Applicant guide: Funding for the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care - Quality Improvement Projects

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

On this page

• Part 1. Organization
• Part 2. Project
• Part 3. Funding
• Part 4. Attestation
• Appendix A

Part 1 - Organization

A - Organization identification

Question 1 - Legal name

Provide the legal name of your organization. The legal name is usually:

• the name associated with your registration with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), or
• the name that would appear on funding cheques

Question 2 - Operating (common) name (if different from legal name)

Provide the operating (or common) name of your organization if it is different from the legal name.

Question 3 - Business or registration number

Indicate your 15-digit CRA business or registration number.

You can find your CRA business number on tax-related documents or other written statements from CRA.

To learn more, please visit the Canada Revenue Agency website.

If you represent an Indigenous government, you do not need to fill this out.

Question 4 and 5 - Organization type and category

To be eligible to apply, you must be one of the following types of applicants:

• Indigenous communities
• Indigenous governments
• Indigenous organizations

Question 6 - Year established

Indicate the year your organization was established.

Questions 7 to 11 - Address

Indicate the address of your organization. You must provide a complete address in a format recognized by Canada Post. Information is available on the Canada Post website.

Questions 12 to 14 - Telephone, fax and email

Indicate the telephone number, fax number (if applicable) and email address of your organization.

Questions 15 to 19 - Mailing address (if different from organization address)

Indicate your mailing address if different from your organization's address.

Questions 20 and 21 - Telephone and fax

Indicate the telephone and fax numbers if different from your organization's address.

Question 22 - Organization’s mandate

Describe the main activities of your organization, including your mission, mandate and objectives, if applicable.

B - Organization contact

Question 23 - First name and last name

Provide the name of the person in your organization who will be the main contact for the proposed project.

Question 24 - Position title

Provide the title of the organization contact identified in Question 23.

Question 25 - Preferred language

Indicate the preferred language of the organization contact for both written and spoken communication (English or French).

Question 26 - Contact address

Indicate whether the address for the Organization Contact is the same or different as the Organization Address or the Organization Mailing Address in Section A.

Questions 27 to 31 - Contact address (continued)

If you answered "different" in Question 26, what is the address of your main contact?

Questions 32 and 33 - Telephone and fax

What are the telephone and fax numbers of your main contact? Please provide a telephone number where the person can be contacted during business hours.

Question 34 - Email address

What is the email address of your main contact person? We will send communications to this email address.

Question 35 to 46 - Secondary contact

If we can’t reach the main contact, who else can we contact? Please provide their full name, telephone number where they can be reached during business hours and their email address.

C - Organizational capacity

This section helps us decide if your organization can manage and carry out the proposed project.

Question 47 – Number of employees

Indicate the total number of employees your organization has.

Question 48 - Important transformations in the past 2 years

Let us know if there has been a:

• change in leadership in the board of directors
• change in leadership at the executive level
• large reduction, increase or turnover in staff
• merger or split, or
• change in mandate or main activities

Please tell us about any of the above changes that apply.

Question 49 - Please describe how your organization has the experience and expertise to carry out the proposed project activities. Please include any related past experience with ESDC and the results of the project

What have you done in the last 2 years that will help you carry out this project? Tell us about it. You can include past projects and what they achieved.

Question 50 - Does your organization owe any amounts to the Government of Canada

If yes, how much? Use the spaces provided. Here is an example:

Table 1: Amounts owed to Government of Canada

Amount owing	Nature of amount owing	Department or agency to which money is owed
$10,000	Overpayment	Employment and Social Development Canada

Question 51 - If an amount is owing, is a payment plan in place

Indicate whether or not payment arrangements have been made. If you answer "yes", your application can continue. But you have to tell us what you owe and how you are paying back the money.

Part 2 - Project

A - Project identification

Question 52 - Project title

Give a short title that describes your project.

Questions 53 and 54 - Planned project start (yyyy/mm/dd) and end dates (yyyy/mm/dd)

Indicate the planned start and end dates of your proposed project.

Note: Your project can last up to 36 months.

Funding decisions should be made by Fall 2023.

Proposed activities cannot begin before your project is approved and a Funding Agreement has been signed by you and ESDC. Any activities that occur prior to the signing of the Funding Agreement by our Department cannot be reimbursed.

