Description
The Government of Canada will provide consolidated access to consistent, searchable data and information on funding provided to recipients under federal grants & contributions (Gs&Cs) programs across government.
- Lead departments:
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Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Canadian Heritage
- Email address for enquiries:
- Other involved actors:
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n/a
- Overall status:
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Most deliverables on schedule.
Planned result
You’ll have easy access to standardized information on grants and contributions (G&Cs) funding by federal departments through Open.Canada.ca.
Key indicator
| Indicator | Target | Latest actual data (and data collection date) |
|---|---|---|
| Number of consultation sessions with internal and external stakeholders to align information on grants and contributions funding disclosed by departments with international standards | 40 consultation sessions by 2018, with Canadian Heritage hosting at least 2 sessions by 2017 | 32 in-person consultation sessions have been held to date. However, in place of hosting the remaining 8 sessions (we will be hosting 3 - 5 more) we have consulted on open.canada.ca, engaging broadly. (October 2017) Consultations complete (January 2018) |
| Collaboration with federal departments and external stakeholders to co-develop policy documents | 75% of G&C departments (30) and 10 external stakeholders, with Canadian Heritage to collaborate | 32 Gs&Cs departments (>75%), 6 primary external stakeholders, and over 50 through online consultation (October 2017). Consultations complete (January 2018) |
Status
Status of Open Government Plan milestones (complete, substantial, limited, not started)
Complete:
- 11.1 Provide Canadians with centralized access to standardized information on grants and contributions funding that is proactively disclosed by federal departments via a common, searchable portal on Open.Canada.ca:
- 11.1.1 Establish a standardized, common template for federal departments to publish their data through the centralized portal;
- 11.1.2 Increase access to Gs&Cs information through a decrease to the required disclosure amount from $25,000 to $1;
- 11.1.3 Provide training to federal departments on how to upload their data; and
- 11.1.4 Ensure historical data previously disclosed by federal departments on grants and contributions funding is searchable via the central portal.
- 11.2 In consultation with internal and external stakeholders, expand the amount of information on grants and contributions funding disclosed by departments to align with international standards.
Substantial:
- 11.3 Pilot an approach to improving transparency in the delivery of grants and contributions by Canadian Heritage, including publication of:
- 11.3.1 An increased level of detail in the data proactively disclosed on individual grants and contributions awarded by the department;
- 11.3.2 Performance results against published service standards; and
- 11.3.3 Data on events and celebrations funded by the department.
Other completed milestones:
- Guidelines on the Reporting of Grants & Contributions Awards has officially been published on the TBS website.
- Online consultation held from August 17 to September 30, 2017 seeking feedback on the new draft guidelines to the way grant and contribution awards are publicly reported. The major proposed change is that, beginning April 1, 2018, the government will report all of the grant and contribution awards, not just those over $25,000. In addition, the reporting will be centralized in a more standardized format on open.canada.ca.
- A committee and sub-working groups, including 96% of federal G&Cs money (32 departments) has been formed for the co-development and consultation process.
- A draft standard has been developed and endorsed by the appropriate sub-working groups.
- A draft guideline has been developed and is undergoing consultation and discussion
- External stakeholders and primary users of data have been engaged on multiple occasions
- Seven federal departments have voluntarily begun to adhere to the new proposed reporting requirements.
- Canadian Heritage hosted 2 related consultations in October and November 2016.
- In early 2017 Canadian Heritage (PCH) posted all award amounts dating back to 2006 for 25K and above, in addition to all records dating back to 2015 for amounts from $1 dollar and above. There are currently 41,500 PCH records posted on the Open Government Portal, open.canada.ca.
- PCH is well positioned to meet 28 out of 29 data fields as part of the implementation of the new Guidelines on the Reporting of Grants and Contributions in April 2018.
Challenges
It’s sometimes challenging for us to align with international standards because definitions vary. For example, foreign governments use “grants” and “contracts”, while the Government of Canada uses “Grants”, “Contributions”, “Other Transfer Payments”, and “Procurement Contracts”, all as similar mechanisms. We would love to hear from you if you have ideas on how we may be able to better address this challenge.