the overall testimony of respondents in the geographic bureaux, the Embassy and at FAC, the Canada-France Program is a highly relevant intervention model. Indeed, the specific features of the program clearly demonstrate how such a programming structure can foster the implementation of influence-building diplomacy.
On the one hand a structure such as Canada-France permits the development and implementation of networks and partnerships between local structures and Canadian structures that show potential for pursuing trade, cultural or academic activities. Through its role as an intermediary, the Embassy fosters the development of sustainable ties between France and Canada in a variety of social spheres. In addition, a structure such as Canada-France has the potential to implement a portfolio of all types of projects (large or small) that reach diverse communities. It thus surpasses conventional diplomatic networking, which is reserved to elite communities. In fact, the development of concrete projects allows Canada to have direct contacts with civil society, academic communities, the media and other French stakeholders representing levers of influence.
Finally, because a structure such as Canada-France has significant funding, it has the potential to strengthen ties with a significant geographic partner, involving the political, financial, cultural and academic communities. However, this structure must be maintained over the long term to generate spinoffs.
In the opinion of all Embassy staff, the main expectations of the Canadian Embassy in Paris with respect to the program were (and still are) to have the financial resources and means required to strengthen Canada's presence in France in a professional manner.
According to several sources, both at FAC and in the embassies, FAC funding has incrementally diminished over the past several years. This reduction of resources available to the embassies makes it very difficult to adequately represent and promote Canada. In fact, it is the opinion of several staff members at the Embassy in Paris that a stable and substantial funding source is essential to the development of a public diplomacy that enhances Canada's visibility and influence in a sustainable manner.
Since financial and human resources were made available to the Embassy for the Canada-France, enabling it to perform diplomacy of high quality, the Program benefited from a high level of relevance at the Canadian Embassy in Paris. The Embassy recognizes the extent to which an investment such as Canada-France enabled it to implement activities of major importance for the objectives of diplomacy between the two countries. In fact, through media trips, rapprochement with French parliamentarians and the promotion of Canada artists in influential cultural circles, to name but a few initiatives, the Embassy was able to promote Canada's influence in France.
For one group of the stakeholders we met, regardless of the origin of the funding, from Public Diplomacy or Canada-France 2004, the important thing was to have a decent operating budget that allowed the undertaking of real initiatives that will have real impact.
It must be noted that the end of the Canada-France 2004 Program may very well undermine the program's relevance and compromise the gains made in recent years. In fact, many networks developed in France, greater visibility for Canada and a better understanding of Canada in France are all diplomatic gains engendered by the Canada-France Program. However, sustainability cannot be guaranteed unless the public diplomacy initiatives undertaken by the Embassy are pursued.
All of the beneficiaries that we met, whether French or Canadian agencies or recipients of the Call for Projects, believe that the Embassy was able to meet their principal expectations i.e., securing funding to pursue or launch activities, or establishing or strengthening partnerships. Many of them indicated that the funding granted by the Embassy proved central to implementing the proposed projects. Several beneficiaries, mainly Call for Projects recipients, indicated that financial support of the same scale as that granted by the Embassy would have been difficult to secure from alternative investors.
The end of the Canada-France Program inevitably calls the pursuit of the activities into question. As previously mentioned, the end of Canada-France funding implies a degree of insecurity for future development of major projects, whereas for Call for Projects, the depletion of funding results in diminishing or suspending activities. It is possible that program beneficiaries may find new partners to breathe new life into the projects developed with the support of the Call for Projects. However, the Call for Projects undeniably created many expectations of the Embassy and therefore, the Embassy should consider maintaining a certain level of financial or other type of support in order to preserve the credibility it earned among partners.
In the last months of its implementation, the Canada-France Program showed positive results. It was implemented despite precipitous injection of funds, and required rapid response. It reached a broad range of French stakeholders active in a variety of social spheres, thanks to extensive resources. Based on the collected data, the Canada-France Program enabled Canada to broaden its sphere of influence. The development of major projects made it possible to establish long-term links with stakeholders located outside the usual sphere of the Embassy, i.e. outside the Paris region. The Call for Projects also created support in the regions.
