Professional and Institutional Development Program: Program guidelines
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Introduction
The Professional and Institutional Development (P&ID) Program:
- seeks to develop the capacity of First Nations and Inuit communities to perform core government functions
- funds governance-related projects at the community and institutional levels
- is a proposal-based contribution program implemented through projects
The Governance Capacity Development stream of Contributions to support Indigenous governments and institutions, and to build strong governance is the authority used for P&ID Program funding.
These guidelines give information on eligible projects, eligibility, application, assessment, approval, and reporting requirements. Each region has an independent budget for funding projects part of the P&ID Program that will benefit the governance capacity of First Nations and Inuit communities in that region.
Eligible projects
Effective governance will be advanced by projects that develop governance capacity in any of the following 10 core functions of government:
- Leadership
- Membership
- Lawmaking
- Community involvement
- External relations
- Planning and risk management
- Financial management
- Human Resources management
- Information management and information technology
- Basic administration
Examples of eligible and ineligible projects
Examples of eligible projects:
- Purchase of software or hardware that will be used for the general financial administration of the First Nation
- A comprehensive review of governance, involving several or all programs; producing a short- or long-term strategic plan for a First Nation
- Training in areas such as financial management or human resources management for band managers, Chief and Council, or band office staff
Examples of ineligible projects:
- Purchase of software or hardware that is required for an individual program's administration (for example, social program software)
- A review of an individual program; producing a document for the management of that program (for example, a housing plan or land management code)
- Training for staff on software explicitly related to a program's operations (for example, training child and family services [CFS] staff on new CFS software)
- Capacity development activities already listed in a tribal council's approved work plan that are to be undertaken with funding from the Tribal Council Funding program
Eligible expenditures
Proposed expenditures are eligible for funding when they will develop the governance capacity of one or more of the functions of government.
Expenditures listed in proposals, applications or plans are only valid where they support eligible activities for the project, and when they fall under 1 or more of the following categories:
- tuition and training fees
- salaries and wages
- travel, transportation and accommodation
- telecommunications
- other communications
- office rent and overhead
- office supplies and printing
- professional services
- community information initiatives
- systems design, implementation and maintenance
- hardware and software needed to support data collection, analysis and reporting
- core administrative costs
Examples of eligible and ineligible expenditures
| Function of government | Examples of eligible expenditures | Examples of ineligible expenditures |
|---|---|---|
| Leadership | Leadership selection codes, custom election codes, orientation of Chiefs and councillors, policies on roles and responsibilities of elected or appointed leaders | Election costs, regular meetings of Chief and Council, band council resolution costs |
| Membership | Membership codes | Membership clerk salary |
| Lawmaking | Bylaw policies | Litigation costs |
| Community involvement | Community consultation codes, appeals and dispute resolution codes | Meetings on regular community business |
| External relations | Policies or codes on conducting business with other governments or the private sector | Travel costs for regular meetings with other governments |
| Planning and risk management | Training in strategic planning | Housing plans, land-use plans |
| Financial management | Financial codes, financial systems training and upgrades | Audit costs |
| Human resources management | Human resources codes, developing standardized job descriptions and salary ranges, labour relations training and policies | Recruitment costs or salaries of employees |
| Information management and information technology | Technology or software fees within the project's duration | Technology or software fees beyond the project's duration |
| Basic administration | Administrative training for office staff, administration codes | Administrative costs of other program areas |
Eligibility
Eligible beneficiaries
To be eligible for funding, proposals must directly benefit the governance capacity (in 1 or more of the 10 core functions of government) of 1 or more of the following:
- First Nations
- tribal councils
- Inuit communities
Proposals will not be approved if they aim to build the capacity of organizations that manage service-delivery grant or contribution programs, such as education authorities or child and family services agencies.
Proposals targeting the governance capacity of provincial or territorial organizations are not eligible for P&ID Program funding.
