Grants Ad hoc Committee Minutes - October 15, 2009

THE REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF PEEL

GRANTS AD HOC COMMITTEE

MINUTES GAC-2009-2

The Grants Ad Hoc Committee (GAC) met on October 15, 2009, at 9:37 a.m. in the 5th Floor Boardroom, Regional Administrative Headquarters, 10 Peel Centre Drive, Suite A, Brampton.

Members Present:		E. Kolb; J. Sanderson as alternate for E. Moore; A. Thompson as alternate for R. Paterak

Members Absent:		K. Mahoney, due to vacation; E. Moore, due to vacation; R. Paterak, due to other municipal business

Also Present:		D. Szwarc, Chief Administrative Officer; J. Menard , Commissioner of Social Services; N. Trim, Chief Financial Officer and Commissioner of Corporate Services; S. VanOfwegen, Director, Business Planning and Financial Support Services; G. Malhotra, Director, Strategic Planning, Policy and Partnerships; S. Solonik, Acting Manager, Community Services and Special Projects; R. Martin, Legislative Specialist

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* See text for arrivals
¨See text for departures

Chair Kolb presided.

1. DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST - Nil

2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

RECOMMENDATION GAC-3-2009:

That the agenda for the October 15, 2009, Grants Ad Hoc Committee meeting be approved.

3. DELEGATIONS/PRESENTATIONS - Nil

4. REPORTS

a) Community Investment Strategy
Presentation by Sandra Solonik, Acting Manager, Community Services and Special Projects

Received

Sandra Solonik, Acting Manager, Community Services and Special Projects provided an overview of the Community Investment Strategy Implementation.

Sandra Solonik reported that as a result of the Community Investment Strategy, the Region of Peel and the United Way of Peel have instituted a collaborative process for identifying funding priorities. As part of this collaborative process, the Region of Peel and the United Way of Peel are exploring the possibility of a streamlined grant process through the development of a single funding application. Further, the Region of Peel and the United Way of Peel are collaborating with community service agencies to help them measure the outcome of their programs at a community level. The goal of the process is to enable agencies to evaluate the work they do and identify the impact of the services they provide and to assist strategic planning of future services and programs.

Sandra Solonik provided further details related to the role community-wide planning plays in assessing current services as well as program gaps in order to better plan for future needs in the community. The Region of Peel and the United Way of Peel brought together 12 collaborative agencies to assess their programs and develop plans to work together to better meet future challenges.

Sandra Solonik reported that the Region of Peel and the United Way of Peel have recognized that there are capacity building issues within community service agencies at the organization, individual and sectoral levels. The joint funded (50/50 cost share with the United Way), Strengthening Organization Effectiveness Fund (SOEF) continues to be an impactful way of strengthening organizational capacity. In addition the Peel Learning Centre is a joint effort with the United Way to assist Executive Directors in building capacity and to ensure that there are future leaders for our non-profit sector. In response to the broader capacity needs, the Region of Peel and the United Way of Peel gathered the various community stakeholders who also offer capacity programs, to review the level and type of capacity work occurring in Peel. The Peel Capacity Network Group has met and outlined the various capacity efforts and is in the process of identifying how the work being done in Peel can connect to complement each other.

Sandra Solonik stated that the long-term goal of the Community Investment Strategy is to assist community agencies in developing a more strategic community plan that identifies strengths and gaps in services as well as puts in place a system to capture accurate data that reflects future challenges. At the end of September, ten representatives were trained on the Results Based Accountability Framework (RBA) and now have the ability to train others on this model. This will help implement the theory of population and program based on measurement and how that can result in community-wide change.

Chair Kolb asked if the current data collected by agencies in the Region of Peel could be presented to the Provincial government in order to access additional funds.

Janet Menard, Commissioner of Human Services responded that the most effective way to get funding from the provincial government is for all the community service agencies in the Region to work together to collect the most accurate data possible. Sandra Solonik stated that collecting data that reflects the challenges faced by the community and the impact of current programs will continue to be a challenge. Many community service agencies lack the funds required to collect data related to their programs. The United Way of Peel through support of the Region has contracted a Results Based Accountability Co-ordinator who assists agencies with developing systems to collect data related to their programs and determine how their agency work impacts the larger Peel community.

