ACAP Regional Operational Funding

The priorities and direction for the renewed AIDS Community Action Program (ACAP) under the Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS (CSHA) have been developed through extensive consultation with community-based AIDS organizations, other community-based groups addressing HIV/AIDS issues, persons living with HIV/AIDS, and representatives from provincial/territorial HIV programs. All organizations applying for funding under the CSHA - including ACAP applicants - must show respect for the human rights of all Canadians, and support the inclusion and empowerment of populations affected by HIV/AIDS with special emphasis on those living with HIV/AIDS.

• Background
• What is the Purpose of ACAP
• Who can apply for ACAP Regional Operational Funding?
• What are the ACAP Funding Approaches?
• Creating Supportive Environments
• Health Promotion for People Living With HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiatives
• Strengthening Community-Based Organizations
• What are the ACAP Principles?
• What costs will ACAP Regional Operational Funding support?
• How long does ACAP Operational Funding last?
• Are there costs that ACAP Regional Operational Funding won't support?
• What administrative requirements must organizations meet?
• How will proposals be reviewed?
• How much Operational Funding can any one organization receive?
• What about regional needs and priorities?
• Is there anything else before completing the Operational Funding Application?

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Background:
The Canadian Strategy on HIV/ AIDS (CSHA) provides a framework for the federal government to respond to the AIDS epidemic in Canada. This Strategy has six overall goals:

1. to prevent the spread of HIV;
2. to find and provide effective vaccines and drugs;
3. to find a cure;
4. to ensure treatment, care and support for people living with HIV and AIDS, their caregivers, families and friends;
5. to minimize the adverse impact of HIV/AIDS on individuals and communities; and,
6. to minimize the impact of social and economic factors that increase individual and collective risk for HIV infection.

To help achieve goals one, four, five, and six, the AIDS Community Action Program (ACAP) provides funding to community-based organizations addressing HIV/AIDS issues across Canada. This funding is administered through Health Canada's regional and national offices.

Through Health Canada's regional Health Promotion and Programs Branch offices, community-based organizations can apply for ACAP Operational Funding and/or Project Funding to support projects that are local, provincial/territorial or regional in scope.

Through Health Canada's national HIV/AIDS Policy, Coordination and Programs Division, community-based organizations addressing HIV/AIDS from a national focus can apply for National ACAP Project Funding. Separate ACAP Funding Guides and Application Forms are available for all three kinds of ACAP funding.

All ACAP funding submissions must follow the ACAP application process. This process involves consulting either a regional or national ACAP Program Consultant and completing the appropriate ACAP funding application. All ACAP applications are subject to a review process prior to being recommended to the Minister of Health for funding support. Also, all applications must follow the ACAP Funding Approaches, and all ACAP Principles as outlined in this guide and the other ACAP Funding Guides and Application Forms

What is the Purpose of ACAP

What's the purpose of ACAP Regional Operational Funding? The purpose of ACAP Regional Operational Funding is to support the continuing local, provincial and territorial community-based response to the existing and emerging issues associated with HIV/AIDS. Programs supported by ACAP Regional Operational Funding cannot already be mandated to existing government or non-government agencies. O Organizations who apply for ACAP Regional Operational Funding are also required to base their operational activities within one or more of ACAP's Funding Approaches, and to work in a way that respects ACAP's Principles.

Organizations who apply for ACAP Regional Operational Funding are also required to base their operational activities within one or more of ACAP's Funding Approaches, and to work in a way that respects ACAP's Principles.

Who can apply for ACAP Regional Operational Funding?
ACAP Regional Operational Funding is only available to local, provincial, and territorial community-based organizations whose principal mandate is HIV/AIDS. Local, provincial, and territorial community-based organizations whose principal mandate is not HIV/AIDS, but who address specific HIV/AIDS issues, may be eligible for ACAP project funding. These groups should refer to the ACAP Regional Project Funding Guide and Application Form. National organizations are not eligible for ACAP Operational Funding

What are the ACAP Funding Approaches?
The ACAP Funding Approaches represent the specific kinds of activities that ACAP will fund. They are the "What You Plan to Do" in your application for funding. Organizations should clearly identify under which of the four approach areas their activities fall. One of the recommendations that emerged from the consultation processes for renewal of the Strategy was for community-based AIDS organizations to focus their activities in order to maximize their impact, and community-based organizations supported by ACAP funding are not required to undertake activities in all of ACAP's Funding Approaches areas. The ACAP Funding Approaches are listed alphabetically and are of equal importance to the Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS.