B - Project description

We encourage organizations to refer to the SMART model when developing proposals:

• specific: Describe the project and its goals in 1 or 2 sentences
• measurable: Determine how you will know that you have achieved what you set out to do
• achievable: It must be something you can complete within the timeframe
• realistic: You should have the capacity and resources to accomplish the project (excluding the funding we will provide)
• timely: You should have milestones throughout the length of the project

Question 55 - Project objectives (must link to the objectives of the program to which you are applying)

Describe how the goals of your project are both achievable and realistic.

Also, describe how the goals of your project align with at least 1 of the following objectives. Begin by listing the objective and follow by describing how the goals of your project align with it.

• Objective 1 - Defining what high-quality Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) means to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis

  Definition

  • This objective focuses on defining a high-quality and culturally appropriate system designed for Indigenous families that is affordable, flexible and inclusive
  • This objective is to conduct research to define the features of a high-quality, culturally appropriate system to inform quality improvement for early childhood care providers and Indigenous governments
  • The project could include:
    • developing a system that is comparable with provinces and territories grounded in Indigenous cultures and languages
    • developing frameworks that identify culturally relevant indicators and results of quality to assess an ELCC system
      • Such systems or frameworks could be used to assess and monitor child care centres for ongoing improvement to enhance the foundational elements for high quality child care
      • These could include the following examples: Early Childhood Educator (ECE) certification, cultural competencies, licencing, and accreditation
  • Defining high quality could include:
    • designing governance models that support Indigenous-led ELCC decision-making
    • testing different ways of developing partnerships, and
    • designing ways to measure results and success
• Objective 2 - Finding ways to support ongoing education and training for IELCC leaders, management, and staff

  Definition

  • A qualified and properly remunerated IELCC workforce is key to achieving high-quality child care
  • The IELCC Framework identifies the need for culturally competent, well-educated, trained and well-compensated early childhood educators
  • The project could show how to provide training and education to maintain a culturally competent and trained early childhood workforce
• Objective 3 - Building and strengthening local IELCC licensing rules and procedures

  Definition

  • Provinces and territories have laws and regulations that set out the standards to ensure the safety and well-being of children
  • The project could explore how the development of First Nations, Inuit or Métis standards, grounded in Indigenous cultures and languages can be used to replace or supplement similar provincial or territorial ones
• Objective 4 - Making tools and training that support IELCC staff who work with children with special needs

  Definition

  • Children with special needs/disabilities experience a wide range of health, social and educational needs that may affect their daily activities and functioning
  • The project could explore developing supports to respond to children’s diverse physical, psychological and developmental abilities within an Indigenous childcare context

Question 56 - Project activities (must be split into clear steps)

Project activities are the steps you will take to meet your goals. They should be specific, measurable, realistic and relevant.

Describe each activity by:

• explaining how each activity supports the objective(s) you chose in Question 55
• listing activities in a clear and realistic timeline
• identifying major milestones
• explaining how each activity relates to the expected results of your project, and
• explaining how the activity creates something new, instead of continuing existing programming

For example:

• month 1 to month 6: establish a working group to develop tools
• months 12, 14, and 16: host webinars
• month 18: pilot tools with participants
• month 22: launch a survey to assess the impact of new tools
• month 36: disseminate results

Examples of eligible activities could include:

• testing new concepts or approaches for building, improving and/or maintaining quality early learning and childcare within an Indigenous context
• supporting the design of new governance models to support Indigenous led ELCC decision making
• creating and testing partnership approaches to support a coordinated and integrated system of IELCC programs and services
• designing ways to measure results and success
• developing standards of quality IELCC to help with access, affordability, and availability
• supporting culturally relevant and appropriate strategies and partnerships to build and promote a strong, qualified early childhood workforce
• developing approaches to help accredit staff from a linguistic and cultural lens
• developing and exploring innovative approaches to increase IELCC wages and resources comparable to provincial and territorial colleagues
• developing First Nations, Inuit and Métis standards, regulations and licensing grounded in Indigenous cultures and languages
• developing new programming or replicating and adapting an existing evidence-based program to a new ELCC setting, and
• developing and testing a range of supports for children with diverse physical, psychological, and developmental abilities within an Indigenous child care context

Examples of ineligible activities could include:

• paying for direct service delivery
• normal activities of an organization, and
• construction, maintenance or repair of child care buildings

Question 57 - Expected results of the project

For this section, you must:

• show a clear link between the expected results and the project goals

Expected results are defined as: what you expect your project to deliver (outcomes) and produce (outputs).

