Addressing Racism and Discrimination in Canada’s Health Systems Program – Applicant guide

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Purpose of the applicant guide

The Addressing Racism and Discrimination in Canada's Health Systems Program (program) applicant guide provides information that:

Section 1: 2022 call for proposals

Program overview

The program was established to foster health systems free from racism and discrimination. Further, the program advances Health Canada's overall mandate to help everyone in Canada maintain and improve their health by striving to ensure high quality health services are efficient and accessible and by reducing health inequities.

Program objectives

The objectives of the program are to address systemic racism and discrimination and advance health equity for racialized and marginalized populations in Canada's health systems, resulting in:

Expected outcomes

All projects funded under the program must contribute to and align with the program's stated outcomes:

Priority areas

The 2022 call for proposals is accepting applications for the project stream only and projects must address anti-Indigenous racism and/or discrimination in Canada's health systems.

Priority funding areas

Priority will be given to projects that address anti-Indigenous racism and/or discrimination, specifically projects that aim to:

Refer to the glossary for descriptions of these key terms.

Priority applicants

Priority will be given to applications from Indigenous health system partners (organizations, associations, education/training institutions).

Eligibility

Health Canada is responsible for determining the eligibility of each applicant, its project and project-related expenses.

Who can apply

The following are eligible to apply for funding through the program:

Health Canada welcomes proposals from non-Indigenous but note that you must partner with an Indigenous community or organization and be able to demonstrate that the partnership will continue throughout the development, implementation and monitoring of the project. Letters of support are required from all partners.

You must also demonstrate that your organization has made a commitment to addressing systemic racism and discrimination, takes diversity and inclusion into consideration in their recruitment and retention practices, and has the expertise needed to successfully carryout the project.

Eligible organizations may submit only 1 application for funding in this call for proposals.

Ineligible applicants

Ineligible applicants are those excluded from the categories above, namely individuals and for-profit organizations.

Eligible activities

The following project activities are eligible for funding, in alignment with the priorities outlined above:

Expenditures

Eligible expenses

Funding must be used only for expenditures that are directly related to the activities identified in the funding agreement with Health Canada.

Eligible expenditures may include:

Ineligible expenditures

Please note that costs incurred in the preparation and/or submission of an application are not eligible for funding.

Limits of government assistance

To ensure the success of your proposed project, we encourage you to have other funding sources. This may include contributions from your organization, the private sector or other levels of government.

Total government assistance cannot exceed 100% of total eligible project-related expenses. Total government assistance includes all levels of government funding (federal, provincial and municipal).

Funding and duration

Funding amounts

The total funding available is $13 million.

The total requested funding for each project must be between a minimum of $100,000 and up to a maximum of $1 million.

Further distribution of funding

Recipients may further distribute to entities to conduct approved activities. Recipients will have full independence and responsibility in the selection of these entities. The recipient remains responsible for all funding, activities and reporting.

Duration

Projects can be of varied duration. Projects should aim to begin no earlier than April 1, 2022, and may only begin upon formal notification by Health Canada and must be completed by March 31, 2024.

The fiscal year for the Government of Canada runs from April 1 of 1 year until March 31 of the following year.

Evaluation criteria

To obtain funding, the project must have clear objectives and measurable results. Funding decisions are based on the number and quality of applications received. Applications will be evaluated based on the criteria below. It will be compared with other applications received and prioritized in relation to the funds available.

Failure to comply with any conditions of a previously Government of Canada-funded project will be considered in the evaluation of your new application and could result in the rejection of your new application.

Assessment criteria

Health Canada will use due diligence to assess the proposals for funding. The assessment of each application will examine, at a minimum:

The following outlines how the various sections of the application form will be weighted:

Funding decisions

Health Canada is under no obligation to enter into a funding agreement as a result of any invitation to submit an application.

It is important to note that funding is not guaranteed and Health Canada reserves the right to not fund an application, even if the proposed project is eligible. Health Canada reserves the right to:

Approved projects will be funded through a non-repayable contribution.

