Student Parallel Election (Student Vote) Program Evaluation

Background

The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, an agent of Parliament, exercises general direction and supervision over the conduct of elections and referendums at the federal level. The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada heads the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, commonly known as Elections Canada. EC has contracted with CIVIX to conduct the Student Vote Program (SVP) during the 42nd federal general election. The SVP is a parallel election for students under the voting age, coinciding with official election periods. This program educates Canadian students about elections and democracy, and encourages the practice of voting before they reach voting age. The SVP was initiated in 2003 and since that time has conducted more than 20 parallel elections, at all levels of government, including four federal election projects. A previous evaluation of the SVP in the context of the 41st federal general election (2011) demonstrated that the program had numerous positive effects on its participants (the evaluation is available at: http://www.inspirerlademocratie-inspiredemocracy.ca/rsch/ce/index-eng.asp).

To continue tracking of the SVP impacts, Elections Canada requires a professional resource to conduct an evaluation of the SVP for the 42nd federal general election.

Description: The objective of this requirement is to put in place a Contract with a Contractor that has proven experience in providing services outlined in Annex “A” – Statement of Work (SOW). The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the extent to which the SVP met the Student Parallel Election Program (SPEP) Outcomes and Participation Objectives as listed in Appendix A to Annex A. The Contractor must use qualitative and quantitative approaches to evaluate the Program.