Research Publications

Research and University Relations

CONTENTS

Introduction

• Purpose of this Guide

The Research Fund

• Rationale and Objectives
• Eligibility
• Funds by Fiscal Year
• Priority Areas
• Eligible Projects
• Fund Budget
• Eligible Expenses

The Assessment of Project Proposals

• Project Proposal Assessment Criteria

Control Procedures for Approved Applications

• The Contribution Agreement
• Reporting Requirements
• Method of Payment
• Public Acknowledgement and Recognition
• Audit Requirements

Language Policy

How to Complete the Application Form

• Essential Elements of the Application
• Submission Instructions and Deadline

• Information on the organization - Part 1
• Information on the organization - Part 2
• Organization's Legal Status
• Project Description
• Project Summary
• Proposed Project Budget Form

INTRODUCTION

Purpose of this Guide

This guide is designed to help prepare an application for funding under the Innovative Public Management Research Fund of the Canada School of Public Service (The School). It provides information on the Fund, eligibility requirement, proposal assessment, contribution agreement, payment, and audit/reporting requirements.¹

THE RESEARCH FUND

Rationale, Objectives and Strategy

The School is helping to guide the transformation of the public service through three types of interconnected learning objectives and outcomes that, together, will support a continuous cycle of innovation in public management:

1. Building individual capacity;
2. Strengthening organizational leadership; and
3. Learning that supports innovation in public sector management.

For each of these objectives, the expected results and benefits for Canadians are:

1. Under “Building individual capacity”, the expected result is that public servants are able to perform in their current job, take on the challenges of the next job and become skilled in leading change;
   
   
2. Under "Strengthening organizational leadership", the expected result is that departments can better use learning strategies to manage change and deliver on the management accountability framework in order to achieve excellence in delivering results for Canadians; and
   
   
3. Under “Learning that supports innovation in public sector management”, the expected result is that the leading-edge practices in public management and administration are captured, developed and more widely adopted throughout the public service.
   
   

In support of the School’s mandate, the Innovative Public Management Research Fund encourages the development and dissemination of leading-edge knowledge, to advance excellence in public management and accelerate the adoption of innovative public management practices in the Government of Canada.

To achieve these objectives, the Innovative Public Management Research Fund supports:

• research to better understand the issues critical to good public management in Canada;
• stronger collaboration between the academic public management community and practitioners on public management issues,
• research and dissemination of emerging best practices that contribute to excellence in public management.

Anticipated outputs through this Fund include a range of capacity-building products that generate concrete results, including networks that generate new knowledge, seminars with clear knowledge outcomes, research publications, synthesis reports etc.

Eligibility

Canadian organizations that are eligible to apply include chartered institutions or organizations; governments (excluding the Government of Canada organizations² ), and ad hoc associations and educational institutions provided the nature and intent of the activity is non-commercial and fits within the School’s broader objectives. International organizations of which the Government of Canada is a member are also eligible. All organizations, domestic or international, must also be appropriately registered under whatever mechanisms are required in their respective jurisdictions³.

In addition, organizations, institutes, governments and associations must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the School that they:

• have a governance structure which assures accountability;
• have a structure, as well as governance and funding arrangements, which do not expose them to commercial influence in their research;
• are competent, credible, and accountable in carrying out the projects; and,
• are guided by objectives which are consistent with the objectives of the Fund.

The School may, in some cases, make contributions to individual experts, for example where their expertise is linked to a specific objective of the School, or if they belong to networks of experts who could help advance the objectives of the School.

Who is not eligible?

Entities and individuals not eligible to apply include:

• for-profit organizations;
• political parties and organizations involved in partisan political activity; and
• current or former public office holders⁴ or public servants who are not in compliance with the Conflict of Interest and Post employment Code for Public Office Holders.

All applicants must meet the eligibility criteria or will not be considered for funding. However, meeting the applicant eligibility criteria may not necessarily guarantee funding: Projects proposals must meet a minimum standard in terms of value for money (measured by promised results relative to resources requested) before they can be funded. In addition, the available funds in the program are limited, and not all proposals of acceptable value-for-money may be funded. Based on the results of the rating process, projects may be fully funded, partly funded, or not funded at all.

Funds by Fiscal Year

Priority Areas: Two parts

The Innovative in Public Management Fund has two parts. An application must indicate what part it is applying under:

• Part 1:  strengthening the discipline of public management in Canada. Given the important role the public management and administration discipline plays in maintaining Canada’s professional and nonpartisan public service, projects in Part 1 help sustain and build the infrastructure of public administration in Canada. As a result, projects will focus on delivering results through the activities, technologies, systems, networks and dialogues required to strengthen the discipline across Canada.
• Part 2:  researching public management issues and best practices that deliver results in terms of promoting excellence in public management. Projects will be assessed in terms of their effectiveness in delivering results that support public management excellence.

