PROFESSIONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM: PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Transcription

1 PROFESSIONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM: PROGRAM GUIDELINES 0

2 INTRODUCTION 2 PROGRAM OBJECTIVE 2 Existing Governance Resources 3 MANAGEMENT CONTROL FRAMEWORK 3 PROPOSAL PHASE 3 Submitting Proposals 3 Eligible Beneficiaries 3 Eligible Recipients 4 Proposal Requirements 4 Capacity Development Plans 4 APPROVAL PHASE 5 Restrictions on Approvals 5 Eligible Activities 7 Eligible Expenditures 8 Maximum Amount Payable 8 REPORTING PHASE 8 Annual Report 8 ANNEX A: P&ID Program Project Approval Checklist I ANNEX B: P&ID Program Project Approval Letter - template VI ANNEX C: Default Prevention Management Policy Pilot Project Funding VII 1

3 INTRODUCTION These Program Guidelines for Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada s (AANDC) Professional and Institutional Development (P&ID) Program have been designed to enable First Nations and Inuit communities to increase their governance capacity through locally, regionally and nationally developed initiatives. The P&ID Program is a proposal-based program that funds governance capacity development projects. Each Region of AANDC has an independent budget for the P&ID Program, for use in funding projects that will benefit the governance capacity of First Nations and Inuit communities in that Region. Each funding proposal will be assessed by a P&ID Program committee, which will review proposals using these Program Guidelines. The structure and membership of these committees are at the discretion of regional and headquarters P&ID Program managers. For specific conditions that will apply for the Default Prevention Management Policy pilot project funding, please see Annex C. PROGRAM OBJECTIVE To develop the capacity of First Nations and Inuit communities to perform core functions of government, by funding governance-related projects at the community and institutional levels. Effective governance will be advanced by projects that develop governance capacity in any of the following ten core functions of government: A) Leadership B) Membership C) Law-Making D) Community Involvement E) External Relations F) Planning and Risk Management G) Financial Management H) Human Resources Management I) Information Management / Information Technology J) Basic Administration 2

4 Existing Governance Resources AANDC Headquarters has collected copies of, and links to, templates and examples of many of the products that are typically created using P&ID Program funding. These are accessible to the public at: When resources are available that are similar to a proposed project activity, P&ID Program funding will not cover the full costs of developing a new product. In these cases, P&ID Program funds can fund related costs such as planning, engaging, customizing existing products to the unique needs of the beneficiary, ratification, and implementation. MANAGEMENT CONTROL FRAMEWORK PROPOSAL PHASE Submitting Proposals Proposals should originate from the organization that will manage the contribution funding should the proposal be approved. Regional offices set the deadlines by which proposals must be submitted, and may provide regionspecific restrictions or templates that proposals must adhere to in addition to meeting the requirements laid out in these Program Guidelines. Eligible Beneficiaries In order to be eligible for funding, proposals must benefit the governance capacity of one or more: First Nations and/or Tribal councils, and/or Inuit communities. Proposals will not be approved if they aim to build the capacity of organizations, such as Education Authorities or Child and Family Services Agencies that manage service-delivery grant or contribution programs. Additionally, proposals targeting the governance capacity of Provincial / Territorial Organizations are not eligible for Professional and Institutional Development Program funding. 3

5 Eligible Recipients Recipients of P&ID contribution funding can be any organization that has had an eligible proposal approved by a P&ID Program committee. Proposal Requirements * All proposals are to: either: o 1) be submitted by an applicant that is the sole beneficiary, or o 2) list any specific beneficiaries and demonstrate that they have given the applicant a mandate to manage the proposed activities on their behalf; demonstrate that the applicant has, and can continue to maintain, the financial management controls and practices required to manage the proposed activities; provide a description of the project objective(s), activities, outputs and expected outcome(s), including the criteria for measurement of success; provide a budget proposal outlining the activities and costs, accompanied with a cash flow projection based on the budget proposal; declare any and all prospective sources of funding, such as contributions from other government departments or agencies, or funds which the recipient and/or beneficiaries will contribute towards the proposed activities; and in the case of third party delivery, such as when the applicant proposes to hire another organization to deliver some of the proposed activities, provide a description of the arrangement which indicates the respective roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of each party to the arrangement. Capacity Development Plans AANDC is encouraging all P&ID Program beneficiaries to include copies of their most recent capacity development plans as an attachment to any proposals they submit. P&ID committees may give priority to proposals that will help to accomplish an objective of the attached plan. Examples of capacity development plans, with a governance component, are: Comprehensive Community Plans Strategic Plans Governance capacity development plans Management Action Plans (formerly Remedial Management Plans) * Note: See Annex C for conditions that apply for DPMP pilot project funding in