Funding decisions will take into account regional distribution, distinctions-based considerations, recipient representation, and official minority language communities.

It is possible that the approved project may receive less than the amount requested. It is also possible that the project may be approved, but with a narrower scope of activities.

Funding decisions will be communicated via e-mail to the contact person identified in the application form.

Section 2: Completing the application form

You must fully complete the application form and all required appendices (such as letters of support). Incomplete applications may not be considered for further review. The section and subsection numbers correspond to the section and subsection numbers in the application form.

The application form is intended to be completed and submitted using a computer and e-mail attachments. Please do not print it, fill it in and send it by other means. Each completed application must be digitally signed and electronically submitted in PDF format to Health Canada via ard.ard@hc-sc.gc.ca. Any other required documentation must also be submitted with the application as e-mail attachments. Should you require an accommodation, please reach out to the program (ard.ard@hc-sc.gc.ca) as soon as possible so that we can assist you.

The response fields on the application form are limited by the number of characters allowed in each field. Any information provided that exceeds the character limits won't be received.

Mandatory fields are marked with an asterisks. Fields that are not completed will result in an error message when you attempt to submit by pressing the Submit button.

Eligible organizations may submit only 1 application for funding in this call for proposals.

Privacy notice

The personal information you provide to Health Canada will be used by the program under the authority of section 4 of the Department of Health Act and handled in accordance with the Privacy Act.

For more information: The collection of your personal information is described in Info Source. Refer to Class of Records – Health System Priorities Record Number: HC CHS 005.

1. Proposal and applicant information

1.1 Proposal information

In this section, you will provide the basic information for your project including the title, the duration and the amount of funding being requested from Health Canada.

1.2 Applicant information

In this section, you will provide information on the organization that is applying, including the organization's legal name and its address, the name and title of the person with legal authority to enter into a funding agreement with Health Canada, as well as information on the legal status of the organization. If you are submitting a project proposal from a network, provide the information for the lead organization. Information on partner organizations can be provided in the section on collaborations and partnerships

Indicate the scope and focus of your organization's mandate and activities:

Please also provide information on the incorporation/registration as a non-profit organization. You will be required to provide documentation that confirms this information when you submit (refer to the section on submission of information). Documents can include:

If your proof of eligibility is available online rather than through documentation, you can instead include the relevant web link(s) in the application form.

All applicants, including organizations currently receiving funding from Health Canada, must provide a proof of eligibility.

1.3 Contact information

In this section, you will provide information on the name and title of the person who is to be the regular contact for the application. This person may or may not be different from the person who has legal authority to act on behalf of the applicant organization. If the person is the same as the person who has legal signing authority, you do not need to complete.

E-mail correspondence will be used to communicate with you regarding this application process, including sending you the acknowledgement of receipt of your application and the final decision for funding.

2. Organizational capacity

2.1 History and experience

In this section, you will provide information about your organization's capacity, to help reviewers determine if the organization is able to effectively deliver the project and to achieve the planned results.

Provide a brief history and background information on your organization, including its mandate and main activities. This section should not exceed 1,000 characters.

Explain how your organization is able to carry out the project. Include examples of how and when your organization has had experience in performing activities similar to what is being proposed. This information will be used by the reviewers to determine if your organization has the financial and administrative capacity to meet the financial and administrative obligations for managing the project, including ability to provide direction and oversight. This section should not exceed 2,000 characters.

Describe the expertise and experience of the key people involved in the project, including how you will include the perspectives of Indigenous Peoples with lived and living experiences of racism and/or discrimination within the health systems. Demonstrate that the employees involved in and/or those who will be hired or contracted for the project have the expertise and experience needed to work on this project. This section should include the expertise and experience of any partner organizations. This section should not exceed 2,000 characters.

Indicate whether your organization can make an audit or financial statements available to Health Canada, if requested.

Note: It is important that any applicant corporation remain in good standing under the laws under which it was incorporated. The Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act is the law that governs the internal affairs of federal not-for-profit corporations. When it came into force on October 17, 2011, it replaced the Canada Corporations Act Part II that previously governed federal not-for-profit corporations.

