Child Care Pilot Project

Application Instructions

Request for Proposals from Minority Francophone Communities Background Benefits for Communities Guiding Principles for the Pilot Project Enriched Child Care Services Scope of the Pilot Project Responsibilities of Project Manager Responsibilities of the Communities Criteria Application Instructions Evaluation Process Annex A - Evaluation Criteria for the Letter of Intent Annex B - Template for the Letter of Intent Annex C - Organization Chart for a Community

There are two steps to be followed in applying to participate in the pilot project: i) submission of a letter of intent; and ii) submission of a proposal by those communities that meet certain mandatory criteria (see Annex A). SDC will review letters of intent to determine if communities meet the mandatory criteria, will notify applicant organizations that their communities qualify and request that they submit a full proposal, and will provide qualifying applicant organizations with the criteria that will be used to evaluate their proposals.

Step 1 – Letter of intent (no more than 15 pages)

A template for a letter of intent is included in Annex B. The applicant organization’s letter of intent should be based on this template.

In its letter of intent the applicant organization must:

• indicate its understanding of the pilot project;
  
  
• provide the reasons why the community wishes to take part in it;
  
  
• outline the community’s strategy for encouraging and supporting all players (e.g., participation of parents and children throughout the pilot project, whether in the program or control group, or in surveys);
  
  
• outline the community’s strategy for identifying all Francophone children in the community who are eligible to participate in the pilot project (e.g., the children who speak English but who have one parent ayant droit);
  
  
• identify the strengths of, and challenges for, the community, and outline the community’s strategy for successfully participating in the pilot project; and
  
  
• identify the longer-term benefits from participating in the pilot project (e.g., knowledge on the effects of the enriched services, new partners and networks) and how information generated and experience acquired will be used (e.g., promotion of child care services in French).
  
  

Furthermore, with its letter of intent, the application organization must provide the following information:

• its name (including any abbreviations); mailing address and postal code; telephone number (including area code); facsimile number (including area code); e-mail address; Internet site; name, title and coordinates (including e-mail address) of the contact person for the application; mailing address of contact person (if different); business number and corporation number;
  
  
• a description of its mandate, aim and objectives;
  
  
• proof of its status as a not-for-profit organization, such as letters patent or a charter;
  
  
• a description of the community: its socio-economic character, its rural or urban character, the characteristics of its population (number and proportion of Francophones), etc. The applicant organization can use different sources of information to describe its community, notably the statistical data by community that are available on the internet site of Statistics Canada ;
  
  
• a map showing the territory of the proposed community;
  
  
• a description of the three-year-old Francophone children in the community: an estimate of their number and their linguistic profile (mother tongue, language spoken at home, etc.);
  
  
• a description of the association of community partners in early childhood development: number of years the association has been in existence, its stability over time, and a description of the groups that comprise it;
  
  
• identification of a champion and description of his/her role in the community: his/her name, number of years of involvement in the community, relationship between the champion and the community; and
  
  
• identification of a not-for-profit child care centre(s) that is willing to participate, and to provide the necessary personnel and resources: a letter of support from the not-for-profit child care centre(s) that is interested in, and that has the necessary personnel and resources for, participating for the duration of the pilot project.
  
  

Step 2 – Proposal

Applicant organizations whose community qualifies will submit a full proposal to SDC for evaluation as part of the second step of the application process (some of the required information is also required in the letter of intent; the applicant organization will need to repeat the information to ensure that all of the required elements have been provided, but it can add further information if it so wishes). Applicant organizations that do not submit a proposal will have their applications rejected.

Applicant organizations will need to provide the following documentation.

• To show that it is a not-for-profit organization that conducts activities in the field of early childhood development for minority Francophones, the applicant organization will need to ensure its proposal includes proof of its status as a not-for-profit organization, such as letters patent or a charter, along with proof of its organization’s mandate, such as a copy of its official mission statement.
  