Eligible recipients
Any organization that has had an eligible plan or project proposal approved by a P&ID Program committee can receive funding.
Application
Proposals should originate from the organization that will manage the contribution funding.
Proposals linked to a capacity development plan can identify strategic capacity building plans and the articulation of multi-stage project needs.
Plans
Plans must include a governance component. Examples include:
- governance capacity development plans
- management action plans
- strategic plans
- comprehensive community plans
The department recommends recipients use a capacity development plan. A capacity development plan:
- supports the highest priorities identified by First Nations, Inuit communities and tribal councils
- reduces the need for multiple, detailed funding proposals
You may use an existing plan for the P&ID Program. It does not need to be complicated or extensive like a comprehensive community plan. The Governance Capacity Planning Tool is a useful template.
The format of the capacity development plan is the decision of each community. It should provide, at a minimum, adequate information to allow for consideration of a community's governance initiative, governance objective, governance activity costs and performance measurement.
Assessment
The assessment process ensures that all proposals are evaluated objectively by regional assessment committees against:
- these guidelines
- the terms and conditions of the program
- community needs
- risk
- availability of funds
Proposals are assessed, recommended and approved on the following criteria:
- either:
- list an applicant that is the sole beneficiary, or
- list any specific beneficiaries and demonstrate that they have given the applicant a mandate to manage the proposed activities on their behalf
- provide a description of the project objectives, activities, outputs and expected outcomes, including the criteria for measurement of success
- provide a budget outlining the activities and costs, and
- in the case of third-party delivery, such as when the applicant proposes to hire another organization to deliver some of the proposed activities, provide a description of the arrangement which indicates the respective roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of each party to the arrangement.
Notice to applicants
Non-personal information collected in your proposal, application or plan may be shared with internal partners and other government departments to increase joint community-focused capacity investments and leverage partnerships. In the event that the proposal, application, or plan contains personal information, the personal information will be administered in accordance with the Privacy Act.
Approval
Following the assessment and approval of your proposal, applicants will be notified in writing of the department's decision with details on the activities that can be funded along with any reporting requirements specific to those activities. The originator of the proposal can then enter into a funding arrangement with the department or agree to an amendment to an existing arrangement.
Limitations on approvals
Repetition and extension of projects: The P&ID Program typically does not fund identical projects year after year with the same beneficiary. Repetition of a project is allowed if the beneficiaries are different, such as when an organization repeats a training project for new beneficiaries that have not yet attended the training.
Recipients and beneficiaries should not interpret P&ID Program funding for current year's activities as a guarantee that the department will fund related activities planned for upcoming fiscal years, nor should P&ID Program funding be relied upon as a source of ongoing revenue.
Recipients under default management: Recipients in default management are encouraged to apply for P&ID Program funding for governance capacity projects that will help them complete and implement activities in their management action plan. P&ID Program funds may not be used to support the core costs of co-managers or third-party managers.
Duplication: The P&ID Program is designed to be implemented flexibly, but it is not designed to duplicate activities funded by other programs or to supplement funding in other program areas. Activities that provide training, resources, or services for a specific departmental program are not eligible for funding. Activities that impact several or all programs indirectly by building the beneficiary's governance capacity in 1 or more of the 10 functions of government would be eligible for funding.
Existing governance resources: When resources similar to a proposed project activity are available, P&ID Program funding will not cover the full costs of developing a new product without a new approved project proposal. P&ID Program funds can also fund related costs, such as planning, engaging, customizing existing products to the unique needs of the beneficiary, ratification and implementation.
Reporting
Annual report
Each recipient must prepare and submit an activities and expenditures report with any supporting documentation and deliverables identified as reporting requirements.
In many cases, projects fund the creation of a tangible product, such as codes, policies, chart of accounts, templates, frameworks, constitutions, training materials and additional plans. To ensure that deliverables are available as a shareable resource, funding arrangements contain standard text that allows the department to share these documents publicly.