CAPA PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION PROJECT
Phase I
PHASE I
Professional or Job Holder: Which Will You Be?
In every employment arena there are “professionals” and there are simply “job holders.” The CAPA-CAPAPA Professional Standards and Certification Project (PSCP) has a stated goal of establishing Information Access and Protection of Privacy (IAPP) specialists as a recognized profession in Canada. The project will achieve this goal by developing professional standards, establishing a certification model and by recognizing a governance group capable of implementing the program.
The activities involved in this project bring professionalism for IAPP specialists into focus. It is imperative that individuals engaged in the field of access and privacy administration, federally, provincially, municipally or within the private sector, understand that the future of the profession depends on their adopting certain values and beliefs and practices. IAPP specialists deserve our energy and effort to establish and defend the practice field. When talking to IAPP specialists about their evolving profession a frequent question is, “what will professional standards and certification do for me?” In many professions the establishment of standards and certification results in membership in a professional organization and is considered as a hallmark for professional practitioners. Professional organization membership is the vehicle to recognition and empowerment of a profession.
Access and privacy administration is an exciting field. You have a choice to be simply a “job holder” or to accept the role of professional. If you choose to be a professional, acceptance of the established professional standards and certification will enhance your development; and, as a member of a recognized association, you will promote recognition of IAPP specialists as a profession.
Wayne MacDonald
National Director
CAPA-CAPAPA Professional Standards and Certification Project
Executive Summary
1. Access and Privacy legislation appeared as part of the Canadian landscape nearly 25 years ago. Almost every province and territory in Canada have enacted this legislation. As the legislation came into being educational programming and specialized training emerged to prepare workers. Administering this specialized work has resulted in the emergence of a new professional group, Information Access and Protection of Privacy (IAPP) specialists for both the public and private sectors.
2. Stakeholders in the access and privacy community have come to realize that
there is an urgent need to establish standards, certify professionals working
in the field and support this emerging new profession through establishment
of a governing body.
3. In January 2006 two of Canada's professional associations, the Canadian
Access and Privacy Association (CAPA) and the Canadian Association of Professional
Access and Privacy Administrators (CAPAPA), launched an initiative to enhance
the capacity of professionalizing access and privacy administration. In June
2006 this join initiative obtained funding from the Office of the Privacy
Commissioner of Canada (OPC) to establish a projet for this purpose.
4. In July 2006 the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC)
provided an additional resource to the project by hiring a National Director
(ND) for the CAPA-CAPAPA Professional Standards and Certification Project
(PSCP) for a 15-month period.
5. In September 2006 the Office of the Alberta Information and Privacy
Commissioner (IPC) provided office space, administration and logistical
support for the ND.
6. It is the aim of the PSCP to accomplish the following three goals for IAPP
specialists in both the public and private sectors in Canada:
1. To develop professional standards.
2. To research and establish a model for certification.
3. To recommend guidelines for the establishment of an appropriate governance body capable of successfully managing and implementing the standards and certification program.
7. In September 2006 a Working Group Committee (WGC) was formalized consisting
of eminent IAPP specialists from across Canada. It is the mandate of the WGC
to direct and support the National Director to achieve the above identified
goals. The WGC is also responsible for final approval of the standards, certification
and governance models.
8.Once these three goals have been completed it is expected that the governance
body will commence implementation and marketing of the PSCP across Canada.
It is anticipated that this process would be largely completed within a 3-
year period and ongoing.
Work Plan
September 5, 2006 to November 30, 2007
October 12, 2006
INTRODUCTION
Across Canada access to information and protection of privacy (IAPP) legislation is delivered at a federal, provincial and municipal level to ensure accountability and transparency in government. The forces that have prompted governments to introduce this legislation are deeply entwined with the public’s concerns over obtaining access to government information while protecting personal information collected and used by governments, private organizations and businesses. At the core of access and privacy legislation are concerns over the very nature of our democracy and the nature of the private citizen.
At the same time that concepts of IAPP have become ensconced into the laws of Canada, stakeholders have taken an active interest in supporting professionals responsible for administering this legislation. As access and privacy legislation evolved a distinct group of specialists emerged in response to this growing field. Professional associations such as the Canadian Access and Privacy Association (CAPA) and Canadian Association of Professional Access and Privacy Administrators (CAPAPA), employers and post-secondary institutions developed training and educational supports. Subsequently, it has become timely to take the next major step forward to professionalize these IAPP specialists. In 2003 the CAPAPA membership was surveyed and they identified professional certification as a major need for this evolving profession. In response to this identified need, CAPA and CAPAPA, have jointly begun this process through obtaining funding specifically targeted at the creation of such a project.
