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Municipal Grants Review Committee
The Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (February 19, 1998) from the Chair of the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee:
Purpose:
This report recommends the establishment of a Municipal Grants Review Committee composed of eight Councillors reporting to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee. The purpose of the Municipal Grants Review Committee will be to oversee the development of a Municipal Grants Policy for implementation in 1999 and to provide political direction with respect to grants administration decisions arising from the 1998 budget process.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
Not applicable.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1) a Municipal Grants Review Committee composed of eight Councillors be established;
(2) Councillors Bussin, Chong, Duguid, Flint, Johnston, Jones, Lindsay Luby, and Saundercook be appointed members of the Municipal Grants Review Committee, to be chaired by Councillor Lindsay Luby;
(3) the Review Committee steer the development of an integrated Municipal Grants Policy for implementation in 1999 and, after consultation with the relevant Standing Committees, recommend approval of the policy to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee;
(4) staff consult the Review Committee with respect to grants administration decisions arising from the 1998 budget process;
(5) for the 1998 interim grants process only, allocations reports normally received by Standing Committees be submitted to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee for recommendation to Council with the future grants reporting process to be determined through the development of the Municipal Grants Policy for 1999;
(6) for the 1998 interim grants process only, the Municipal Grants Review Committee be used as the appeal mechanism, to hear and respond to deputations by applicants; and
(7) the appropriate City officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.
Council Reference/Background/History:
City Council approved the report titled AAdministration of Municipal Grants Programs@ (Report No. 1, Clause No. 2, Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee) on February 4 and 5, 1998. The report outlined a plan for the administration of municipal grants programs in 1998, requested authority to issue advances to a defined group of agencies, and suggested an approach to the development of a Municipal Grants Policy for implementation in 1999.
The Administration of Municipal Grants Programs Report also identified that a number of grants programs were located in departments which did not report out through the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee, although they shared similar issues and challenges. Under the current structure the Urban Planning and Development Services, Corporate Services, and Economic Development, Culture and Tourism Department also have responsibility for municipal grants programs. There is a need for a coordinated process to develop the Municipal Grants Policy which is linked to the relevant Standing Committees. Appendix A contains a list of the grants programs, the Standing Committees and staff contact names.
The Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee requested that staff develop options with respect to an effective and accessible appeal process. In addition, the Committee recommended that a vehicle enabling Councillors to provide political input and direction to municipal grants programs be developed.
In response to these issues, this report recommends the creation of a Municipal Grants Review Committee.
Municipal Grants Review Committee:
The purpose of the Municipal Grants Review Committee will be to steer the development of a Municipal Grants Policy for implementation in 1999 and to provide political direction with respect to grants administration decisions arising from the 1998 budget process. The Municipal Grants Review Committee will also act as an appeals committee for grants programs.
Composition:
Councillors Bussin, Chong, Duguid, Flint, Johnston, Jones, Lindsay-Luby, and Saundercook have agreed to sit as members of the Municipal Grants Review Committee.
In developing the slate of Councillors identified above, attention was paid to ensuring that all of the standing committees receiving grants allocations reports and the Board of Health were represented on the Committee. Each member will be responsible for ensuring that their respective standing committees (or the Board of Health) are kept informed of the work of the Municipal Grants Review Committee and that the concerns of standing committees are brought forward to the Municipal Grants Review Committee. As members of our respective Community Councils, we collectively bring that perspective to the work of the Municipal Grants Review Committee.
The Review Committee will be supported by a grants staff workgroup (see Appendix A). The staff support will be co-ordinated by the Commissioners of Urban Planning and Development Services, Corporate Services, Economic Development, and Culture and Tourism, and chaired by the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services.
Mandate:
As noted above, the mandate of the Municipal Grants Review Committee will be threefold: to oversee the development of a Municipal Grants Policy for implementation in 1999; to provide political direction with respect to grants administration decisions arising from the 1998 budget process; and to act as an appeals committee for grants programs.
The Municipal Grants Policy will identify:
(1) broad, over-arching principles applicable to all grants within the scope of the review;
(2) commonalities, duplication of effort and opportunities for coordination among grants in different service areas;
(3) alternative administrative and delivery options for grants; and
(4) recommended policy and administrative practices specific to grants programs within each service area.
