Citizen Participation Branch Funding Program

Citizen Participation Branch Funding Program by the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Experience Description:

The Citizen Participation Branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage helps Canadians experience and understand the shared and diverse aspects of the country, its history and rich cultural heritage, and to connect with one another, with their communities and their country. Its programs and initiatives encourage youth, and others in Canada to gain knowledge and experience of Canada and its history, people and institutions. 

Certain programs delivered by the Branch have supported not-for-profit organizations in the delivery of projects that engage youth in public policy issues.  Program descriptions and project examples are provided below:

a)  Exchanges Canada Program:

The Exchanges Canada Program provides funding in support of youth participation initiatives that allow young Canadians to learn about Canada, create linkages with each other and better appreciate the diversity and shared aspects of the Canadian reality. The Program supports not-for-profit organizations to provide Canadian youth with a range of exchange and forum activities to strengthen their sense of belonging to Canada and therefore their sense of Canadian identity.  Some Exchanges Canada Program clients receive funding for projects that bring youth together to learn about Canada’s democratic institutions and processes, debate issues of concern to their communities and societies, and discover ways in which they can create change using these processes. 

Example) Forums for Young Canadians hosts a series of national youth forums. These week-long events are held in the National Capital Region and gather Canadian youth between the ages of 14 and 19 from across Canada. Together the participants experience first-hand how government works, learn about the roles and responsibilities of citizenship, gain regional perspectives by connecting with youth from across the country, and ultimately focus on leadership skills.

The programming includes an array of simulations, workshops, plenary sessions and networking opportunities with various politicians, senior officials and other stakeholders on Parliament Hill. The event provides youth an opportunity to immerse in the exciting world of national politics and public affairs, and teaches them the structures, functions, role and operation of Parliament and the dynamics of the decision-making process. The youth participants meet the nation's leaders, interact with decision-makers, and debate contemporary issues. The youth sit in both the House of Commons and Senate, with the Speakers of both chambers. They watch Question Period from the Visitor's Gallery and see parliamentary committees at work, then make these experiences come alive in simulations such as an election, Member's Statements, a Cabinet Meeting, Question Period, and a First Ministers' Conference. The participants also develop an understanding of the relationship and interaction between the government and private citizens, business, labour, interest groups, and the media.

b)  Youth Take Charge:

The objective of the Youth Take Charge Program is to strengthen youth attachment to Canada through engagement in the fields of history and heritage, civic engagement and youth service, arts and culture, and economic activities.  The Program provides funding to eligible organizations in support of youth-led projects involving youth generally aged 7 to 30, which demonstrate the ability to strengthen attachment to Canada while addressing one or more of the above-mentioned thematic areas.  It is expected that the Program will increase awareness among youth participants of the importance of being an active and engaged citizen; will increase relevance of youth-serving organizations to youth; and will increase youth engagement in communities.

Example) The CIVIX Student Budget Consultation project, conducted for the first time ever in 2013, engaged 4,771 high school students in an interactive exploration of the federal budget process. Its motto is “building students into citizens.”  In-class, at home and online simulation activities were facilitated by teachers in 325 participating registered schools across the country. Students learned the roles and responsibilities of the federal government, the concept of revenues and expenditures, and appreciated the value of a balanced federal budget. A final report summarizing youth opinions and findings was shared with the Finance Minister in advance of the 2013 Federal Budget.

c)  Canada History Fund

The Canada History Fund, formerly the Canadian Studies Program, helps Canadians gain a better understanding of their country - its history, stories, people and systems of government. The Fund supports the development of content and activities that contribute to increasing Canadians' knowledge about Canada.

Example) Action Canada is a national fellowship program that enhances promising young Canadians’ leadership skills, enriches their understanding of Canada and creates a network of skilled leaders for the country’s future. Action Canada began in 2002 from a vision to strengthen Canada’s future. The goals of the program are to enhance the Fellows’ leadership skills, enrich their understanding of Canada, and build a network of new and alumni members.  Action Canada attracts a number of professionals in the early years of their careers or pursuing post-secondary studies. Participants are selected through a rigorous process which ensures country wide and demographic representation.

Each year, up to 20 outstanding Canadians are selected to join the 11-month leadership development and public policy program.  Fellows will participate in five conferences, write op-eds on selected topics, hold Open-Dialogues with the public, be part of Task Forces which develop papers based on a pre-selected theme, be mentored by prominent public figures and journalists in the field and have opportunities to meet important individuals from the corporate and public sectors.

Evaluation:

To ensure transparency, accountability, efficiency, and value in program delivery, Treasury Board of Canada legislation states that all Government of Canada programs will be subject to program evaluations at least once every five years.  Evaluations are conducted by independent parties, and are subject to specific criteria:  Continued need for the Initiative; Alignment with government and department priorities; Alignment with federal roles and responsibilities; Achievement of expected outcomes; and Demonstration of efficiency and economy. 

Programs also evaluate recipients, through on-site monitoring of program activities to ensure compliance with Contribution Agreements and delivery of programming as outlined in the project proposal.  During a monitoring visit, departmental program officials would visit the location of the event, view programming, hear first-hand participant observations, and note any issues or concerns. 

Main strengths and weaknesses of the Program

Taken together, the programs herein described fund opportunities for over 200,000 youth in Canada to learn more about their democratic society and the processes through which it operates, discuss issues of relevance to their communities, exchange ideas and experiences with each other, and ultimately, develop the capacity to become more active and engaged citizens.

Increasing the ability and likelihood of program participants to get involved in public policy development at a future date is not a stated objective of the programs, and therefore evidence of this outcome is anecdotal, and not correlative. 

For these programs, demand consistently outpaces availability of funds. Funding is awarded to specific projects following a rigorous competitive assessment process where applicants are evaluated against program objectives and related assessment criteria. While the decision to fund certain projects and not others is difficult and leaves certain initiatives without funding to realize their projects, the funding competition ensures that high quality projects are supported.

Links

www.actioncanada.ca

www.civix.ca

www.forum.ca

Person contacted

Tyler Cyr, Policy Analyst, Directorate of Youth Participation and Equity of Canada