In addition to the project grant given by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC), the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) has provided a position in the form of a National Director. The project has been formalized under the title “Professional Standards and Certification Project (PSCP)”. The three main goals of PSCP are to develop standards, a certification model and recommendations for a governance body. Once these are achieved a process will be in place through which IAPP specialists can be certified as professionals. Both private and public sector employers will know that such a certified individual has the requisite knowledge, skills and professional background to responsibly administer the access and privacy needs of their organizations.
MISSION STATEMENT
Establishment of a governance body whose responsibility is to certify IAPP specialists in both the public and private sectors in Canada. Certification is to be based on the developed standards of practice.
PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION PROJECT - BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
The Professional Standards and Certification Project (PSCP) is a venture co-initiated by CAPA and CAPAPA. Both associations are non-profit, member funded and controlled, national associations whose objectives are dedicated to the ongoing professional development, education and expanded expertise of individuals who work in the IAPP field. Funding for the project has been made available from the OPC CAPAPA-CAPA Professional Certification Standards Project Proposal – Contributions Program 2006-2007) and OIC for a National Director project position. The funded National Director (ND) position is located in Edmonton with office support provided by the Alberta IPC.
The ND is responsible for coordinating the overall project. The Working Group Committee (WGC), comprised of noted IAPP experts from across Canada, was created in order to provide direction, support and expertise for the ND position. In addition it is the mandate of the WGC to finalize the identified standards, certification model and recommendations for a governance body.
PSCP is an ambitious project that will build upon and add capacity to resources and supports currently in place to assist the emerging profession of IAPP specialists in Canada. Characteristics of a profession include:
· Possessing a distinct body of knowledge
· A sense of duty to those served
· Control over all matters related to the profession
· Maintaining standards of excellence
· Formulating a code of ethics
· Endeavoring to elevate the profession to a position of dignity and
social standing
· Organizing and developing a professional association
· Establishing criteria for recruitment and training
· Recognition and esteem from others.
· View their work as a source of income
· Identify with it as life's work and
· Feel they need to contribute personally to advance their practice
field.
Many professional groups have shown that the cohesive, mutually supportive recognition of a profession is almost totally dependent on a strong, assertive professional organization. Consequently, it is timely to work toward development of such a body. It is expected that the project will unfold in three phases over a 15 month period commencing on September 5, 2006 with an anticipated completion date of November 30, 2007. At the end of each phase of the project a report will be produced for consideration and ratification by the WGC.
Phase One
The first phase of the project will focus on developing professional standards. This process will involve a literature review, researching existing federal, provincial, municipal and private sector job responsibilities for IAPP specialists currently employed in the field. Based on the compiled data overall standards will be developed for final approval by the WGC.
Phase Two
Subsequent to the standards development, compilation and analysis of existing certification models used by other professional associations will occur. Considering the needs of public and private sectors, and existing support for certification of IAPP specialists, a model will be developed which can then be implemented by a governance body.
Phase Three
In order to implement certification of IAPP specialists the next step is to establish a governance body(ies) responsible for this process. However, consideration must be given to an effective marketing plan in order to gain support for certification from individuals within the field. Assuming this occurs the recommended model of governance, based on review and analyses of existing professional associations’ models of governance, will have to be established. This will require significant ongoing funding and a long term commitment by major stakeholders. The final phase of the PSCP is to recommend a model for a governance body with the mandate to implement certification.
WORKING GROUP COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP - ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Purpose
The Working Group Committee for the Professional Standards and Certification Project serves the following purposes:
· To advise and provide feedback on the project’s work plan, and to ensure that the plan will meet current and emerging needs leading to the certification of IAPP specialists in Canada;
· To provide advice and input for the identification of professional
standards;
· To share expertise, general information and ideas relevant to IAPP
administration related to certification and governance models;
· To advise on the inclusion of potential stakeholder groups and identify
funding sources; and
· To demonstrate leadership and support for the certification program
once it is ready for implementation by the governance body.
The WGC is responsible for reviewing background documentation, providing input
and feedback to the program’s National Director and making decisions
regarding the direction of the project. In addition, the committee is mandated
to finalize the developed standards, certification and governance models.