Organizations incorporated under the previous Canada Corporations Act Part II were required to transition to the new Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Actbefore October 17, 2014, to avoid dissolution.

2.2 History of federal funding

This section requests information about past and present sources of federal funding your organization has received from the federal government. Provide the name of the federal department or agency who provided the funding, the title of the project, the total amount of funding received and the years the project was funded.

Also, indicate whether your organization owes money to the federal government (the Crown). If yes, please provide an explanation, including repayment plans.

2.3 Commitment to addressing systemic racism and discrimination

Your organization must demonstrate a commitment to addressing systemic racism and discrimination within their organization, community, network and profession that was in place before the planning of this project.

Indicate whether your organization has made a public commitment (for example, news release, mandate, guiding principles, board of directors record of decision) to address systemic racism and/or discrimination and/or to address barriers to safe and equitable access. Be sure to include details with regards to the commitment and a link (or attach documentation).

If there is no formal commitment, please provide an explanation for why not and what efforts have been made to date to address systemic racism, discrimination and/or barriers to safe and equitable access to health services.

This section should not exceed 1,000 characters.

3. Proposal details

3.1. Project description

In this section, you will provide a summary of the project. You should include enough information to provide the reviewers with a clear understanding of your project and its planned outcomes. Further details are requested in the Work Plan section.

This section should not exceed 4,000 characters.

3.2 Objective(s) and expected outcome(s)

In this section, explain how your project aligns with the objectives of the program and how your project will achieve and/or advance the program's expected outcomes.

This section should not exceed 2,000 characters.

3.3 Priority funding areas and applicants

The priority areas for funding and priority applicants are outlined in section 1.

If your project aligns with a priority funding area and/or is being submitted by a priority applicant, describe how your proposals aligns with these priorities.

If your project does not align with these priorities, your application will still be considered for funding. However, it may be considered after proposals that align with the priority areas.

This section should not exceed 2,000 characters.

3.4 Scope and target groups

In this section, define the scope of your project, including its boundaries and the intended reach or impact of the outcomes. Provide details on the geographic location(s) (municipality, region or province) and the setting(s) (for example, hospital, university, community) where the activities will take place. This section should not exceed 1,000 characters.

Describe the target groups/populations that you expect to directly benefit from the project. For each target group, specify if there is a focus on specific sub-populations. Also indicate the number of individuals, or a range, that will be directly benefiting from and/or impacted by the activities of the project (for example, 100 health professionals). This information will help identify the reach of the project

Provide any further details to describe the intended target group or other beneficiaries. This should also include how these populations will be included in the project. This section should not exceed 1,000 characters.

3.5 Project activities

In this section, describe the key activities you will undertake in order to meet the project's objectives and expected outcomes/results. Indicate the specific outputs of these activities (for example, clients served, products developed, audience reached). A summary that briefly captures all of these elements will help the reviewers easily understand what your project is about.

The supported activity(ies) are outlined in section 1.

This section should not exceed 3,000 characters.

Additional details are requested in the work plan.

3.6 Evidence-base for approach

Demonstrating a clear and evidence-based rationale for your project is very important. In this section, describe the problem you are proposing to address, why the issue is important, how the project will address the problem, and provide evidence to support these statements. You will also need to include information that demonstrates why the approach you have identified was chosen or why an innovative approach was selected.

Indicate how your project complements, aligns with, addresses gaps in, or builds on similar projects in other jurisdictions or at other levels (for example, international, provincial or community level). If you are proposing to take an innovative approach, provide a rationale and justification for the innovative approach.

The inclusion of Indigenous Peoples with lived and living experiences of racism and/or discrimination within the health systems in the design, implementation and monitoring of the project is encouraged to enable opportunities to share their voices and influence change.

This section should not exceed 4,000 characters.

3.7 Local and Indigenous Knowledge

Effective solutions require an understanding of local and cultural knowledge systems practiced by and within communities.

Demonstrate how your project takes local and Indigenous Knowledge into consideration, including how engagements with and inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and Elders will be undertaken throughout the project lifecycle, if applicable.