  
• To show that its community is a local community, the applicant organization will need to include in its proposal a map indicating the perimeter surrounding the community proposed for the purposes of the pilot project.
  
  
• To show that there are potential candidates for filling the position of community coordinator, the applicant organization must include in its proposal documents attesting to the fact that the candidates for the position of community coordinator are experienced, such as the name of the person or persons being considered as candidates, a description of their skills and qualifications, and the likelihood that these individuals would accept the position of community coordinator for the pilot project.
  
  
• To demonstrate the existence of an association of community partners in early childhood development in the proposed community, the applicant organization will need to include in its proposal a list of the organizations represented in the association, other documents attesting to its social role (e.g., mission statement, recent minutes, documentation proving the existence of previous projects), and a letter of support from the association describing its achievements and recent projects.
  
  
• To establish the existence of a champion, the applicant organization must include in its proposal the name of the champion, documentation attesting to the champion’s leadership role, and a letter from the champion attesting to his or her support for the community’s application under the pilot project.
  
  
• To show that there is a minimum of 40 three-year-old Francophone children in the proposed community, the applicant organization will need to ensure that its proposal includes documents that reflect its estimation of the number of children.
  
  
• To show that the community has the infrastructure, materials and personnel needed to ensure the delivery of the enriched child care services throughout the pilot project, and that these resources comply with provincial regulations, the applicant organization must include in its proposal documents attesting to the existence of infrastructure for the entire duration of the pilot project (e.g., lease or letter attesting to the use of space); the existence of materials, with a list of furnishings already in place or in the process of being purchased; and the existence and availability of personnel (e.g., child care providers), with a list of the names of the individuals and a description of their qualifications, skills and experience. The applicant organization will also need to include in its proposal a letter of support from each not-for-profit child care centre taking part in the pilot project attesting to their willingness to participate and to their ability to provide the necessary resources, along with a description of the resources they will provide.
  
  

In addition to the required documentation, the applicant organization will need to provide the following information:

1. A description, in written form, of the community and its key partners, including:
   
   
   • a description of the applicant organization: its mandate, aim and objectives; its experience with government projects and/or similar projects associated with early childhood development, its leadership role within the community; and its relationship with the key partners;
     
     
   • a description of the local community: a map describing the territory; information (e.g., community newspaper, publicity concerning cultural activities or events) that demonstrates the ways in which the ties that bind the residents transcend mere geographical boundaries (sense of belonging, cultural identity); and a statement describing the nature of the community (e.g., a community within a larger community, a group of communities);
     
     
   • a description of the community: socioeconomic character, rural versus urban character, population characteristics (e.g., number and percentage of Francophones);
     
     
   • a description of the champion: the number of years of experience or involvement in the community; the role that the champion has played in projects relating to early childhood development; examples of the champion’s recent successes;
     
     
   • a description of the association of community partners in early childhood development: the number of years the association has existed and its stability over time, a description of the groups of which it is comprised, the type of projects in which the association has participated, examples of the association’s recent successes;
     
     
   • a description of the associated child care centres: number of years in existence, reasons they wish to participate in the pilot project, number and age of children they accept, services offered (e.g., full time or part time, language of service);
     
     
   • a description of the community coordinators: the qualifications and skills of the potential candidates; the interest and availability of each candidate; the relationship between the potential coordinators and the community; and the role they have played in other community projects;
     
     
   • a description of the children of the community in terms of socioeconomic diversity, language spoken in the home, attendance at French-language schools, participation in child care services, and information relating to their readiness to learn; and
     
     
   • a description of the strengths (e.g., qualified personnel) and challenges (e.g., need for material resources) of the community and/or key partners in terms of carrying out the pilot project successfully, and the measures planned to overcome these challenges.
     
     
2. The applicant organization may add any other information that it deems relevant concerning the community and the key partners.
   
   
3. The applicant organization must show, in a written document, how the community is prepared to participate in the pilot project and what benefits it will derive from it.