Community action A crucial contribution

to the exercise of citizenship

and social development in Québec

P O L I C Y S U M M A R Y

The representatives of the Comité aviseur de l’action communautaire autonome and those of the Comité interministériel de l’action communautaire have participated in all the various policy development phases of the community action recognition and support policy.

COORDINATION: Daniel JeanDirector general of the Secrétariat àl’action communautaire autonome du Québec

WRITTEN BY: Ginette Drouin Busque

DEVELOPMENT TEAM:Hélène BoivinMartine PichettePatrick Brunelle

PUBLISHED BY: Direction des communicationsMinistère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale

September 2001

This document is available on the Internetwww.mess.gouv.qc.ca

Ce document est disponible en français.

Community action A crucial contribution

to the exercise of citizenship

and social development in Québec

P O L I C Y S U M M A R Y

A WORDF R O M T H E M I N I S T E R

I am very pleased to present the government’s communityaction recognition and support policy entitled CommunityAction: A crucial contribution to the exercise of citizenshipand social development in Québec. In providing Québecwith a community action recognition and support policy,we are affirming the place of community organizations atthe centre of the renewal of Québec’s social policies.Indeed, it is a way of fully recognizing their role in thesocial and economic development of Québec.

Through the adoption of this policy, the government recognizes two essential criteria: respect for the inde-pendence of community organizations in the many socialroles they are asked to accept and the need for adequatesupport of community action in citizenship.

This policy is based on experience, serious thinkingand constructive exchanges with communityorganizations and offers guidelines for govern-ment initiatives to assist the community sectorin consolidating its action and sphere of influence.It involves a revision of government fundingpractices, particularly to build structured bases,accountability, openness and confidence andthus maintain free and voluntary lines of com-munication that are sound and productivebetween government and the communitysector and, at the same time, support the overallmission of community organizations.

I am convinced that with this policy, the QuébecGovernment is laying the important groundworkfor the recognition and support of communityaction. The policy sets the stage for continueddialogue and for the development of promisingnew practices.

The Minister for the Elimination of Poverty and Exclusion,

Nicole Léger

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MAIN THRUSTS O F T H E C H A N G E S U N D E R T H E C O M M U N I T Y A C T I O N R E C O G N I T I O N A N D S U P P O R T P O L I C Y

PREAMBLE

• All government departments and agencieshave been working together closely for overthree years.

• The community sector has rallied around thedraft policy and was consulted by the Comitéaviseur de l’action communautaire autonomeand by the government.

• The policy will prove beneficial for the com-munity sector and the government. It respondsto the main needs expressed by the sector andprovides guidelines for government departmentinitiatives.

• It is designed to generate structured supportfor ci t izenship and social development in Québec.

THE MAIN CHANGES AS A RESULT OF THE POLICY ARE THE FOLLOWING:

ADMINISTRATION:

• Harmonization of the mechanisms for accessto funding, using a three-year timeframe.

• Harmonization of accountability mechanismsand requirements based on the size and budgetsof the organizations concerned; streamlining of procedures, etc.

• Crafting of management monitoring modelsthat respect the mission of government bodiesand the autonomy of community organizations.

• Fuller grasp of the ins and outs of communityaction and its role in the development of Québec.

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GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY ACTION:

• Proposal of three government funding approaches:

1. Financial support for the overall mission.

2. Service agreements.

3. Financial support for specific activities or for ad hoc or short-term projects.

• Explicit recognition of the role of rights advo-cacy organizations and refocusing of the Fondsd’aide in order to support those organizations.

• Recognition of the role of umbrella organiza-tions; government departments are called uponto support the umbrella groups in their field of endeavour.

• Commitment to support recruitment, training,and volunteer guidance and supervision, and topromote recognition of the skills developedthrough volunteering.

• Institution of a program to promote innovationand research in community action.

• Recognition of the training needs of membersof boards of directors, administrators and otherplayers in addition to volunteers.

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GOVERNMENT RECOGNITION OF COMMUNITY ACTION:

• Involvement of community sector representa-tives in introducing and implementing the policy.

• Participation of community sector representa-tives at the forums where policies take shape.

• Recognition of the contribution of volunteeringin all its permutations.

• Formal recognition of community action asa crucial contribution to the exercise of citizen-ship and social development in Québec.

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POLICYS U M M A R Y

CHAPTER ONE - PERSPECTIVES, DIRECTIONSFOR ACTION, BASES, SCOPE

Chapter one discusses the importance ascribedto the third sector or the voluntary sector else-where in the world and provides an overview of community action in Québec. It describes the goals the government is pursuing throughthe adoption of an official policy as well as the bases for the policy, which highlight theimportance of community action in citizenshipand social and economic development, as wellas the crucial issue of the autonomy of commu-nity action organizations, in other words, the necessary distance between them and thegovernment. Respect for the independence of the community sector is a leitmotif that runsthroughout the policy.