This section should not exceed 2,000 characters.

3.8 Official languages requirements

As per federal government policy, the program takes measures to ensure that the recipients of public funds respect the spirit and the intent of the Official Languages Act when serving the public, including fostering the full recognition and use of both official languages in Canadian society.

Projects must be accessible in 1 or both official languages depending on the reach and audience. Provide a statement indicating how the project will or will not target both linguistic communities. For example:

This section should not exceed 500 characters.

In your project budget, be sure to include any related costs (for example, simultaneous interpretation, translation).

For additional information, please refer to the Official Languages Act.

3.9 Sustainability

Health Canada funding is time-limited. In this section, describe how you will ensure that the needs being addressed by your project (for example, training being implemented, services being provided, employees that were hired, clients being supported) will continue after the end of the funding period. Be sure to note any anticipated enablers or barriers related to your project's sustainability. If you anticipate that your project's activities will not continue once the funding period ends, explain what steps you will take to ensure a smooth project wind-down and next steps, if any.

Identify which partners are needed for your sustainability plan to be successful and the role they will play, if applicable.

This section should not exceed 1,000 characters.

4. Collaborations and partnerships

Projects must always be community-supported. This means that your project must address a need that the community it is intended to serve has identified as an issue to be addressed or that the community has acknowledged their support for.

Community involvement in the project must also be demonstrated, where appropriate. 'Community' can be defined as location-based (for example, cities, towns, neighbourhoods, regions) and/or identity-based (for example, racialized populations, gender groups or identities, age groups, professional groups).

4.1 Partnerships

For the purpose of this call for proposals, partnerships are defined as a working relationship for the entirety of the project, from design through implementation and monitoring/evaluation.

Note: Non-Indigenous organizations are eligible to apply for funding but are required to partner with an Indigenous community or organization and demonstrate the partnership throughout the entire project, including the development/design, implementation, and monitoring/evaluation phases of the project.

Using the table in the application form, list the partners involved in the project and describe their roles and responsibilities. This should include how they will be involved/contribute to in each phase of the project.

The descriptions should not exceed 500 characters each.

Letters of support from project partners are required. Letters must demonstrate support for the project and outline how they will be involved throughout the entirety of the project, including development, implementation and monitoring/evaluation phases.

Be sure to attach any letters of support in the email submission of the application form.

4.2 Collaborators

For the purposes of this call for proposals, collaborators are defined as a working relationship for 1 or more components of the project (for example, idea development, collaboration to circulate products).

Projects must always be undertaken in collaboration with the community(ies) the work was intended to support and meaningfully engage the community(ies) in all aspects of the project. Letters of support from the community, if not the applicant or addressed through project partnerships, are required.

Letters from other collaborators needed to achieve the project's objectives are highly recommended. Letters should demonstrate support for the project and outline the roles and responsibilities of the collaborating community and/or organization.

Using the table in the application form, list the collaborations involved in the project and describe their roles and responsibilities. This should include which phases of the project they will be involved in and how they will be involved (for instance, how these relationships will help to achieve and sustain the project results).

The descriptions should not exceed 500 characters each.

Be sure to attach any letters of support in the email submission of the application form.

4.3 Other sources of funding

Your organization may be receiving other sources of confirmed or anticipated funding that will help you deliver this project (for instance, other funding received from provincial/territorial or municipal governments). If this is the case, please include this information in the chart provided. Be sure to include both in-kind and cash amounts in the chart.

In-kind funding are items and/or services received at no cost (for instance, by donation) for which you might otherwise have had to pay. In-kind items and/or services cab be provided by your organization or other organizations, for which no exchange of money takes place. If your project is approved for funding, you will need to include a breakdown of in-kind contributions in the detailed budget of your funding agreement.

Examples of in-kind contributions include donated equipment, materials and supplies, expertise and staff time, or services and facilities. These contributions are necessary to implement a project and would need to be purchased if not being provided by other sources. The value or cost of in-kind contributions varies depending on the type of good/service provided.

