2023–2024 call for proposals to promote equality and complementarity between First Nations and Inuit women and men

Issues related to equality between First Nations and Inuit women and men are a priority for the Government of Québec. First Nations and Inuit women play an important role in the life of their communities; they are strong drivers of economic, social, and cultural development. However, they also face specific challenges, as they are at the intersection of several situations of vulnerability. These challenges call for strong action.

With the aim of pursuing the work carried out under the 2021–2022 call for intent on sexual, spousal, and family violence in Indigenous contexts, the Secrétariat à la condition féminine (SCF) is launching a call for proposals to promote equality and complementarity between First Nations and Inuit women and men through concrete actions. This call for proposals is part of the implementation of the Government Strategy for Gender Equality 2022–2027 (PDF 1.52 Mb).

The general objectives of this call for proposals are as follows:

• Value the role of First Nations and Inuit women and girls as drivers of social, economic, political, and cultural development;
• Foster and promote egalitarian relationships between women and men within the First Nations and Inuit populations of Québec.

Projects must address one or more of the following priorities:

• Economic security and Indigenous women in governance positions:
  aims to support effective and innovative projects that encourage the participation of Indigenous women in economic development, or projects that promote Indigenous women’s entrepreneurship and leadership.
• Health and well-being of Indigenous women and girls:
  aims, for example, to support projects that promote healthy lifestyles among Indigenous women and girls (such as physical activity and sport) or projects that value the role of Indigenous women in transmitting traditional knowledge.
• Egalitarian and complementary relations between genders and sexes in an Indigenous context:
  aims, for example, to support projects that encourage the involvement of Indigenous youth in activities that promote complementary relationships between people of different sexes and genders, as well as in romantic relationships, or to produce campaigns promoting and raising awareness of egalitarian and complementary relationships.
• Defending the rights of Indigenous women and girls, including LGBTQ+ and two-spirit Indigenous people:
  aims to support projects that promote and defend the rights of Indigenous women and girls, as well as those of LGBTQ+ and two-spirit Indigenous people.

Any project that does not address one of these four priorities, but that meets at least one of the two main objectives of the call for proposals and is deemed relevant, remains eligible. Remaining projects are selected based on their quality and expected benefits.

For more information about the specific objectives, see the FAQ (PDF 137 Kb).

For the project

To be eligible, projects must:

• span two or three years;
• be submitted on a complete form (including appendices A and B), signed and accompanied by all required documents, within the set deadlines;
• meet one of the general objectives of the call for proposals and/or fall within one of the four allocation priorities listed above;
• be submitted by an eligible applicant;
• include eligible expenditures;
• take place in the province of Québec;
• enable one or more of the following activities:
  • awareness activities
  • training activities
  • promotional and dissemination activities
  • tool development and adaptation
  • support activities for people targeted by the project
  • research, action research, and evaluation activities
  • consultation activities to document and prioritize issues relating to equality and complementarity between Indigenous women and men

For the applicant

Eligible applicants:

• Indigenous non-profit organizations (or their equivalent)
• Non-indigenous non-profit organizations that provide services to Indigenous people
• Cooperatives and Indigenous social economy organizations
• Non-Indigenous cooperatives and social economy organizations that offer services to Indigenous people
• Indigenous communities recognized by the National Assembly of Québec
• The Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador and its commissions
• Post-secondary educational institutions, for expenses not covered by Québec government budget regulations
• Organizations in the health and social services network, and organizations in the education network, for expenses not covered by Québec government budget regulations

Ineligible applicants:

• Individuals
• Organizations that do not offer services to the Indigenous population
• Organizations that are not established in Québec
• Private companies and for-profit organizations
• Organizations listed in the register of enterprises ineligible for public contracts (RENA)
• Bankrupt organizations

Financial assistance for a single project may not exceed $150,000.

Eligible expenditures:

• Salaries related to project implementation (including fringe benefits);
• Project-related travel expenditures (meals, accommodation, and mileage), following Québec government parameters;
• Expenditures related to the purchase of the materials and tools needed to carry out the project. These tools do not include capital expenditures for project implementation;
• Promotional and communication activities related to project implementation;
• Project evaluation costs, up to a maximum of 15% of the project’s total cost;
• Professional fees related to the project that are provided by persons other than the applicant’s own staff (e.g. graphic design, conference, financial audit);
• Project management costs, up to a maximum of 8% of the project’s total cost (e.g. supervision and evaluation of personnel related to project implementation, presentation of the project to partners and donors).
• For universities, up to 27% of these costs are eligible, following the provisions on indirect costs financed by the Québec government in universities.

These expenditures are eligible as of the moment the Minister signs the letter announcing the acceptance of the project.

Ineligible expenditures:

• Base salaries of the applicant’s staff and partners;
• Running expenses and usual operating costs of the applicant and its partners;
• Capital expenditures;
• Expenditures incurred before the letter confirming financial assistance is signed by the Minister responsible for the Status of Women;
• Expenditures covered by budgetary regulations already approved by the Government of Québec;
• Expenditures covered by funding from the Secrétariat à l’action communautaire autonome et aux initiatives sociales (SACAIS) for advocacy activities;
• Portion of taxes for which the recipient of financial assistance is entitled to an input tax credit (ITC), an input tax refund (ITR), or a GST or QST refund, exemption, or waiver.

Submitted projects will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Relevance and quality of the project in relation to the objectives;
• Expected benefits for Indigenous populations;
• Absence of overlap or competition with existing activities or ongoing projects;
• Number and quality of partnerships;
• Support from the Indigenous community;
• Applicant’s ability to carry out the project;
• Credibility of the project timeline, budget forecasts, and overall financial package.

As part of the project selection process, the advisory committee first assesses project eligibility, then analyzes all eligible projects. They are then presented to the SCF, which makes the final selection and recommends the chosen projects to the Minister responsible for the Status of Women.

Eligibility check

Each request for financial assistance is reviewed for eligibility. Requests must be duly completed and filed within the established deadlines. Organizations with ineligible or non-compliant projects will be notified in the fall of 2023.

Analysis of eligible projects

Requests for financial assistance that are deemed eligible and meet the general acceptance conditions will be further evaluated based on the aforementioned criteria.

As part of the project analysis, requests for financial assistance may be forwarded to another ministry or agency for a second opinion on their relevance, among other things.

Presentation of projects to the advisory committee

Requests for financial assistance that receive a positive recommendation after the first analysis will be submitted to an advisory committee for a second analysis. Subject to available funds, this advisory committee reserves the right to prioritize requests to promote the distribution of available financial assistance among the Indigenous nations in Québec, as well as among the projects taking place in Indigenous communities and in urban areas, based on the identified priorities.

Decision

Based on the advisory committee’s recommendations, the SCF will make the final selection of projects and recommend them to the Minister responsible for the Status of Women. At the end of the selection process in the fall of 2023, the SCF will inform all applicants whether their project was selected.

Project kickoff

The selected projects will be able to start work in January 2024, as soon as the Minister responsible for the Status of Women signs the letter confirming the financial assistance.

• Budget (XLSX 26 Kb)

Projects funded for 2 years

Projects funded for 3 years