Summary of the Evaluation of the Canada Periodical Fund 2015-16 to 2019-20
Evaluation Services Directorate
January 9, 2022
On this page
List of tables
- Table 1: number of titles and projects funded per CPF component
- Table 2: number of funded titles from target groups from 2015-16 to 2019-20
Alternate format
Summary of the Evaluation of the Canada Periodical Fund 2015-16 to 2019-20 [PDF version - 2 MB]
List of acronyms and abbreviations
- ATP
- Aid to Publishers
- BI
- Business Innovation
- CI
- Collective Initiatives
- CPF
- Canada Periodical Fund
- LGBTQ2S
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Two-Spirit
- OLMC
- Official Language Minority Communities
Overview
The Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) provides financial assistance to Canadian print magazines, print community newspapers and digital periodicals, to enable them to overcome market disadvantages and continue to provide Canadian readers with the content they choose to read.
CPF provides funding and other supports through three program components:
- Aid to Publishers (ATP) to support publishing activities, such as distribution, content creation, online activities and business development
- Business Innovation (BI) to support business development and innovation projects of Canadian print and digital magazines
- Collective Initiatives (CI) to increase the overall sustainability of the Canadian paid print and digital magazines and community newspaper industries
Evaluation Findings
Relevance
CPF provides critical financial support to the periodical industry in Canada.
Modernization of the CPF is underway to:
- Better align with the new industry realities
- Prioritize the production of quality Canadian editorial and journalistic content, regardless of platform
- Improve access to content for audiences living in remote areas
- Enhance the efficiency of the funding allocation process
Through a stable funding of approximately $75M per year, the program addressed important needs and challenges that include:
- Decreases in advertising revenue
- Difficulty for magazine publishers to maintain both print and digital operations
- Challenges in monetizing digital content
- Increased competition with other industries and new competitors
Design and delivery
CPF benefited from well-established program delivery structure.
Its robust performance measurement strategy provided detailed information on program reach.
However,
- an online application process was still waiting implementation, and
- the application intake cycle created administrative resource challenges.
Program effectiveness
Over the 5-year period, CPF funded 3,741 titles and 464 projects.
Year | Aid to publishers | Business Innovation | Collective Initiatives |
---|---|---|---|
2015-16 | 788 | 51 | 14 |
2016-17 | 747 | 66 | 19 |
2017-18 | 749 | 96 | 21 |
2018-19 | 728 | 96 | 17 |
2019-20 | 729 | 69 | 15 |
ATP was successful in providing meaningful support to a number of magazines and community newspapers.
BI and CI provided complementary support, including an increasing level of participation from digital periodicals.
In 2019-20, ATP funded periodicals were published in:
- 67% English
- 20% French
- 10% Other languages
- 3% English and French (bilingual)
Special measures to improve ATP access are in place for periodicals that target Official Language Minority Communities (OLMC), Indigenous. Ethnocultural and LGBTQ2S readers.
Year | Ethnocultural | OLMC | Indigenous | LGBTQ2S |
---|---|---|---|---|
2015-16 | 52 | 29 | 14 | 1 |
2016-17 | 44 | 29 | 16 | 1 |
2017-18 | 53 | 31 | 17 | 1 |
2018-19 | 56 | 24 | 16 | 1 |
2019-20 | 73 | 22 | 17 | 1 |
Recommendations
The evaluation recommends that the Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs Sector:
- Explore options and implement new approaches within the BI component to maximize the opportunities for recipients to innovate in changing market conditions.
- Undertake the completion of a gender-based analysis to further ensure the CPF program is aligned with the emerging needs and preferences of diverse groups.
©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2022
Catalogue Number: CH7-25/2-2022E-PDF
ISBN: 978-0-660-42304-3
Report a problem or mistake on this page
- Date modified: