CANADIAN AGRICULTURAL RURAL COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Information Required

All applications for financial assistance shall provide the following information:

• Name of the applicant, address, legal status, Canada Customs and Revenue Agency GST or Business Number, contacts, experience associated with the proposed project.

• Detailed description of the proposed activity to be undertaken.

• Description of who will benefit from the project and what the benefits are expected to be.

• How the proposed activities relate to CARCI's objective.

• Description of how and to what extent the project addresses issues in the community and what involvement the community has in the project.

• Description of the linkages with agriculture.

• Description of the change(s) in the agriculture sector that your project addresses and how the project assists the community in reacting to the change(s).

• The workplan for undertaking the project, including the schedule for submission of project and financial reports;

• The budget for the project, including funding arrangements by the various parties associated with the project, and time frames for the use of funds. A detailed breakdown of total project expenditures should be provided indicating which items CARCI funds will be used for and which costs or services will be funded by the applicant and partners. All funding sources (cash and in-kind), including federal and provincial departments and agencies, municipal governments and private sector sources must be clearly identified. (Note: You may not receive funding from more than one Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada source including Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development (CARD) programs or projects.)

• Provision for performance reporting, i.e. reporting on the results of project activities, outcomes and impacts, performance indicators, methodology, tools, etc.

• Provision for audit and evaluation.

• Where applicable, ownership of the intellectual property by the Crown.

• Identification of the involvement of former public servants who are under the Post-Employment Guidelines.

• Dissemination Plan describing how the information and results of the project will be shared with other communities or organizations.

• Confirmation of funding partners.

This information should be part of all project proposals from the applicants and will be incorporated into the approved activities, and expected outputs and outcomes in contribution agreements.

Applicant Obligations

• Recipients are required to carry out project activities according to established federal practices, recommendations, standards and specifications.

• All project activities must meet federal and/or provincial environmental assessment requirements prior to approval.

• Recipients receiving contributions must agree to provide access to AAFC personnel and authorized persons, agencies, or groups for inspection, evaluation, demonstration, audit and public information purposes.

• Recipients must have the capability to conduct the proposed project activities and must demonstrate that they have, or will have, adequate financial resources to discharge their obligations under the contribution agreement.

All of the above information is covered in the contribution agreement which the recipient must sign.

Eligible Expenses

Eligible costs incurred in carrying out approved eligible activities include:

• costs incurred after the project approval date;

• costs for consultants and/or contracted goods and services;

• costs for incremental materials and supplies (costs over and above the ongoing business of the organization (core activities) and which are directly related to the project) , including the non-refundable portion of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), if any, paid by the proponents;

• costs for incremental labour or incremental salaried services, costs over and above the ongoing business of the organization (core activities) and which are directly related to the project and related employment costs;

• costs for rental or lease of facilities, equipment or machinery (the purchase of specialized items necessary for the execution of projects may be eligible with prior authorization of the Executive Director, Rural Secretariat, AAFC);

• administrative and other costs such as planning and consultation, performance reporting, accounting, auditing and evaluation, travel (in accordance with the Treasury Board Travel Directive), maintenance expenses; and

• any other costs having the specific approval of the Executive Director, Rural Secretariat, AAFC.

Non eligible costs include:

• activities prior to the project approval date;

• capital construction and capital items, including the purchase of furniture and furnishings (except for those identified above); e.g. purchase or construction of buildings, major capital equipment, infrastructure (roads, etc.);

• on-going, core activities (activities that are part of the normal business of the organization);

• activities associated with regular on-going events;

• hospitality costs beyond Treasury Board Guidelines;

• gifts associated with the hosting of events;

• legal fees associated with the incorporation of an organization; and

• the refundable portion of the G.S.T.

Level of Financial Support

Financial support for projects will not normally exceed 50% of eligible project costs.

For project proposals where the funding requests are above the "normal" limits as identified above, the applicant must clearly identify the nature of the exceptional benefits that rural Canadians will derive from the project. Applicants must also clearly identify why partners cannot be found to share the costs of the project.

A lower level of support than that sought may be recommended during the review and assessment process. All funding sources (cash and in-kind), including federal and provincial departments and agencies, municipal governments and private sector sources must be clearly identified. (Note: You may not receive funding from more than one Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada source including Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development (CARD) programs or projects.)

Project management and administration for the Canadian Agricultural Rural Communities Initiative is through the Rural Secretariat, AAFC.

Basis of Payment

Contributions to the recipient shall be in accordance with accountable contribution agreements between the recipient and AAFC. Where possible, expenses will be incurred by the recipient and reimbursed, within approved funding levels, through the agreement. However, when this is not possible, due to the nature of the organization, event, time or cash flow restrictions, an advance payment can be made to the recipient. A minimum hold-back of 10% of the federal contribution shall be applied until all project and financial reports have been received and accepted.