Creating Supportive Environments
ACAP supports initiatives that work to reduce or eliminate social barriers that prevent people living with HIV/AIDS, those at risk, and those affected, from accessing health care and/or social services. Although ACAP is unable to support programming that is only advocacy-based, it recognizes that in order to create supportive environments, existing systems need to be challenged. To address this, groups are encouraged to develop partnerships, coalitions, and networks within communities, and with governments and other systems, to help reduce or eliminate discrimination, poverty, illiteracy, homophobia, and the fear and stigma associated with HIV/AIDS-related issues.

Health Promotion for People Living With HIV/AIDS
ACAP supports programming that increases the capacity of people living with HIV/AIDS to manage their condition. This includes programming that attempts to delay the onset of HIV-related illnesses and AIDS through learning and maintaining wellness, as well as programming that improves access to services, treatment, care and social support. Health promotion for people living with HIV/AIDS can also include activities that remove barriers for people because of their HIV status, their sexual orientation, their gender, or their social, cultural, or economic circumstances. For example, these activities could include initiatives that address such issues as return to work, and access to care and treatment for HIV-positive women.

Prevention Initiatives
To prevent the spread of HIV, ACAP will continue to prioritize community-based prevention initiatives that are targeted at populations known to be vulnerable to HIV infection. Evidence suggests that Aboriginal peoples, ethnocultural groups (including immigrants and visible minorities), injection drug users and their partners, gay youth, marginalized women, men who have sex with men, prison populations, and street-involved youth are at a disproportionately higher risk for HIV infection. ACAP recognizes that organizations serving rural and smaller communities might better address the needs of the priority population through broad-based prevention programming where individual populations can seek information without being singled out.

Strengthening Community-Based Organizations
ACAP will support activities that increase the skills and abilities of the people who work at all levels of the community-based AIDS movement: board, staff, and volunteers. ACAP will also support initiatives that provide training in areas such as community development, fundraising, evaluation, and the marketing of programs and services to an organization's intended audience. Also, recognizing that evaluation builds stronger organizations and communities, ACAP will support evaluation training and delivery.

What are the ACAP Principles?
The ACAP Principles are the way in which your activities need to be undertaken. For example, if an organization receiving ACAP Regional Operational Funding is engaged in a prevention activity, this activity must be delivered so that it addresses all of the principles listed below.
The ACAP Principles are:

Community Development
Community development is critical to the long-term sustainability of any program. The community development approach holds that in order for people to gain control over their lives and the circumstances that affect their health, communities must identify their own problems, develop their own solutions, and then put them into action. Communities can be groups of people who share a geographical centre or groups of people who share certain characteristics.

Health Promotion
Health promotion, as defined by the World Health Organization, is is a process of enabling people to increase control over, and improve, their health. People are encouraged to be active participants in improving their health rather than passive recipients of health programs. Health promotion develops the knowledge, skills, and confidence required for people to understand and address their own health needs. It also increases an individual's control over the external conditions that influence their health.

Partnerships and Collaboration
ACAP recognizes that partnerships can take time to become established, and that meaningful partnerships and collaboration help ensure the long-term sustainability of community-based initiatives. Organizations applying for ACAP Regional Operational Funding must identify existing partnerships. They must also identify a plan to develop action-oriented partnerships that involve all partners in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of the programs.

Population Health
Past community-based AIDS work has clearly demonstrated that, in order to be most effective, HIV programming needs to work in a broad social context and address the determinants of health. For example, in order for HIV prevention to be effective for gay men, issues such as homophobia, discrimination, gay men's access to health services, etc. need to be addressed. Organizations applying for ACAP funding must identify which determinants of health their program addresses. These determinants are factors and conditions that have an influence on the health of individuals and communities and include socioeconomic status, social support networks, social environments, gender, and culture.