Membership
The WGC members have been selected by their respective organizations with attention given to ensuring a balanced representation of stakeholders. The WGC consists of seven (7) members selected for their recognized leadership and specialized expertise required for the success of the project. Mr. Frank Work, Alberta’s Information and Privacy Commissioner has been appointed as Chair for the duration of this project. Face-to-face and teleconference meetings will be called at the discretion of the Chair. Representation on the Committee is as follows:
1. Provincial/territorial Access and Privacy Commissioner representative – Frank Work, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta (Chair)
2. Canadian Access and Privacy Association representative – Laurence
Kearley, Vice-President and General Counsel, CAPA
3. Canadian Association of Professional Access and Privacy Administrators
- Carla Heggie, National Chair, CAPAPA
4. Information Commissioner of Canada representative - Alan Leadbeater, Deputy
Information Commissioner for Canada
5. Privacy Commissioner of Canada representative – Raymond D’Aoust,
Assistant Privacy Commissioner for Canada
6. Information Access and Protection of Privacy Certificate Program representative
-Dr. Douglas Knight, Director, Government Studies, Faculty of Extension, University
of Alberta
7. Development des Services et Coordination des Etudes - Pierre Beaudry, Directeur,
Ecole Nationale d’Administration Publique, Universite du Quebec
8. Private Sector representative – Drew McArthur, Vic President, Corporate
Affairs, TELUS Communications Company
9. Linda Girard, Director, Association sur l’acces et la protection
de l’information (AAPI)
Duties of Members
In addition to providing
their expertise and advice members may be asked to head working groups during
the course of the project.
Tenure of Appointment
Members of the Committee will serve for the duration of the project. Should the opportunity arise all members may be appointed for another term. Vacancies will be filled through nomination by the respective organization.
Chair and Executive Duties
The Chair calls meetings, selects agenda items, and presides over Committee meetings.
Quorum
Fifty percent plus one.
NATIONAL DIRECTOR – ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The National Director of the PSCP project works in conjunction with the WGC members to achieve the goals of the project. The ND’s responsibilities include:
· Managing day-to-day operations and progress of the project
· Hiring and managing appropriate resources necessary for successful
completion of project activities
· Establishing a network of stakeholder contacts to ensure feedback
and nurture their support for the project
· Establishing a detailed work plan covering the timeframe of the project
for the WGC’s consideration
· Establishing a communications plan
· Monitoring and administering all Contribution Program funds granted
by the OPC in conjunction with approvals received from the CAPA and CAPAPA
representatives and
· Reporting progress of the project to the WGC
In accordance with
the OPC Contribution Program Agreement a report will be submitted to the OPC
by March 31, 2007 documenting progress completed by the project up to that
date. In addition to this expectation the ND will subsequently submit a comprehensive
written report by November 30, 2007 to the WCG and OIC, documenting the work
of the ND, the work of the WGC, results achieved and next steps required for
the remainder of 2007 to 2010.
The ND is an employee of the OIC and takes direction from the WGC though the
working group’s Chair. The National Director has the authority to make
decisions, relevant to the role and responsibilities of the position, allowing
for timely and appropriate management of the goals for the success of this
project.
CERTIFICATION TARGET AUDIENCE
Certification of IAPP specialists in Canada encompasses the following target audiences:
1. Managers of federal, provincial and municipal programs.
2. Owners and managers of private sector companies subject to access to information
(through contracted service to government departments) and protection of privacy
legislation.
3. Front line IAPP administrators in the federal, provincial and municipal
sectors and staff.
4. Chief Privacy Officers from the public and private sectors.
5. IT Security officers and their staff members.
6. Compliance officers (auditors) who seek to broaden their knowledge into
addition areas.
7. Officers and employees with IAPP related responsibilities or obligations.
8. Individuals who advise senior officers within government on information
management policies and practices.
9. Lawyers and consultants who advise and provide services to government or
private sector clients.
10. Employees of vendor companies that offer access to information, privacy
protection or security enabling technologies services to government or the
private sector.
11. Existing certificate holders who wish to add an IAPP certification to
their credential(s).
PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
In addition to the three goals outlined in the PSCP work plan the ND will develop a communications plan for the project. The purpose of the communications plan is to keep project partners and interested stakeholders from across Canada informed of the project’s progress. In addition it will serve to assist the WGC members to promote completion of the goals of the PSCP.
The PSCP Communications Plan will include:
· Establishment of a bilingual website outlining key information and the aims of the project
· Creation of an electronic bilingual brochure outlining the goals
and objectives of the PSCP
· Creation of an electronic bilingual news letter to promote the PSCP
to stakeholders
· Printed materials as needed
· Compilation of a data base that identifies key contacts necessary
for promoting certification across Canada and a list of interested stakeholders
who wish to be kept informed of the project’s progress
· Development of an inventory of federal and provincial regulatory
offices affecting certification in various jurisdictions.
· Identification and establishment of contacts with potential corporate
sponsors capable of financially supporting and assisting the program.
WORK PLAN
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Certification Questions
Of what benefit would certification be to me?
This is the big question everyone wants answered. The short answer is that nearly all professional fields utilize certifications to legitimize and support its members. Certification adds credibility to a field and there are many great examples; the professional engineer’s association, chartered financial analysts, nurses; even the information and technology (computer) industry now has recognized professional certifications and designations.
How much will it cost me to be certified?
As little as possible. Although final costs have yet to be determined, it is anticipated that costs will be very affordable and may be based on typical government staff training budget scenarios.
What level of effort/commitment is involved in becoming certified?
That depends on an individual’s interest level. The initial certification and standards will be set to welcome as many interested parties as possible. Then, depending on an individual’s desire additional certification levels and designations can be pursued.
What kind of executive federal and provincial government support is in place for certification?
Efforts are being made to ensure that appropriate federal and provincial executives and departments responsible for supporting IAPP legislation are made aware of the Professional Standards and Certification Project. It is expected that as the project gets underway all stakeholders in the federal, provincial and private sectors will be allowed the opportunity to contribute to the project as it unfolds. The project is supported by both the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada. Provincial and Territorial Information and Privacy Commissioners/Ombudsman responsible for over site of access and privacy legislation are also represented on this project.
What kind of reimbursement or support for associated costs will be available?
This is hard to predict but it is expected that with executive backing financial supports, as with other professional groups, may be made available.
In terms of career plans and employment opportunities why should I get certified?
Certification tells your employer, clients, colleagues and oversight bodies that you are serious about your profession and career choice. Certification also adds a level of “portability” to your resume and would allow professionals to switch jobs more easily and move up the ranks faster as each level signifies added competency and commitment.
Are there provisions for certification through ‘grandfathering’ for hands on experience?
Although final details have yet to be worked out, there will definitely be provisions to recognize the skills and abilities of “seasoned” IAPP specialists. You will not have to start at the bottom.
Do we have to be certified in order to keep our jobs in the future?
Certification does not mean people without it will lose their jobs. But, if people want to advance further or face bigger and better challenges, certification could be one of the tools in your “career tool box” for further advancement and growth in the field.
Professional Standards Questions
What levels will professional standards apply to those staff currently working in the field?
It is anticipated that at the initial levels, everyone with experience in the field, or with some minor training, will be recognized as having “met the basic standard”.
Will there be different levels of professional standards to meet?
There will only be one standard. However, there may be additional certification levels for those who wish to advance their professional background with additional certifications.
I do not have a university degree but I am interested in pursuing this area as a career choice, how will certification help me?
The more the IAPP field matures and grows the more people working in this challenging field will want certification. The more you can add to your resume by way of a certification the better you will be able to stand out above other competitors for IAPP jobs.
Will certification and professional standards evolve into better classifications, pay levels and professional recognition?
As more and more IAPP professionals get certified, and as the profession continues to evolve, it is only natural that, as evidenced in other professional fields, classifications and pay levels should be recognized and increased accordingly.
Frank
J. Work, Q.C.
Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner
Alberta appointed its second Information and Privacy Commissioner, Frank Work, Q.C. in 2002.
Mr. Work will oversee the access to information and protection of privacy provisions of Alberta’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act, the Health Information Act (HIA) and the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). Additionally Mr. Work will inform and educate Albertans about the Acts, taking time to listen to concerns, administer constructive advice to public bodies and custodians and investigate potential abuses.
Mr. Work was born in Calgary, received his Bachelors and Masters Degree in Environmental Design from the University of Calgary and obtained a law degree in 1981 from McGill University. After a brief stint practicing corporate commercial law in Calgary, Mr. Work had the opportunity to work for the Attorney General of Bermuda. During his time in Bermuda, Mr. Work was seconded to the United Nations Environmental Program. After returning to Canada in 1987, Mr. Work took a contract position with the World Bank and was assigned to the country of Mauritius. There he worked with the Minister of Environment, Executive Council, and various aid agencies in developing environmental policy and law. From 1991 to 1996 Mr. Work worked as Parliamentary Counsel to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and spent time working as General Counsel to the Ethics Commissioner of Alberta. In 1996 Mr. Work began his career at the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner as General Counsel and Assistant Commissioner. Mr. Work was appointed as Acting Information and Privacy Commissioner in September 2001 and was subsequently appointed to a five year term as Information and Privacy Commissioner in May 2002.
