At last year’s PAN fall conference, one of the requests we heard at the ED summit was for PAN to facilitate more conversations and potential collaborations across the network when it came to large national and provincial funding calls.
In the weeks before PHAC launched its latest solicitation for the Harm Reduction Fund, we worked with PHAC Staff at the regional and national offices to organize a time for PAN members (and allies) to come together to learn more, ask questions and explore collaborative opportunities. As you may know, the PHAC Harm Reduction Fund supports front-line community-based projects that aim to reduce HIV and hepatitis C infections among individuals who share drug-use equipment.
So, on May 21st, PAN launched its new “PAN presents…” webinar series by co-hosting a webinar with Joshua Mann (Senior Program Officer, Western Region, PHAC) and Jeff Dodds (Senior Advisor, Program Delivery for PHAC), to discuss the call specific to BC with the aims of sharing expertise/insight/analysis to inform new applicants and brainstorm any collaborative strategies or partnership opportunities. PHAC began the webinar with a short presentation on the fund, before we opened it up to a productive Q&A with Jeff and Joshua.
Afterwards, to provide a safe space, we switched to a web conference platform for another 30 mins to engage in a member-only discussion about next steps.
Stay tuned for our next PAN presents… hot topics from the PHSA.
Questions and Answers:
Q: Will the Presentation be made available?
A: Yes, it will be shared (see above). A reminder as well, there is nothing in today’s presentation that is not in the Applicant Guide (that you get sent once you express interest – details here).
Q: Can one organization submit more than one letter of intent?
A: Yes, we don’t have any caps on the number of project applications that may be submitted. It is really about the individual projects. Also, if you already have funding through the PHAC HR Fund, you are still welcome to apply through this open call.
Q: If you are a drug user group do you need to be a registered non-profit organization or do you need to apply through your agency of record/sponsor organization?
A: Don’t need to be registered to apply. Need to describe your legal status of your organization. Other info shows up in your cover letter i.e. governance structure, etc. This dovetails with the part of the application where you speak to your organization’s experience – in the last open call, we did come across new organizations that had applied that were very young. However, the individuals named in the application had been involved in this movement for a long time with substantial harm reduction experience. Their speaking to this experience was good. It will be up to you to decide later (when we are developing a contribution agreement) about whether you want a sponsoring agency to support the agreement.
Q: Has there already been a process between PHAC and the Ministry of Health and the Health Authorities to identify priorities for BC and/or has a “gap analysis” already been conducted for this funding in terms of this province? How will the HA’s and the Ministry of Health impact the decisions made by the review committee for funding/programming here in BC (and for the other provinces and territories)?
A: Yes. The very beginning of PHAC HRF (2016/2017) was backed-up/informed by a number of conversations with provincial and territorial partners. We had many opportunities to discuss with other jurisdictions about where this fund should be focused. We asked our FPT partners where there were areas in their jurisdiction that could benefit from a federal response – and show immediate impact in alignment with FPT priorities. Conversations continued through solicitation phases. Now, with this latest open call, the Provinces and Territories will have an opportunity to provide feedback on decisions from review committee. They need to align with provincial priorities.
Q: Would you recommend PAN member organizations and other CBOs connect with their HA’s as part of the project planning/application process for this call?
A: Not a requirement. But if you have concerns whether your project does or does not align with regional priorities, then yes. A double check would be a good idea. For some folks, programming might already be part of an existing mandate and you already clearly understand where the demand and pressures are at, along with the regional priorities. So for your own information if you are not feeling 100% certain then a check in with your regional HA would be a good idea.
Additional questions or need clarification?
- Contact the Centre for Grants and Contributions at [email protected] if you have any questions regarding the solicitation process, or wish to obtain the application documents (including the Guide for Applicants).
- Read the Guide for Applicants.
- Contact the regional program consultant, Joshua Mann (PHAC/ASPC) at [email protected] or 604-666-8693.