Our Work
Blue Ribbon Panel
Background
On February, 2007, the Independent Blue Ribbon Panel on Grants and Contributions released their much anticipated final report: From Red Tape to Clear Results. The report's conclusions cover a broad range of topics related to the administration of grants and contributions, and reflect the feedback provided by community organizations, including CCVO.
The Report's Three Key Conclusions
Based on consultation with government, the voluntary sector, the business community and others, the panel set out the following three conclusions:
1. There is a need for fundamental change in the way the federal government understands, designs, manages and accounts for its grant and contribution programs.
2. Not only is it possible to simplify administration while strengthening accountability, it is absolutely necessary to do the first in order to ensure the latter.
3. Making changes in an area of government as vast and multi-faceted as grants and contributions will require sustained leadership at the political and public service levels.
Panel's Recommendations
In their report, the Panel makes 32 short and long term recommendations to government that aim to change administrative practice. The recommendations fall into 4 categories:
1. Respect the recipients—they are partners in a shared public purpose. Grant and contribution programs should be citizen-focussed. The programs should be made accessible, understandable and useable.
2. Dramatically simplify the reporting and accountability regime—it should reflect the circumstances and capacities of recipients and the real needs of the government and Parliament.
3. Encourage innovation—the goal of grant and contribution programs is not to eliminate errors but to achieve results, and that requires a sensible regime of risk management and performance reporting.
4. Organize information so that it serves recipients and program managers alike.
See the full report for more details about the 32 recommendations.
The Government's Response:
In response to the report, President of the Treasury Board, the Honourable Vic Toews, announced the government would take the following immediate action:
- The President of the Treasury Board will lead the development of an action plan to reform the administration of grants and contributions to ensure they deliver clear results in the most effective and efficient way possible within a sensible risk management framework. The government will continue to consult with the recipient community as this action plan is developed.
- As a first step, the Treasury Board Secretariat will work with selected departments to examine business processes to identify opportunities for improved service and efficiencies. Based on the results of this review, departments will develop their own action plans to streamline internal practices and reduce administrative burdens.
- The government will establish a centre of expertise on grants and contributions, to share best practices, and to promote innovation in program administration.
Click here to read the full press release from the Treasury Board Secretariat.
CCVO's Input into the Process
Federal grants and contributions are an important source of support for a variety of nonprofits and charities in the Calgary community. For this reason, CCVO provided feedback to the Blue Ribbon Panel about the challenges and opportunities in the sector through a submission and presentation. For more information about our feedback, see the Imagine Canada Blue Ribbon Panel Submission that we helped develop and endorsed.
Update 2010
CCVO continues to promote implementation of these recommendations, most recently in our pre-budget submission to the Federal Standing Committee of Finance.
Questions?
Contact:
403-621-6655