Additional space is provided should you need to list additional sources or provide further explanations. This section should not exceed 500 characters.

5. Performance measurement

5.1 Project outcomes

Describe what the project is expected to achieve and how the results of the project will contribute to addressing systemic racism and/or discrimination in Canada's health systems.

This section should not exceed 2,000 characters.

The COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures (for example, stay-at-home orders, physical distancing guidelines, indoor/outdoor gathering limits) could impact the development, implementation and/or evaluation of a project. If your project could be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, please outline any mitigation strategies that will be or could be put in place to ensure the project can be completed as planned and reduce potential challenges.

This section should not exceed 500 characters.

5.2 Measurement and evaluation

All projects funded under the program must contribute to and align with the program's outcomes and indicators outlined below.

Outcomes

Indicators

Immediate

Health system partners have increased capacity to create culturally safe and inclusive health services for racialized and marginalized communities

# of health system partners who report having access to information to create safe, culturally appropriate and inclusive health services

Intermediate

Health system partners apply knowledge to create culturally safe and inclusive health services for racialized and marginalized communities

# of health system partners who report applying knowledge to create culturally safe and inclusive health services for racialized and marginalized communities

Ultimate

Health system partners provide inclusive and culturally safe services to racialized and marginalized populations

Partners and stakeholders report improved perceptions of competency of health system partners to provide inclusive and culturally safe health services

Describe what types of methodology you will use to measure the project's performance. How will you measure your delivery approaches (for example, participant assessments, training checklists, performance metrics, patient experience surveys)? At what frequency? In addition, please include information on potential challenges to performance measurement and how these challenges will be mitigated.

The ongoing collection of progress and performance information for the project activities helps to determine the extent to which the project was successful at achieving its desired outcomes and to learn from the results. It also helps Health Canada to understand lessons learned, best practices and how to advance improvements in the health systems across Canada.

In your application, it will be important that you include and explain performance measurement activities and costing in the sections on work plan and budget.

Note: Successful applicants will be required to develop a performance measurement plan within three months of signing their contribution agreements. Health Canada will be available to provide information and guidance during this process. Annual performance reporting against indicators, targets and baselines in the approved performance measurement plan will be required. There will also be an end-of-project final report.

This section should not exceed 4,000 characters.

Describe the evaluation plan for the project and its activities, including when the evaluation will occur, which factors will be considered and who will undertake the evaluation.

This section should not exceed 1,000 characters.

5.3 Knowledge mobilization

Knowledge mobilization is the sharing of research, information, and lessons learned with others to raise awareness, increase uptake and/or put learnings into active use. Projects should include activities designed to share information, such as stakeholder engagements, community town halls and academic conferences.

In your application, clearly demonstrate how you will share the knowledge and learnings from your project with others and provide enough information for reviewers to understand your approach, including:

In your application, it will be important that you include and explain your knowledge mobilization activities and costing in the sections on the work plan and budget.

This section should not exceed 2,000 characters.

6. Sex- and gender-based analysis plus

6.1 Sex- and gender-based analysis plus (SGBA+)

The Government of Canada is committed to gender-based analysis plus (GBA+), an analytical process that provides a rigorous method for the assessment of systemic inequalities, as well as a means to assess how diverse groups of people may experience policies, programs and projects. Health Canada uses the term sex- and gender-based analysis plus (SGBA+).

By applying SGBA+, the different impacts on diverse populations can be better understood, in order to improve equity.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to take the course for more information. The course should take approximately 2 hours to complete. It will provide more information on how to define key concepts of GBA+ and recognize how various identity factors can influence the experience of initiatives.

Provide a description of how your project's activities take into account sex, gender, and other diverse and intersecting identity factors, such as ethnicity, age, race, sexual orientation, ability, income and education from design through to project completion. Be sure to demonstrate how your approach will address intersectionality, where applicable.

All applications will be assessed against a continuum of SGBA+ considerations, this includes disaggregated data collection, where feasible.

This section should not exceed 2,000 characters.

7. Work plan

The project's work plan provides the information that Health Canada needs to assess the merit and potential impact of the project. In this section, provide a description for each of the project's activities, including sub-activities, timelines and expected outputs.