Laurence
Kearley
Vice-President and General Counsel, Canadian Access and Privacy Association
(CAPA)
Laurence Kearley
is Senior Legal Advisor with the Office of the Information Commissioner of
Canada. He was called to the bar of Ontario in 1974 after graduating from
Osgoode Hall Law School. In 1996 he received his Masters of Law degree in
International Law, specializing in the international protection of privacy,
from the University of Ottawa Law School.
Mr. Kearley has taught law at the University of Windsor Law School and Osgoode
Hall Law School. He has worked in a variety of capacities with the Province
of Ontario and the Government of Canada.
Mr. Kearley has specialized in access to information law and privacy law for the last ten years and has written extensively in both fields. He is a frequent speaker on access and privacy issues.
Carla
Heggie
National Chair,
Canadian Association of Professional Access and Privacy Administrators (CAPAPA)
Carla Heggie is the National Chair for the Canadian Association of Professional Access and Privacy Administrators (CAPAPA). Her primary focus in this area is the professional development of access and privacy specialists and the promotion of CAPAPA as a national organization of professionals. In this capacity, she has taken the opportunity to speak at many Information Access and Privacy, and Information Management, venues across the country on the topic of the evolution, development, and certification of the Information Access and Privacy Professional. Currently, through CAPAPA, Ms. Heggie is actively advocating and working with other information access and privacy specialists across Canada to establish standards for the certification of professionals in this field.
Ms. Heggie is the Information Access and Privacy Manager for Nova Scotia Environment and Labour. She has been working with government in the policy area of information access and privacy since the early 1990’s and has been administering the Nova Scotia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act for about a decade.
A graduate of Dalhousie University with a degree in political science and labour economics, Ms. Heggie is a graduate of the Information Access and Protection of Privacy (IAPP) Certificate Program at the University of Alberta, and now sits on the National Advisory Committee for the IAPP Program at the University of Alberta.
J.
Alan Leadbeater
Deputy Information
Commissioner of Canada
Mr. Alan Leadbeater is the Deputy Information Commissioner of Canada, a position he has held since July of 1991. For the previous five years, Mr. Leadbeater was Executive Director, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada during which time, for a period of one year, he assumed the duties of Privacy Commissioner on an acting basis. He holds a B.A. in psychology from Carleton University, an LL.B. from Dalhousie University and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School.
In his current position, Mr. Leadbeater is responsible, as the Information Commissioner's senior executive officer, for ensuring that Canadian federal government institutions respect the access rights and obligations set out in the Access to Information Act.
Raymond
D’Aoust
Assistant Privacy
Commissioner of Canada
Mr. Raymond D’Aoust was appointed effective September 2, 2003 Assistant Privacy Commissioner of Canada with primary responsibility for the Privacy Act, the federal public sector privacy law.
Prior to this and since November 1999, Mr. D”Aoust worked for the Canadian Centre for Management Development (CCMD), most recently as A/Director General, Career Development Branch. The Branch is responsible for designing and delivering the educational components of executive and management development programs such as the Management Trainee Program, the Career Assignment Program (CAP), the Direxion program and the Accelerated Executive Development Program (AEXDP). His portfolio also included learning programs and events for Deputies and Assistant Deputy Ministers.
Prior to leading Career Development, Mr. D’Aoust was Director General, Research at CCMD. He was responsible for the long-term research program on Governance as well as for applied research on organizational learning and public sector reform in addition to assuming management responsibility for the Research Branch.
Mr. D’Aoust has more than twenty years of experience in the Canadian government in areas such as program evaluation, review, policy, public consultation, strategic planning, business planning quality management, technology management and research in several departments and agencies.
Mr. D’Aoust was a part-time teacher at Concordia University and delivered training to federal public servants on several occasions. He studied in political sociology and advanced research methods at Universite Laval (B.A.), Ottawa University (M.A.) and Universite du Quebec a Montreal (doctoral studies).
Dr. Douglas Knight
Director, Government Studies, Faculty of Extension, University of Alberta
Dr. Douglas Knight is the Director of Government Studies, Faculty of Extension, University of Alberta. Dr. Knight brings over 30 years of experience in administration, research and teaching to the university. His experience includes serving as Superintendent to several public school systems across Canada and teaching in many university programs.
Dr. Knight has worked as an instructor with the Supervisory and Leadership Development Program, Executive Education, School of Business, U of A, providing courses to the City of Edmonton, Government of the Northwest Territories, provincial and federal government employees and the private sector. He also taught graduate and undergraduate programs with the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta, the University of Moncton, Royal Roads University and Athabasca University. For the past year Dr. Knight has been working with Staff Learning and Development providing support in organizational development and supervisory training. A key focus for his work was in performance management and change management.
