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Policy Development and Maintenance

Procedure Number
001
Policy Number
2104
Responsibility
VP Finance & Operations
Approved
JIBC Executive
Effective Date
May 14, 2014
Amended
September 09, 2020
Procedure Statement

Scope

This procedure forms part of JIBC’s Policy Development and Maintenance policy (“PDM”), and should be applied in relation to initiating, drafting, reviewing, revising, approving, and retiring JIBC Policies and Procedures under the PDM. Terms not otherwise defined in this procedure are as defined in the PDM. 

Procedural Guiding Principles

The development and maintenance of JIBC’s Policies and Procedures are based on the following principles:

  • Policies and Procedures must comply with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements, and must be approved by the appropriate Approving Body.
  • Policies and Procedures reflect JIBC’s mission, values and strategic goals, and are consistent with related JIBC Policies and Procedures.
  • Institute-wide Policy and Procedure development and maintenance is based on priority need as directed by the Executive.
  • Policy and Procedure development and maintenance is a transparent and inclusive process that provides an appropriate opportunity for affected members of the JIBC Community to provide input. 
  • JIBC Policies and Procedures will be available on the JIBC intranet, with publicly facing ones also available on the JIBC website. Where there is a discrepancy, the official versions kept in the office of the Vice-President, Finance and Operations will prevail.
  • Department, division, regional campus or faculty-specific guidelines may be developed from time to time. However, should a conflict exist between Institute-wide Policies and/or Procedures and department, division, regional campus or faculty-specific guidelines, the Institute-wide Policies and/or Procedures will prevail. 
  • The research and writing of Policies and Procedures should be undertaken by individuals or groups that are most knowledgeable about the issues addressed in the applicable Policies and Procedures.
  • Policies focus on principles that address broad, long term Institute issues and values. Although Policies are to be reviewed on a regular basis, revisions should be infrequent. 
  • Procedures are developed to ensure clarity around the actions required to implement a Policy. Procedures may need to be revised more frequently than their respective policies. 

Roles and Responsibilities

Executive Sponsor – Member of the Executive Team who is accountable for the development and maintenance of one or more JIBC Policies and/or Procedures. The Executive Sponsor is responsible for submitting Policies and/or Procedures to the appropriate Approving Body for approval, for responding to questions, and for conducting timely reviews of Policies and/or Procedures under the Executive Sponsor’s jurisdiction.

Lead – A subject matter expert appointed by the Executive Sponsor to oversee the development and review of a Policy and/or Procedure. The Lead may delegate research, writing and/or editing responsibilities to one or more JIBC employees.

Manager – An individual who oversees the maintenance, development, review and retirement of all of the Institute’s Policies and Procedures, which includes:

  • managing the process of developing and maintaining Policies and Procedures;
  • reviewing and editing draft Policies and Procedures to ensure compliance and consistency;
  • developing and maintaining the document templates;
  • maintaining the Policy and Procedure Control List;
  • maintaining Policies and Procedures on JIBC’s website and intranet; and
  • maintaining version control of finalized Policies and Procedures.

Development and Review Process

Initiation

To initiate the Policy/Procedure development and review process, a Policy and Procedure Form must be submitted to the Executive Sponsor responsible for that subject matter area.

The Policy and Procedure Form must include, at a minimum, the following information:

  • the reason why there is a need for a new Policy and/or Procedure, or amendments to an existing Policy and/or Procedure (i.e., legislative requirements, prescribed review period, organizational change, gaps or deficiencies in existing Policy and/or Procedure, lack of existing Policy and/or Procedure, etc.); and
  • the level of urgency of the new Policy/Procedure or amendments.

The Executive Sponsor will review the Policy and Procedure Form and will determine if the Policy/Procedure development and review process will be initiated. If the Executive Sponsor wishes to proceed, they will appoint a Lead.

Legal Review

The Executive Sponsor will determine whether, and at what stage, a draft Policy and/or Procedure may be submitted for internal legal review, and will provide instructions to internal legal counsel regarding the nature and scope of such review. Internal legal counsel may recommend that external legal counsel be consulted with respect to the Policy and/or Procedure.

Research, Consultation and Drafting

The Lead or designate will:

  • analyze the activity or function that the proposed Policy and/or Procedure, or amendment thereto, addresses, and conducting research that is required;
  • review similar Policies and/or Procedures at other relevant institutions;
  • consult with appropriate members of the JIBC Community and other subject matter experts;
  • draft the relevant Policy and/or Procedure using approved JIBC templates and in accordance with JIBC document standards; and
  • ensure that the Policy/Procedure development and review process is completed in a timely manner.

The Lead or designate will determine which members of the JIBC Community and subject matter experts are to be consulted. In making such determination, the Lead will take into account, among other things, the impact of the Policy and/or Procedure on the broader JIBC Community, any legislative requirements for consultation, and whether the contemplated changes to an existing Policy and/or Procedure are expected to be Non-Substantive Changes. The Executive Sponsor, in reviewing the amended Policy and/or Procedure, will make the final determination as to whether the consultation was sufficient.

Final Review and Editing

The Lead will review any JIBC Community comments and make any amendments to the draft Policy and/or Procedure that the Lead considers appropriate. Once the draft Policy and/or Procedure has been revised and edited, the Lead will submit the revised draft to the Manager for review.

