What this program offers

Funding stream objectives

The objective of this funding stream is to fund projects that support the professional development of the next generation of disability and accessibility experts to support the government’s disability inclusion objectives. Organizations will identify areas where they experience capacity challenges that prevent them from participating in the development of the disability sector and submit a proposal on their strategies to address capacity gaps.

Projects supported under this stream will facilitate at least 1 of the following outcomes:

• stronger and more resilient organizations are built to attract resources, including reimagining mandate or strategic activities in a post-COVID context
• internal policy and governance infrastructure are reviewed and enhanced to adapt to changing needs
• strategic leadership capacity within the organization is developed to facilitate the active engagement of persons with disabilities
• ways to measure and amplify impact are developed and implemented
• peer learning cohorts intended to enhance community capacity to meet the needs of organizations supporting social inclusion of persons with disabilities

Funding priorities

Projects submitted by eligible applicants will be prioritized based on how the project demonstrates it will lead to improved capacity to support persons with disabilities in Canada.

Glossary

Here is a list of key terms used within this application guide.

Administrative costs

Are organizations’ basic operational expenses not directly related to undertaking the proposed project activities. They are necessary for the organization to manage activities outlined in the work plan and to administer the reporting requirements of the grant agreement, including project management costs.

Capacity

The skills, knowledge, tools, equipment, and other resources needed by organizations to do their jobs well. Examples of resources include human resources (staff, volunteers, knowledge and skills); material resources (space and equipment); and financial resources (budget, grants, and contributions, leveraged cash and in-kind contributions).

• Organizational capacity building: The process by which organizations obtain, and improve, capacity to support their projects effectively to advance their objectives and improve performance. This could mean building a new capacity or improving an existing capacity to allow for a larger scale, larger audience, and larger impact

Cultural competency

The ability to work or respond effectively across cultures responding to, respecting and taking into consideration the cultural specificities. Cultural competency requires a service to adapt or change to be effective.

Disability

The Accessible Canada Act defines disability as: “Any impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment — or a functional limitation — whether permanent, temporary or episodic in nature, or evident or not, that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person’s full and equal participation in society”.

This definition is based on the social model of disability.

Disability organization

A not-for-profit organization whose primary mandate promotes or contributes to the social inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Disability-related lived-experience

A lived experience can refer to familiarity with a given subject. People with a lived experience are people who:

• self-identify with a disability
• have a family member with a disability
• are providing caregiving to a person with a disability

Family members may include any family relative, whether related by marriage, common-law partnership, or any legal parent child relationship.

Distribution list

A list of contacts that receive communication.

Diverse population of persons with disabilities

The recognition that people with disabilities are affected by multiple intersecting experiences based on gender, race, income, sexuality, and more.

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+)

An analytical approach used to evaluate the potential effects policies, programs and initiatives may have on diverse groups of people.

The word “Plus” in the term is used to show that the analysis goes beyond biological (sex) and sociocultural (gender) differences. It also considers other factors that intersect to determine individual identity. These factors may include race, sexual identity, age, disability, religion, etc.

Inclusion

The practice of using proactive measures to create an environment where people feel welcomed, respected, and valued. It fosters a sense of belonging and engagement in economic, social, political, and cultural life.

This practice involves changing the environment by removing barriers so that each person has equal access to opportunities and resources. It also aids them in reaching their full potential by taking active inclusionary measures to facilitate their participation.

• Social inclusion: The conditions in which individuals can participate in, contribute to, and benefit from economic, social, political, and cultural life. Social inclusion facilitates opportunities to enhance and maintain the well-being of all people. Promoting social inclusion requires tackling social exclusion by removing barriers to people’s participation in society. It also means taking active inclusionary measures to facilitate such participation

Information guide

A centralized source of information created and distributed by an organization to spread knowledge, provide resources, etc.

In-kind contribution

Any contribution other than cash, like services and/or resources that are offered freely to an organization that would otherwise have a real market value and be considered an eligible cost under the SDPP-D program. These contributions could include (but are not limited to):

• sharing of knowledge and expertise
• use of office space
• use of equipment (for example, computers, software, etc.)
• sharing of staff (for example, staff time offered to the organization by a partner, where the organization is not charged)

Intersectionality

A term coined in 1989 by Kimberlé Crenshaw, and built upon by other Black feminist scholars. It acknowledges the ways in which people’s experiences are shaped by their multiple and overlapping identities and social locations. It also considers intersecting processes of discrimination, oppression, power, and privilege. Together, these interlocking identities and processes can produce a unique and distinct experience for an individual or group, such as the creation of additional barriers or opportunities.

Intersectional approaches

For this CFP, an intersectional approach refers to the understanding of how diverse populations of persons with disabilities experience multiple barriers to social inclusion (for example, the relationship between social exclusion, racism, and disability) and the design of a solution to address these barriers.

For example, a disability organization can build partnership with a 2SLGTBQI+ organization to work on a project that will address issues specific to 2SLGBTQI+ persons with disabilities.

Leveraging

A process through which funded organizations use one source of funds to obtain cash or/and in-kind contributions from partners to assist in the development and implementation of their projects.

National reach

This is determined through the ways in which current activities advance the social inclusion of persons with disabilities across three or more regions.

