 Does now starting all attendees are in listen-only mode Good morning everyone. Thank you for joining me for our webinar But the rural dividend programs 2018 intake in collaboration with my friends from the rural programs and policy branch My name is Susan Lowe. I'm with the design coordination and outreach branch of the Ministry of Jobs trade and technology I'll be providing technical support for today's webinar and moderating our Q&A session after the stories I'm located in Victoria on the unceded coast area of territory of the Lekwungen and Lesanic people I would like to turn things over to our friends from the rural program and policy branch Matthew and Sarah Why don't you introduce yourselves and we can get things started? Perfect. Thank you very much and before we start We would just like to take the opportunity to thank Susan for all her help and setting up the webinar today and for running it It's a huge benefit for us for to be able to reach out to everyone in this way So we really appreciate your support Susan and in running this this webinar today So my name is Matthew scama creep. I'm a manager with the rural Policy programs branch. We're located within the Ministry of Forest lands Natural resource operations and rural development and we administer the rural dividend program my colleague Sarah will will be presenting with me today and Sarah is a program Program analyst with the rural dividend program Again, we're both located within the rural policy and program branch So thank you very much for taking the time to participate in our webinar today on on the rural dividend program The purpose of this webinar is to review the application process For the rural dividend program and to provide some recommendations on how to develop a strong application So we will walk you through the online application form the mandatory documents and the review process to provide you with some additional information for when you're completing your applications Along the way, we'll try to answer some of the frequently asked questions But we will also save a lot of time at the end to answer any additional questions that that you may have So the rural dividend program's fifth application intake period is currently open as I'm sure everyone knows And it will close on July 31st at midnight Pacific Daylight time So this will be the only intake period for this fiscal year So we strongly encourage anyone who's considering a potential project to submit an application at this time All potential options should visit the the program website We have a lot of information up there on the program including a frequently asked questions page As well as more information on the program. You can also download the updated program guide Which will provide very detailed information on every aspect of the program On the website, there's also an application checklist Which includes all of the steps in developing and submitting an application as well as all the required documentation that should be submitted and Then supporting documents are also available on the website Especially the fifth app the fifth intake budget form, which is a key part of our application process We also strongly encourage applicants to download the application questions for the funding stream that they're interested in Ahead of time so that they can prepare their answers in an external document prior to inputting the information into the online application form The application questions are available in a PDF document on the the program website and by downloading them ahead of time You just have a bit more time to prepare the answers as well as it's a bit easier to edit outside of the the application form itself So the online application form is accessed via a link which is displayed on the right sidebar on the rural dividend website Applicants will receive a separate login and password for each application Unfortunately, the application form at this time does not allow for a customized username and password to be created Instead the username and password is a unique combination of numbers and letters Because this The numbers and letters version for that the username and password can be easily forgotten We strongly encourage applicants to either print the login details Write them down or screenshot the information to ensure that you can access your saved application at a later time In order to ensure the the best performance and functionality of the online application form only one application should be open at a time This will ensure that the information that you input to the application form is accurately saved to the appropriate application The online application form is reactive So information drop downs and additional questions will populate based on the the data that you've inputted As a result questions must be answered in order and the system will not allow for questions to be left blank You can navigate through the application tabs to information that has already been entered, but you cannot click forward in the form So the best way to prepare for upcoming answers is to download the pdf of the application questions from the program website And prepare those answers ahead of time Uh, there are links included throughout the application form to help you access information that is needed For example, there's a link to census data to help applicants complete the population details For their community in the the background section Additionally, uh, there are links provided Throughout the form for information to help clarify particular questions So for example, if you click on the link titled learn more about outcomes and indicators, uh, you'll receive additional information on what we are looking for in that section Applicants should use their legal name when filling out the organizational the organization details And ideally provide two contacts to the application And this can help us in our in any follow-up that takes place during our eligibility review process The text boxes in the application form contain Content limits have approximately 2,500 characters and the system will display a warning if the limit is near or has been exceeded Some questions will allow for a longer response. However More content does not always result results in a, uh, stronger application And again, we highly recommend that applicants, uh, develop the responses outside of the system such as in a word document In this setting, it's a lot easier to