Dr. Knight has a BA in geography from McGill University, a BEd in secondary education and Med in educational administration from the University of New Brunswick and a Ph.D in educational administration from the University of Alberta. He is co-editor of a textbook, Understanding Change in Education, and has published many articles in educational journals. He is married with two adult children.
Pierre
Beaudry
Directeur, Development
des Services et Coordination des Etudes, Ecole Nationale d’Administration
Publique, Universite du Quebec
Pierre Beaudry holds a Master degree in Public administration (M.A.P.) from l’École Nationale d’Administration publique (ENAP – Université du Québec) and a Bachelor degree in Pedagogy (B.Péd.) from Université de Montréal. Pierre Beaudry is currently director, Développement des services et coordination des études » at ENAP, a university that focuses on Public administration and that offers programs at the Ph. D. and Master Degree levels. Before joining ENAP, Pierre Beaudry cumulated a thirty-three year career within the Government of Canada where he held senior and executive positions within both the military and the public service. He has also been a School Counselor at the Aylmer School Board, in the Province of Quebec and he has been a founding member and vice-president of the Aylmer Health Coop, a cooperative with more than 5,500 members.
Pierre Beaudry’s areas of interest are: Information management, Access to information and Privacy, Governance, Innovation, Citizens engagement and partnership, Cooperatives, Alternate service delivery and Innovation, Program evaluation and Results based management. Pierre Beaudry has developed a number of courses and training modules in the areas of Governance, Information management, Access to Information and Privacy and Results Based management for ENAP. Pierre Beaudry has also worked as a consultant for the Government of Canada, and for other governments. He is currently providing advice and support to senior officials of the National Treasury of the South Africa Government in the areas of Governance, Results Based management and Monitoring and evaluation.
Drew
McArthur
Vice President,
Corporate Affairs, TELUS Communications Company
Drew McArthur is Vice President Corporate Affairs and Compliance Officer for TELUS. With over 30 years experience in the telecommunications industry, Drew has been involved in many aspects of the business, including operations, customer service and marketing.
Drew has also been in charge of many major projects including the brand transition of BC TEL to TELUS; the sponsorship and telecommunications provisioning for APEC ’97 – a high profile, high security international world leaders conference. He led the team that prepared TELUS for compliance with Canada’s private sector privacy legislation, and is the individual at TELUS accountable for its ongoing management of customer and employee personal information.
With several years of practical experience in dealing with customer and employee privacy issues, Drew is well positioned to provide insights into the challenges of balancing business requirements with the obligations to protect privacy and security in an increasingly complex global marketplace.
Drew is also well recognized as a spokesperson for TELUS in regional and national media regarding the critical issues that TELUS faces on a daily basis.
Linda
Girard
Director, Association
sur l’acces et la protection de l’information (AAPI)
Biography information forthcoming
Wayne
MacDonald
National Director,
CAPA-CAPAPA Professional Standards and Certification Project
Wayne MacDonald is
currently on an Interchange Secondment Agreement with the Office of the Information
Commissioner of Canada. He is currently working as the National Director,
Professional Standards and Certification Project. It is the goal of this ambitious
broad based project to develop professional standards, establish a certification
delivery model and recommend a governance model that will result in certification
of access to information and protection of privacy (IAPP) professionals in
the public and private sectors of Canada. Prior to taking up his project duties
Wayne was the Access and Privacy Manager for Alberta Sustainable Resource
Development. From 2000 to 2004 Wayne established the curriculum and managed
the Information Access and Protection of Privacy (IAPP) Certificate Program
at the University of Alberta. During that period of time Wayne was responsible
for creating Canada’s first post-secondary online access and privacy
certificate program. He was also instrumental in establishing the University
of Alberta’s national Access and Privacy Conference that is held annually
in Edmonton, Alberta. Wayne was also involved in establishing the Canadian
Association of Professional Access and Privacy Administrators (CAPAPA) a national
organization dedicated to promoting education and support for IAPP specialists
in Canada. With thirty years of management experience, administering provincial
programs and interfacing with federal programs, Wayne enthusiastically embraces
the challenge to assist IAPP specialists to become recognized as professionals
in their own right.
Professional Standards
The criteria of professionalism in work are competency, as evidenced by the application of required knowledge and abilities to the work, and character, as evidenced by ethical conduct in performing the work. These Professional Standards outline specifically the qualifications necessary for entry into practice as an IP Professional.
The term “Professional Standards” serves as an over-arching construct encompassing both the set of requisite professional competencies and the set of expectations for professional conduct. These Professional Standards are intended to assist:
· employers in their recruitment and staff development activity around IPP positions,
· individuals considering IPP careers,
· professional associations or governing bodies granting certification of credentials to IP Professionals, and
· diverse stakeholders and the public in appreciating aspects of IPP work.
