Community Action Research Project - Call for Proposals

Ministry of Children and Youth Services
Ministry of Education
2013/2014 Community Action Research /

Community Action Research Project - Call for Proposals

The Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) and the Ministry of Education (EDU) are committed to moving forward with a joint focus on improving outcomes for children and families. Just as service partners have been coming together to work collaboratively in communities across Ontario, MCYS and EDU have been working together to plan and develop strategies at the provincial level. The recently released Ontario Early Years Policy Framework (OEYPF) describes our vision and priority areas for action for the early years sector to ensure that Ontario’s children and families are well supported by a system of responsive, high-quality, accessible, and increasingly integrated early years programs and services that contribute to healthy child development today and a stronger future tomorrow. EDU, MCYS and our community partners all have a role in shaping and implementing this vision.

MCYS and EDU seek proposals for Community Action Research Projects designed to realize the government’s vision and direction for early years programs and services outlined in the Ontario Early Years Policy Framework (OEYPF). The initiative is intended to provide support to communities to examine ways in which programs and services work best in their areas and to share this knowledge with others.

Funding is made available to community project teams to support on-going efforts to improve services for children and families in two streams: the Community Integration Leaders Project and the Innovation Fund.

1. The Community Integration LeadersProject will support four to six communities to continue community-wide efforts to improve services for children and families. A community’s progress in the Early Child Development framework (e.g., leadership in early child development; community planning capacity) is one factor that will help to determine its potential to deliver on the submission.

Communities who receive funding under the Community Integration Leaders stream will:

• have provided leadership in their communities towards creating anintegrated system of services for young children and families;
• have demonstrated leadership in community planning capacity; and
• represent a range of size, scale, geography and community type.

Communities are eligible to receive up to $200,000 in one-time, non-operational funding to support service improvements over a period of six to eight months. Communities are required to submit reports that document the changes in the community over the course of the project. Communities are also required to collect data on predetermined outcomes to help interpret the impact of on the project for children and families. Outcome measures may include: evaluation indices of early identification and service models for children with special needs; measures associated with healthy child development, parent confidence, and parent stress; and service wait times.

Application Procedure

• Proposals for Community Integration Leaders funding must be submitted by the local Best Start Network.
• Complete the attached Expression of Interest form (see page 4) and submit by email to 11:00 pm on July 19, 2013. A notification of receipt will acknowledge the submission.
• The total submission, including cover page with applicant information and question responses must be no greater than 5 pages (single-spaced, 12 point font).
• Selected communities will be contacted by MCYS staff to discuss and schedule next steps in the selection process.

1. The Innovation Fundwill support community groups to undertake specific, focused work in core areas that contribute to an integrated system of services for children and families. The ministry is accepting proposals to pursue innovative strategies in six areas.

Target Areas for Innovation Fund Proposals

Core Area / Description
Parent/caregiver outreach and engagement / Research shows that not all types of families participate equally in community programs and services. Work in this area would develop new orimproved approaches to engaging families.
Seamless Service / Seamless service means services are so well connected that parents may not realize they are being delivered by multiple providers. Innovations in this area would develop strategies and processes to improve transitions between programs and providers.
Effective In-Service Training and Mentoring / Through integration of services, providers may be asked to deliver services and/or work with service colleagues in a new way. Effective training and mentoring would help staff transition to a new integrated service system model.
Embedding the Early Learning Framework and the Ontario Early Years Policy Framework / The Early Learning Framework (ELF) - also known as Early Learning for Every Child Today - describes six principles that help support early child development. Proposals in this category will explore innovative approaches to embedding the ELF principles into early learning environments (e.g., partnerships with families; diversity, equity and inclusion; learning environments; play-based learning). Proposals in this category will contribute to the vision and direction for early years programs and services outlined in the Ontario Early Years Policy Framework (OEYPF).
Administration, Monitoring, and Public Accountability / Evidence-based service provision relies on consistent and verifiable information and data management. Innovations in this area might include (but are not limited to):

• developing strategies and processes that manage client, service and/or outcome data effectively across multiple providers/multiple transitions;
• measuring and monitoring outcomes at a child, family, community and/or system level;
• conducting cost-benefit analyses
• reporting to local taxpayers on early years successes for which there is evidence; and/or,
• examining effectiveness of current administration, monitoring, and public accountability mechanisms.

Re-engineering existing resources / Re-engineering is a planning and change process that looks beyond current structures and processes that yields transformation in program and service delivery (e.g., service effectiveness, breadth of service coverage, cost-benefit). Innovations in this area might explore new models for serving children and families by re-organizing existing resources (e.g. facilities, staff, funding, etc)., accompanied by primary and/or secondary evidence of support.

Innovation Fund Details

Proposal Requirements

• Proposals must be endorsed by the local Best Start Network.
• Proposals should describe how projects will be evaluated, how effectiveness will be measured, andhow knowledge from the projects will be shared.
• Project partners will be required to submit two reports during the project period describing the progress, achievements and challenges related to their project.

