Social Development Partnerships Program on Disability (Canada)

Deadline: 13-May-22

The Government of Canada has launched Social Development Partnerships Program to improve the participation and social inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of Canadian society.

Objectives

• Fairness – ensure that eligible organizations can apply for operating funding through a competitive process
• Transparency – provide a more open and transparent process
• Predictability – bring greater stability and potential sustainability to funded recipients
• Accountability – implement reporting by recipients on performance, and expected outcomes to strengthen accountability for the use of public funds.

Funding Information

• The funding envelope for this Call for Proposals (CFP) is $6,000,000 annually, for a total of $18,000,000 over 3 years.
• Note that over this 3-year funding period, ESDC will work with organizations towards a more equitable and sustainable funding model. Following this transition period, any subsequent Calls for Proposals will seek to balance the needs of organizations within the available funding envelope, using levers such as a maximum funding ceiling applicable to all organizations.
• The maximum funding available per agreement will be as follows:
• Organizations currently funded under the SDPP-D national operating stream can apply for up to their current funding allocation or up to the maximum eligible amount of $200K annually ($600K over 3 years) – the higher of the 2.
• Organizations not currently funded under the SDPP-D national operating stream can apply for up to $200K annually ($600K over 3 years).
• It is estimated that 20 to 35 agreements could be funded through this process.
• Agreements are expected to be in place beginning April 1, 2023.

Eligible Activities

• Governance and accountability
  • Develop and implement an organizational strategic plan
  • Develop and implement a sustainability plan
  • Evaluate and improve board effectiveness
• Effective leadership and operations
  • Develop human resources products and tools informed by Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+)
  • Establish and implement recruitment and retention strategies
  • Develop and implement policies, programs and/or services informed by GBA+ considerations
  • Develop effective practices based on lessons learned from COVID-19 (for example, focus on emergency preparedness, reaching vulnerable populations, adapting delivery of workshops and conferences to an online audience; adapting service delivery and programming to include permanent online options)
• Developing and maintaining partnerships
  • Develop and implement collaborative initiatives to strengthen the not-for-profit disability sector and increase sector sustainability (for example, working together to develop exchange and apply knowledge, tools and resources to collectively advance social inclusion)
  • Build and improve networks and coalitions to work together to address intersectional issues that impact diverse groups of persons with disabilities in Canada
• Measurable impact
  • Implement results-based management processes and systems to improve performance measurement, risk management, and evaluation
  • Improve organizational capacity to conduct analyses of policies, programs and services
  • Conducting a GBA+ in order to identify the needs of diverse groups among persons with disabilities
  • Evaluating current activities based on GBA+ analysis to identify gaps in programming, research, partnerships, advocacy, etc.

Eligibility Criteria

In order to be eligible for funding, your organization must:

• Be a national, not-for-profit organization, with a primary mandate that promotes the social inclusion of persons with disabilities across Canada.
• Have national reach through current activities that aim to advance social inclusion of persons with disabilities across Canada. National reach can be achieved through an active membership or network, regional and/or provincial/territorial offices and affiliates across Canada. Applicants must be able to demonstrate reach across 3 or more regions. Applicants will be required to provide information on the nature of their organization’s activities and the relationship with their affiliates.
• Be governed by a Board of Directors comprised of a majority (for example, minimum 51%) of persons with disabilities and/or disability-related lived experience (which can be self-identified).
• Demonstrate cash and/or in-kind contributions equal to or greater than 30% of total funding requested. (Letters from all contributing sources must confirm that the cash and/or in-kind contributions are readily available once funding is approved).This needs to be secured through sources other than the Government of Canada. This can include sources of funding provided by the applicant’s organization. In completing the application, the organization will be required to outline their total anticipated operating budget per year and provide detailed source(s) of funding, including potential funding from the Government of Canada.
• Submit proof (with your application) of strategic partnerships through letters of support, from a minimum of 2 partnering organizations. These letters must confirm the duration and expertise of the partnership. Partnerships should help improve the organization’s capacity during the course of the agreement. Note that priority will be given to partnerships that focus on collectively addressing existing and evolving social issues faced by persons with disabilities.

• Individuals
• For profit organizations
• Provincial, territorial governments
• Municipal governments
• Crown corporations

For more information, visit https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/social-development-national-operating-disabilities.html#h2.04