Upon approval of recommendations on these policy issues later this year, grants administration will revert to the appropriate Standing Committees. Appendix B provides an outline of the draft Municipal Grants Policy development process.
Staff will consult with the Municipal Grants Review Committee with respect to grants administration decisions arising from the 1998 budget process. The existing Transitional Grants Policy is based on the Transition Team recommendation that grants funding be maintained at 1997 levels. Should Council decide to adjust grants budgets through the 1998 budget process, staff will consult with the Committee with respect to how budget adjustments are managed through allocations processes.
The Municipal Grants Review Committee will act as the formal appeal body for applicants wishing to appeal their specific allocation recommendation. The grounds for appeal are clearly stated in the terms of reference for the various grants programs. The appeal process should be somewhat simplified by the Council direction that grants programs be administered under existing eligibility criteria. For 1998 only, and until the development of the integrated Municipal Grants Policy by the Review Committee, applicants have the ability to depute to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee on broader issues associated with the grants allocation process or the grants programs.
As identified in the AAdministration of Municipal Grants Programs@ report, the unique appeal and approval routes for grants administered by Public Health and the Toronto Arts Council would remain unchanged.
To simplify the grants reporting process during the 1998 transitional year, I am recommending that all allocations reports, except those identified above, be submitted to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee for recommendation to Council. This recommendation is specific to the 1998 transitional grants process with the longer term reporting process to be recommended through the Municipal Grants Policy.
Reporting:
The Municipal Grants Review Committee will report to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee regarding the Municipal Grants Policy.
As an appeals sub-committee, the Municipal Grants Review Committee will hear appeals and provide input to the staff recommendations going forward to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee. In order to keep the Standing Committee aware of the service issues arising from the deputations, a report on the appeals heard for each grant program will be submitted to the appropriate Standing Committee.
Conclusions:
The tasks of developing a 1999 Municipal Grants Policy within a tight time frame while also providing direction on 1998 grants administration during a complex and challenging budget process require that a reference group of Councillors be in place to provide a political perspective. Given the reporting timelines for the existing standing committees and the broad nature of the work required, the establishment of a Municipal Grants Review Committee reporting to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee is recommended.
Contact Name:
Shirley Hoy: 392-8302
Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services
Appendix A
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Standing Committee |
Department |
Grant Program |
Staff Contact |
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Board of Health |
Community and Neighbourhood Services |
AIDS Prevention
Drug Abuse Prevention |
Connie Clement
Michael Fay |
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Community and Neighbourhood Services |
Community and Neighbourhood Services
Economic Development, Culture and Tourism |
Community Resources Fund/
Emergency Support Fund/General Grants
Homeless Initiatives Fund
Arts and Culture (excluding Toronto Arts Council)
Recreation Grants |
Chris Brillinger/Sue
Kaiser/Sarah Rix
Simon Liston
John Elvidge
Cathi Forbes |
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Corporate Services |
Corporate Services |
Access and Equity |
Charles Smith |
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Environment and Urban Development |
Urban Planning and Development Services |
Breaking the Cycle of Violence |
Sue Kaiser |
Appendix B
Municipal Grants Policy Development Process
The report Administration of Municipal Grants was considered by Council on February 4-6, 1998. This report recommended that a Municipal Grants Policy be developed in 1998 for implementation in 1999. This document sets out the framework for the development of the policy.
(1) Scope of the Policy Development Process:
The development process described here will address a range of municipal grants programs, located within a number of departmental groupings including Community and Neighbourhood Services, Urban Planning and Development Services, Corporate Services, and Economic Development, Culture and Tourism.
These diverse grant programs have been brought into a coordinated development process because of a common need to design mechanisms appropriate to support community-based organizations and services in their respective areas. Therefore, because the focus of this development is the support of community organizations and services (irrespective of service areas).
The proposed Municipal Grants Policy will result in a set of broad principles which will apply to all grants programs, as well as, a range of grants policies and practices specific to each service area.
There is a clear need both to coordinate policy development processes within the new City, and to examine the linkages among all municipal grants programs. As a result, the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services will co-ordinate the policy development process.
(2) Outcomes:
The proposed policy development process will explore and identify:
(a) broad, over-arching principles applicable to all grants within the scope of the review;
(b) commonalities, duplication of effort and opportunities for coordination among grants in different service areas;
(c) alternative administrative and delivery options for grants in the new City of Toronto; and
(d) recommended policy and administrative practices specific to grants programs within each service area.