review and edit your responses Uh, than when the information is in the text boxes on the application form So the rural dividend program receives a large number of applications For a diverse range of projects the projects are often large and have multiple partners And components that are quite complex So in order to help us understand that the key details of your project It's important to provide answers that are as clear and as specific as possible for each application question We've identified a few key areas where it is particularly important to provide detailed responses and I'll just walk through those now So for the project description, um The project description is a key part of the application because it provides us With an overview of the project and what, uh, is accomplished and what the applicant is intending For the project description is best to focus on answering two key questions What is the purpose of the project and what are the project activities? The project description, um Is one area where providing as much detail as as is needed Um to fully describe the project components is it's really recommended It's also important to keep the project description specific to the project Or the phase that's specifically being applied for funding So if the project is linked to a broader initiative or future phases It's certainly okay to include that information But make sure that you're clear regarding what specific activities or project components will be completed In this project or in this phase of the project and differentiate that from any future phases Um that that may take place at a later date In terms of community needs Uh in the community needs section, we are looking for applicants to identify a specific need or needs In the community and explain how the project will uh work to address it As much as possible applicants should provide specific examples and identify links to project activities and identified outcomes And again, this is a key area of the application And so providing as much detail as possible is definitely recommended Uh with regards to community support We are looking for applicants to provide evidence that clearly shows that the project is supported by the community Assessing community support is a key part of our Review and assessment process. So it's important to provide as much supporting information as you have available available Please include any letters of support that are specific to the project Or if there's any community consultation that has taken place that is relevant to the project or or speaks to the project Uh specifically. Um, that's also great to include In regards to the community plan The project does not uh have to be specifically mentioned in the community plan if it is that's great and definitely identify that But we do recognize that not every project is detailed in a community plan So if that's the case if your proposed project's not uh currently listed in a community plan You can provide details on how the project supports the achievement of specific components or goals that are included in the plans and generally show That uh that the project being proposed is consistent with the planning that has taken place in the community and aligns overall with with the goals of the community Additionally, the community plan That's discussed in the application does not have to be the official community plan for the for the community It can be an economic development plan or other relevant plans that have been developed by the community Or by your organization Again in this section We're really just look to see that the project is consistent with the overall intended direction that the community or the organization has identified for itself For the outcomes and indicators section, we are looking for the specific things that the project will accomplish as well as how The project proponent will measure to ensure that they've been completed So as much as possible the outcomes in the application should be attributable Uh to the specific actions of the project and the indicators should be as measurable as possible so for example An outcome can be increased training opportunities for small business owners in the community And the indicator can be the number of training sessions held and the number of participants That that take part. Um, they don't need to be uh complex Uh outcomes and indicators they just need to be focused on the specific actions that will take place During the project and again provide a clear way to measure if they've been completed As much as possible try to avoid broad outcomes that are difficult to attribute to the specific actions of the project Such as the community will double in population size Again, um be as clear and specific as possible in in this section In terms of timelines when we're reviewing applications, we are looking for reasonable timelines for the project's completion As long as the project will be completed within the two-year timeline We do not penalize applicants for how long their project duration is so definitely avoiding overly ambitious and um take the time to really show that clear planning Has taken place and that the timelines are as accurate as possible As much as possible try to link the timelines and the milestones to specific project activities That have been detailed in your application So that way we can see from your project description what will be taking place from the timelines and milestones We can see how long it will will take for those to be completed And then we can link that to the budget to then see how much those activities will cost In regards to sustainability if your project will be continuing past the specific project Beyond this specific project Then what we look for is information on how the project will be sustained following the completion of the rural dividend funding So for example, if the project involves the creation of an ongoing salary position Please describe how that position will be sustained following the end of the program funding So along with the answers that are provided to the specific questions The applications must also include mandatory supporting documentation And this is listed in detail on page 15 of the program guide And I would encourage you to look at that in detail when developing your application Mandatory supporting documents Must be specific to the legal entity that is applying for funding and cannot be From a related