Outcomes are the short-term, medium-term and long-term results that you expect the project to deliver. One objective may have multiple outcomes. Outcomes answer the questions, “how do we know the project is a success?”.

Outputs are direct products or services that you will produce to get the outcomes you want. They answer the question, “what will the project produce?”.

Examples of expected results of the project could include:

Desired outcome:

• coordinated local and or regional approach to services
• standardized quality assessment criteria for IELCC early childhood educators
• expanded access to specialized tools and resources for early childhood educators

Outputs:

• monthly meetings of a new local or regional steering committee to coordinate the approach to services
• report outlining standardized assessment criteria for ELCC workers and implementation plan to roll out the criteria
• web-based course outline developed to provide expanded access to training for ELCC workers

C - Project details

Question 58 - Does the project include results measurement indicators?

Your answer to this question must be "yes". Show us that the indicators you chose to measure are:

• specific, relevant, time-based and targeted, and
• easy to measure and can be achieved within the proposed timeframe

You must include at least 1 indicator for each of your project’s expected results. You should have told us your expected results in Question 57.

If we select your project for funding, you will have to report on the results of your project. We will use this information to evaluate your project. Some examples could include, but are not limited to:

• outcome: coordinated local and or regional approach to services
  • Indicator: increase in number of new partnerships
• outcome: better access to specialized tools and resources to provide Indigenous-specific training to IELCC workers
  • Indicator: increase in number of staff who have taken cultural or distinct training
• outcome: better access in your community, region, or nation to culturally appropriate child care
  • Indicator: increase in number of children enrolled in programs meeting cultural quality standards

Question 59 - Does this proposed project fit with your organization's other activities?

If “yes”, describe how your project relates to the work your organization is doing now.

Question 60 - Will any of the project activities be carried out in a different location than where your organization is located?

If "yes", give the main address first. Then, add the other addresses.

If you have more than 5 locations, please continue your answer in Appendix A.

Question 61 - Is your project designed to benefit or involve people in English or French-language minority communities?

Not applicable for this funding. Answer "no" to this question.

Question 62 - Is your project targeting vulnerable groups?

Not applicable for this funding. Answer "no" to this question.

Question 63 - Will any other organizations, networks or partners be involved in carrying out the project?

If partners are involved with this project, you must provide the following information regarding the partner organization(s):

• name of the partner or partner organization
• type of organization, if applicable (for example: not for profit or publicly funded)
• mandate of the partner, including its main activities, mission and goals, and
• nature of partner's contribution to the proposed project (for example: financial or in-kind)

Eligible partners include:

• individuals, and
• other types of organizations

If we select your project, we will ask you to submit a letter from your partner or partners. The letter must confirm their contribution to the project. We may give further consideration to projects that have partnerships and specifically those with 1 or more of the following:

• academic institutions
• Indigenous organizations that are involved in labour market service delivery

We encourage applicants to develop partnerships in order to maximize their results and impacts.

Question 64 - Does the project address the program's national, regional or local priorities?

Not applicable for this funding. Answer "no" to this question.

Question 65 -Does your project include activities that are listed in the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IACC) Regulations Designating Physical Activities established under the Canadian Impact Assessment Act, 2019?

Not applicable for this funding. Answer "no" to this question.

Part 3 - Funding

A - Anticipated sources of funding

You don’t need any cash or in-kind contributions from other sources for this application process.

However, if you do secure other contributions, you must tell us below.

The combined contributions from all levels of government and/or other sources must be equal to or less than 100% of eligible costs.

Question 66 - Source name

If applicable, include the name of the organization that will contribute cash and/or in-kind contributions to your project.

