A Case Study in Administrative Data Informing Policy Development

The Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs) between Canada and the provinces and territories fund labour market training and support services to Employment Insurance claimants. The objective of this paper is to discuss the improvements over the years in the impact assessment methodology. The paper describes the LMDAs and past evaluation work and discusses the drivers to make better use of large administrative data holdings. It then explains how the new approach made the evaluation less resource-intensive, while results are more relevant to policy development. The paper outlines the lessons learned from a methodological perspective and provides insight into ways for making this type of use of administrative data effective, especially in the context of large programs.