organization such as a parent organization Mandatory supporting documentation Is submitted through the online application form However, there is a limit of 10 documents Approximately dependent on the size of the documents that can be submitted through the online application form If there are any additional Applications application documents that you would like to submit you can do so via email So financial statements in terms of financial statements the program has a tiered approach To financial statements that is dependent on the amount of funding being requested More information about the financial statements is included on page 15 and 16 of the program guide However, generally applicants who are requesting between 10,000 Or sorry less than 10,000 dollars in funding Are required to submit internally prepared financial statements And Anyone requesting between 10,000 and 100,000 funding is required to provide review engagement financial statements And finally anyone requesting More than 100,000 is required to provide audited financial statements The next um The next um required mandatory Document is articles of incorporation Articles of incorporation are only required for not-for-profit applicants at first nation corporations The documents must include the applicant's legal name and business number And they can either be articles of incorporation or you can submit the most recently filed annual report The next mandatory sporting document is partnership letters Partnership letters are only required for applicants to the partnership funding stream And what we're looking for here is really that the letters must confirm the partner's role and commitment to the project Finally or sorry next is the applicant resolution So all applicants must complete a council or organization resolution and these resolutions are are really meant to show that the organization What their role would be and their overall commitment to the project for the the project duration Now due to the the timing of the application intake period. We recognize that many councils will not be having Their meetings throughout the summer and so we have provided an exception to To this requirement until august 31st So when you submit your application by the july 31st deadline if you do not have your resolution at that time We ask that you just identify in the form That it will be forthcoming and identify the date that it will be emailed to the program And finally we have the budget form and so the budget form is is a key part of the the application And should be completed using the template that's available on the rural dividend website And my colleagues here will we'll go into further detail about that now So as Matthew mentioned all applications must include a completed budget form Which is using the rural dividend fifth intake budget form and this is available on the rural dividend website All information inputted into this budget form should match the information included in the application And the supporting documents so for example the funding request that's been identified in your budget form Should match the funding request in your application form Section one of the budget form is not pictured on the slide here However, that's where you're going to detail your organization name So as Matthew mentioned this name should match your legal name You'll detail your project name and the funding stream selection that you are applying for funding under A detailed breakdown of all project costs and their funding source will be inputted into section two of the budget form So this is pictured on the slide The left side of the form identifies what information needs to be included for each described cost in the particular category You're encouraged to identify the most appropriate category for each project cost However, we should note that during the review and assessment process The program may recalibrate project costs into other categories in order to To determine if a project is meeting the program criteria for particular set for particular costs related to infrastructure and capital Unfortunately Within this template lines cannot be added to the form So if necessary applicants are permitted to group two or three project costs onto the same line And then provide a separate document such as a word document to explain each cost separately As costs are inputted into section two of your budget form, you're going to notice that section three will begin to autocalculate Section three of your budget form is where you will detail all funding for the project This includes the applicant contribution So a reminder that the applicant contribution for single applicant request is 20 percent And then the applicant contribution for partnership project is 40 percent No more than 10 percent of the applicant contribution can be comprised of in kind cost or contribution in kind contributions So as noted cannot account for more than 10 percent of the overall applicant contribution So on the form once your 10 limit has been reached in section three b The remaining in kind contributions Will then be automatically filtered into section three c When you're detailing funding sources for your project, you can also detail any funding sources that have not yet been verified So the form will allow you to select yes or no When detailing your funding sources and you are able to include sources that are not yet verified Section four of the budget form autocalculates based upon the information inputted in both sections two and three The total project cost and total project funding amounts should balance As such all project funding should have a corresponding project cost When you're filling out your budget form if you find that your total project funding is greater than your total project cost Ensure that you go back and review all project activities And make sure that they've been appropriately detailed in section two on your budget form Moving forward to application review and assessment When reviewing and assessing applications, we look for evidence of a well-developed project And usually these types of projects can answer two questions What is the project and what are you going to do? A strong application can usually describe the project in simple and concise language If the project contains multiple components each component is fully described and linked to the overall project description We look for clear and concise responses So oftentimes stronger