Chapter one also explains the scope of the policy:

• The government acknowledges communityaction in the broad sense; the policy is thereforeintended for the community sector as a whole.

• The government also recognizes independentcommunity action and the features specific to it;it expressly supports the resulting alternativeservices by instituting a funding mechanism tailored to its features.

The policy then goes on to specify the criteriaapplicable to community action organizationswithin the broad meaning of the term, as well as the additional criteria that apply specifically to independent community action organizations.

The organizations excluded from the policy arethose not involved in community action, such asprofessional associations, unions or religiousorganizations, as well as foundations whose solepurpose is to raise and allocate funds.

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CHAPTER TWO - RELATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY SECTOR, SUPPORT MEASURES AND STRUCTURE-INDUCING INITIATIVES

Chapter two of the policy presents the mecha-nisms for recognition, that is, the type of workingrelations the government wishes to have withthe community sector, as well as the supportmeasures it intends to make available to it. In order to harmonize government departmentand agency practices, it has been proposed thatexisting models be progressively restructured to fit three funding formats:

> Funding for independent communityaction: a tool for promoting and supportingindependent community action

This funding format is a key element of the policyproposal in support of the overall mission of inde-pendent community action organizations. It is inthe form of a lump sum that takes into considera-tion all aspects of the endeavours of these orga-nizations. This amount does not necessarily coverall operating costs, but, rather, a basic thresholdrepresenting a sizeable portion of the costsdeemed allowable. This financial support is com-plementary to the contribution of the communityand various other sources of funding could betaken into account, such as membership fees anddrives, private sector support in the form of accessto goods or services, and volunteering.

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> Funding aimed at collaboration in developingservices that complement public services: service agreements

Services can be provided by organizationswhose activities are basically complementary topublic services, or by independent communityaction organizations that already receive fundingfor per formance of their overal l mission. In the latter case, service agreements are usedin tandem with other funding. The rationale for service agreements differs markedly fromthat of funding for the overall mission of commu-nity organizations insofar as they are contractsspecifying the mutual commitments of the parties concerned.

> Funding for ad hoc or short-term projectsor activities

In addition to funding for the mission of inde-pendent community action organizations andservice contracts, funding for ad hoc activities orprojects is also possible. Each governmentdepartment or agency would maintain responsi-bility for the terms and conditions governingaccess to this kind of financial support and for assessing the relevance of the projects. The general costs for realizing projects would beincluded in the allowable costs.

Thus, each of the three funding approaches covers distinct activities and actions or services soas not to fund the same object more than once.

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> Other configurational initiatives

Supportive measures other than funding include:

• support for recruitment and guidance andsupervision of volunteers as well as for recogni-tion of the skills developed through volunteering;

• support for the training and professional development of salaried staff within communityorganizations;

• adaptation of procedures according to thefunding formats and the features of the organi-zations (size, budget, etc.) and harmonization of accountability procedures;

• harmonization of the other administrative pro-cedures applicable to community organizations;

• collaboration with the community sector in crafting evaluation means, mechanisms, procedures and indicators.

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CHAPTER THREE - IMPLEMENTATION: SACA, THE COMITÉ AVISEUR DE L’ACTION COMMUNAUTAIRE AUTONOME, THE COMITÉ INTERMINISTÉRIEL AND A REFOCUSED FONDS D’AIDE À L’ACTIONCOMMUNAUTAIRE AUTONOME

This chapter discusses implementation of thepolicy. It defines the role and the mission of theSecrétariat à l’action communautaire autonomedu Québec, e. g. coordination of the workentrusted to the Comité interministériel as partof the implementation process. The mandatesof the Comité interministériel and of the Comitéaviseur de l’action communautaire autonomedu Québec are also described. A consultationand coordination table that brings together allcommunity organizations will be asked to takepart in the work to implement the policy.

Chapter three also deals with the mission of theFonds d’aide à l’action communautaire autonomeand the move to refocus it towards support fororganizations whose primary mission is rightsadvocacy. This is how the policy recognizes therole played by these organizations and the needfor distance between them and the governmentdepartments and agencies they are called uponto scrutinize as social critics.

The final section addresses the financial ramifi-cations of the policy, specifically, that its imple-mentation will require supplementary budgetaryappropriations on a recurrent basis, and thatgovernment department and agencies will haveto evaluate the resources needed to continueinstituting the various means and measures.

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