Councillor Thompson declared his support for the Community Investment Strategy but also expressed concern that the Provincial government could reduce funding for programs they currently operate if community agencies and the Region of Peel take on a greater role in providing those services.

Chair Kolb stressed the important role volunteers play in providing services to the community and stated that they should not be replaced by agency staff.

Janet Menard responded that the Region of Peel supports the work volunteers do in the community and that a key component to building capacity for community service agencies is assisting them to increase the effectiveness of programs supported by volunteers.

Councillor Sanderson stated his support for building a better communication network for Executive Directors of community agencies and highlighted the importance of assisting community agencies in recruiting competent leadership both at the staff and board of director levels.

Sandra Solonik reported that the Results Based Accountability Framework has not been implemented in Canada to date. She has been in contact with the Calgary and Ottawa United Way to discuss similarities in their Community Impact work and there has been regular communication with agencies in the United States that have been working with the Results Based Accountability Framework in order to build on their work and adopt successful practices they have implemented.

Sandra Solonik provided a Regional Funding Stream update. Twenty-six applications for the 2010 renewable project funding were received in August 2009. The total funding requested by the various agencies was $515,024. Region of Peel staff are currently reviewing the applications. The process will be completed by the end of October 2009. A report containing recommendations will then be prepared and presented to the Grants Ad-hoc Committee in November 2009.

Sandra Solonik provided an update on the Community Response Fund. In May 2009, Regional Council approved funding in the amount of $400,000 for the Community Response Fund to aid community service agencies facing recession-based challenges related to increased demand and/or decreased revenue. The Region of Peel released funding information to community service agencies in July 2009 and to date $182,391 was made available to the following groups: Safe City Mississauga; Knights Table; Klothing for Kids and Catholic Family Services. There are three additional requests for a total of $154,650 currently under review and two pending requests. It is anticipated that the remainder of the Community Response Fund will be allocated by the end of October or early November 2009.

Sandra Solonik provided an update on the Strengthening Organization Effectiveness Fund (SOEF) which was established in 2004 by the Region of Peel and the United Way of Peel on an equal cost sharing basis. The focus of SOEF is to assist community service agencies with organizational capacity development. The committee is comprised of representatives from Region of Peel, The United Way of Peel and three additional funding organizations who review applications for funding. A review of the SOEF program was conducted which included consulting Executive Directors, previously funded agencies and a literature review. It is recommended that the 2010 SOEF program include a connection with the Peel Capacity Building Network so that applicants can be linked to all appropriate capacity building resources. It is also recommended that agencies identified to have concerns related to capacity be pursued to apply for funding and that a neutral facilitator role be incorporated in the application process to ensure that agencies are able to clearly indentify what they should focus on when apply to SOEF. In addition it was recommend that a formal evaluation component be incorporated to ensure the program can measure the true impact of this funding to the agency and determining the effectiveness of the program. Recommendations for the 2010 SOEF program will not result in a 2010 SOEF budget increase.

5. COMMUNICATIONS - Nil

6. IN CAMERA MATTERS - Nil

7. OTHER BUSINESS

a) Community Programs Funding Audit (Oral)

Janet Menard reported that an Internal Audit review of the Grants process is underway and the Grants Ad-hoc Committee will be provided with the results at a future meeting.

Received

b) 2010 Budget Update (Oral)

Janet Menard provided an update on the 2010 budget process. The Human Services department is recommending only a cost of living increase to the Grants budget for 2010. The cost of living increase amounts to an additional $50,000. The total Grants budget for 2010 is $2.2 million.

Received

8. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Grants Ad Hoc Committee is scheduled for Thursday, February 25, 2010, at 8:30 a.m., Regional Administrative Headquarters, 5th floor Boardroom, 10 Peel Centre Drive, Suite A, Brampton, Ontario.

9. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 10:50 a.m.