applications tend to avoid the use of what some may call grand rhetoric or buzzwords And if any acronyms are described throughout the application They're further defined so that there's no confusion as to what they stand for Responses that reference project activities as examples usually result in a stronger application When reviewing the application and supporting documents such as the budget Timelines letters or letters of support we look for consistency So ensure that the budget document and any of your letters of support Match the project that's being described in your application and all information that's been detailed throughout any supporting documents So after the intake closes We will complete the the the program staff will complete a detailed review and assessment of the applications that were received and through this review and assessment process applications Are reviewed and ranked in a competitive process based on program criteria and the suitability of the project in relation to project or to program objectives Following the program's assessment of the projects They are further reviewed by a committee of senior government officials who develop recommendations funding recommendations for our minister Which is the minister of forest lands natural resource operations and world development Our minister then reviews all the information that's provided to him and makes the final funding decisions So we will be completing our review process over the rest of the summer and into the fall And we're hoping to have final funding decisions announced Sometime in the in the late fall If you would like a status update on the process at any point you can contact the program office And so the the number and the email that we have on the screen here is for the program office We have a number of staff who are available throughout the intake period and our our main role at this time is to provide support to applicants and developing strong applications so if you have any questions or any Any concerns about any or about what we're looking for in any of the application sections, please feel free to give us a call or send us an email And we'll be able to answer those questions for you And then I I think that's it so we'll now if anyone has any questions We'd be more than happy to to take them at this time Oh, thanks very much Sarah and Matthew. So we've got some questions and what I've done is I've organized things into themes Based on what has been received and so we'll just walk through each of the themes and Let you answer as we go. So the first theme is around applicants Is most of the funding directed at districts cities and bands? And would it be better to partner with those with the city or district or band for a better chance of funding? So we have seen a large number of applications from all three of the the eligible applicant groups So local governments first nations and not-for-profit organizations and we don't have any specific Formula for how funding is divided between those those eligible applicant groups and and we don't have any preference between them so certainly All of those all of the eligible applicant groups have an equal access To the funding that's available that being said we do always try and encourage applicants as much as possible To look at partnering with other organizations within their community or neighboring communities or any groups where there's an opportunity to pursue a shared economic development opportunity And just to partner to increase the collaboration between the two groups and and the efficiency of the the project overall so again all three of the groups have An equal access to the funding but we do encourage as much as possible for applicants to look at at partnering with other organizations within their community Awesome partnership is good. Okay Can we apply for funding for a regional project or should we develop a project specific to a community? So you can do both there are the eligibility of of Applications that are submitted to the rural dividend program is in part dependent on the location in which the project will be implemented so for a regional project if it's going to be delivered in The let's say five or ten communities throughout a region It's critical that in in the application you identify Which specific communities within the region will be taking part In the application and what specific Project activities or components will be delivered in each of those communities So you can certainly pursue a regional project of that nature But we just are looking for that additional detail so that we can see again Where the project activities will take place because we do need to ensure that That the project activities will be Taking place in communities that meet our eligibility criteria specifically that they're in communities with a population of 25 000 or less but again, if if if you're able to provide that that data then then Pursuing a regional project definitely fits within our program Or again, you can develop a project specific to one community as long as that community has a population of of 25 000 or less Okay, so if we're doing a project that takes place in multiple communities Should we have letters of support for each of the communities where we're going to be doing project activities? Yes, definitely. Um, just to make sure that the the local community is aware That the project is going to be taking place in their community and that they're supportive of it Okay, great. We're going to show up and we're going to do a project in your community fund that Okay, again, make me sure that everyone's aware. Okay This having previously received BC rural dividend funding does it impact your assessment of a project for this intake? Uh, so no it it does not so there there's a limit on the number of applications that each applicant can submit Can submit in each particular intake and so that is one project development application, which is the the smallest funding stream where applicants can request up to $10,000 to pursue Some of the preliminary components to develop a larger project And then applicants can also pursue a full project in either the single applicant or the partnership funding stream However, that that limit is Specific to each intake and so if you received a funding in a past intake it doesn't impact your ability to pursue funding In this intake or any further intakes in the future that being said if this