Here is some additional information to complete the work plan template.

7. 1 Activities

Describe the key activities you will undertake to meet the objective(s) of your project (refer to section 2 on proposal details). This section should not exceed 100 characters each.

7.2 Timelines

Approximately when will activities start and end.

7.3 Expected outputs

Describe the specific outputs/results of these activities (for example, clients served, products developed, audience reached). A summary that briefly captures all of these elements will help the reviews more easily understand what your project is aiming to achieve. Be sure to identify the tangible products/resources that will be developed as a result of the activities and sub-activities as well. This section should not exceed 400 characters each.

8. Budget and narrative

In this section, complete the budget and the narrative of expenditures for your project. The budget expenditure categories are prepopulated. The narrative section allows you to provide more details on your project to help the reviewers.

This section should not exceed 400 characters.

It should be noted that the federal government fiscal year begins April 1 and ends on March 31. Funding must only be used for expenditures that are directly related to the activities of the project. Expenses that are incurred prior to project approval, ongoing operational expenses of your organization not related to approved project activities, unspecified miscellaneous costs and capital expenditures are not eligible expenditures.

Allowable expenses include any Goods and Services Tax amount paid as long as a rebate of that amount is not claimed for tax purposes. For more information, consult the Canada Revenue Agency website.

Important notes:

All proposed expenses must be directly related to the project. Clearly indicate the expenses for performance measurement and knowledge mobilization in the budget table in the application form.

Health Canada may request supporting documentation for project expenses identified in the application.

All travel expenses are closely scrutinized and must be accompanied by a solid rationale. Provide details about why it is essential for in-person meetings to be held rather than tele- or virtual conferences. Explain how the proposed travel and meeting participants are related specifically to the project and are not part of the ongoing operations of the organization.

The following websites provide the requirements for calculating costs related to payroll and benefits, accommodation, travel, meals and incidentals (per diem rates) and hospitality:

Project expenditures may not be incurred or reimbursed prior to Health Canada's approval of expenditure initiation, in accordance with Health Canada's Delegation of Financial Signing Authorities.

9. Declarations

Health Canada is seeking proactive consent to share your application and related documents with other federal departments and agencies to explore other possibilities for funding.

The response will not affect your application's consideration for funding from Health Canada. It would allow us to share your application with partner departments for further consideration, should we not be in a position to fund your proposal. If you do not want to provide your consent to share your application with other federal governments/agencies, there are no consequences.

This section of the application also seeks to identify any actual or potential areas of conflict of interest.

The project title and total funding amounts are requested again to clearly demonstrate that the authorized signature is associated with the appropriate project and funding amount.

Submission of the application

The application form and required attachments must be submitted no later than 23:59 Pacific Time, on May 25, 2022, to be considered eligible. Be sure to include any required documentation as attachments to the email (for example, proof of eligibility from section 1.2, statement on systemic racism from section 2.3, letters of support from section 4).

Health Canada accepts digital signatures. These are defined as an electronic certification of authority that ensures the approved document cannot be changed without detection and authenticates the signer using password-protected certification. Software such as DocuSign, Entrust, Proof, Adobe and Foxit enable digital signatures. Photos of signatures that are copied into the application form or other 'typed signature' will not be accepted.

Be sure that the application is digitally signed and dated by the appropriate representative of the organization who has the legal authority to sign. Submit it electronically in PDF format to Health Canada by email: ard.ard@hc-sc.gc.ca.

Receipt of applications will be acknowledged by email within 2 business days.

Funding decisions will be communicated by email.

Contact us

A pre-recorded video information session is available in English and French, with transcripts, upon request. The information session provides additional background on the program and outlines the 2022 call for proposals, including details and tips on the funding priorities and completing the application.

Requests for the information session video or any other inquiries relating to the 2022 call for proposals can be submitted by email to ard.ard@hc-sc.gc.ca.

For those who cannot access the website, you may call Health Canada's general enquiries toll free line at 1-866-225-0709.

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