FEWO Committee Report

THE EVOLUTION OF FUNDING THROUGH THE WOMEN’S PROGRAM

The Women’s Program has experienced a number of transitions over the past decade which indicate a shift towards an increased focus on measuring the results of funding provided through the Women’s Program. These are briefly outlined below:

1995: Women’s Program Moved From Human Resources Development Canada to Status of Women Canada

Prior to 1995, the Women’s Program had been situated in the department of Human Resources Development Canada. As a result of the federal government’s consolidation of women’s equality programs, the Women’s Program was integrated with Status of Women Canada (SWC) in April 1995. The rationale for this consolidation was that the move would provide a single access point to programs promoting women’s equality and thereby create a new synergy between research, policy and programs on women’s equality issues.

1996: Consultations on Future Directions for the Women’s Program

In 1996, Status of Women Canada launched a three-month consultation with close to 400 women’s organizations and others interested in advancing equality for women, to seek input on:

• ways to enhance the working relationship between SWC and organizations and individuals interested in the advancement of women’s equality;
  
  
• the development of a new Independent Policy Research Fund; and
  
  
• the future direction of the Women’s Program. ^[4].

In a document summarizing the findings from these consultations, Status of Women Canada reported that “participants strongly urged an increase in funding for the (Women’s) Program” and further noted that “program (core) funding should be maintained and extended to women’s equality seeking organizations on a more equitable basis.” ^[5] In a more detailed summary of the discussions on funding mechanisms in the Women’s Program, the report on the consultations once again acknowledged that “participants said that program funding (referred to as “core” funding by some groups) is an essential source of support for a number of women’s organizations” despite the fact that groups receiving this type of funding had been cut by a minimum of 25% because of reductions in the Women’s Program budget since 1989.

The report on the 1996 consultations also indicates, however, that certain participants felt that access to program funding was inequitable. These participants suggested that the cap imposed on the Women’s Program budget in 1989 had made it impossible for new organizations to access funding. This concern about equity of access was used by Status of Women Canada to justify the movement away from core funding toward project funding.

1997: Organizational Review

In its 1997 Report on Plans and Priorities, Status of Women Canada announced that it would explore options about the Women’s Program in an organizational review. SWC was aiming to:

Implement a new framework for the Women’s Program. This framework (would) ensure that the Program’s resources are targeted to activities which result in concrete, measurable outcomes, related to the agency’s priority areas, including violence against women. As well, new funding guidelines will be developed, which will ensure greater equity of access to funding ^[6].

1998: Move From Program (Core) to Project Funding

Prior to 1998, one half of the Women’s Program funding was spent on “program” (or core) funding, and the other half on project funding.

The 1998 Departmental Performance Report prepared by Status of Women announced that a new, single funding mechanism would take effect in April 1998, replacing the dual stream of program funding and project funding. In that report, Status of Women Canada claimed that this would replace mechanisms that had created a barrier for newer organizations and would allow the Program’s resources to be allocated more equitably to all eligible organizations.

2000: Increased Funding for the Women’s Program

As part of the Agenda for Gender Equality ^[7], funding to the Women’s Program was increased, bringing the total budget of the Women’s Program to $10.8 million in 2004-2005.

2002: Audit of Women’s Program by Consulting and Audit Canada

The 2002 Audit of the Women’s Program prepared by Consulting and Audit Canada made a number of recommendations concerning operational issues related to the monitoring of funding from the Women’s Program, in such areas as staff training and the development of tools to help staff monitor funded groups. The audit did not, however, examine the impact of the move toward project funding on recipient organizations.

2003: Implementation of the Results-based Management and Accountability Framework (RMAF) for the Women’s Program

Responding to a 2001 decision by the Treasury Board to extend the Modern Comptrollership Initiative to all federal departments and agencies, Status of Women Canada has developed a results based management and accountability framework which identifies the short-term, intermediate and long-term results expected by the Women’s Program. As part of this initiative, Status of Women Canada has adopted an outcome-based approach to funding to ensure that each funding application clearly identifies realistic objectives, strategies to achieve results, expected outcomes and an evaluation plan that is appropriate for the initiative.

2004-2005: Program Evaluation

Status of Women Canada is currently engaged in an evaluation of the Women’s Program which includes a survey of more than 500 groups and interviews with 40 key stakeholders. The Department notes that it will be seeking information from funded groups on their experiences of the changes to the funding mechanism as well as their experiences with other sources of funding. The Department will be exploring alternate models of program delivery, including looking at options for funding mechanisms. The Department notes that this will include a review of other federal funding programs, particularly those which support equality seeking organizations. The evaluation is expected to be completed in August 2005.