Education Partnerships Program
This proposal-based program is designed to advance First Nations student achievement in First Nations, independent, provincial and territorial schools.
Call for proposals
The 2023 to 2024 call for proposals for the Regional Education Agreement component is now open. The deadline to submit a proposal is October 31, 2023 at 11:59pm Eastern time, however, this may vary in some regions. Contact your regional office to find out more.
The 2023 to 2024 call for proposals for the Partnerships and Structural Readiness components is now closed. The deadline to submit a proposal was March 31, 2023 at 11:59 pm, Eastern time.
On this page
About the program
The program supports:
- collaboration between First Nations, provincial and territorial ministries or departments of education and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)
- the capacity development of First Nations organizations to deliver education, including establishing education systems and service delivery agreements responsive to First Nations students and community education needs
The program has 3 distinct funding components:
- Partnerships: this component supports First Nations education administration and service delivery organizations to deliver activities that:
- are related to existing partnerships
- address some of their governance and administration costs
Activities can strengthen or expand their services to advance student success in First Nations, independent, provincial or territorial schools.
- Structural Readiness: this component supports targeted activities that build the capacity of First Nations education administration organizations to:
- deliver education services
- develop and implement transformative education systems and agreements that delegate responsibility for elementary and secondary education to First Nations
- Regional Education Agreement: this component supports activities such as:
- information sessions on education transformation
- technical tables
- negotiating or renegotiating education agreements supported by leadership
Who can apply
Partnerships
Applicants who may be eligible to receive funding through the Partnerships component of the program are:
- First Nations
- any First Nations organization mandated by First Nations
First Nations organizations mandated by First Nations must:
- demonstrate support from First Nations communities or schools, such as but not limited to a band council resolution, letter or email of support
- undertake, as a key function, elementary and secondary education support for groups of First Nations communities or schools
Applicants must have an existing partnership arrangement with 1 or more of the following:
- First Nations, including First Nations organizations mandated by First Nations
- school board-like entities
- provincial or territorial ministries of education
- provincial or territorial school boards
- ISC
Applicants must clearly identify their respective partners in their proposal and demonstrate that partners will work together on identified priorities.
The purchasing of services, regardless of the duration of the service agreement, does not constitute a partnership for the purposes of this program.
Structural Readiness
Applicants who may be eligible to receive funding through the Structural Readiness component of the program are:
- First Nations
- any First Nations organization mandated by First Nations
- a First Nations designated organization who will administer the Structural Readiness component on behalf of the region
First Nations organizations mandated by First Nations, or a First Nations designated organization must:
- demonstrate support from First Nations communities or schools, such as, but not limited to, a band council resolution, letter or email of support
- undertake, as a key function, elementary and secondary education support for groups of First Nations communities or schools
Eligibility to apply for Structural Readiness funding does not depend on having a partnership memorandum of understanding.
Entities such as bands or First Nations organizations that are delivering education services under a self-government agreement are not eligible to apply to the Structural Readiness component.
Regional Education Agreement
Applicants who may be eligible to receive funding through the Regional Education Agreement component of the program are:
- First Nations
- any First Nations organization mandated by First Nations
First Nations organizations mandated by First Nations must meet the following criteria:
- have demonstrated support from First Nations communities or schools, such as but not limited to, a band council resolution, letter or email of support
- individual First Nations communities or schools can only be a party to a single proposal in each component
Entities such as bands or First Nations organizations that are delivering education services under a self-government arrangement are not eligible to apply to the Regional Education Agreement component.
Deadline
The deadline to submit a proposal for the Regional Education Agreement component is October 31, 2023 at 11:59pm Eastern time, however, this may vary in some regions. Contact your regional office to find out more.
The deadline to submit a proposal for the Partnerships and the Structural Readiness components was March 31, 2023 at 11:59 pm Eastern time.
How to apply
All partnerships and structural readiness proposals must be submitted to ISC using the official 2023 to 2024 data collection instrument (DCI), which specifies the mandatory information required.
Refer to the DCI's "View Instructions" button for assistance. You can find the DCI through the ISC Services Portal or by contacting your regional office.
Both Partnerships and Structural Readiness components use the same proposal template, but each has different eligibility criteria and guidelines.
Applicants to the Partnerships and Structural Readiness components can only submit a single-year proposal.
Applicants to the Regional Education Agreement component may only submit a 1-year proposal. For more information or to submit your regional education agreement proposal, contact your regional office.
For the purpose of all call for proposal processes, the existing terms and conditions apply.
More details on the application process, eligible activities, eligible recipients and the monitoring process can be found in:
- Education Partnerships Program: Partnerships Component: National Program Guidelines 2023 to 2024
- Education Partnerships Program: Structural Readiness Component: National Program Guidelines 2023 to 2024
- Education Partnerships Program: Regional Education Agreement Component: National Program Guidelines 2023 to 2024
Other reference:
Guidelines for last year
- Education Partnerships Program: Partnerships Component: National Program Guidelines 2022 to 2023
- Education Partnerships Program: Structural Readiness Component: National Program Guidelines 2022 to 2023
- Education Partnerships Program: Regional Education Agreement Component: National Program Guidelines 2022 to 2023