EVALUATION OF NATURAL RESOURCE CANADA’S EXPANDING MARKET OPPORTUNITIES (EMO) PROGRAM
About The Program
- The objective of the Expanding Market Opportunities (EMO) program is to diversify international markets for Canadian forest products (reducing dependence on the United States) and promote increased wood use in North American non-residential and mid-rise construction.
- Delivered by Natural Resources Canada’s Canadian Forest Service, this contribution program cost-shares market access and development activities with forest industry associations and other stakeholders. Actual expenditures over the period of evaluation were $69 million.
What The Evaluation Found
Relevance
The program continues to be relevant and well aligned with NRCan roles, responsibilities and priorities. Overall, it is responsive to the needs of the forest sector. However, there are barriers to effective engagement with the nascent bioproducts sector.
Source: Statistics Canada via Global Trade Atlas (April 1, 2019)
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Graph showing the trend in total exports of Canadian wood products (in millions of dollars), and the trend of Canadian wood exports to key trading partners (United States and China) as a percentage of total exports, 2005 to 2018.
| Year | 2005 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Exports (millions of dollars) | 20,148 | 8,692 | 9,021 | 9,951 | 12,649 | 13,906 | 14,841 | 17,367 | 18,173 | 18,406 |
| Percent of exports to USA | 88 | 67 | 60 | 66 | 66 | 70 | 74 | 77 | 77 | 76 |
| Percent of exports to China | 0.5 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
Effectiveness
There has been continued progress towards the program’s intended outcomes for both international and domestic markets. Targets to increase the value of wood product sales in both key international and domestic markets are being met.
| Target Market | >2011 to 2017 |
|---|---|
| Key international markets | >16.1% ($3.1B to $3.6B) |
| Domestic non-residential construction | >25% ($130.3 M to $162.8 M) |
Exports of Canadian Forest Products (2017)
Source: State of Canada’s Forests (2018)
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Infographic showing the breakdown of exports of Canadian forest products in 2017: 29% were softwood lumber, 23% wood pulp, 7% structural wood panels, 6% printing and writing paper, 6% newsprint, and 29% other (includes over 400 categories of products). Source: State of Canada’s Forests (2018).
Domestically, increased adoption and commercialization of wood could be facilitated by increasing the reach of the program’s information resources to new target audiences (e.g., the insurance industry). While the environmental reputation of Canada’s wood products continues to be well regarded internationally, more could be done to communicate this performance domestically.
Moving forward, it will also be important to ensure that the program’s international activities are aligned to NRCan’s new International Departmental Plan.
Efficiency
Overall, the EMO program continues to be delivered efficiently and economically. However, the need for continual program renewal hinders the efficiency of the program and limits the effective use of multi-year agreements. Opportunities also exist to significantly strengthen and streamline the EMO program’s performance measurement system, including integration of considerations for gender-based analysis plus in data collection.
Source: WoodWORKS! Program Data
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Graph of the growth in number of mid-rise wood structures in construction or completed in Canada (including forecast construction), 2010-11 to 2018-19.
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | Forecast* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Total of New Structures | 1 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 26 | 57 | 70 | 79 | 316 |
| Cumulative Total of New Structures | 3 | 12 | 23 | 37 | 63 | 120 | 190 | 269 | 585 | |
| Note: ‘Forecast’ indicates the number of structures under consideration, in planning or where construction was imminent (as of March 2019). | ||||||||||
About the Evaluation
The evaluation covers the period from 2015-16 to 2018-19. The purpose of the evaluation was to:
- Confirm ongoing program relevance and performance;
- Review changes in context and delivery since the last evaluation (2016) and the impact of these changes on program effectiveness or efficiency, including consideration of gender-based analysis plus; and
- Identify the impact of management actions in response to the past evaluation.
This evaluation is consistent with the requirement of the Treasury Board Policy on Results (2016).
Details on specific evaluation questions, methods and limitations are found in the full report.
Recommendations and Management Response and Action Plan
- The Canadian Forest Service should work with partners to address gaps in market research identified by the evaluation and program stakeholders, including developing forward insights into market opportunities for new bioproducts.
Agreed. The Canadian Forest Service will consult with partners to identify and address gaps in the program’s current suite of market studies and strategies, including the market development needs of the emerging bioproducts sector. Due date: March 2023.
- The Canadian Forest Service should review its pilot of in-market infrastructure in the Middle East, ensuring that it is aligned with NRCan’s broader international strategy. CFS should also share its lessons learned from this review so as to inform NRCan’s implementation of similar positions in other sectors.
Agreed. In April 2019 the Canadian Forest Service contracted with a consulting firm specializing in evaluation and performance management to perform an impact assessment of the pilot in-market infrastructure in the Middle East. Lessons learned will inform the future of the pilot and be shared within the department at the Directors General International Affairs Committee. Due date: March 2020.
- The Canadian Forest Service should work with domestic partners to extend outreach to new target audiences in the delivery of the North American Markets component, including considerations for more innovative use of online media.
Agreed. The Canadian Forest Service will work with domestic partners to increase engagement with different target groups in the delivery of the North American Markets component. This includes launching new education programs with insurers, information campaigns on the implications of the 2020 National Building Code, and investing in enhancements to the Think Wood online communications platform as well as those of other industry stakeholders. Due date: May 2020.
- The Canadian Forest Service should work with partners to increase communication of the forest industry’s environmental performance within Canada and the domestic marketing of wood as a preferred option for sustainable construction.
Agreed. The Canadian Forest Service will work with partners to improve communication of the forest industry’s environmental performance within Canada and the domestic marketing of wood as a preferred option for sustainable construction. The program will partner with industry on a National Sustainability Coordinator position at the Canadian Wood Council that will increase awareness and reduce/remove barriers and misinformation related to wood use in sustainable construction, and to position wood as the building material of choice, based on science. Due date: May 2020.
- The Canadian Forest Service should strengthen and streamline the EMO program’s performance measurement system, to reduce reporting burden and improve clarity of its performance story. This should include integration of GBA+ considerations in data collection.
Agreed. Work is underway to strengthen and streamline the performance measurement system and performance metrics, including GBA+ considerations, as part of the renewal efforts of Budget 2019. Due date: March 2020.
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