project is The second of a two or multi phase Project then what we will look at in the assessment process is How much of that first phase has been completed? And we would look to see that there's been good progress in that it's it's moving towards completion before we would look at funding A subsequent phase Okay, great a few questions about the logistics If i've accidentally created two draft applications and not submitted them yet. How do I delete one? So the online application system does not allow for prospective applicants to Actually delete an application, but what happens is at the end of an intake period so 12 o'clock midnight Pacific time on july 31st any applications that have not yet been completed will automatically delete from the system So if you've accidentally opened a second application Simply don't input any information into that application and it'll automatically be removed Upon the close of the intake Okay Uh, can my co-worker and I work on the same application on different computers? Uh, so we have uh heard from from other applicants that when people have been working on When two individuals have been working on the same application at the same time that Work can be lost because if one individual Saves and closes the application while the other is working in it that uh information can Unfortunately be locked So certainly if you're working on it at on the same application at different times you can work on it from different computers And that that's certainly fine. You just need the the login information But we strongly recommend against having two people working on the same application at the same time Okay, good to know. We don't want any head to desk moments Okay, is there a way to attach more than one letter of support? Yes, so there are there are a few ways that you can do this One is to create uh to to move all of your letters of support into one document or usually one pdf And then you can just attach that one pdf to the uh to the application form That's kind of the easiest way However, if you want to submit them Individually and you do run out of space on the application form you can simply submit any additional letters of support via email directly to the the program office and then we will Just attach that manually to your file Okay, great Moving on to another topic supporting documents. So that's a nice little segue there It's a letter of attachment a lot of support is a supporting document. Uh, those council resolutions. When are they do by? So there so again, we would prefer that they be submitted with the the application By the deadline of july 31st. However, if your council is not meeting before then and you're unable to uh to obtain a resolution We have provided an extension until august 31st 2018 And we just asked that when you submit your application in the section that's Focused on the resolution that you just provide us with a timeline for when you will be able to provide us With the completed resolution For the project Okay, so can resolutions of support from the past either from your council or your board of directors Can they be used from the past or do we need a fresh resolution? So For each intake we we do require a new resolution that shows support for the project Just because um, if there's been a resolution of support in the past Um, you know from our our standpoint, we don't know there could have been a change in leadership or change in direction And so it's not clear to us that that support is current Um, and it's not and that the support is for this specific application So that's where we do require that a an updated resolution be provided for the specific application that's being submitted at the time Okay, okay. Um, how do we send the most recent annual report? Um, so the the easiest way to do that is to To submit the document through the the online application portal If for whatever reason if the document is too large You can submit it directly to the program via email But the easiest way to do that would be to submit A scanned copy of that document through the the online application form Okay, I cannot mail you a printed copy of my annula report No, unfortunately not. Okay online documents. Got it. Okay, uh on to cost eligibility or Things to do with cost eligibility. Uh, what kind of procurement processes do we need to use? Can we direct a word to say a consultant that we've worked with? You know on an earlier phase of the project or do we have to go out to tender on get multiple quotes that sort of thing Uh, so the the procurement process is is really dependent on the internal processes of the the app the Organization that receives the funding. Um, we don't uh The provincial requirements do not kind of get passed along to the afghan organizations It's really up to to each organization to follow its own procedures for Procurement for how they want to move forward with those funds If you have multiple quotes and you want to include those with your application It certainly makes your application stronger, but it's not a requirement. And again once we provide funding following the application intake Period, it's really up to to your organization for how you want to run that procurement process Okay Can costs that are ineligible for world development funding still be counted as applicant contributions? So on the budget form as applicants fill out and detail their project costs There is a drop-down menu that allows applicants to detail How those costs are going to be funded so you can select whether the cost is going to be paid Using rule dividend funds using an in-kind contribution or from another source So Costs that are ineligible for rule dividend funding They can still be detailed in the budget form and perhaps even as still part of the applicant contribution However, those costs because they've been deemed ineligible For the purposes of rule dividend funding They cannot be selected as having rule dividend funds purpose towards them So yes, you can still detail costs that are ineligible for rule dividend funding as part of your applicant contribution But still make sure that you're meeting that overall 20 percent or 40 percent if you're doing a partnership project As part of that criteria as well Okay, um, so here's about a specific type of cost It says speaker costs are eligible, but conferences or events aren't. What's the difference? So the the program has uh Tried to stay away from funding a large events or