6 Applicants that currently do not have a plan are encouraged to use the Governance Capacity Planning Tool, or any other tool that will help them to develop their governance capacity development plan by identifying and prioritizing capacity shortfalls. APPROVAL PHASE Approval process: Professional and Institutional Development Program committees assess proposals, based on the criteria in these Program Guidelines. Assessments will be tracked using the attached Project Approval Checklist (see Annex A). Should any of the proposed activities be approved by the committee, the originator of the proposal will receive a Project Approval Letter (see Annex B). This letter will detail the activities that can be funded, along with any reporting requirements specific to those activities. The originator of the proposal and the department can then enter into a funding arrangement, or agree to an amendment to an existing arrangement. Restrictions on Approvals Project funding only: The P&ID Program does not provide core operational funding. Recipients are advised that P&ID Program funding should not be relied upon as a source of ongoing revenue. Repetition and extension of projects: The P&ID Program may not fund identical projects year over year with the same beneficiary. Repetition of a project is allowed if the beneficiaries are different, such as when an organization repeats a training project for new beneficiaries that have not yet attended the training. Recipients and beneficiaries should not interpret P&ID Program funding for current year s activities as a guarantee that AANDC will fund related activities planned for upcoming fiscal years. Recipients under Default Management: Recipients in Default Management are encouraged to apply for Professional and Institutional Development Program funding, for use in governance capacity projects that will help them to complete their Management Action Plan. Professional and Institutional Development Program funds may not be used to support the core costs of Co-Managers or Third Party Managers. Duplication * : The Professional and Institutional Development Program is designed to be implemented flexibly, but it is not designed to duplicate activities funded by other programs or to supplement funding in other program areas. Activities that provide training, resources, and/or services for a specific AANDC * Note: See Annex C for conditions that apply for DPMP pilot project funding in

7 program are not eligible for funding. Activities that impact several or all programs indirectly, by building the beneficiary s governance capacity in one or more of the ten functions of government, would be eligible for funding. Examples of Eligible Projects: Purchase of Software and/or Hardware that will be used for the general financial administration of the First Nation A comprehensive review of Governance, involving several or all programs, producing a short or long term strategic plan for a First Nation Training in areas such as Financial Management, or Human Resources Management for Band Managers, Chief and Council, and/or Band Office staff Examples of Ineligible Projects: Purchase of Software and/or Hardware that is required for an individual Program s administration (eg: Social Program software) A review of an individual program, producing a document for use in the management of that program (eg: a Housing Plan or Land Management Code) Training for staff on software explicitly concerned with a program s operations (eg: training Child and Family Services staff on new CFS software) 6

8 Eligible Activities * Proposed activities are eligible for funding when they will develop the governance capacity of one or more of the Functions of Government. Function of Government Examples of Eligible Activities ** to Develop Governance Capacity Examples of Ineligible Activities Leadership: Leadership selection codes, Custom election codes, Orientation of Chiefs and Councillors, Policies on Roles and Responsibilities of Elected/Appointed Election costs, Regular meetings of Chief and Council, Band Council Resolution costs Membership: Membership Codes Membership Clerk salary Law-Making: Bylaw policies Litigation costs Community Involvement: External Relations: Planning and Risk Management: Financial Management: Human Resources Management: Information Management / Information Technology: Basic Administration: Community Consultation Codes, Appeals and Dispute Resolution Codes Policies or Codes on conducting business with other governments or the private sector Training in Strategic Planning Financial Codes, Financial Systems training and upgrades Human Resources Codes, Developing Standardized Job Descriptions and Salary ranges, Labour Relations training and policies Information Security Policies, Upgrades of Band Office Information Technology Administrative Training for Office Staff, Administration Codes Meetings on regular community business Travel costs for regular meetings with other governments Housing Plans, Land Use Plans Audit costs Recruitment costs and/or salaries of employees Internet Service Provider fees Operating costs that would still occur without project funding. * Note: See Annex C for conditions that apply for DPMP pilot project funding in ** The Eligible Activities listed for each function are examples, and are neither limiting on the types of projects allowed, nor are similar projects guaranteed to be approved for funding. 7