Approach to Professional Standards
These Standards are designed to address themselves to the IPP career, an emerging profession with special features and certain aspects. The professional character of IPP work becomes apparent when the Special Features of IPP Careers, described in the following section, are considered.
Later, the section on Aspects of IPP Work presents a high-level functional model of the work, organizing the IP Professional’s contribution into three essential, ever-present roles. The ensuing section titled IPP Competency Profile lays out the competencies necessary for successful entry to IP Professional positions. The Competencies are organized within the three-aspect model, expressed in terms of required knowledge, ability and personal suitability factors for each aspect.
An objective of these Professional Standards is to highlight in a profile table those competencies particular to the IPP’s contribution in the areas of information access and privacy protection. The Competency Profile avoids including the more generic competencies needed to become generally a good employee (e.g., teamwork, client focus, time management, etc.). Similarly, the Competency Profile avoids the more generic competencies needed to progress up through corporate ranks to senior-level posts (e.g., supervisory skills, business planning, relationship management, etc.). Both those types of generic competencies can be important to the overall career success of an IPP, but they do not derive from the particular aspects of IPP work and so are not addressed in the Competency Profile of these Professional Standards.
Finally, the Competency Profile itself is not a statement of values for the IP profession. However, the Professional Standards recognize that practicing in both a competent and an ethical manner are indivisible components vitally critical to gaining and maintaining trust with IPR program users and the public in general. To complement the Competency Profile, the Professional Standards include a Code of Ethics proposed for adoption by a professional association.
Special Features of IPP Work
The acronym “IPP” is selected as a general identifier for persons engaged in the field of access to information and protection of privacy, and other similar information and privacy work. The information-and-privacy work. The IP profession includes access and privacy officials working for government bodies and public institutions as well as privacy officers and their colleagues working in the private sector. The profession also encompasses individuals engaged in policy direction and in oversight and enforcement activities regarding access to information and protection of privacy, as well as consultants and project managers contributing to improvements in IP program compliance. The profession carries no exclusivity requirement, and IPPs can conceivably belong to other professional bodies while serving as IP professionals.
IPPs practice their profession as employees of, or as agents for, public bodies and private sector organizations. The performance of their duties brings them into contact with the innermost workings of their employing organization. It regularly brings them into contact with highly-sensitive information held by their employing organization about its own affairs and about other persons, includingother organizations andincluding individuals (e.g., staff members, customers, and clients). IPPs are required to approach their work with utmost discretion, diligent care for others, and careful adherence to duties of special trust from their employer.
IP programs (i.e., the policies, processes and resources in place to uphold information rights and protect privacy) are established in compliance with access-and-privacy laws that are quasi-constitutional in nature, often being paramount to other legislation. These laws recognize legal rights to access and to privacy, and accord certain confidentiality privileges to organizations. IPPs are required to establish their employing organization’s IP program, and to maintain IP program operations, in a manner that complies with legal requirements and respects the rights and privileges of other persons. As adjudicators of rights, IPPs can be seen in some settings as quasi-judicial officials. They are assisted in this professional obligation to the public by guidance and enforcement from statutory oversight agencies, and ultimately by quasi-judicial tribunals and/or the Courts.
Though operating as employees of public bodies or private-sector organizations, IPPs are nonetheless positioned as stewards of a public trust that underpins our democratic and economic freedom. This duality of IPP work – entrusted duty to employer and statutory duty to other persons (i.e., the public) – requires special qualifications and a high-level of professional comportment.
The profession carries a number of features that shape the nature of the qualifications required. Despite the fact that IPP work is carried on by staff in a wide range of position classifications and in differing levels of administrative responsibility, the requirement for professional comportment remains common to all IPP roles. In a multiple-practitioner setting, each IPP is a link in the chain of professionalism, and the comportment of one is seen as the comportment of each can impact how the whole team is viewed.
IPP work is often blended with other corporate roles, sometimes placing the IPP into dual reporting structures. Here again professional comportment is required to maintain functional separation and avoid conflicts of interest for the IPP working in a hybrid position.
IPPs are bound by applicable laws and by their terms of employment to keep their own counsel and not share their operational materials with others. They must rely on their own abilities to operate a system of checks and balances to produce proper outcomes, knowing these outcomes are subject to critical review by external authorities.
Nevertheless, IPPs working in isolation share a community of interests with other IP Professionals that have local, national and even world-wide dimensions. The principles and ideals of IPP work are remarkably consistent across a wide diversity of cultures and legal systems.
