Indigenous Cultural Heritage Call for Projects

The goal of the Indigenous Cultural Heritage Program is to support the knowledge development, focus, advocacy, protection, and outreach of Indigenous cultural heritage in view of making a significant contribution to the ministère de la Culture et des Communications’ objectives.

The Program also aims to meet the objectives of the 2022-2027 Government Action Plan for the Social and Cultural Development of the First Nations and Inuit more specifically, it contributes to the implementation of section 1.4 regarding the involvement in promoting Indigenous vitality and culture, as well as the cultural landscape, Indigenous languages, and reconciliation.

The program is also in line with Québec’s cultural policy, “Partout, la culture,” especially in regard to its commitments to Indigenous communities. The first of these commitments concerns the cultural development of First Nations and the Inuit nation: Indigenous communities must also have the opportunity to play a greater role in the management, advocacy and transmission of their cultural heritage, including traditional knowledge (p. 14 of the Cultural Policy).

Financial assistance granted by the Ministère makes it possible to conduct defined actions that cannot be automatically renewed over a specified period. The various calls for projects covered by the Program include specific provisions according to the project type.

The aim of this call for projects is to:

• Increase awareness, advocacy, protection and outreach of Indigenous cultural heritage
• Encourage innovation in Indigenous cultural heritage and ensure its advocacy

Terms and Conditions

This Program’s call for projects is open to non-profit legal entities (organizations, cooperatives or public authorities):

• That have their headquarters and principal place of business in Québec
• That fulfilled all commitments made to the Ministère regarding previous grants, including submitting the Accountability Report (PDF 143 Kb).

Specific Requirements

The Program’s call for projects is intended for Indigenous organizations or committees with a mission or mandate to contribute to the cultural development of their community, including by increasing their cultural heritage’s outreach.

Eligible applicants include:

• Indigenous public authorities
• Indigenous organizations, companies or community groups
• Indigenous educational institutions
• Indigenous cultural, educational or recreational organizations or centres

Exclusions

Applicants not eligible for the program include:

• Applicants registered with the Registre des entreprises non admissibles aux contrats publics, including any subcontractor registered with the Registre
• Applicants that have failed to meet their obligations after having been duly served with formal notice regarding the granting of prior financial assistance by a Québec government department or agency

Financial assistance may not be used to make a payment to any entity in any of the situations described above.

Eligibility Requirements

Projects submitted for this call must:

• Contribute to the knowledge, focus, advocacy, protection and outreach of Québec’s Indigenous cultural heritage, through inventories, studies, dissemination, training and awareness-raising activities
• Be carried out in Québec, by one of the 11 Indigenous Nations recognized by the Assemblée nationale

Projects must involve at least one of the following types of heritage:

1. Archaeological heritage
2. Intangible heritage
3. Historical characters, events and places
4. Cultural heritage landscapes
5. Heritage documents
6. Sites of cultural importance

Exclusions

Projects not eligible for the program include:

• Those related to organizations’ day-to-day operations, i.e., projects that fall within the scope of activities considered normal and routine
• Those funded under another assistance program offered by the Ministère or included in the action plan of a cultural development agreement
• Those eligible for an assistance program sponsored by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles or the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
• Those of a recurring nature

Applications for financial assistance are normally completed online via a form available at di@pason . They are then automatically forwarded to the Ministère in charge of processing them. Upon request, applications may also be submitted in paper form, and must be sent to the Ministère’s office in the applicant’s region.

For any difficulty with di@pason, please fill out the Application for Project Assistance form (PDF 1.28 Mb)  and send it to the Ministère’s regional office that is the closest to your organization.

Applications may be submitted at any time.

Applicants must submit, on the form or in attachments, the information necessary for reviewing their application. This includes:

• A description of the project, including:
  • Its objectives
  • Its content
  • Its relevance and consistency with the Program’s objectives
  • Important dates
  • Expected results and impacts
  • A plan for public communication of project activities and results
• The names of the partners associated with the project and a description of the contributions they intend to make to the project (contributions of goods and services must be accounted for and estimated according to their market value)
• Information regarding the project management team, including its experience and skills
• A detailed project budget
• The Project Schedule (PDF 206 Kb)

N. B.: Particular attention must be paid to the coherence of the project objectives, the planned activities as per the project schedule and the detailed project budget.