• Current activities: Current services, programming or outreach
• Outreach: The act of engaging with and extending services, information, support, or assistance to a specific target disability group. It involves working actively to identify specific gaps and addressing them while establishing connections to better serve a target group. Outreach work also includes actively engaging on a regular basis with similar partners or organizations to improve social outcomes for persons with disabilities
• Regions
  • Under the SDPP Terms and Conditions, Canadian regions are defined as:
    • Pacific (British Columbia and Yukon)
    • Prairie (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba)
    • Central (Ontario and Quebec)
    • Atlantic (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia)
    • North (Northwest Territories and Nunavut)

Note: For this CFP, having a website that is accessible to people across the country does not constitute national reach or grant national status to an organization.

“Nothing without us”

“Nothing without us” comes from the disability rights movement slogan “Nothing about us, without us”. The United Nations integrated this slogan into the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We apply the principle, “Nothing without us”, to the policy development process. This means including the perspectives of persons with disabilities in all initiatives, regardless if the initiative targets persons with disabilities (Source: The COVID-19 Disability Advisory Group 2020 report).

Outcome - immediate

An outcome that is directly attributable to a policy, program, or initiative’s outputs. In terms of timeframe and level, these are short-term outcomes and are often at the level of an increase in awareness of a target population.

Outcome - intermediate

An outcome that is expected to logically occur once an immediate outcome(s) has (have) been achieved. In terms of timeframe and level, these are medium-term outcomes and are often at the change of behaviour level among a target population.

Partnerships

A collaboration or network in which an organization engages with individuals or other groups throughout a project’s life cycle.

Professional development

Process of improving knowledge, skills, and abilities to advance careers, improve current skills and employability. At the same time empowering persons with disabilities to maximize potential, develop expertise, adapt to change, and thrive in the workplace.

Project

Structured and defined goal-oriented effort to achieve specific goals and outcomes within a defined timeframe, budget, and scope. The life cycle of a project includes four phases: initiation, planning, implementation, and evaluation. A temporary project can become permanent when added to an organization’s programming.

• Initiation: The first phase of a project’s life cycle. In this phase, you review the project’s goals, stakeholders, and overall feasibility to mark the beginning of the project
• Planning: The second phase of a project’s life cycle. In this phase, you clearly define the milestones, activities/tasks, timelines, and responsibilities included in the development of a project plan
• Implementation: The third phase of a project’s life cycle. This phase involves executing the project’s planned activities and tasks. During this phase, you monitor progress, making sure that objectives are on track, and changes can be made if necessary. This phase may also include reporting to better complement to the evaluation phase of the project’s life cycle
• Evaluation: An evaluation ideally happens throughout the project’s life cycle (for example, after specific steps) to evaluate the performance, outcomes, and deliverables. The evaluation phase should provide insight to improve future projects. This is achieved by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the project, as well as gathering feedback and measuring performance/impact

Project partners

Active participating organization(s) that play an essential role and have a vested interest in the project’s success. Partners can contribute resources to the project, either in-cash and/or in-kind (for example, time, resources, expertise).

Racialized persons

A group of people categorized according to ethnic or racial characteristics and subjected to discrimination and racism on that basis.

Sustainability plan

A plan that describes how an organization will sustain and build upon the capacity achieved through this funding for a minimum of 2 years. The sustainability plan could include activities that:

• identify and set out sustainable fundraising practices (other than government funding)
• develop knowledge transfer and retention practices to make sure that new skills are not lost to employee turnover
• ensure organizational governance by the creation of a leadership pipeline or succession plan

Systemic barrier

A barrier that results from seemingly neutral systems, practices, policies, traditions, or cultures. It also disadvantages certain individuals or groups of people. Systemic barriers are not necessarily put in place intentionally.

They disadvantage:

• minority groups
• racialized groups
• people with disabilities
• people from 2SLGBTQI+ communities
• Indigenous people and
• other marginalized people and groups

Systemic barriers are present in all aspects of society such as employment, education, institutions, and health services.

Travel expenses

Travel expenditures include the following expenses:

• transportation of people by air, rail, sea, bus, taxi, air taxi and tolls
• meals, incidentals, and accommodation services such as hotels, motels, corporate residences, apartments, private non-commercial accommodation, and government and institutional accommodation

Underrepresented groups

A group of people whose representation within a given subgroup of society is lower than its representation in the general population. Underrepresented groups often face systemic barriers.

For example, if a group of people represents 20% of the general population but only 10% of the workers in each field of employment, it is an underrepresented group in that employment field.

Groups generally considered to be under-represented include women, people with disabilities, Indigenous people, members of 2SLGBTQI+ communities and racialized groups.

2SLGBTQI+

Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and intersex. The symbol “+” represents the wide spectrum of gender identities, sexual orientations and romantic orientations not explicitly named.

The choice of letters or symbols and the order in which they are presented could differ depending on the context and the audience. Some examples of abbreviations include:

• LGBT
• LGBTI
• LGBTQ
• LGBTQ2
• LGBTQ2S
• LGBTQ2IA
• LGBTQ2IA+
• 2SLGBTQIA+
• 2SLGBTQQIA

When there are 2 “Q”s in the abbreviation, the second “Q” stands for “questioning.”