9 Proposals for activities that involve no capacity development potential are not eligible, except where in support of an approved Management Action Plan. Eligible Expenditures Expenditures listed in proposals are only valid where they are in support of an eligible activity, and when they fall under one or more of the following categories: Tuition and training fees Professional services Salaries and wages Community information Travel, transportation and initiatives accommodation Systems design, implementation Telecommunications and maintenance Other communications Hardware and software needed Office rent and overhead to support data collection, Office supplies and printing analysis and reporting Requests for additional funding for general administration costs of a project (e.g.: 10% of the project cost) are not valid. The costs of administering P&ID Program projects should be built into the proposed expenditures, rather than in addition to them. The P&ID Program can only be used to reimburse costs that were submitted as part of a proposal before the expenses were incurred. Maximum Amount Payable No single recipient organization can receive more than $1,000,000 in Professional and Institutional Development Program funds in , regardless of the number of projects or number of beneficiaries they are managing projects for. REPORTING PHASE Annual Report Each recipient must prepare and submit a P&ID Program Annual Report, providing a summary of activities, outcomes, and financial details. Any additional supporting documentation and deliverables detailed in the Project Approval Letter are to be submitted with the report. Supporting documentation may include (but are not limited to) proofs of purchase, invoices, and training certificates. Material Deliverables: In many cases, projects fund the creation of a tangible product, such as codes, policies, charts of accounts, templates, frameworks, constitutions, training materials and plans. In order to ensure that deliverables 8

10 are available as a shareable resource, funding arrangements contain standard text which allows the Department to share these documents publicly. These copyright and intellectual property conditions seek to create an economy of scale, by making any and all deliverables available to future applicants. The goal is to provide an evergreen knowledge base of governance capacity building resources, for beneficiaries to review and adapt to their own needs. Late Reports: Recipients will not be eligible for further P&ID funding while P&ID Annual Reports are overdue. If a complete report is not submitted within a reasonable period of time, the recipient will be subject to a recovery of funds up to the full value of the contribution. 9

11 ANNEX A: P&ID Program Project Approval Checklist (To be completed by the AANDC P&ID committee) Applicant Name: Recipient Number: Region: Proposal Title/Description: Total P&ID Program Funding requested: $ Part A: Program Terms and Conditions Determine whether the proposal meets the minimum requirements of the program, without considering the merit of the proposed activities. Proposal Requirements (M = Mandatory. Proposed activities that fail to meet any mandatory condition will not receive funding) Demonstrates that the applicant has, and can continue to maintain, the financial management controls and practices required to manage the proposed activities Provides a description of the project objective(s), activities, outputs and expected outcome(s), including the criteria for measurement of success Includes a budget proposal outlining the activities and costs, accompanied with a cash flow projection based on the budget proposal Declares any and all prospective sources of funding, such as contributions from other government departments or agencies, or funds which the recipient and/or beneficiaries will contribute towards the proposed activities In the case of third party delivery, provide a description of the arrangement which indicates the respective roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of each party to the arrangement Yes, No, or N/A M M M M I

12 Eligibility of the Beneficiary / Beneficiaries If the answer to both A) and B) is No, the proposal should be denied at this point and no further review is required. A) Is the applicant a First Nation, tribal council, or Inuit community that is the sole beneficiary of the project? If No, answer question B. B) Does the proposal include documentation that demonstrates that beneficiaries are First Nations, tribal councils and/or Inuit communities that have given the applicant a mandate to manage the proposed activities on their behalf? Yes, No, or N/A Eligible Expenditures Proposed Expenditures incurred prior to the proposal being submitted are ineligible. Tuition and training fees: $ $ Salaries and wages: $ $ Travel, transportation and accommodation: $ $ Telecommunications: $ $ Other communications: $ $ Office rent and overhead: $ $ Office supplies and printing: $ $ Professional services: $ $ Community information initiatives: $ $ Systems design, implementation and maintenance: $ $ Approved (as per Part D) Hardware and software needed to support data collection, analysis and reporting: $ $ Total Eligible Expenditures $ $ Proposed expenditures not covered by the eligible categories: (eg: Employee benefits, administration costs) $ II

13 Part B: Recommendation of the Professional and Institutional Development Program Committee Taking into consideration the capacity of the proposed recipient, the available program funding, and the eligibility of the proposed activities, the committee should recommend and prioritize funding of eligible activities. General Assessment Result What was the result of the applicant s most recent General Assessment (G.A.): Low Risk: This proposal should be considered by the committee on the merit of the proposed eligible activities. Medium Risk: This proposal should be considered by the committee on the merit of the proposed eligible activities, in the context of a potential risk to the use of public funds. Risk should be managed using methods such as: prioritizing the activities with more predictable expenses releasing funds only when each stage of the project is complete restricting usage of Fixed contribution funding High Risk, or the applicant does not have a current G.A.: This proposal should only be considered where risk can be managed using methods such as ensuring the level of public funds at risk is reasonable releasing funds only when each stage of the project is complete prioritizing activities that are identified in approved Management Action Plans not using Fixed contribution funding Committee Funding Recommendations Proposed Activity Brief Description Example: HR Code Example: Land Use Code Activity is Eligible Does it address at least one of the 10 Functions of Government? Planning The activity is identified in a Capacity Development Plan Eligible Funding Requested Recommendation Funding Amount and Type Fixed funding requires justification in Comments Y Y $30,000 $25,000 Set N n/a $ 0 $ 0 n/a Priority 1 = MAP 2 = GA 3 = Existing Plan 4 = Planning N/A = None 1 Y / N Y / N $ $ Set / Fixed Y / N Y / N $ $ Set / Fixed Total Recommended Funding: $ III