Evaluation
All organizations who receive ACAP funding are required to develop an evaluation plan. This will help ensure a broad base of learning from the experiences of community-based initiatives across Canada. ACAP recognizes that some organizations may not have developed skills to evaluate the effectiveness of their program, and ACAP Program Consultants are available to provide advice and assistance.

What costs will ACAP Regional Operational Funding support?
ACAP Regional Operational Funding will support the delivery of ongoing programs that reflect the four ACAP Funding Approaches: Creating Supportive Environments, Health Promotion for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS, Prevention Initiatives, and Strengthening Community-Based Organizations.

Program Costs
ACAP will fund personnel costs related to program delivery, materials associated with ongoing programs, as well as administrative and overhead costs directly associated with the delivery of these ongoing programs. For example, ACAP Operational Funding can support key positions related to ongoing programs such as volunteer coordinators, education coordinators, and executive directors, and their overhead costs such as rent, travel, phone, work planning, and conference attendance. Costs relating to program evaluation may also be included, but these costs must not exceed 10% of your total ACAP Operational Funding application budget. (Note: Personnel costs must be proportionate to the time devoted to the delivery of programs. Overhead costs must be proportionate to the overall program delivery costs.)

How long does ACAP Operational Funding last?
All ACAP Regional Operational Funding will be subject to the ACAP review process and will be approved for a maximum of four years. Additionally, regional Health Promotion and Programs Branch offices may choose to initiate periodic review of ACAP Operational Funding in their region.

Are there costs that ACAP Regional Operational Funding won't support?
The AIDS Community Action Program will not cover costs associated with activities that fall under provincial or territorial jurisdiction, or under other federal jurisdictions. For example, ACAP will not fund direct health or social services such as treatment or counseling. Also, ACAP will not fund duplicate costs already supported by another funding source, and cannot support capital costs such as the purchase of a building.

What administrative requirements must organizations meet?
Your ACAP Program Consultant will establish a regular meeting schedule with successful applicants. Also, applicants who receive funding are required to submit regular financial and narrative reports as requested by their Health Promotion and Programs Branch regional office. Administrative requirements are outlined in the funding agreement signed by both the applicant and Health Canada prior to a successful applicant receiving any funds.

How will proposals be reviewed?
Eligible applications will be forwarded to a review committee. The review committee is made up of community representatives working in the HIV/AIDS field, representatives of provincial and territorial HIV/AIDS programs, and, in some cases, experts relevant to an application's target population, activity areas, and/or objectives. Proposals are assessed based upon the following criteria:

Needs

• prevalence (if any) of people living with HIV/AIDS;
• complexity of situations experienced by program's target population(s);
• needs assessments;
• epidemiological evidence;
• literature review;
• previous evaluation results; and,
• needs identified through consultations.

Methods

• planned activities and how they address one or more of ACAP's Funding Approaches;
• involvement of community and volunteers in program activities;
• participation of target population(s) in program development, delivery and evaluation;
• level of collaboration with local organizations and resources;
• avoidance of duplicating activities in the same geographic area; and,
• applicant's suitability to undertake proposed activities.

Management

• realism of requested budget and work plan; and,
• applicant's ability to demonstrate and ensure sound management.

Evaluation

• quality of activities; and,
• methods proposed to evaluate the program.

How much Operational Funding can any one organization receive?
ACAP will follow a policy of contributing no more than $150,000 per year to any single organization per province or territory. Exceptions to this policy may be made depending on regional needs and priorities. Additionally, ACAP will operate under the policy that a minimum of 30% and a maximum of 70% of a region's ACAP budget must be allocated to Operational Funding. Levels will be set by each region based on needs and priorities.

What about regional needs and priorities?
While this guide provides the broad framework within which proposed activities are eligible or ineligible for ACAP Operational Funding, regional Health Promotion and Programs Branch offices may establish more specific provincial/territorial priorities for funding. These priorities will be based on regional needs, provincial/territorial policies and programs, ACAP's funding capacities, CO-funding arrangements, and the review process. All regional priorities, however, must be consistent with the goals of the Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS.

Is there anything else before completing the Operational Funding Application?
Please contact your regional ACAP Program Consultant prior to beginning your application to determine your eligibility.