The purpose of the Indigenous Participant Funding Program (IPFP) is to advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples by supporting the capacity of Indigenous communities and organizations to participate in processes and activities related to the Canadian Navigable Waters Act (CNWA) and Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act (WAHVA).
The objective of the Capacity Component of the IPFP is to increase the capacity of Indigenous communities and organizations to support long-term collaborative efforts that align with the objectives of CNWA and/or WAHVA.
1. IPFP – Capacity Component Objectives
- Encourage and support the participation of and collaboration with Indigenous communities and organizations in Transport Canada’s (TC) consultation and engagement processes.
- Support Indigenous capacity to develop and maintain partnerships and collaborative opportunities between TC and Indigenous communities and organizations.
- Provide capacity support for activities, such as Indigenous-led studies, that promote long-term benefits aligned with the objectives of CNWA and/or WAHVA.
- Create opportunities for Indigenous communities and organizations to gather information, provide their views, and collect, protect and use Indigenous knowledge for the purposes of advancing TC initiatives and informing decision-making processes.
2. Available Funding
The IPFP-Capacity Component will provide funding over a period of one year for projects starting on or after April 1, 2022 with all activities completed by March 31, 2023.
The maximum contribution per project is $80,000.
3. Eligibility Assessment Criteria
3.1 Eligible recipients
Eligible recipients must demonstrate that they have concerns related to navigation and/or navigable waterways or are affected by the implementation of the CNWA and/or the WAHVA.
Eligible recipients include:
- Indigenous governments, tribal councils and other forms of regional government, nationally or regionally representative Indigenous organizations, and/or Indigenous development corporations
- Indigenous Communities / Bands / Settlements
- District Councils / Chiefs' Councils / Tribal Councils
- lndigenous Associations / Organizations / Societies
- Indigenous Commissions / Councils / Authorities / Boards
- Indigenous Economic Institutions / Organizations / Corporations / Co-operatives
- Partnerships or aggregations of Indigenous groups
3.2 Eligible activities
Contributions will be provided to fund the following eligible activities so long as the proposed activity directly contributes to one or more of the program objectives:
Eligible activities are:
- Development of processes, tools, or systems within Indigenous communities and organizations to respond when Transport Canada engages or consults under the CNWA and/or WAHVA.
- Support for information awareness, exchange, and advanced training related to understanding the navigation protection system.
- Indigenous-led studies and/or processes that will contribute to future decisions under the CNWA (e.g., proposed changes to Ministerial Orders, project-related decisions) and/or WAHVA.
Examples of eligible activities may include the following:
- Staff time used to support engagement, consultation, workshops or meetings with TC officials with regards to CNWA and/or WAHVA proposed regulatory, policy, and/or engagement activities, including:
- preparation time, participation time, etc.
- acquiring or implementing tools and systems
- information awareness and/or training related to the navigation protection system and tools (such as the registry)
- co-development of a work plan to identify priorities on key CNWA and/or WAHVA initiatives
- Developing consultation or Indigenous knowledge protocols for use within the community
- Hiring of technical consultants to provide expertise related to processes under the CNWA and/or WAHVA initiative
- Hiring professional services to undertake Indigenous-led studies and/or processes that will contribute to future decisions under the CNWA (e.g., proposed Ministerial Orders, project-related decisions) and/or WAHVA, or to undertake a coordination role to solicit input from one or more communities on one or more CNWA and/or WAHVA initiatives
- Staff time or hiring professional services to gather information or prepare a request to add a navigable water to the CNWA’s schedule
4. Eligible expenditures
- staff salaries and benefits
- professional fees (fees for contracted services)
- room rentals and other facility costs
- outreach, communications materials and associated activity costs
- honoraria
- travel expenditures, including hotel accommodation, car rental and kilometric rates, bus, train, ferry, airplane fares, costs for meals and incidentals (See Note 1)
- administrative expenditures for up to 15% of total costs (including general administration expenditures, translation, rent, insurance, office equipment rental and membership fees)
Note 1: Applicants must base their amounts on the rates and allowances of the Travel Directive of the National Joint Council.
5. Ineligible expenditures
- costs incurred before the funding approval date or after the final claim date
- expenditures for provincial sales tax and the GST or HST, where applicable, for which the recipient is eligible for a rebate, or any other costs eligible for rebates
- purchase of land and/or building, and related to real estate fees
- financing charges and interest payments on loans
- hospitality expenses (for example, alcoholic beverages and gifts)
- travel and per diem expenses over and above rates determined by the Travel Directive of the National Joint Council
6. Eligible project duration and approvals
- Recipients may begin to incur costs on the date of approval of the funding and work must be completed by March 31, 2023.
- Recipients may begin to incur costs upon approval, however, no reimbursements will be provided until a funding agreement is signed.
- The applicant must demonstrate that they have sufficient funding available to ensure the successful completion of the project in advance of reimbursement.
7. Merit Selection Criteria
TC will assess project proposals to determine if they meet eligibility assessment criteria (see Section 3 for additional details). If eligible, the proposed projects will then be assessed against the merit selection criteria described below.
Applicants must provide the following information (Refer to Section 11 on how to apply):
Relevance of the project
How closely the proposed project (i.e. the eligible activities proposed to be carried out) corresponds to the IPFP – Capacity Component objectives (See Section 1).