For this round of contributions, priority will be placed on projects that deliver results in three areas:

• Methodologies for more Effective Case Studies and Lesson Drawing: Organizations seeking to achieve excellence in public management are looking for a faster cycle of innovation in public management. This, in turn, requires more effective ways to discover, analyze, document and disseminate best practices in public management.
  
  The Fund seeks proposals that develop methodologies and tools on how best practices are discovered, analyzed and documented more effectively, as well as mistakes that should be avoided by others. The goal is to define a new standard tool set and process that enable public institutions across Canada to disseminate best practices more quickly within their own organizations, and across to other organizations.
• Advancing Best Practices in Public Management: The Fund invites proposals that effectively analyze and disseminate best practices on priority public management issues in Canada (e.g. talent management, service delivery, results-based management, performance management, etc.). Additional consideration will be provided to projects that analyze best practices across more than one government, or major public-sector institution.
• Understanding the Public Management Issues of the Future: Forces of change such as globalization, advances in technology and demographics are rapidly changing the environment in which public-sector organizations strive to serve Canadians. The Fund invites projects that will improve the understanding of these changes, and what they mean in terms of public management practices needed in the future to achieve and sustain excellence.

Carrying out such projects is expected to require significant academic and/or experiential capacity, as well as the demonstrated ability to collect, create and transfer knowledge on public management.

Eligible Projects

The Innovative Public Management Research Fund supports projects that advance the development, management and dissemination of leading-edge knowledge in the field of public management and administration. Projects should therefore be focused and help to advance the state of knowledge and practice in discipline of public administration or the field of public management.

Eligible projects must further the Fund’s objectives. Any indirect benefits the School may receive from this Fund should be incidental to, or a by-product of, the main objective.

Likewise, no quantifiable benefit can accrue to the recipient as a direct result of this Fund. Rather, projects must be of benefit to the broader public management or public administration community. For example, a project that advances knowledge about a priority public management issue, that will be of great value to the public service generally, and that will not be used for commercial gain.

Fund Budget

The total amount available for projects is subject to cancellation, reduction or increase in the event that funding levels are changed by Parliament.

Contribution amounts will be subject to the following limits, in addition to other constraints described elsewhere:

• The maximum amount payable to a single project is $100,000 in one year;
• The maximum amount payable to an individual recipient/organization is $250,000 in a single year;
• Project funding will not exceed what is necessary to reach the stated result of the project;
• The target level of assistance by the School is up to 50% of eligible expenditures, including in-kind costs;
• The maximum level (stacking limit) of Total Government Assistance of the combined federal, provincial and municipal funding (including international organizations) for eligible expenditures, as described in the Eligible Expenses section, shall not exceed 90% of eligible costs. In the event that actual Total Governmental Assistance to a recipient exceeds the stacking limit, it will be necessary for the School to adjust its level of assistance (and seek reimbursement, if necessary) so that the stacking limit is respected;
• The maximum agreement duration for a project with an organization or an individual is of 3 years;
• Expenditure limits per fiscal year must not exceed the amount established in the Proposed Project Budget;
• Funding for a follow-up project to a previously funded and completed project is possible as long as it makes a significant addition to the work accomplished in the initial project. School officials may require previous project results in order to evaluate the follow-up project proposal. Furthermore, all repeat applicants must be in compliance with previously signed contribution agreements with the School.

Eligible Expenses

Eligible expenses are considered to be direct and indirect costs chargeable directly to the approved activities of the project. Only expenses that, in the opinion of the School, are reasonable and which relate directly to these eligible activities will be allowed. Financial assistance may be provided to cover reasonable administrative expenditures related to the project, but they must be negotiated up-front and included in the agreement. The following is a list of potential eligible expenses:

Furthermore, the School’s support will not be used for expenses/debts previously incurred, or expenses/debts that will take place prior to authorization / commencement of the contribution agreement. Funds must be spent only on the project and cannot under any circumstances be diverted to any other use. Expenses associated with the project are subject to audit.

Once a project is completed, any capital asset costing $5,000 or more and purchased with School funds, which has not been physically incorporated into a project, must be disposed of in a manner determined by the School.