large conferences Just because it doesn't really fit within the scope of the the program in terms of speaker costs This is more kind of to support Um projects that are focused on either workforce development or training initiatives or lunch and learn sessions for local businesses or entrepreneurs and so for those types of uh projects often they will want to bring in a speaker or or Or a specific teacher for for one of those events and so those sorts of of costs for kind of a Um speaker for as part of a Series a learning series or a training series that certainly makes sense and fits within the program But large events or conferences just uh don't quite fit within the the rural dividend program Okay Moving on to another theme the funding disbursement the paying of the money Uh, is there going to be consideration to balancing where the funding is dispersed throughout the provinces? And so are there limits to how much a region or an individual applicant may receive sort of based on where they are So when we Make our funding decisions. Certainly we do look to to ensure that that funding is distributed throughout the province That being said there is no formal kind of formula for how funding is distributed. So If you know of other applicants in your community or your region that are applying certainly Don't get discouraged that that you can't apply as well really the main Determinant in in whether a project gets funded is the the quality of the application and the the strength of the proposed project and so it While we do have a bit of a consideration around geographic distribution is it's it's not kind of the key factor Okay, it's not a show stop around the words Okay, uh when when are the funds going to be dispersed? So again, uh, we'll be moving into our review and assessment process right after the intake closes on on july 31st um, this is a bit of a new process for us because In the past we've done two intakes and this year. We're only doing one. And so we're not quite sure of the the Uh a number of applications that we will receive so Our estimate now is that uh, we're going to be looking to have Uh the assessment process uh going from late summer into the fall with uh with funding decisions announced later in the fall okay And um, if I am a super cleaner, can I get my project started? Before any funds are dispersed or before I find out if I have the funding So once an applicant submits their application, um through the online application form You are able to start incurring project costs uh, but we just want to caution that If you have incurred costs once your application has been submitted And then you later find out after the review and assessment process that unfortunately the application was not successful Then those costs would need to be paid through other sources Okay, so I won't spend money that I haven't been awarded yet Unless you're really really excited No, I'm not going to come back and say but I spent money thinking you were going to give me money right Okay, um, so when I'm putting in my own funds the sources of my 20 or 40 contribution does gas tax dollars Is that eligible to be applied towards my uh applicant contribute contribution amount? Yes, so the the community works, uh fund portion of the gas tax, uh dollars Uh, since that's provided on a per capita basis to communities that can be applied towards the the applicant Contribution amount, okay, even though that is a provincial slash federal amount Yes, since it's provided on again a per capita basis, then then those are really kind of uh, we view that as operational funds that the the municipalities can uh allocate at they see fit and so if they've determined to allocate them to this project Um, then that's not an issue It's more when when other funds have been provided from the federal or provincial government specific to the project. Um, that's where Uh, where is it's not eligible? Okay, so western diversification funds Western diversification, uh, those are again, um, that's a those are federal funds So they would not be able to be included in the applicant contribution Okay The application can include the provincial or federal government funds Okay, what about things from non-government sources like the economic development trusts And yeah, so those Those are definitely eligible to be included as part of your applicant contribution Any of the the development trusts throughout the the province or any other non-for-profit sources that may be contributing funds Those can certainly be included as part of the applicant contribution Okay, and what about in-kind contributions? How do they factor into the the percentage of applicant contribution? So the uh for the single applicant stream applicants are required to provide a 20 Provided applicant contribution of 20 percent of the total project cost And up to 10 percent, um of that 20 percent can be through in-kind contributions For the partnership funding stream applicants are required to provide an applicant contribution of 40 percent of the total project cost and again, um A maximum of 10 percent of that 40 percent can be provided through in-kind contributions Okay, so you really have to have some capital You got to put money in okay You can't just use your photocopier as your applicant contribution. Okay. Yeah All right, so for different funding streams. Um, is there a limit to the amount of funding we may wish to apply for? Yes, so We have three funding streams. Uh, the first funding stream is our project development funding stream And that provides a smaller amount of money a maximum of 10 000 And so that's really intended to help Communities or organizations complete the preliminary work to support A larger project that will be pursued In the future. So, you know completed a feasibility study or a business case It's really meant to help uh communities that that have an idea for a large project Really kind of do those initial steps to to get it off the ground And then you can either come back to to our program or to other funding programs for Support for the implementation of the larger project in the future The second funding stream is the single applicant funding stream And the maximum funding amount for the single applicant stream is 100 000 And but as we discussed earlier There is a required applicant contribution of 20 percent of the total project cost Which can be provided through in-kind and financial sources and the Single applicant stream