The Manager will review the draft Policy and/or Procedure for compliance and consistency, and will provide comments for consideration. Once the draft Policy and/or Procedure has been revised and edited, the Manager will submit it to the Executive Sponsor to review. Once the Executive Sponsor is satisfied, they will commence the approval process.

Retirement Process

An Executive Sponsor may determine that an existing Policy and/or Procedure is no longer necessary.  If an Executive Sponsor makes such determination, they will appoint a Lead to research the Policy and/or Procedure; consult members of the JIBC Community, if deemed appropriate; and draft and deliver a memorandum to the Executive Sponsor outlining their findings.  If the Executive Sponsor is satisfied that the memorandum supports the retirement of the Policy and/or Procedure, they will present the memorandum to the Approving Body for approval.  If approved, the Lead will forward the memorandum and confirmation of approval to the Manager, who will proceed to the steps described in “Publication and Implementation” in this Procedure, as applicable.

Approval Process

Non-Academic Policies/Procedures

For non-academic Policies and/or Procedures, once a draft Policy and/or Procedure has been endorsed by the Executive Sponsor, they will bring it to the Executive for a first review. The Executive may:

  • endorse the draft Policy and/or Procedure without any amendments;
  • endorse the draft Policy and/or Procedure, with prescribed amendments; or
  • decline to endorse the draft Policy and/or Procedure, and return it to the Executive Sponsor with comments and recommendations.

When the Policy and/or Procedure has been endorsed by the Executive, the Executive Sponsor will submit it to the Senior Management Council for review and discussion. If the Executive Sponsor determines that revisions should be made in light of the Senior Management Council’s comments, they may instruct the Lead to make such revisions.

The Executive Sponsor will then submit the Policy and/or Procedure to the Executive for second review to:

  • in the case of a Policy, endorse for submission to the Board as Approving Body; or
  • in the case of a Procedure, approve as Approving Body.

In the case of an existing Policy, the Executive will determine if the changes constitute Non-Substantive Changes. If the Executive makes such determination, the Executive Sponsor will:

  • ensure the Board is notified the Policy has been revised and that the Executive has determined that the revisions constitute Non-Substantive Changes; and
  • proceed to the steps described in “Publication and Implementation” in this Procedure.

In the case of an existing Policy, if the Executive determines that the revisions are substantive, the Executive Sponsor will submit the Policy to the Board to review and approve as Approving Body.

Academic Policies/Procedures

The Approving Body for the majority of academic Policies and/or Procedures is Program Council. However, a few academic Policies require Board approval, as indicated in the Policy and Procedure Control List. 

For academic Policies and/or Procedures, once a draft Policy and/or Procedure has been endorsed by the Executive Sponsor, they will bring it to Program Council to:

  • in the case of a Procedure, approve as Approving Body; 
  • in the case of a Policy where Program Council is the Approving Body, approve as the Approving Body; 
  • in the case of a Policy requiring Board approval, if Program Council determines the changes constitute Non-Substantive Changes, the Executive Sponsor will ensure the Board is notified the Policy has been revised and proceed to the steps described in “Publication and Implementation” in this Procedure; or
  • in the case of a Policy requiring Board approval, if Program Council determines that the revisions are substantive, the Executive Sponsor will submit the Policy to the Board to review and approve as Approving Body.
Final Approval by Approving Body

The Approving Body may ask the Executive Sponsor (or delegate) to provide oral or written comments regarding the draft Policy and/or Procedure, and/or to answer any questions raised by the Approving Body.

After reviewing the draft Policy and/or Procedure, the Approving Body may:

  • approve the draft Policy and/or Procedure without any amendments;
  • approve the draft Policy and/or Procedure, with specific amendments prescribed by the Approving Body;
  • decline to approve the draft Policy and/or Procedure, and return it to the Executive Sponsor with comments and recommendations; or
  • decline to approve the draft Policy and/or Procedure, and terminate the Policy/Procedure development and review process.

When a new or amended Policy and/or Procedure is approved by the Approving Body, the Policy and Procedure Control List will be updated to provide the following information:

  • the date newly developed Policies and/or Procedures are approved (“effective date”);
  • the last review date of the Policies and/or Procedures; and
  • the date when the approved Policy and/or Procedure will be reviewed, which must be no later than five (5) years after either their effective date or their last review date.

Publication and Implementation

Once a Policy and/or Procedure has been approved by the Approving Body, the Lead will forward to the Manager the final approved copy of the Policy and/or Procedure.

The Manager will oversee the following:

  • preparation of the Policy and/or Procedure for publication;
  • posting of the Policy and/or Procedure to the Institute’s intranet and, where appropriate, website;
  • removal from the Institute’s webpage and intranet any Policy and/or Procedure that has been retired or superseded by the approved Policy and/or Procedure; 
  • update of the Policy and Procedure Control List to include the Policy and/or Procedure; and
  • communication of the new or amended Policy and/or Procedure to the overall JIBC Community.

The Executive Sponsor is responsible for the operationalization of the approved Policy and/or Procedure, and may delegate the tasks as appropriate.

Related Policies and Procedures 

Documents and Forms