Economic Development Partnership Program Grants - All Wards

The Economic Development and Parks Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (June 3, 1999) from the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism:

Purpose:

This report seeks approval for the first round of the Economic Development Partnership (EDP) Program grant allocations totalling $275,272.50. The report discusses the principles and evaluation criteria applied to select this year's recipients, summarizes the grants requests, and makes recommendations concerning the allocations.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

The allocations recommended in this report fall within Council's approved 1999 Municipal Grants budget of $42,693,100.00. The total 1999 budget for the Economic Development Partnership Program is $337,000.00.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)Economic Development Partnership Program grants totalling $275,272.50 be allocated to 15 projects, as set out in Appendix 1;

(2)the disbursement of the Economic Development Partnership Program allocations be conditional on satisfying the 1999 Economic Development Partnership Program goals and criteria as set out in Appendix 2 and on project specific conditions set out in Appendix 4;

(3)$61,727.50 be set aside for the Economic Development Partnership Program Fall deadline of September 4, 1999; and

(4)the appropriate City officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

Background:

The goal of the Economic Development Partnership (EDP) program is to facilitate the start-up or expansion of projects that will provide substantial long-term economic benefits to the City. The program provides for two categories of support: one time only projects; and developmental projects that are eligible for support for a maximum of five years with the maximum support in the fourth and fifth year set at 50 percent and 25 percent respectively, of the level of support provided in the third year. Both new and developmental applications are considered two times a year. The upcoming Fall deadline is September 4, 1999.

Priority is given to projects with a strong potential of becoming self sustaining within the five year time frame of the program and which involve substantive partnerships with the private sector or other levels of government. Applicants are required to submit a business plan and detailed budget demonstrating the economic benefit and long-term viability or benefits of this initiative.

This program originated with the former City of Toronto and was supporting a number of on-going projects at the time of amalgamation. A report commenting on the status and results of the EDP program was considered and adopted by Council at its meeting of April 13, 14 and 15, 1999. In this report, staff recommended that the 1999 EDP program continue with the criteria and program guidelines that were in place in 1998, and that a program review take place in 1999.

The objective of the review is to determine how the program can best support the City's emerging economic development strategy and to ensure that it is delivered in the most effective and equitable manner. Over the summer, staff will be consulting with previous grant recipients and other key departmental client groups to determine which of the elements of the program require change or refinement. Staff will be reporting to the Economic Development and Parks Committee on the outcome of the review in the Fall of 1999, so that any changes to the year 2000 program can be communicated to client groups prior to the year's end.

The 1999 EDP program guideline is attached to this report as Appendix 2.

Applications:

A total of 16 applications were received requesting $405,314.50 for a number of purposes, in the Fashion, Tourism, Film, Food, Medical Bio-Tech and Retail Sectors, including one application, 761 Community Development Corporation, for community development. Forty percent or $163,772.50 of the total money requested is to fund five new projects. A summary of the applications is shown in Appendix 3. Details on each individual application, allocation criteria and conditions are provided in Appendix 4.

Evaluation Criteria and Principles:

Given that the requests for grants exceed by $68,314.50 the amount available for this Program and that additional applications i.e., the Toronto Theatre Alliance, are expected for the Fall round of applications, staff undertook a rigorous examination of each application in consultation with staff of Festivals and Special Events, Film and BIA Offices. Each application was reviewed in detail to ensure that the purpose of the project is in keeping with the objectives of this program.

To ensure that all applications were dealt with fairly, the following principles guided staff evaluation of these applications:

(a)former recipients would not be eligible to receive an amount higher than in the previous year; this would permit the support of new projects and gear the EDP Program towards supporting the economic development priorities of the amalgamated City of Toronto;

(b)former recipients were required to demonstrate that previous allocations were used as intended by the EDP Program otherwise their allocation would be reduced according to the particulars of the project for which a grant is being sought; and

(c)ongoing projects, such as, the Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematheque Ontario and the Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival - all in their fifth year - which under the existing criteria would be subject to a 50 percent reduction, would continue to be funded at the 1998 level; when restructuring the EDP program, staff will address the issue of funding for ongoing projects where a long-term funding relationship supports the City's economic development interests.

Appendix 1 contains the funding history of each organization along with the proposed allocations.

Conclusions:

Staff are recommending that a total of $275,272.50 be allocated to funding the 15 projects described in this report. The review of the applications indicated that the 11 former recipients used the grant as per previous allocations criteria. Four out of the five new projects are recommended for approval for a total of $83,772.50, leaving $61,727.50 for the Fall round of allocations.

Future allocations beyond the Fall round, will be determined on the basis of a revised program which will be prepared in keeping with the objectives of the City's emerging Economic Development strategy. A report outlining the recommended adjustments to the EDP program is targeted for the Fall of 1999.

Contact Names:

Ms. Alicia I. Bulwik, 392-3830; Ms. Brenda Librecz, 392-4700.

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Appendix 1

Economic Development Partnership

Program 1999

Funding History and Recommended Allocations

* Subject to applicant leveraging other funds by September 4, 1999. Grant money will be held for this purpose until that time.

Summary Total

Approved Budget 1999$337,000.00

Total Recommended$275,272.50

For 4 new projects $83,772.50

For 11 ongoing projects $191,500.00

Reserved for Fall Round $61,727.50

(A copy of Appendices 2, 3 and 4 referred to in the foregoing report was forwarded to each Member of Council with the agenda of the Economic Development and Parks Committee meeting of June 21, 1999, and a copy thereof is also on file in the office of the City Clerk.)