is again for applicants to undertake an economic development or diversification focused project And then finally we have our partnership funding stream, which has a maximum funding of 500 000 and the applicant required applicant contribution is 40 percent Which again can be through financial and in-kind contributions And so that's where an eligible applicant is applying in partnership with at least one eligible partner And so therefore they're they're able to access an additional amount of funds Okay, um now there's the special circumstances stream What are what are what is that about what are the funding ceilings for that stream? Does the application differ? So the special circumstances funding stream Was set up really to support Um Rural communities that are facing a significant economic crisis Either resulting from the loss of a major employer, so a mill or a mine or the the impacts of natural disaster so floods or wildfire And the special circumstances stream allows The program to provide funding directly to Communities that are dealing with the crisis outside of the parameters of the the rural dividend programs So mainly it means that we're able to be more responsive and provide funding on a Timelier basis because we're able to provide funding kind of outside of the the regular intake period and and and provide support As as soon as possible In terms of the the funding ceiling to date We have not provided more than 500 000 Through the special circumstances stream so that's consistent with the maximum amount provided through the the regular intake period and really again special circumstances is it's for those communities that are really dealing with a Significant crisis and are looking for immediate support if you if you have an application that fits within the regular intake period And that that may be the most appropriate process for for receiving funding Okay, great A couple questions Sorry, just to add to that if there are any communities that that are wondering if if they would fit within that stream We definitely encourage them to to contact the program office and we can discuss it further with them Okay Good. Yes, when in doubt contact the program office Uh, and that's rural development rural dividend at gov.bc.ca, right? Yes, okay. I just thought I'd mention that again since we don't have it up on the screen A couple questions about multi-year projects when multi-year projects are Funded how is the funds dispersed over the two years? Um, so our funds are distributed as a grant so the funds are provided up front so after applicants are informed that they've been successful Then we work with them to develop a comprehensive grant agreement to lay out How the project will be implemented and then they're provided with with funds and they're responsible for Managing those funds over the the two-year timeframe for the the program or for the project Okay, and as you see I've asked a couple more questions here What are the interim reporting requirements after year one and what are the reporting requirements at the end? Do you have to provide audited financial statements? What do you have to do? so For each year that the project is underway the afghan is required to submit two interim reports One at the end of november and one at the end of may And so that into those interim reports will really kind of detail the progress of the project to date And we'll provide accounting and financial details regarding how the the funds have been spent after the the project is completed then The afghan is required within two months of the the completion date to submit the final report for the For the project which outlines again. What was what was completed? What was accomplished and to provide a thorough accounting for for how the funds were spent? Again applicants who are applying for more than 100,000 Funding are required to have audited financial statements for their organization. However, the The final report and then the financial and auditing information in there does not have to be independently audited That being said, we do have an audit function for our program We recently completed an audit of Projects that were funded in the first year of the program with the assistance of of the ministry of finance And so and we will have an annual audit going forward so It is just something to keep in mind that there is a randomized audit process and As part of the grant agreement developed with each applicant They are required All applicants are required to participate in that process if selected and and then their financial information can be reviewed in detail at that time Okay, you may be audited good thing to know Okay, so if the multi-year project was funded in the past in an earlier intake and it's still active How should we frame an application for sort of the same project but a further phase of it? So applicants can definitely Pursue a second phase to follow up on on a project that was previously funded There are a few things that you should keep in mind when developing an application like that One is to very clearly differentiate what was accomplished in phase one And what will be accomplished in phase two just so that it's clear to us that we're not funding the same project twice Just to kind of differentiate How you'll be moving forward with with the next phase of the project if the the phase one is still active You can apply for further funding, but what we'll be looking at in the assessment process is to see How much progress has been made on that first phase if you're if you made a lot of progress and you're nearing completion and Certainly we may move forward with with funding phase two But if it looks like phase one is still at a very early stage then we may look at As suggesting that you come back for a for a later intake For phase two once more of the the phase one has been completed Okay, thank you A couple of questions about project types. We tried to make this not too specific, but there was a couple of things that came up Uh, so people are interested in applying for funds for things like Uh developing a community plan for a rural community or developing an economic development strategy Or perhaps implementing Developing and implementing part of the strategy. Are those eligible costs or eligible projects? Yes, definitely. So, uh applicants can can pursue kind of developing A plan or a strategy through the project development stream But if it's a larger