Nevertheless, in the case of the Canada-France Program, this generally well-designed approach to public diplomacy demonstrated a number of weaknesses in project selection and in risk evaluation and management. However, we must state that Canada-France is an example of public diplomacy that should be pursued, because the model has the potential to advance Canadian foreign policy objectives by exercising influence over various networks and groups. Since the Canada-France Program is drawing to an end and will not be renewed, it is not really necessary to make programming recommendations. We opt instead to identify a set of lessons learned that should likely be considered in future program initiatives similar to Canada-France.
That said, in light of this study, and given the anticipated 2005-2006 budgets, we believe it is crucial that AEC consider investing adequate funds to allow the Embassy to manage the follow-up to Canada-France. The Embassy's regular budget will not be sufficient to meet expectations. Even a modest investment would maintain certain activities and networks and thereby create multiplying effects for Canada-France relations. The decommitment strategy should be better managed and financed than is currently the case.
Finding 1: Prior to the implementation of the Canada-France Program, the French perception of Canada was generally positive, although stereotyped and focused on Quebec. Comparison of the results of two surveys, one conducted in 2003 and the other in 2005, demonstrates a positive change in perception.
Finding 2: Media coverage of Canadian themes has been particularly sustained and positive over the past five years, to a certain extent because of the Canada-France Program. Many articles written about Canada likely influenced the French perception of Canada, although specific causal links are difficult to establish here.
Finding 3: Several public diplomacy activities undertaken in the Canada-France Program helped to project a renewed image of Canada among diverse groups.
Finding 4: The four major projects present limited potential for modifying public perception, among other things, because of the type of content promoted.
Finding 5: Certain major projects of the Canada-France Program presented limited potential for attracting the general public, whereas others seemed more promising.
Finding 6: The Canadian Embassy in Paris, because of its upstream work, facilitated the interaction of French and Canadian civil society stakeholders. This is one of the main achievements of the Programme Canada-France Program.
Finding 7: The major Canada-France projects contributed to consolidating existing partnerships between French and Canadian entities.
Finding 8: As for financial contributions, each of the major projects received French funds in addition to Canadian funds, which illustrates the type of budgetary partnerships initiated by the Canada-France Program.
Finding 9: At present, the immediate economic spinoffs of the Canada-France 2004 Program are limited, particularly for the major projects.
Finding 10: Some of the Canada-France Program are very recent, and this makes it difficult to assess economic spinoffs.
Finding 11: Within a very limited time frame, the Canada-France Program successfully initiated or pursued significant activities that quickly and substantially increased the operating budget of the Canadian Embassy in Paris.
Finding 12: The vision and energy underlying the Canada-France Program enabled it to rapidly assume capital scope and significance for the Embassy. However, the day-to-day management of the program demonstrated some weaknesses.
Finding 13: Calls for Projects were subjected to rigorous management.
Finding 14: The Embassy's long-term commitment and the supply of adequate resources are important for the viability of several projects, minor or major.
Finding 15: The cost/benefit ratio for major projects is rather unsatisfactory; however, it seems appropriate for small projects.
Finding 16: The Canada-France Program is relevant insofar as it reached various stakeholders and met their financial and other needs with respect to implementing projects bringing France and Canada together.
|Expected Results
|Responsibility Centre
|Key Dates and Deadlines
|1) Prior to the implementation of the Canada-France Program, the French perception of Canada was generally positive, although stereotyped and focused on Quebec. Comparison of the results of two surveys, one conducted in 2003 and the other in 2005, demonstrates a positive change in perception.
|Develop and implement comprehensive Embassy public diplomacy strategy based on whole of government / whole of Canada approach aimed at further strengthening, broadening, modernizing French perceptions of Canada, building bilateral partnerships, and increasing Canadians' participation in the relationship.
|Embassy / Paris
|2) Media coverage of Canadian themes has been particularly sustained and positive over the past five years, to a certain extent because of the Canada-France Program. Many articles written about Canada likely influenced the French perception of Canada, although specific causal links are difficult to establish here.