(3) Significant Areas for Consideration:
Particular attention will be paid to the following areas in the development process:
Funding Purposes and Priorities:
A comparative analysis of existing grants funding purposes and priorities within and across service areas will be conducted to identify commonalities, duplication of effort and opportunities for coordination (Outcome B). Through this analysis, a statement of over-arching, cross-service area funding purposes which provide a framework for the specific and varied funding purposes of the different service areas will be developed.
The Role of Standing Committees and Community Councils:
One of the most significant questions to be addressed is the role of standing committees, Community Councils, and Boards in grants processes. This analysis will be key to the development of clear protocols and relationships between community organizations and Council (and Committees of Council) with respect to grants. As indicated in the report Administration of Municipal Grants, particular attention will be paid to the role of Community Councils in these processes.
Consultations:
The report Administration of Municipal Grants identified consultations with a wide variety of stakeholders as a key part of the 1999 grants design process. The following parameters were established for consultations, and will be adhered to as a part of the development process:
The review will include consultations with all stakeholders, including: staff and board members of funded agencies, unsuccessful applicant agencies, Councillors, service users, citizens, other funders, and municipal staff. Consultations with common stakeholders will be coordinated to minimize the number of consultations required.
(4) Reporting:
Grants to not-for-profit organizations are administered by a number of departments and will report out through a number of standing committees, including Community and Neighbourhood Services, Urban Environment and Development, and possibly, Corporate Services. Council may consider further changes to the current committee structure given the recent change in the administrative structure resulting in six departments. Although the Report recommending the development of a Municipal Grants Policy reached Council through the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee, it is appropriate that further reporting on this initiative be made to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee.
(5) Structure for the Policy Development Process:
The development of a Municipal Grants Policy within the given time frame will demand a tight process and a structure that facilitates communication among all stakeholders. To accomplish this, a three-tiered review structure which builds upon existing workgroups is recommended.
Municipal Grants Review Committee:
A Review Committee comprised of councillors and supported by staff will be established to develop a set of broad, over-arching grants principles (Outcome A). This group will also comment on policy and administrative practices specific to each service area, and review and comment on the draft Municipal Grants Policy prior to its finalization.
Councillors would be selected to ensure adequate representation from each of the different service areas. There will need to be representation from each of the standing committees with responsibility for grants programs; currently, that includes Community and Neighbourhood Services, Urban Environment and Development, and Corporate Services. There should also be political representation from the Board of Health and the Toronto Arts Council.
The staff Grants Workgroup described below, will provide staff support to the Review Committee under the direction of the appropriate Commissioners.
Grants Workgroup:
This existing staff workgroup includes a representative from each service area workgroup, and has been working and planning together for 1998 since the late fall of 1997. In the development process, the workgroup will be responsible for analyzing commonalities, duplication of effort and opportunities for coordination among grants in different service areas (Outcome B) and preparing alternative administrative and delivery options for grants in the new City of Toronto (Outcome C).
The workgroup will also provide coordination and management functions to the development process by:
(a) ensuing the coordination of service area reviews;
(b) coordinating stakeholder consultations;
(c) consulting with a wide range of Councillors to discuss and communicate cross-service area issues;
(d) addressing issues which cross service areas;
(e) managing other issues that arise through the review process; and
(f) preparing the draft grants policy.
Service Area Reviews:
In many service areas workgroups comprised of staff (and other individuals as appropriate to the service area) have been established to plan and implement the administration of grants programs in 1998. In the development process, these workgroups will plan and undertake the review of grants programs in their respective service area. The workgroups will each be coordinated by a grants manager who will also sit on the grants workgroup (above).
Service area workgroups will be responsible for providing the grants workgroup with a service area review plan. Plans will include:
(a) workgroup membership;
(b) timelines/workplan; and
(c) plan for consultations with stakeholders, as described in section 3.
Workgroups will be responsible for carrying out their review plan and preparing a service area report detailing recommended policy and administrative options for specific grants programs in 1999 (Outcome D). Each of these reports will form an appendix to the developed grants policy.
(6) Timeline:
Using the process described here, a comprehensive Municipal Grants Policy will be developed between March and August 1998. Once complete, the policy will be sent to Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee and Council for approval in September.
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