Questions and Answers from the Partnership Grant Program 2016-18 Information Sessions: Question 1 Q) In the guidelines (page 10) it states, personnel costs including salaries and benefits of program staff directly involved in the project or professional service fees are eligible. During the teleconference, it was stated that if 20% of a staff person s time was spent on the project, then 20% of their salary could be charged to the project. However, later in the teleconference, it was stated that if permanent staff on payroll use a portion of their time to work on the project, that time would be considered an in-kind contribution. Can you please clarify: if the lead agency has full-time staff with the skills and knowledge to manage/implement the project, can the percentage of time they spend on working on the project be recovered under personnel costs in the budget. So, again using the scenario above, if 20% of an existing staff person s time was spent on the project, can 20% of their salary be recovered. A) We recognize that there were conflicting messages regarding this question during the call and we apologize for the confusion. Yes, on page 10 of the guidelines it states: Funding may be used for: Personnel costs including salaries and benefits of program staff directly involved in the project or professional service fees. We have consulted and have determined that any staff time dedicated to the project is an eligible expense and can be funded by the grant, including any time dedicated to the project by permanent staff or contract staff. The application budget would have to specifically identify the total time that each staff is dedicating to the project and only that time would be eligible. So in the scenario that an existing staff person s time spent 20% of their time on that project, that 20% of their salary would be recovered by the grant. Question 2 Q) Is overhead an eligible expense? A) General overhead costs are not eligible as these are expenses that would be incurred for regular business. Question 3 Q) Can applications be submitted for more than one project? A) Yes, applications will be accepted from the same organization for more than one project, but it is unlikely that one organization would receive funding for more than one. If we are very under-subscribed we may fund more than one application from a particular organization, but this is not likely to be the case. Question 4 Q) Could an organization apply for funding to undertake an evaluation for an existing project? A) PGP is not meant to fund the evaluation phase of a particular project, but rather to build 1
capacity in the sector so that organizations are better able to conduct their own evaluations. Funded projects also need to demonstrate provincial reach. Question 5 Q) How many organizations are we looking for to ensure provincial reach? A) There is no specific number, but projects need to demonstrate the ability to reach all four regions in the province. Question 6 Q) What are some examples of previous projects and province-wide reach? A) Currently funded projects can be viewed Grants Ontario in the Approved Grants section: http://www.grants.gov.on.ca/grantsportal/en/ontariogrants/approvedgrants/mci/index.htm Question 7 Q) Can universities be considered as partners? A) Yes, but keep in mind that we are not looking for research projects. Question 8 Q) To confirm, is the year 1 maximum request amount of $100,000 for only a 3 month period and the year 2 maximum request amount of $200,000 for a 12 month period? A) Yes, these amounts are correct and the year 1 request must be for the period of January 1, 2017-March 31, 2017 and the year 2 request must be for the period of April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018. However organizations do not have to request the full amounts. Question 9 Q) Do all questions on the application form need to be answered? A) Yes, as per page 9 of the guidelines, all questions are applicable. Question 10 Q) Do project partners need to meet the eligibility criteria? A) Only the lead applicant organization would be responsible for meeting the eligibility criteria, but we would also want information on the partners. Question 11 Q) Do all of the points listed under the Program Priorities, Key Outcomes and Required Activities (page 5 of the guidelines) need to be addressed? A) We are aware of limitations due to the shortened timeframe for projects, therefore applicants do not need to meet all of these but should strive to meet as many as is feasible. Question 12 Q) Does the mandate of the project need to fit strictly with Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration priorities? 2
A) No, projects do not need relate only to citizenship and immigration issues and can reach out to various sectors including arts and culture, sport and recreation, environment, etc. Question 13 Q) Is there an allotment/allocation for projects for each of the streams? A) There is no defined allotment/allocation, but we are looking for coverage in all three of the streams. Question 14 Q) Our organization is national, would we qualify for this program? A) Yes, but there must be a main office based in Ontario and the project must demonstrate broach provincial reach within Ontario. Question 15 Q) Can you provide information on the project reporting/evaluation timeframe? A) There will be a check in midway through the project (around September 2017) and an evaluation at the end of the project. Question 16 Q) Are costs for part-time staff or subject matter experts eligible? A) Yes, if engaged specifically for the project. Question 17 Q) Do all of an organization s partners across the province need to be actively involved in the project or only one? A) It is up to the organization to determine which partnerships make sense for the project. It would be ok for only one partner to be involved. Question 18 Q) Can you clarify eligible administration costs? A) As per page 10 of the guidelines, administration costs are not to exceed 15% of the total eligible project expenses, but each expense must be specifically project related we do not want to see a blanket 15% for organizations. Question 19 Q) Can you clarify requirements for an international organization with members in Ontario? A) As per page 7 of the guidelines, the lead applicant organization needs to have a main office based in Ontario and the project must demonstrate broach provincial reach within Ontario. Question 20 Q) Given the shorter timeframe, could workshops be conducted after the March 31, 2018 3
project end date? A) Expenditures need to be within the fiscal years of the program (ending March 31, 2018). Exceptions would need to be clearly laid out and be within a reasonable timeframe. Question 21 Q) What constitutes building capacity in the sector? I.e. can we be sending resources out electronically? Do projects have to do in-person trainings/workshops? A) Projects that are simply sending resources out will not be considered strong projects. We will probably see projects submitted that are proposing to do more than simply sending out electronic resources. Question 21 Q) Our organization has only regional reach. Can we apply? A) Yes you can apply, but we are looking for province-wide project and not just reach within a region of the province. Stronger projects will be those that strategically partner with organizations so that they may have broader provincial reach. Question 22 Q) Can municipalities be considered a lead applicant? A) Municipalities cannot be lead applicants but can be partners. Question 23 Q) Do project activities have to be implemented within the organization that is applying or can it focus on other organizations? A) The focus of funded projects needs to be on increasing capacity in the not-for-profit sector broadly throughout Ontario, so it will depend on the nature of the organization (if it is an umbrella/network organization) and the nature of the project. Stronger projects will benefit more than one organization and will reach all regions of the province. Question 24 Q) One of the criteria is that the applying organization be operating for at least 2 years in Ontario do you mean we have to be registered officially and then operating for 2 years, or operating for 2 years is sufficient? A) The applicant organization has to be registered officially and then operating for at least 2 years to be eligible. Question 25 Q) We are an organization that was funded as the main applicant in the last round of PGP 2014-17. Would we be eligible to participate in a proposal where another umbrella group was lead and we were a partnering group? A) Yes, you can partner with another organization who will be the lead applicant (provided they 4
were not previously funded by PGP 2014-17). However the project must be a new initiative and significantly different from your last funded PGP 2014-17 project. Question 26 Q) Can an organization be a partner for two different submissions to the PGP? A) An organization can be involved as a partner in two different projects as long as they are not the lead organization on both projects and as long as you have the capacity to carry out your responsibilities to both projects. Question 27 Q) The guidelines state that the applicants must be 1) Network or Umbrella organization and 2) Partnerships representing two or more not-for-profit organizations. Can you clarify? Must we meet both of these criteria? A) There was an error in the guidelines. The guidelines should read that applicants must be a 1) Network or Umbrella organization OR 2) a Partnerships representing two or more organizations. Only one of these criteria needs to be met, not both. The lead applicant does not have to be an umbrella organization or network. 5