Question Period Note: Modernization of Grants and Contributions

The Grants and Contributions Modernization Project received total funding of $21M from Management Reserve in 2016, following a Treasury Board submission. The department plans to seek carry-forward for the remaining of the fund, $6,383,746, for fiscal years 2020-21 and 2021-22, to complete the project.

• Canadian Heritage has improved its service to Canadians by streamlining its internal processes and reducing processing times of applications to funding programs.
• The Department has tested an online application system and over 1,000 applications are now received each year. Annually, the Department delivers close to $1.2 billion in Grants and Contributions funding via 30 programs.
• The final phase of this project is now underway. The Department will deliver an online portal for Canadians to apply for funding and track the status of their applications.
• The revised timeline extends to March 2022, while the funding level for the project remains the same ($21 million in total).

• Annually, the Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH) delivers approximately $1.2 billion in Grants and Contributions (Gs&Cs) funding to 30 programs (more than 90 program components), which are designed to support and promote Canadian culture, arts, heritage, official languages, citizenship, Indigenous languages and culture, youth, and sports initiatives. The funding delivered by PCH programs touches millions of Canadians and visitors to Canada each year.
• In accordance with the Government of Canada’s (GC’s) efforts to improve the delivery of Gs&Cs programs across the public sector, the modernization of PCH’s Gs&Cs was launched in 2010, comprising a number of multi-year, horizontal initiatives designed to ensure that PCH programs operate sustainably, efficiently, responsibly and effectively. In the first phase of its plan, it put all programs on a common workflow based on a common GC business reference model for grants and contributions. Using that model, it developed an innovative, risk-based approach to assessment, and implemented that innovation through modest extensions to its legacy technology application for processing grants and contributions. The risk-based workflow improved service delivery efficiency and enabled PCH to revisit, publish and report on service standards.
• Phase II focused on the modernization of the client interface through the development of an online portal and enablement of an online service delivery channel. Three programs (Canada Arts Training Fund (CATF), Canada Book Fund (CBF) and Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage (BCAH) were successfully onboarded to this platform allowing applicants to apply online for grants and contributions through the online portal (CHOS - Canada Heritage Online System).
• The third phase of the modernization effort started in January 2017, named the Grants and Contribution Modernization Project (GCMP). In 2016-17 and 2017-18 the project focused on business process re-engineering, user experience research, and the development of a risk-based model that would facilitate the modernization of the business workflow and standardize business processes along with data requirements.
• The Department is taking a user-centric and agile approach for the final phase of the project, allowing it to focus on client experience while building a digital platform that houses both legacy and new systems and to transition all funding programs over time.

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