|As part of the Embassy public diplomacy strategy, develop and implement HOM/Embassy media and public profile in Parisian and regional press, further thematic press trips for French journalists, refine other public diplomacy communications tools.
|Embassy / Paris
|(See point 1)
|3) Several public diplomacy activities undertaken in the Canada-France Program helped to project a renewed image of Canada among diverse groups.
|(See point 1 for actions/results)
|4) The four major projects present limited potential for modifying public perception, among other things, because of the type of content promoted.
|Embassy / Paris
|1. « Le Canada Vraiment »/ "That's Canada!":
- Continue the partnership and develop follow-up projects with the Cité des Sciences, the number one science and technology centre and museum in France (3 million visitors yearly). Consolidate Canada's image as an IT leader and support participation of Canadian partners in the bilateral relationship.
|Follow-up on virtual exchange projects between French and Canadian youth (use of the Cybermodule), conferences on water management, on research in the Arctic, a more long-term Canadian presence in the cybertheque.
|2. Maison Champlain
- Consolidate long-term partnerships with the Charente-Maritime department and New Brunswick as part of our regionalisation strategy for the Canada-France relationship. Consolidate Canada's image of excellence in the use of new technology in museums, as special activities organised for 2008 attract a great number of tourists to Champlain's birthplace.
|Create a museum partnership between the Maison Champlain and the Cartorium Champlain in Saint-Leonard New Brunswick. More generally, broaden the Charente-Maritime/Canada relationship by developing academic exchanges with the University of La Rochelle.
|3. Maison de l'Emigration / PREFEN
- Consolidate long-term partnerships with Normandy, a key region in the Canada-France relationship (regionalisation strategy). Allow public access to genealogical data generated by our research programme.
|Develop a communication strategy for the opening of the Maison de l'Emigration in the third quarter of 2006 in order to attract the public from Normandy and neighbouring regions: Ile-de-France (Paris region) and the Loire/Centre region (a new highway facilitates access to the Maison). Give (Canadian) public access to genealogical data. Promote genealogical software developed by the PREFEN with interested museum and archive institutions in France (promote the sale of this software).
|4. Portail des Archives
- Reinforce the partnership between the Archives de France, Archives Canada and the Archives Nationales du Québec.
|Reinforce cooperation with departmental archives in the perspective of an activity marking the 400th anniversary of Quebec.
|5) Certain major projects of the Canada-France Program presented limited potential for attracting the general public, whereas others seemed more promising
|Over the long term all grands projets, by their permanent nature, will attract the public and specialists. See point 4 for actions/results.
|6) The Canadian Embassy in Paris, because of its upstream work, facilitated the interaction of French and Canadian civil society stakeholders. This is one of the main achievements of the Programme Canada-France Program.
|Embassy / Paris
|(See point 1)
|7) The major Canada-France projects contributed to consolidating existing partnerships between French and Canadian entities.
|(See point 4 for actions/results)
|8) As for financial contributions, each of the major projects received French funds in addition to Canadian funds, which illustrates the type of budgetary partnerships initiated by the Canada-France Program.
|In the context of the Embassy public diplomacy strategy, remain engaged in assisting partners of grands projets to secure non Government of Canada funding for their activities and to consider additional funding for programming on project by project basis.
|Concerning programme Canada-France 2004 grands projets, ensure long term self-sustaining funding and management.
|Embassy / Paris
|Independent funding either identified or funding strategies n place for grands projets.
|Seek partners ands cost sharing for all Embassy public diplomacy projects.
|Concerning the Embassy's public diplomacy programme, ensure maximum leveraging of budgets with partners.
|Virtually all public diplomacy projects in the Embassy's strategy are co-funded with partners.
|9) At present, the immediate economic spinoffs of the Canada-France 2004 Program are limited, particularly for the major projects.
- The guidelines governing disbursement of the programme Canada-France 2004 budget made strictly commercial projects highly problematic; redesign relevant guidelines to allow more flexibility in public diplomacy programming to include commercial-oriented projects.