Audit Provisions

Recipient/AAFC agreements shall contain audit clauses reserving the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food's right to audit contribution records and satisfying all AAFC financial/non-financial conditions. Agreements must also provide for overpayment recovery and recipients' maintenance of related records for a three-year period beyond the Initiative.

Communication

All applications must describe how the outcomes of the project will be shared with others. All communications materials will prominently acknowledge the role of the Government of Canada and will be in accordance with the Government of Canada's Communications Policy, the Federal Identity Program and the Official Languages Act.

Performance Framework

The recipient must provide a management report which details the performance of the project, including reach, final activities, impacts, outcomes and deliverables against the original proposal and contribution agreement.

Environmental Assessment

Although it is recognized that many of the activities will not have any effect on the environment, all Canadian Agricultural Rural Communities Initiative activities are subject to environmental assessment.

Duration

Projects under CARCI shall be approved by March 31, 2003. All projects must be completed by December 31, 2003 with all payments made by March 31, 2004.

Note:

As part of Canadian Rural Partnership's Rural Dialogue, eleven priority areas were identified by participants:

• Improve access to federal government programs and services for rural Canadians;
• Improve access to financial resources for rural business and community development;
• Provide more targeted opportunities, programs and services for rural youth, including Aboriginal youth;
• Strengthen rural community capacity building, leadership and skills development;
• Create opportunities for rural communities to maintain and develop infrastructure for community development;
• Connect rural Canadians to the knowledge-based economy and society and help them acquire the skills to use the technology;
• Strengthen economic diversification in rural Canada through more targeted assistance;
• Work with provincial and territorial governments to examine and pilot test new ways to provide rural Canadians with access to health care at reasonable cost;
• Work with provincial and territorial governments to examine and pilot test new ways to provide rural Canadians with access to education at reasonable cost;
• Foster strategic partnerships, within communities, between communities and among governments to facilitate rural community development; and
• Promote rural Canada as a place to live, work and raise a family recognizing the value of rural Canada to the identity and well-being of the nation.

CHECK LIST

A check list has been provided to assist with a quick self assessment of the completeness of your project proposal. Failure to adequately address all of the required elements will lessen the likelihood of a project being approved.

HAVE YOU CLEARLY IDENTIFIED:

• How you plan to meet the eligibility requirements?

• That your project addresses a local, regional or national agricultural rural community priority?

• How and to what extent the project addresses issues in the community, as well as the involvement of the community in the project?

• The link between your project and the agriculture sector?

• What change in the agriculture sector your project addresses?

• That the project activities are incremental to your organization's operations?

• How the proposed approach is innovative? In the case of socio-economic research, how the proposed research will provide new information.

• In the case of socio-economic research projects, what methodology will be used and how the research findings will be disseminated?

• Where appropriate, the involvement of partners?

• All funding sources (both cash and in-kind), including federal and provincial departments and agencies, municipal governments and private sector sources for your project?

• That your partnerships are confirmed and that other funding partners' support has been confirmed?

• That your proposal includes an evaluation framework?

• All project expenditures in your budget, and how CARCI funds are to be used?

• How you expect to measure the project's outcomes?

• How you are going to share the information and results of the project with other communities or organizations?

Contacts:

Toll-free all locations : 1-877-295-7160

For more information or to submit an application, contact:

Alberta/British Columbia/ Saskatchewan/Manitoba/ Yukon/Northwest Territories/ Nunavut Carol Duma 500 - 303 Main Street Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 3G7 Tel.: (204) 983-8466 Fax: (204) 983-8357 E-mail:dumac@agr.gc.ca
Ontario Aline Hardy Tower 7, 6th floor 1341 Baseline Road Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C5 Tel.: (613) 715-5533 Fax: (613) 759-1204 E-Mail: hardyal@agr.gc.ca	Quebec Renée Fortin Gare Maritime Champlain 901, rue du Cap-Diamant, pièce 350-4 Québec (Quebec) G1K 4K1 Tel.: (418) 648-4820 ext. 318 Fax: (418) 648-7342 E-mail: Fortinr@agr.gc.ca
Nova Scotia/New Brunswick Prince Edward Island/ Newfoundland Nicole Bujold 1600 Main Street, Suite 210 Moncton, New Brunswick E1E 1G5 Tel.: (506) 851-7148 Fax: (506) 851-2984 E-mail:bujoldn@agr.gc.ca	Headquarters CARCI Manager, Robert Watts Rural Secretariat Tower 7, 6th floor, 1341 Baseline Road Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C6 Tel.: (613) 759-7388 Fax: (613) 759-6394 E-Mail: wattsbo@agr.gc.ca

Web site: www.agr.gc.ca/carci
E-mail: rs@agr.gc.ca

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	Date Modified: 2004-09-17		Important Notices

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