Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services

Expanding Shared Services to the Broader Public Sector
Cost Efficiencies through the Expansion of Shared Services
To keep pace with the rising expectations of citizens for high-quality and cost-effective public
services, the OPS introduced shared back-office services in the late 1990s. Among the
services consolidated were back-office functions (such as payroll, financial transactions,
procurement, collections and insurance) and common administrative services (such as
printing, mail, translation and asset management) into one integrated and specialized
organization. While this is a good example of how Ontario has transformed the operations of
the OPS, it is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of cost-saving practices that could be
extended further to the BPS.
Recommendation 16-13: Selected shared services should be expanded to agencies, boards
and commissions (ABCs) and the broader public sector.
This would include I&IT consolidation, supply chain management, back-office functions and
centralized maintenance. Given that the introduction of shared services produced over
$900 million in savings across the OPS, the magnitude of potential savings in the BPS is
substantial.
The <strong>Commission</strong>’s recommendations address four main areas where shared services could be
expanded to the BPS: I&IT transformation, supply chains, back-office consolidation and
centralized maintenance. Other chapters in this report also discuss the importance of shared
services and back-office efficiencies. 11
11 For more on sector-specific approaches, please see Chapter 5, Health, Chapter 6, Elementary and Secondary Education, and Chapter 8,
Social Programs.
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