Voluntary Sector Policy Dialogue - Call for Letters of Intent

GUIDE TO COMPLETING THE LETTER OF INTENT

The Letter of Intent should provide a clear picture of all the elements of your proposed project and its potential impacts. Each section below outlines the key sections or issues to be addressed in the letter and provides tips on what to include. Please be as concise as possible. Letters longer than 6 pages (excluding organizational and budget information) will not be considered.

Scope of Work

This Letter of Intent process is being undertaken under to support the design, development and delivery of bottom-up, community-based, voluntary sector policy dialogue at the local, regional and national levels through pan-Canadian networks. SDC is seeking voluntary sector views through a bottom-up, community-based dialogue at the local, regional and national levels, on three (3) key issues:

articulating a common vision for the non-profit and voluntary sector that (a) talks about its role in Canada’s social architecture; (b) positions itself vis-à-vis the roles of government and the private sector; and, (c) identifies the importance of the voluntary sector in this context;

defining the strategy(ies) for moving towards this common vision, and the potential policy implications; and,

identifying the policy priorities that could inform federal government policy directions, in order to achieve the common vision of the voluntary sector.

NB: It is important that the voluntary sector dialogue be approached from a perspective of building on existing knowledge and networks, and supporting ongoing collaboration and consensus-building within and across sub-sectors of the voluntary sector.

Eligibility Criteria

There are four mandatory criteria for this Letter of Intent. To be eligible to apply for funding, an organization must meet all four of the following criteria:

the organization must be an incorporated not-for-profit organization;

the activities of the organization must be related to social development ; (Social Development is a broad term that encompasses the activities of the Voluntary Sector / Non-profit Sector.

the organization must demonstrate that it has the capacity to deliver activities at the local, regional AND national levels in both official languages; and,

if the organization is located in the province of Quebec, it must complete the document titled M-30 Form and Supporting Documentation and return the completed form to the Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector Affairs Division.

Mandatory Components of the Letter

Notes, Ideas and Examples

Executive Summary (maximum 1 page)

Must include: Target issue(s) to be addressed

Project objectives
Key aspects of approach or methodology, activities and products or outputs
Key intended results
Principals – lead organization, partners etc.
Time frame
Budget

The executive summary should be in a narrative form which can be used by the Program to share information about project ideas.

Component 1. Target Issue Areas & Project Objectives

State the target issues and objectives of your project

Defining a common vision for the voluntary sector.
Strategies and policy implications.
Policy priorities for action.

Our intention is to make measurable progress in these target issue areas. The project objectives must indicate what kind of changes will be made through the project and who will be affected by these changes.

Be specific and realistic about what may be achieved.

Objectives address:

how the project will respond to the identified issue areas
what the project will try to achieve
what the project’s impact will be
how the project links to the objectives of the SDPP

Note that objectives are not activities.

Component 2. Added Value and Impact

State the added value and impact of your project.

You may want to describe how the project will add new knowledge, tools, approaches or partnerships, and contribute to building capacity in the non-profit and voluntary sector as a means of supporting inclusive communities. Ensure that the project focuses on one or more of the target streams.

You may also want to include a description of the changes the project hopes to achieve which expand on the project’s objectives. These could be changes in such areas as knowledge, attitudes, behavior, or skills.

Identify potential risks and challenges related to achieving the intended results, and suggested solutions.

Component 3.- Opportunities, Innovation, and Collaboration

State the innovativeness of your project and how it will build on or create new opportunities for collaboration

For example you may want to explain how the project:

will be collaborative;
will build on other work and not duplicate current or past work of the applicant or others;
will use bottom-up, community-driven approaches through partnerships and networks at the local, regional and national levels;
will build on existing knowledge and research and not duplicate current or past work of the applicant or others;
will provide lessons learned that can be shared with other communities in similar circumstances.

Component 4. Products or Outputs

State the products or outputs the project will produce.

For example, you may want to describe the proposed products or outputs of the project. Project outputs should be completed products, in a dissemination-ready format.

Component 5. Beneficiaries

Identify immediate and long-term beneficiaries of the project.

This section should include groups for which the project is designed and others who may benefit in the longer term.

Component 6. Approach or Methodology

Briefly explain the approach or methodology the project will follow and its major activities.

You may want to describe the approach which will be used to achieve the intended results of the project. Indicate why the chosen approach is the most suitable and how it will achieve the intended results in a reliable way.

Component 7. Plans for Knowledge Dissemination

Indicate how and with whom you intend to share the learnings of your project.

Knowledge dissemination includes activities which move the products, knowledge developed and lessons learned from a project beyond the project team to a range of audiences who can benefit from this material. It is more than disseminating a final report. It can include sharing of lessons learned in workshops and newsletters, development and sharing of fact sheets at events such as conferences, or posting of tools and information on a Web site.

Tips:

An effective knowledge dissemination plan has two or three clear objectives that link to the project objectives, to ensure the results of the project have a broad and long-lasting impact.

Component 8. Capacity to Complete the Project

State who will lead and partner in the project and their capacity to reach the intended results of the project.

The capacity to complete a project includes the experience and skills of team members and partners related to ensuring that the project attains its intended results.

If this is the first time you are applying to the program you may want to include:

A paragraph providing key facts about the applicant organization.
Names and contact information of project team members, if known, and partners (community, private sector, provincial/territorial governments, others).

Roles of Partners

You may want to describe:

how each partner will be involved in project activities;
how partner(s) will enhance the project, including their experience and capacity; and,
how partners will be linked together (e.g., a steering committee.)

Component 9. Budget

State the total cost of the proposed project.

Eligible and Ineligible expenses

The proposed budget must include only eligible expenses, which includes direct and indirect expenses (please see the SDPP Terms and Conditions for a more detailed list of eligible costs):

Ineligible expenses include the following:

Costs incurred in the preparation of the proposal;
Fees of any kind, including contingency fees, used to pay for third parties assisting the applicant in obtaining Government of Canada funding (i.e., lobbyists of any kind); and
Project costs incurred before an agreement is approved and signed by the Government of Canada.

Voluntary Sector Policy Dialogue - Call for Letters of Intent - October 2005

Call for Letters of Intent: Invitation to submit a Proposal

Social Development Partnerships Program

Voluntary Sector Policy Dialogue at the Local, Regional, and National Levels