- That said, the economic impact of Canada-France 2004 projects has been important - for Canadian suppliers for grands projets, in terms of increased interest in investment in and immigration to Canada, and economic returns for Canadian artists/ participants involved.
|Embassy / Paris
FAC - concerning guidelines for public diplomacy projects
|10) Some of the Canada-France Program are very recent, and this makes it difficult to assess economic spinoffs.
|(See point 9)
|11) Within a very limited time frame, the Canada-France Program successfully initiated or pursued significant activities that quickly and substantially increased the operating budget of the Canadian Embassy in Paris.
|No follow up required
|12) The vision and energy underlying the Canada-France Program enabled it to rapidly assume capital scope and significance for the Embassy. However, the day-to-day management of the program demonstrated some weaknesses.
|Effective coordination, coherence and oversight of the Embassy's public diplomacy programme.
|Embassy / Paris
|13) Calls for Projects were subjected to rigorous management.
|Ensure all appels à projets, where relevant and appropriate, are integrated into the Embassy's public diplomacy programme.
|Provide continuity and follow-up to appels à projets, thereby building on results of these projects and partnerships.
|Embassy / Paris
|14) The Embassy's long-term commitment and the supply of adequate resources are important for the viability of several projects, minor or major.
|Long term Canadian Embassy involvement in the permanent grands projets ensuring maximum Canadian government profile and synergies with other Embassy public diplomacy programming.
|Funding or other financing strategies are in place., adequate human resources are devoted to ensuring long term viability of grands projets.
|15) The cost/benefit ratio for major projects is rather unsatisfactory; however, it seems appropriate for small projects.
|Excellent cost-benefit for all Embassy public diplomacy programming.
|Embassy / Paris
|16) The Canada-France Program is relevant insofar as it reached various stakeholders and met their financial and other needs with respect to implementing projects bringing France and Canada together.
|Embassy / Paris
1The Third Pillar of the external policy of FAC corresponds to the promotion of Canadian culture and values abroad.
2Section 4 describes the development of the Canada-France Program objectives. However, for evaluation purposes, the objectives cited in this section were submitted to the evaluation team.
3 The term Public Diplomacy refers to the different aspects of international diplomacy beyond bilateral relations between national governments. The concept encompasses the cultural, educational, scientific, economic and trade relations that are used to build a country's image abroad and as well as to support its interests.
4 It is important to note that the objectives described in the Treasury Board Submission are specific to the Canada 2004-2008 program, of which Canada-France 2004 is only a component.
5 The BVA firm conducted two quantative surveys on the "Image of Canada in France," one in 2003 and the other in 2005.
6 The blackberry is a Canadian technology that blends text-messaging with cell phones.
7 Magazine L'Express, 18/03/2003
8 Journal Le Monde, Saturday edition, February 26, 2005.
9 www.immersion.com / www.m2c1.com
Office of the Inspector General
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text:
Junk My Car Extends Relationship with AT&T for Voice Solutions
Seymour, Connecticut, February 29, 2008
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has announced that Junk my Car, a leading vehicle-removal service in North America, has awarded a new integrated voice services contract to AT&T. Junk my Car has been an AT&T customer since 2005.
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Note: This AT&T release and other news announcements are available as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss.
|Related Media Kits:
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|Web Sites:
About Junk my Car
Junk my Car is a free junk vehicle removal service covering all 50 US states and Canada removing cars, trucks, motorcycles, motor homes, boats, trailers, and heavy equipment. Junk my Car has been providing this unique service for over four years and is recognized as the premier company of its kind, removing and recycling over 40,000 used vehicles a year. For more information visit http://www.junkmycar.com.
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AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world's most advanced IP-based business communications services and the nation's leading wireless, high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic markets, AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the AT&T brand is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As part of its three-screen integration strategy, AT&T is expanding its TV entertainment offerings. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at www.att.com.
© 2008 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T and the AT&T logo are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property.

subset: commoncrawl