Project Funding

• Successful projects will receive up to $25,000 in one-time, non-operational funding.
• Funding cannot be used as base funding or to address operational pressures.
• All projects must be completed by March 31, 2014.

Application Procedure

• To apply for funding under the Innovation Fund, communities must complete the attached proposal template.
• Responses should be as specific and concise as possible.
• The total submission, including cover page with applicant information and question responses must be no greater than 4 pages (single-spaced, 12 point font.)
• Proposals must be submitted electronically to by 11:00 pm on July 19, 2013. A notification of receipt will acknowledge the submission.

Approval Process

• All applications will be reviewed by a team of MCYS and MEDU staff.
• The review team will consider proposals according to four criteria:
• potential contribution of the proposed work to the government’s vision and priority areas for action for the early years sector to ensure that Ontario’s children and families are well supported by a system of responsive, high-quality, accessible, and increasingly integrated early years programs and services that contribute to healthy child development today and a stronger future tomorrow.
• quality of the proposal which may include organization between project partners, description of project artifacts, and evaluation planning/deployment
• alignment with the vision and guiding principles described in ‘Building our Best Future’ and the ‘Ontario Early Years Policy Framework’;and
• representing a range of geography, organization and community types.

Contact

Please contact Ron Ferguson, at or

416-325-8378 with any questions about the Community Action Research Project.

Community Integration Leaders
Expression of Interest Form
Community Name:
Best Start Network Chair(s):
(include name, home organization, email and phone number)
Areas of interest:
(check all that apply) / О SEAMLESS SERVICE: minimizing or eliminating perceived transitions between different service providers
О inter-professional work culture: developing processes, tools and training plans to develop and instill an inter-professional work culture across the child and family services sector
О re-engineering existing resources: exploring new models of delivering services for children and families using existing resources (e.g. facilities, staff, funding, etc)
О governance and accountability: developing structures and mechanisms for community-based oversight, management and monitoring of local services
О Administration, monitoring and public accountability: evidence-based information and data management
О embedding the early learning framework and ontario early years policy framework: examining community integration approachesin the context of early years frameworks..
О special populations (may include Francophone, Aboriginal, newcomer, low-income, etc) : enhancing and/or developing new strategies for supporting children and families of special populations.

Community Integration Leaders – Expression of Interest – continued

Question

/ Community Response
1. How would you describe your community? (e.g. rural, urban, northern, remote, Aboriginal, Francophone, newcomer, low income etc.) / (suggest maximum of 150 words)
2. Briefly describe two examples that indicate a high level of integration among service providers in your community. / (suggest maximum of 1000 words)
3. Briefly describe one example that demonstrates a high level of leadership and/or organizational capacity in your community. / (suggest maximum of 500 words)
4. Briefly describe the governance and accountability processes that will be used to ensure successful completion of the project. / (suggest maximum of 250 words)
5. Funding for the Community Integration Leaders project will be flowed to one organization. Which organization would receive the project funding and how will funding decisions be made? / (suggest maximum of 250 words)
6. Successful communities must submit a series of reports that document the work in the community for the duration of the project. Describe at least two potential research resources available to support your project (e.g. resources within partner organizations, linkages with academicsinstitutions, resources available through procurement) / (suggest maximum of 250 words)

- End of Community Integration Leaders Expression of Interest Form –

Innovation Fund
Application Form
Project Area:
(check only one) / О parent/caregiver outreach and engagement
О seamless service (e.g. warm-transfers)
О effective in-service training and mentoring
О embedding the Early Learning and the Ontario Early Years Policy Frameworks
О administration, monitoring, and public accountability
О re-engineering existing resources
Project Partners:
(provide name of organizations and primary sector)
Primary Contact:
(provide name, organization, email and phone number)
Summary of Proposed Project: (150 words or less)

Innovation Fund – Application Form – continued

Question

/ Community Response
1. Being as specific as possible, what work would be completed under this project? / (suggest maximum of 250 words)
2. How will this work contribute toward integrated child and family services? / (suggest maximum of 250 words)
3. How will the project partners work together to complete this project? / (suggest maximum of 200 words)
4. How much funding (to a maximum of $25,000) is requested to complete the project? Describe key expenses. / (suggest maximum of 100 words)
5. Which organization will receive the project funding and how will funding decisions be made? / (suggest maximum of 100 words)
6. Are there any in-kind donations from community partners to support this project? / (suggest maximum of 100 words)
7. How will the project be evaluated? What would you consider successful outcomes of the project? / (suggest maximum of 200 words)
Best Start Network Endorsement
Provide the name and contact information of the Best Start Network chair(s).
By completing this section you pledge that the Best Start Network chair(s) have read, understood and endorsed your proposal.

- End of Innovation Fund Application Form -

2013/2014 Community Action Research Page 1 of 8