IPP work, especially where it entails balancing information access rights with directly competing rights for privacy protection, has a complex technical nature. IPPs must developwithin themselves a strong command of the principles used in balancing competing access and access-and-privacy interests, and yet must remain current to any shifts in what are deemed to be appropriate balances. Remaining current does require that sIPPs continuously take note of developments in their own and in other IP environments.
The dual obligations of IPP work call for new entrants who tend to be altruistic, have a fundamental belief in open and accountable government and socially responsible corporations, and a personal commitment to the privacy and liberty of well-informed fellow citizens. Built upon principles and ideals of elevated moral conviction, the profession is widely considered a “high calling,” a valued advocate for rights and a credible monitor of institutional or organizational behaviours.
Given the recognized value of adding the IPP role to the corporate culture, it is not surprising to see signs of a trend towards integrating business disclosure reporting and ethical review functions with access-and-privacy administration, possibly a portent to broadening the scope of the IP profession.
Ultimately, the value added from the presence of the IP Professional comes in the area of trust-building between institutions and organizations and the individuals they deal with and serve.
Aspects of IPP Work
IPP work has three distinct aspects, described for analytical purposes as the:
A. Administrator Aspect.
B. Executor Aspect.
C. Advisor Aspect.
These distinct aspects are seen repeatedly in organizational reviews, classification studies and job descriptions of IPP work in Canada.
The Aspects are not to be taken as sub-specializations, though it can happen that an IPP becomes fully occupied with a single aspect at one or more points in his/her career. Generally, all three aspects are present to some extent in each IPP position.
A. The Administrator AspectIn its administrative aspect, IPP work focuses on the identification of the issues within, and the parties to, occurring access-and-privacy matters. This aspect includes the locating and characterization of the records and information under contention, the conveying of decisions and results, and notifications of appeal rights. This aspect also entails contributing to the development of an IP program structure and resources.
B. The Executor Aspect
In its executor aspect, IPP work focuses on interpreting rights, recognizing operative conditions, applying mandatory exemptions, considering discretionary prerogatives, conducting investigations, audits and compliance assessments, and explaining decisions to parties, other affected persons and agents of oversight authority.
C. The Advisor Aspect
In its advisory aspect, IPP work focuses on advocating the principles of access to information and protection of privacy, often in the context of advising corporate management and sometimes in the context of training corporate staff or communicating with the media and the public. This aspect includes assessing the impacts of program developments and proposed business innovations, and monitoring the effects and ethical acceptability of technological change. This aspect also includes integrating changes in legislation, statutory interpretation or public sentiment to existing corporate policy and IP program design.
Each aspect holds challenges requiring professional response, and every IPP position contains some portion of each aspect. However, there is among the three Aspects a natural ordering wherein effective performance in the Executor Aspect requires an experiential base in the Administrator Aspect , and wherein effective performance in the Advisor Aspect requires an experiential base in the Executor Aspect.
This natural A-B-C ordering becomes an important consideration in designing and classifying IPP job descriptions, in organizing IPP work groups, and in engineering IPP career structures.
Introducing the IPP Competency Profile
The following profile of IPP Competencies is drawn up to address the professionalism requirements of all three Aspects described above. It is appreciated that certain Competencies are called upon early in the course of an IPP’s career, and that other Competencies will have relevancy at more mature stages.
Individuals embarking on the IPP career path should be able to show the presence of each Competency, at least to the level of the entry-to-practice requirement indicated, to perform at a professional level of proficiency. For each Competency there can be identified several Competency Attainment Indicators. Appendix C to this report presents a Catalogue of Competency Attainment Indicators for more detailed reference. These Indicators are intended for use by a certification authority when assessing an applicant’s competence for professional recognition purposes.
This Competency Profile offers considerable value to employers as well as to certification bodies. For each Competency, it is possible for employers or professional associations to generate performance level descriptors to assess an IPP as performing the given Competency (e.g., at levels ranging from “developing” to “contributor“ to “role model”).
While the Competency Profile presents the level of proficiency required to achieve entry to the profession by way of formal certification, its structure contemplates possible later refinements and customized enhancements to identify more expert levels within each Competency.
A Note about Education and Experience Basic Qualifications: Individuals enter the profession through numerous paths, often involving career transition from other fields. Formal education and experience must combine to reach a level that equips IPPs to comprehend the nature of the events, materials and systems they will encounter in their job settings. The test of basic education and experience is in how well they work together to produce a set of competencies that meet an entry-to-practice standard based on measurable knowledge, abilities and personal suitability (attitude/ judgment/ character).