project, uh, that Additional funding is required and certainly you can pursue that as a standalone project in the single applicant funding stream and we have funded Again, uh economic development strategies and the implementation of economic development strategies in the past. So that that that would fit Well within the scope of our program. Oh good. Okay. Um What if what if we have four sub projects under one project title? Uh, how do we explain that? So again There's certainly eligible or certainly able to to do that to have a project with with multiple sub projects underneath it Again, that's just where we would really be looking for a very clear Kind of a description of of what each sub project encompasses. What are the activities? And just differentiating Throughout the application You know what the timelines are for each of those sub projects. What are the milestones for each of those sub projects? Just so that it's very clear to us what are the specific components and and Again, what will be completed with each of the the sub projects is um Probably just again a bit of additional explanation may be required, but it's certainly possible to submit an application like that under the program Okay, good. Um, Finally things about selection. Can you share the rubric for ranking applications? Uh, so we can't share the the rubric, uh, unfortunately But we do have a section in the program guide that does outline the selection Uh criteria at at a high level and and identify some of the key project Uh, or sort of program objectives and components that we are Uh looking at as part of the review and assessment process All right, this will not be decision by dartboard So you have criteria. Good. Good. Excellent. Uh, and finally, can you provide some examples of successful projects in the past? Or where can people go to find out more about? projects So all the projects that have been funded to date are listed on the program website Uh under the I believe it's Uh funded projects tab And so there's all the projects there with a brief description and the amount of funding provided And so that's really the the best place to go to to look at what sort of projects have been successful So far to date in the program Okay, I'm actually going to try and bring that up on my computer here and see if I can Share that on our webinar on our webinar here on the recording. So if I go to gava.vc.ca Flash rural dividend And I'll get directed to I'm not going to share my Browser quite yet. I'm going to try and find this and show it to people Okay showing my Screen here we go So if I'm looking at the website and I want to look at past projects I can just go to BC rural dividend and look at the funded projects section And oh look at that funded projects lots of them different you've got them broken down just kind of um by By funding stream and in each of the intake periods And so you can just uh click on on on each link and it'll take you to uh to a complete list of the The project funded to date Okay, that's fabulous. Thank you very much. Oh, I'll have to download. Ah, it's an adobe acrobat document to download Got it. Okay, so I'll just go back over to my presentation here So um that is all of the questions that we receive for the webinar I just want to thank matthew and sarah for taking the time to Uh to host this webinar as well your your team behind the scenes there who are Aren't in front of the microphone Thank you very much to the whole team at the rural policy and programs branch For uh being part of our webinar series and we're really happy to support you guys in getting the word out there This is a really key Facility building program for BC communities Before we go i'm just going to tell you about a few things coming up So if you're watching this recording you can register for those We're going to take a bit of a summer break and come back in september with some more webinars We've got two scheduled already the tech dev 101 series continues So the links are there on your screen Hopefully they're easy to write down and you can go to those URLs. Uh, they are case sensitive So if you put in a lowercase s for september, uh, you won't actually get to the link So you have to write it down with exactly the capitals as shown. I just found that out today Um Another thing here's your summer homework after this in addition to writing your grant application is We'd like you to complete a semi-annual survey on our webinars. How have you used them? Um, what outcomes have happened as a result of implementing ideas that you've heard about on a webinar or connections that you've made Also the format at the timing of the webinars the platform we're using and as an extra bonus I have listed all of the topics that I have under consideration for the fall and winter Webinar series and I'd like to hear from you what you think is the highest interest medium interest and low interest topics The webinar survey is at each ttp colon backslash backslash bit dot lee slash Webinar checkup and once again, you have to put in the capital w and c on webinar checkup. Otherwise, you will not get to URL um So that survey will be open until august 3rd and uh when we get back in august I'm going to be doing all the scheduling so make sure you've had a chance to go and give me what you what you want to see If you want to sign up for our future webinars in case you found out about this from somewhere else or viewed it on our website Just follow this link c m dot p n slash three i m j And sign up and we'll make sure that you find out about everything coming up We will be recording. We have been recording this and we will be posting the recording to youtube video and sharing the links on our economic development website on the The past recordings or recorded webinar series and so you'll be able to go there and see Watch this again as many times as you want After today, uh, it'll take us a couple of days to get this online, but Feel free That is all we have today. So thank you very much for joining us on the session and once again If you have any questions, this is the email address that gets to my branch at the economic development design coordination outreach branch, but you can also email ruraldividend at gov dot bc dot ca If you have specific questions about the program, uh, if I get an email from someone I will obviously send it over to my friends over at flin row erdie So thank you very much everybody for joining us and watching