Since the target level of assistance from the School is up to 50% of eligible project expenditures, the applicant’s proposal must also clearly indicate and quantify the costs they will be paying. The applicant’s contribution can include eligible in-kind costs, such as goods, services or fixed assets, which, if not contributed, would normally be purchased and paid for by the recipient; for example, the use of equipment, supplies, staff paid by the recipient or volunteer time, workspace, etc. The value of these contributions must be determined by standard accounting practices, and should be clearly presented in the budget submitted.

All contribution funds awarded to an applicant are subject to the specific terms of the Contribution Agreement signed by the applicant and the School.

THE ASSESSMENT OF PROJECT PROPOSALS

All applications for funding will be reviewed in accordance with the Fund’s objectives as well as the specific eligibility and assessment criteria outlined below.

Project Proposal Assessment Criteria

The following three criteria will guide the assessment process.

1. The application package must be complete (see Essential elements).
   
   
2. The proposed project must be consistent with the Fund’s objectives.
   
   
   • Is the proposal appropriate for a contribution—as opposed to a procurement contract? For example, does it respect the following principles for contributions:
     
     
     • The School will not receive a needed good or service for its operations, and any indirect benefits the School may receive should be incidental to, or a by-product of, the main objective.
     • The proposed project does not entail delivering a core service that School staff are mandated to provide directly.
     • You (as the applicant) do not propose to act on the government's behalf.
   • Is the proposed project both timely and relevant?
   • Does the project proposal identify the intended use of the deliverables, including the project’s usefulness for key audiences such as Canadians, the public administration community and the public service?
   • Does the project proposal include recommendations for making stakeholders aware of project results? How will the results be communicated?
3. The proposed project is cost effective in light of the results it seeks to achieve.
   
   
   • Does the proposal demonstrate that the project team is qualified and capable of producing high-quality and cost-effective work?
   • Does the proposal demonstrate that the project team is qualified and capable of producing high-quality and cost-effective work?
   • Are the estimated costs realistic as provided for in the proposed budget, and do the activities and related costs exceed what is necessary to deliver on the project and achieve the desired result(s)?
   • Is the methodology sound and will it yield relevant and reliable data?
   • Is the scope of the project proposal realistic in terms of deliverables and time frames? For example, Is the project too big or complex to be effectively addressed within the specified time?
   • Does the organization tap into the expertise/experience/previous work of other stakeholders, where appropriate?
   • Overall, does the proposal commit to produce adequate results, given the resources requested?
   • Overall, is the proposal well written and of high quality?

CONTROL PROCEDURES FOR APPROVED APPLICATIONS

The Contribution Agreement

Upon approval of a request for a contribution, a detailed contribution agreement will be drawn up and signed by the recipient and the School. A contribution agreement is a contractual agreement between the organization and the School regarding the project contribution awarded.

By accepting a contribution, the recipient agrees to carry out the funded project and to be accountable for the amounts received. Accordingly, the School agrees under certain conditions to contribute to the project's costs. Conditions for project-contributions-type funding are detailed in the contribution agreement.

As specified in the Agreement, the recipient cannot make material changes to the scope of the project without the prior written consent of the School.

Reporting Requirements

By signing the contribution agreement, the recipient agrees to submit a progress report and financial report, at the end of each quarter (or as agreed to in the contribution agreement) for the duration of the project. More specifically, recipients will provide statements of progress with each claim for payment. School staff will compare project progress reports submitted by recipient organizations against achievement of objectives in the project’s detailed work plan appearing in the contribution agreements, and be satisfied that the objectives are met before payments are made. An approved project Final Report will trigger the final payment for the contribution.

The School reserves the right to publish the name of successful recipients, as well as the amount of the contribution awarded, in any manner it deems fitting including, but not limited to, the School’s web site, formal budget documents, and so forth.

Method of Payment

Payment will be made in accordance with the approved cash flow as well as the work plan, and will be consistent with the Treasury Board guidelines for cash payment under the policy on Transfer Payments. See http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/dcgpubs/TBM_142/ptp_e.asp.

Payments will be made on the basis of documented claims for reasonable eligible costs incurred, to be submitted by recipients usually not more frequently than quarterly.

The School may make advance payments where it is necessary for the success of the project. When such advances are made, they will be made in accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Transfer Payments.

Contributions are normally awarded for specific projects on an annual basis. In the case of projects extending over more than one year, payment is subject to the appropriation of funds by Parliament, and satisfaction of review and reporting requirements by the recipient, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contribution agreement.

