National Arts Centre’s ERP Journey: From Complex Choices to Confident Decisions

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multidisciplinary home for the performing arts. Based in Ottawa, the NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces programming in English and French across Canada. Its mission is to support artists and bring world-class performances to audiences nationwide.

Ikram Zouari, Chief Financial Officer, led NAC through its ERP evaluation and eventual implementation. With over 25 years of experience across cultural institutions, government, and the private sector, Ikram brought deep expertise in financial modernization to the process. NAC approached the ERP evaluation as an opportunity to strengthen how decisions were made, ensuring the process built trust with the NAC team  and reflected the organization’s long-term vision.

Laying the Groundwork

“We spent a year preparing before procurement. We met with every department, documented existing processes, and asked: what do you need to improve? Then we looked at how to adapt some processes to the new system without customization and where customization was critical.

We realized early on that success meant adjusting some of our processes to the system, not forcing the system to mirror the past. That mindset is critical.”

Clarity Through Documentation

“We treated [the SOW] as our reference document. It outlined milestones, defined responsibilities for both sides, and listed risks with mitigation strategies. Throughout implementation, we went back to it again and again: are we still on track? Is this in scope? Having our own statement of work gave us clarity and made discussions with the vendor more productive. It reflected our needs but made roles and responsibilities clear.”

Taking a Phased Approach

NAC also avoided overloading its team by phasing in functions over time.

“For example, we delayed inventory and invoice approvals until later phases. The system could do them, but we weren’t ready. The point is: don’t overload your team or your budget. Begin with core functions, then layer on new capabilities in later phases.”

Turning Skeptics into Champions

“We opened the process to everyone. If someone had a good idea, we adopted it. That gave people ownership.

One example: an administrator from English Theatre suggested a new way to structure cost centers. We adopted her approach, and she became a champion. She even reviewed new forms and continues to give input today.

That kind of empowerment builds trust and turns skeptics into champions.”

After completing the evaluation, NAC selected Sparkrock as its ERP partner.

The decision was not about a single standout feature, but about alignment with NAC’s long-term vision. Sparkrock provided:

• Strong security for sensitive organizational and employee data
• Flexibility to support NAC’s unique programs and structure
• A trusted partnership rooted in collaboration, not transactions

As Ikram reflected:

“When we looked back, the success wasn’t just that we chose Sparkrock—it was that our evaluation process gave us confidence we made the right choice.”

The ERP evaluation process provided NAC with lessons and practices that extend well beyond technology.

Through transparency, collaboration, and trust, NAC created a process that ensured buy-in and produced a decision the organization could stand behind.

As a result, they gained an ERP system that supports NAC’s operations today, and an evaluation framework that will guide future organizational decisions with the same level of confidence.

“The ERP evaluation showed us that if you get the process right, the outcome will take care of itself.”