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Call for projects 2021-2022

The Secrétariat à la jeunesse launched an initial call for projects for the Financial assistance program for youth infrastructure in support of The 2030 Québec Youth Policy.

Program description

The general objective of the The 2030 Québec Youth Policy is to guide young people in their journey toward autonomy, in a context of demographic change, so that they can fully contribute to shaping the Québec of today and tomorrow.

The Financial assistance program for youth infrastructure supports the improvement of infrastructure for young people aged 15 to 29¹ throughout Québec, together with other government programs.

The 2021-2022 call for projects is part of the economic recovery, with construction, site layout or set-up, renovation, upgrade, expansion and re-fit projects aimed mainly at young people aged 15 to 29.¹

The call for projects has a total budget of $1 million.

The call for projects entails two steps. The submission of a notice of intent, a simple description, will allow for a pre-selection of projects based on pre-established prioritization criteria. Some 30 organizations will subsequently be invited to submit a formal application.

The following sections summarize the Program’s standards. For more details, consult the Applicant’s guide to the financial assistance program for youth infrastructure.

Program objectives

By granting financial assistance for construction, site layout or set-up, renovation, upgrade, expansion and re-fit projects, the Program aims to:

• improve the state of infrastructure intended for young people;
• increase access to this infrastructure for the audiences¹ targeted under the Policy.

Information summary

Eligible organizations

• An application for assistance can be submitted by a non-profit organization², a cooperative, a social economy enterprise or an Indigenous organization.³
• The applicant must have a target audience that is mainly composed of young people aged 15 to 29¹ and must demonstrate that its mission is in line with at least one of the Policy objectives.
• The organization must be the owner, or tenant with a signed lease for a period of at least five years following completion of the project, or the emphyteutic lessee of the land and infrastructure that are the subject of the application. It must also demonstrate its ability to ensure that the infrastructure related to the application remains operational and is maintained in good condition for a period of at least five years after completion of the project.

Eligible infrastructure

• The submitted project must meet the following criteria:
  • the applicant must be an eligible organization;
  • the project must be eligible;
  • the planned work must be eligible;
  • the assistance requested and the aggregate of the government contribution must be in line with the stipulated requirements;
  • the expenses must be eligible;
  • the applicant must submit all required documents.
• Direct costs may be incurred only as of the signing date of the letter announcing that financial assistance has been granted;

Examples of ineligible projects

• A site layout or set-up project whose activities will mainly affect elementary school students
• A project that is eligible for the Programme d’aide financière aux infrastructures récréatives et sportives (in French)
• A project that expects to receive funding through the Mille et UN Fund for Young People

Financial assistance

Financial assistance is in the form of a non-repayable contribution of $10,000 to $300,000.

To promote a broad regional coverage of the financial assistance allocated, special attention will be given to projects of $100,000 or less.

The Secrétariat à la jeunesse will not be required to participate in funding the completion of a project in the event of cost overruns.

Submitting an application

The 2021-2022 call for projets is closed.

Step 1: Notice of intent

Deadline : January 21, 2021

Required documents

• Web form, which includes the section for submitting the documents required for this step.
• Letters of support for the infrastructure project, grouped in a single document (optional), which must demonstrate:
• confirmed or potential financial partners, including amounts

or

• community support (e.g. resolution of a municipal council, Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux, school service centre, partnering community organizations)
• One to four photos of the existing infrastructure or site on which the work will be carried out

Processing the application

The applicant completes a simple form including a description of the project and the needs. Projects are pre-selected based on the prioritization criteria below. Approximately 30 projects will be selected at this stage.

Projects will be selected according to the following prioritization criteria:

1. Ability to begin work as of summer 2021
2. Confirmation of local support (relevance of letters of support, confirmation of financial assistance)
3. Ability to reach a large number of young people
4. Participation of young beneficiaries in project conceptualization
5. Regional representation. To this end, special consideration will be given to projects of $100,000 or less.

To submit a notice of intent

• Complete the web form and forward the required documents to the Secrétariat à la jeunesse by submitting them directly online.
• Submit the required documents by 4:00 p.m., January 21, 2021.
• Any notice of intent that is not sent in full before the end of the submission period will be refused.
• An acknowledgement of receipt will be sent, within a few days following the submission, to all organizations that submit a project. Only those files presenting all the documents required at this stage will be analyzed according to the prioritization criteria above.
• At the end of the selection process, a letter will be sent to all organizations that have submitted a project by email, informing them of the decision on their project.

Step 2: Full proposal

Only organizations that receive a letter of invitation following their submission of a notice of intent will be eligible to submit the full proposal. Selection at step 1 does not guarantee financial assistance for the project submitted at step 2.

Deadline: April 13, 2021

Required documents

All applications for financial assistance must include the following documents:

• Project proposal form
• Estimated budget
• Minimum of two bids from general contractors or others, justifying the project costs
• Equipment layout plan, if applicable
• Preliminary plans and specifications, if applicable
• Resolution by the applicant’s decision-making body (e.g. board of directors) to submit the application:
  • The resolution must authorize the project’s submission and confirm the organization’s commitment to pay its share of eligible expenses and operating costs, to assume any increase in the operating budget and not to award contracts related to direct expenses before receiving a letter from the Minister announcing the financial assistance.
• Latest review engagement reports or audited financial statements
• Memorandum of association (letters patent), if applicable
• List of board members, if applicable
• Document proving that the applicant is the owner, emphyteutic lessee or tenant of the real property or properties involved in the project, or that the applicant has a formal commitment to obtain this right
• If the organization is a tenant, a letter from the owner confirming the possibility of doing the work for the project
• Evidence of the organization’s ability to ensure that the infrastructure related to the application remains operational and is maintained in good condition for a period of at least five years after completion of the project

Processing the application

Selected organizations will be invited to submit a formal application, which will include documents requiring further planning and action. The full analysis will be based on this second submission, with a final response expected in May 2021.

Applications submitted during step 2 will be analyzed by the Secrétariat à la jeunesse. The analysis will focus on the projects’ relevance, effectiveness and efficiency.

Each project will be evaluated based on, among other things, the following criteria:

• compliance with all eligibility requirements
• demonstration of improved accessibility or service delivery
• appropriateness of the needs for young beneficiaries
• demonstration that the project is supported by the community
• the project’s lasting impact on the service offering for young people

Instructions for submitting documents for step 2 will be included in the invitation letter.

For further information

Contact the Secrétariat à la jeunesse at infrastructure.SAJ@mce.gouv.qc.ca.

• Please indicate your correspondence preferences, by email or telephone, by including your contact information, if applicable.

See also

Programme d'aide financière aux infrastructures jeunesse