14 Comments by the P&ID Program Committee: IV

15 Part C: Funding Decision - Approved for Funding Funds from Other Sources (specify): $ from $ from $ from - Declined, due to No eligible beneficiaries No eligible activities Other Summary of approved activities This information will be included in the Project Approval Letter. A) Activities to be funded: (eg: develop a Human Resources Code, hold a governance workshops with Tribal Council member FNs on Aug 5-6 th, purchase new accounting software and 2 computers) B) Supporting documentation to be submitted as part of the P&ID Annual Report: (eg: receipts/invoices, attendance lists, meeting minutes, certificates) C) Material deliverables to be submitted as part of the P&ID Annual Report: (eg: Codes, Policies, Training Materials, Plans, Reports) Funding Approval: As per the AANDC Delegation of Financial Signing Authorities. Existing Funding Arrangements have been verified to ensure that this project funding will not cause the recipient to exceed $1,000,000 in in total funding received via the Authority for Contributions to support the building of strong governance, administrative and accountability systems. A Responsibility Centre Manager signature is required on this checklist before a Project Approval Letter can be sent or funding for this project can be disbursed. # Name Signature Date RCM $ Described in detail in the Approved column of Part A Eligible Expenditures V

16 ANNEX B: P&ID Program Project Approval Letter - template Name and Address of recipient Subject: Professional and Institutional Development Program Project Approval I am writing in response to your Month Day, Year proposal Title of proposal. The activities listed below have been approved for Professional and Institutional Development (P&ID) Program funding: Governance Capacity Development activity Activity Activity Total Approved Funding Dollar amount Dollar amount Dollar amount All expenditures related to these activities must be completed before March 31, 2013 in order to be considered eligible. In accordance with the P&ID Program Guidelines, a P&ID Annual Report must be completed. This must include a summary of activities, outcomes, and financial details of the approved activities undertaken. In addition, the Annual Report must be accompanied by the following supporting documentation: Documentation (e.g.: Receipt, invoice, minutes, certificate, participant list) Documentation (e.g.: Receipt, invoice, minutes, certificate, participant list) Your Annual Report must be accompanied by copies of the following deliverables: Deliverable (e.g.: Code, bylaw, template) Deliverable (e.g.: Code, bylaw, template) If you wish to accept these project delivery and reporting requirements, please contact program contact name, title at phone number, no later than Date to coordinate the signing of a new funding arrangement or an amendment to your existing funding arrangement. Sincerely, Name and title of signatory VI

17 ANNEX C: Default Prevention Management Policy Pilot Project Funding Should additional funding become available to regions in , for the Default Prevention Management Policy (DPMP) pilot projects, to action activities in approved Management Action Plans or Remedial Management Plans, the following conditions apply: 1) The management control framework of the Professional and Institutional Development Program will be used to deliver targeted funding in support of the Default Prevention Management Policy pilot projects. This funding will support project activities which are part of approved Management Action Plans or Remedial Management Plans. Projects approved in support of this initiative will be approved using the same processes, and by the same regional committees, that are used to approve other P&ID Projects. 2) As the Management Action Plans or Remedial Management Plans may identify non-governance activities, these projects are exempt from the following terms of the P&ID management control framework: Any and all requirements that the proposals must be for governance capacity development. This includes the requirement that proposals address one of the ten Functions of Government. Any wording in the sections entitled Duplication and Eligible Activities, which prohibit spending on capacity development in other AANDC program areas. Any terms listed in the section entitled Proposal Requirements can be waived where all required information appears in an approved Management Action Plan or Remedial Management Plan or is provided as an attachment to the plan. 3) Funding remains project-based in nature, and therefore can not be used to fund ongoing costs which the recipient could not sustain after the project is completed. For example, costs of permanent employee salary would not be eligible. 4) The Default Prevention Management Policy pilot project funds may not be used to support the core costs of Co-Managers or Third Party Managers. VII