In the case of an organization, the applicant must also provide:

• The organization’s most recent financial statements
• Consent from the organization’s competent authorities to apply for financial assistance
• Any relevant information to support the application

While the project is under consideration, the applicant must be required to provide the Ministère with additional information and documentation as requested.

In order to be submitted for analysis, applications must be complete, comprehensible and based on accurate data. Applications for financial assistance that do not meet this requirement may be deemed ineligible. Applicants are responsible for correcting, any defects found during the review of their application within the timeframe allowed by the Ministère.

Applications are reviewed by the Ministère. If necessary, the Ministère may solicit external expertise.

Guidelines

Priority must be given to projects targeting the following aspects:

• Promoting Québec’s Indigenous cultural heritage
• Promoting the development of knowledge in regard to Indigenous cultural heritage
• Promoting access to aspects of Indigenous cultural heritage
• Encouraging citizen participation in the identification and protection of Indigenous cultural heritage

General Criteria

Applications are reviewed based on:

• How well they meet the objectives of the Program’s call for projects
• Overlap or competition with existing activities or projects
• The clarity and precision of the project’s objectives
• The experience and skills of the project management team
• The applicant’s ability to complete the project
• The feasibility of the budget forecasts, financial arrangements and project schedule
• The diversity of funding sources and the judicious use of resources
• The project’s structuring effects and its contribution to the target sector and region
• The project’s impact on cultural and communications outreach

Terms and Conditions

The sum of $50,000 is the maximum amount that can be awarded by the Ministère for the project.

In addition to the clauses relating to payment and use of the grant, the following are also included in the agreement that the recipient must sign to receive payment of the grant:

• a statement of accountability;
• clauses relating to the transfer of copyright;
• commitments related to communications regarding the purpose of the grant.

Only expenses directly related to the project are eligible.

The applicant’s expected contribution to the project must be included in the submitted budget. This contribution may include any goods and services to be provided, with an estimate of their market value.

The Program provides financial assistance covering up to 90% of eligible project expenses, depending on the nature of the project. The cumulative amount of financial assistance, including direct or indirect financial aid received from Québec and Canadian government departments, agencies and Crown corporations, as well as tax credits, and financing from municipal entities that are not direct beneficiaries of the Program, must not supersede 90% of eligible expenses.

For the purposes of calculating the stacking rate for public financial assistance, the term “municipal entities” refers to the municipal bodies included in section 5 of the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information (RSQ, c. A-2.1).

The assets referred to in subparagraph 1 of the first paragraph of section 89 of the Act establishing the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government (CQLR, c. G-1.-1.04) are not considered in this regulation’s stacking rules.

For the purposes of calculating the stacking rate, all forms of financial assistance granted by a public body must be calculated at 100% of their value, whether they must be repaid or not.

The Ministère must pay at least 50% of the grant amount upon signing the agreement. The remainder must be paid according to terms and stages that depend on the nature of the project, its duration and the expected deliverables.

Specific Requirements

Expenses incurred prior to the project being formally accepted by the Ministère are not considered eligible and must be clearly indicated as such in the budget.

The applicant’s contribution to the project must cover at least 10% of its total eligible expenses. Only expenses directly related to the project are eligible. These expenses may include:

• Labour costs (including benefits)
• Costs related to the rental of property or equipment
• Costs related to the purchase of materials or equipment
• Reporting and consulting fees
• Advertising expenses
• Travel expenses
• Other project costs–must be specified
• Administrative fees (up to 5% of the total eligible expenses described above)

Not eligible are expenses related to:

• Awards, scholarships or events
• The organization’s regular activities (associated with operations)
• Fixed assets or leasehold improvements

The Accountability Report (PDF 143 Kb) shall be completed in accordance with the provisions of the results agreement:

• It must be completed according to the timeframe established therein or at the end of the project, depending on its nature and duration.
• Preparing the report involves one of the following approaches:
  • The applicant has a meeting or meetings called by the Ministère, the content of which is recorded in a written report;
  • The applicant prepares a final report and, if necessary, progress reports.

The Accountability Report must include:

• A summary of activities completed
• A description of the project results and how they compare to the project objectives
• A report detailing how the grant was used in order to verify that the funds were used for the purpose for which they were intended
• Any information or documentation required by the Ministère in accordance with the results agreement
• Any other information or documentation requested by the Ministère

The Ministère reserves the right to visit the project site and verify use of the grant money at any time.