Public Acknowledgement and Recognition

The recipient shall acknowledge the School’s contribution to the project in all materials, be they printed, oral or electronic, used to describe the project to the public and within his/her own community. Recognition of the Government of Canada’s support of the project will be in accordance with the Federal Identity Program.

The contribution is to be clearly and prominently identified in all publicly published materials related to the project by using the following wording:

“Financial support from the Canada School of Public Service to conduct this work is gratefully acknowledged. The views expressed in this document are not necessarily those of the Canada School of Public Service or of the Government of Canada.”

The recipient will provide at least 15 days’ notice to the School of any proposed public announcement(s) or ceremonies relating to the project.

In addition, it is strongly recommended that research briefs, and/or executive summaries, and/or the whole report of projects funded under the program be housed on the recipient’s Website to the public.

Audit Requirements

According to the contribution agreement, the recipient shall keep proper books, accounts and records of revenues and expenses received in connection with the funded project. Such accounts and records shall be open to audit and inspection by the School to ensure compliance with the terms of the contribution agreement. The School may make copies and take extracts at all reasonable times for a period of three years after completion of the project.

Recipients of project contributions may be required to submit an audited statement of all expenses related to the funded project. The School may request at any time that recipients provide satisfactory evidence to demonstrate that all eligible costs claimed have been paid.

LANGUAGE POLICY

Project results may be submitted in the Official Language of your choice. Organizations working at the national level and receiving substantial financial assistance from the School are encouraged to provide services in both English and French and to foster the recognition and use of those languages especially in areas of significant demand.

In order to reach the broadest number of stakeholders, recipients are asked to provide executive summaries of all final reports in English and French. Recipients are encouraged to provide full reports in both official languages where they believe there is sufficient demand. Translation costs are allowable expenditures under the Fund.

HOW TO COMPLETE THE APPLICATION FORM

Applicants are encouraged to be familiar with the School’s mandate and programs, as well as the Government of Canada’s priorities as articulated by the Governor General, the Prime Minister and the Clerk of the Privy Council.

Essential Elements for the Application

Applications must include the following elements: (Important: applications which do not include all of these elements will not be accepted)

Application Form (Appendix 1)

Declaration Form (Appendix 2)

Disclosure Form (Appendix 3)

IMPORTANT: Applicants must retain a copy of their application and related materials for their files since these documents form part of their commitment if the request for funding is approved.

Submission Instructions and Deadline

Only complete applications received on or before the program deadline of November 30, 2007 will be considered. To be considered complete, an application must include all required supporting documents and provide all information as stated in this guide.

An original signed copy of the Application Form is required to confirm your organization’s official request for funding under the program, and it must be signed by a person with signing authority.

You need to submit one Application Form and one set of supporting documents with each project proposal you may wish to present.

Applications are deemed to have been received by the School on the date they are received, be that by mail, messenger, courier, fax or email. However, fax and email copies will only be accepted if the original signed copy of the Application Cover Form is forwarded by separate mail and received by November 30, 2007.

Applications should be sent to:

Mounira Badro
Innovation in Public Management Directorate
The Canada School of Public Service
300 Laurier West
Esplanade Laurier West Tower
23rd Floor
Ottawa, ON
K1N 6Z2

Tel: (613) 947-1763
Fax: (613) 992-1736

² Including employees paid by the Canadian Federal Government or conducting research for the benefit of the Federal Government but assigned to an otherwise eligible organization. To consult the “Listing of Government of Canada Organizations”, visit Treasury Board’s website at www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/gov-gouv/tools-outils/org_e.asp

³For example, within Canada they should be incorporated as non-profit corporations under appropriate provincial legislation, under Part Two of the Canada Corporations Act, or under a special Act of the Parliament of Canada.

⁴"Public office holder" such as:

1. a minister of the Crown, a minister of state or a parliamentary secretary;
2. a member of ministerial staff;
3. a ministerial adviser;
4. a Governor in Council appointee, other than the following persons, namely,
   1. a lieutenant governor,
   2. officers and staff of the Senate, House of Commons and Library of Parliament,
   3. a person appointed or employed under the Public Service Employment Act who is a head of mission within the meaning of subsection 13(1) of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Act,
   4. a judge who receives a salary under the Judges Act,
   5. a military judge within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the National Defence Act, and
   6. an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, not including the Commissioner;
   a ministerial appointee whose appointment is approved by the Governor in Council; and
5. a full-time ministerial appointee designated by the appropriate minister of the Crown as a public office holder. See Conflict of Interest Act, 2006, c.9, s.2, C-36.65, Department of Justice Canada, http://laws.justice.gc.ca