Applicant's relevant experience and capacity
How well the applicant is able, in terms of resources, personnel and expertise, to complete the proposed project. More specifically, Transport Canada will consider the applicant's:
- experience and/or expertise
- institutional, management/organizational structures, financial controls and other support required to successfully deliver the proposed project
Quality of the proposal
The degree to which the planned activities, schedule, budget, targeted results, roles and responsibilities are clear, realistic and consistent with the proposed project’s objectives. The proposed project will be assessed against the following criteria:
- clearly stated goals, objectives and outcomes
- a realizable project plan, concrete deliverables, budget and timelines
- an experienced and qualified project manager with roles and responsibilities clearly established
Value for money
How well the proposal sets out efficient use of resources and plans for producing outputs in an affordable manner
8. Notification
After the project proposal has been assessed, the applicant will be informed if they have been selected for funding or not. TC reserves the right to accept or reject any project proposal.
9. Service Standards
In an effort to continually improve service and conduct a transparent process, the following service standards have been established:
- Our goal is to provide applicants with written acknowledgement of receipt of their application and/or project proposal within 10 business days of the application deadline date
- Our goal is to issue payments within 20 business days following the notification to the recipient that the requirements outlined in the funding agreement have been fulfilled
Note: If the program cannot meet the above standards, we will advise recipients in a timely manner.
10. Funding Agreements
A funding agreement signed by both the recipient and Transport Canada is required to receive IPFP funding. The following sections highlight some of the key areas of this legal document.
10.1 Risk-based funding agreements
A risk assessment of all approved projects will be conducted prior to signing a funding agreement. This ensures that funding agreement requirements correspond to the project’s risk levels, and the recipient's capacity to deliver results. The project risk assessment will determine:
- How often the recipient must report project progress;
- Financial documentation the recipient must submit with payment claims;
- How often site visits will be made with and/or contact the recipient; and
- Audit requirements (all funding agreements indicate our right to audit).
The risk assessment will be based on, but not limited to, the information provided in the applicant’s project proposal.
10.2 Project scope and agreement
The applicant's project proposal will form the foundation of the project scope, mandatory legal documentation, clauses, terms and conditions, and payment structure that are included in the funding agreement. Once the funding agreement is signed, no change to the scope of the project (including budget, structure, timelines, etc.) is possible without prior written agreement between the recipient and Transport Canada.
10.3 Reporting requirements
Reporting requirements will be established in the funding agreement and may include providing financial claims, list of invoices, progress reports, annual reports and a final report, among other elements.
10.4 Progress reports
Recipients must submit progress reports quarterly or semi-annually (or annually for multi-year agreements), as identified in the funding agreement. Progress reports will identify the progress achieved during the reporting period and accompany financial claims.
10.5 Annual reports
For multi-year agreements, the recipient will be required to produce an annual report. This report will include but may not be limited to the following:
- A detailed description of the project's progress and major achievements during the year, and an update on how the project is moving forward and how it relates to initial objectives and final results;
- Updated data on performance indicators indicated in the funding agreement compared to the start of the project;
- The recipient will ensure that appropriate data collection processes are in place to enable the capture and reporting of performance indicators used to measure the achievement of the project's outcomes.
- Annual reporting on the recipient’s eligible expenditures incurred and based on the breakdown of the eligible expenditures claimed, in accordance with the funding agreement budget;
- Highlights of project communications activities during the reporting period, if applicable; and
- Issues, areas of concern or risk factors that may affect the completion, the schedule or the budget of the project as per original plans, and also proposed mitigation strategies to correct any issues.
10.6 Final reports
When the project is complete, recipients will be required to submit a final report. The final report should be the overall roll-up of the information required in the annual reports and verification of all project activities, costs and outcomes. Under the funding agreement, TC must receive the final report before we will pay the final expense claim.
Along with the information required in the final report, recipients may also be asked to include an overall assessment and analysis of the objectives met, outcomes achieved and lessons learned.
10.7 Financial claims
Recipients can only submit claims for reimbursement of expenditures incurred that are identified in the funding agreement. Recipients will be provided templates that reflect the eligible expenses as indicated in the funding agreement. Recipients will also be required to submit a list of invoices with each claim.
10.8 Official languages
All recipients must respect the Official Languages Act when delivering a project funded under IPFP. Linguistic requirements may apply to projects depending on their scope (national, regional or local), or on the specificity of the regions and targeted audiences of projects. TC will work with successful recipients to determine how this applies to their projects.
11. How to apply
The following sections detail the documents required to submit a proposal.
The application package must include the following:
- Applicant information:
- legal name of the organization
- name and position of the primary contact for applicant organization
- mailing address for all correspondence
- Contact information such as office phone/fax numbers, email/Internet address, etc.
- Organizational profile:
- type of organization
- organizational structure and governance
- organizational activities
- Project management personnel:
- Each project must have a designated project manager; please include their contact information (if different from applicant organization)
- Declarations:
- conflict of interest questionnaire
- declaration by applicant organization attesting to the accuracy of the project proposal and the commitment of the organization to carry out the project signed by an authorized agent
- Project description:
- project objectives and goals
- location of project delivery
- proposed start and completion dates
- major activities for the project
- project work plan
- Project Budget
Important note: You must request the project proposal and budget templates to complete your application. Please contact IndigenousParticipation-ParticipationAutochtone@tc.gc.ca to request your templates.
12. Submitting an Application
Application Deadline
Applications should be received by no later than January 14, 2022. Applications received after this date will not be considered for funding.
Note: All applications and project proposals must be signed, complete, accurate, comprehensive and presented using the templates provided. All applicants must provide legal documentation confirming their organization is a legal entity (for example, using letters of patent, certificates of incorporation or other such legal documents). Missing or incomplete information will slow the processing of the application and may result in its rejection.
Email:
An electronic application package must be in MS Word, MS Excel or PDF format. Send the application to: IndigenousParticipation-ParticipationAutochtone@tc.gc.ca.
Transport Canada will confirm receipt of application packages.