Question 67 - Source type

If applicable, identify the types of organizations that are contributing funds to this project from the following options:

• not-for-profit organizations
• municipal governments
• provincial and territorial governments, institutions and Crown Corporations
• Indigenous organizations (including band councils, tribal councils and self-government entities)
• international organizations
• coalitions, networks, or committees
• research organizations or institutes
• academic institutions
• public health and social services institutions, and
• for‑profit organizations

Question 68 - Cash

Indicate the amount of funding that will be provided.

Question 69 - In-kind ($ value)

Donations (in-kind) are goods or services people or organizations give for free. Your organization, other organizations or partners can donate to the project. Donations can include equipment, services or labour that you receive for free. We will recognize in-kind donations only if we can estimate the value of the contribution.

If you anticipate any donations, indicate the value.

To be eligible as a donation, both of the following must be true:

• it must be necessary for the project to succeed
• the organization who gives it to you provides a document outlining the commitment

Question 70 - Confirmed cash and in-kind

Skip this question. If your project is retained we will ask you to provide proof of the cash and in-kind contributions that you have received.

B - Budget

Give a brief estimate of your project’s costs in your application. Your costs must be reasonable and support your project activities.

Question 71 - Cost category

A forecast of project costs should be split into at least two cost categories: “total administrative costs” and “other program costs”.

Below are examples of costs breakdown for budget items:

• total administrative costs (up to a maximum of 15% of the total budget): $10,000
• other program costs: $200,000

Ineligible costs include, but are not limited to:

• purchase of land or buildings
• costs related to planning, design, construction, maintenance or repair of IELCC facilities
• equipment necessary for the operation of IELCC facilities, and
• on-going operations or service delivery costs

Questions 72 to 74 - Planned spending ($) (ESDC and other, cash other, in-kind other)

Give the total planned spending from all sources, including us. The amounts should align with those that you put in section A: Anticipated sources of funding.

“Other” means a cash or in-kind contribution from other sources, other than us.

C - Budget details

Question 75 - Associated businesses or individuals

Check all statements that apply to your planned spending of the funding from us.

In carrying out the project, you may have to buy goods or services you need from contractors. You may also contract out to third parties (outside providers) to carry out part of the project activities.

“Associated businesses or individuals” means:

• an officer, director or employee of your organization, or a member of their immediate family
• a business in which an officer, director or employee of your organization, or a member of your immediate family, has a financial interest, or
• a business connected to your organization

Question 76 - Capital assets: Will capital assets be among your planned expenditures with ESDC funding

Answer “yes” or “no”.

If “yes”, explain how your project will benefit from buying capital assets.

A capital asset is any single or composite asset that costs more than $5,000 (before taxes). A capital asset is not part of another product and you can still use it at the end of the project.

A composite asset is a group of assets that form 1 unit, where you need everything for the asset to work. A group of assets is a single capital asset if the total cost is more than $5,000 (before taxes).

For example, a composite capital asset could include:

• a personal computer with a hard drive
• a monitor
• a keyboard
• a mouse, and
• the relevant cables

We do not consider 4 chairs, that each cost $1,500, capital assets. This is because each chair works on its own and each individual chair cost less than $5,000 (before taxes).

Question 77 - Further budget details

Your project proposal must not exceed $2 million over 36 months. If your proposal surpasses this amount, you will not be eligible for funding. Please give us a breakdown of your total costs per fiscal year (April 1 to March 31). Please also breakdown your total costs according to project activity and cost category.

For example, this could be the breakdown for a 30 month project with $200,000 in eligible costs:

• October 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024: $40,000
• April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025: $80,000
• April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026: $80,000

Part 4 - Attestation

An official representative with the authority to submit proposals on behalf of your organization must attest that:

• they have the authority to submit the proposal
• certify that the information provided is true, and
• they have read and understood the program’s requirements

In order to do this, the official representative must:

• provide their name, title and the date

As this is an attestation, we do not require a signature.

Appendix A

Letters from partners confirming partnership may be submitted with the application. If your project is retained, the required letters will be requested at that time.

You can also use this section to add information to previous sections of the application. If you do, please indicate the question number you are referencing.

If you need an exception to the $2 million limit we are offering, tell us about the challenges you are facing that would warrant an exception. We may consider an exception, but we reserve the right not to.