Indigenous Marine Servicing Initiative - application guide
Table of contents
Introduction
Initiative overview
General application requirements
Confidentiality
Application / review process
Contact information
Annex A - Indigenous Marine Servicing Initiative - application form
Introduction
The Indigenous Marine Servicing Initiative assists eligible recipients (Indigenous communities and Commercial Fishing Enterprises) in the development of an Indigenous Marine Servicing Industry. The focus is to foster Indigenous participation in the marine industry supply chain. This initiative is an attempt to respond by assisting Indigenous communities and Indigenous commercial fishing enterprises in pursuing their plans to create jobs and income for their people.
Funding will be available to assist opportunity ready Indigenous communities and Commercial Fishing Enterprises (CFEs) to pursue opportunities in the marine servicing industry, and as such, the initiative will allow for projects covering the following national, regional and local needs and market opportunities including:
- Vessel repair, maintenance and fleet services for the wild fishery, aquaculture and recreational boaters fiberglass and steal repair; ship design, engineering services, boat building, vessel construction and structural components;
- Vessel electronics and ocean technology sales, installation and repair ship supply, chandlery, offloading/landing site and moorage of vessels;
- Marina services (e.g. boat launch, haul-out and storage Offloading/landing sites;
- Moorage of vessels;
- Repair, maintenance and associated work on offshore oil and gas structures; and
- Vessel decommissioning/ship breaking.
This document describes the application process, including guidance regarding how applications are to be submitted, how they will be assessed, and required follow-up activities. A copy of the IMSI - Application Form is attached in Appendix A.
Initiative overview
Project activities eligible for IMSI Indigenous Marine Servicing funding support may include:
- Opportunity assessment*, business planning and development support to assist in building out a viable marine services industry;
- Capacity building support in the form of provision of business and technical assistance, governance design, management practices, accounting and overall accountability using an enterprise risk management approach;
- Training and Skill analysis and development that is customized to the needs of specific projects;
- Project investment / financing (incl. capital costs). Project implementation that is supported by conclusions of opportunity assessments and business cases.
This Initiative has been developed to work alongside existing capacity building activities, including management and human resource development, undertaken under DFO’s regional commercial fisheries programs (AICFI, PICFI and NICFI). In addition, IMSI will use the existing application review processes under these program to evaluate business cases.
Funding under Indigenous Marine Servicing Initiative is limited and is available from five (5) fiscal years, from 2018/19 to 2022/23.
*Note: Funding for feasibility studies will only be approved under very limited circumstances, where the prospects of success for the project are considerably high.
General application requirements
Project objectives - Projects must be aligned with the employment creation, revenue and profits generation, capacity building, and sustainability objectives of IMSI.
Eligibility - Indigenous communities and Indigenous Commercial Fishing Enterprises are eligible to submit proposed projects for Indigenous Marine Servicing Initiative funding support.
Application documents – All applications are to include a completed IMSI Application Form
Business cases - All prospective applicants are to work with the Business Development Team (BDT) to develop associated business cases and ensure applications are complete, including all supporting information, prior to submission to the IMSI Program Authority. Note that there is no cost to the applicant for the services provided by the BDT. Business cases should include the following:
- Project description / purpose
- Level of impact (direct and in-direct) to community/CFE (employment, revenue, etc.)
- Immediate and longer-term costs to the project
- Consideration of alternative sources of funding
- Technical / scientific /regulatory requirements* / factors that could affect project success
- Any other information that could be relevant to the review of the proposal
Financial details - All applications must include detailed budget information, outlining the complete costs for each project, and the sources of funding expected. Specifically, each application must include a minimum 10% in-kind cash contribution from the applicant to the project.
Letter of support - All applications must include a letter of support from their community or CFE, authorizing the submission of an application under IMSI.
Application periods - Applications can be received at any time throughout the year. However, deadlines for intake and subsequent review will be May 15 and October 15. Once the budget has been fully allocated projects will be considered for the following fiscal year.
Application requirements summary
In order to apply for support from the Indigenous Marine Servicing Initiative, applicants must:
- Complete the IMSI - Application Form.
- Provide supporting Letter of Support, Business Case and related documents (e.g. quotes)
- Provide a detailed project budget identifying all sources of funding for the project, including the minimum of 10% contribution towards the total project expenditures.
- Provide any documentation verifying that regulatory requirements are met, if
*Note: it is the responsibly of each applicant to ensure they have the necessary regulatory requirements before initiating a project. Approval of funding under IMSI does not constitute approval of any requests for permits, licences, assessments, etc.
Confidentiality
All information provided by an applicant in the Application and supporting documentation will be held in confidence by the Program Authority and the Independent Third Party Evaluator (TPE). The evaluation of Applications will be carried out under strict confidentiality by those involved. Application and project details will remain confidential even after projects are approved and the TPE’s report and recommendations will only be made available to the Program Authority and the Application Review Board/Committee (ARB/C), unless otherwise instructed by the applicant.
Application / review process
Step 1 - Interested community work with their BDT members to develop project work plans, supporting business cases for submission along with a completed IMSI Application. At this time prospective recipients should investigate all possible sources of funding for the project.
Step 2 - Once complete, each applicant should submit the application documents to the IMSI Program Authority (see Contact Information), along with a letter of support from their community or CFE.
Step 3 - DFO will refer the application to an independent Third Party Evaluator (TPE) for review. The TPE will evaluate each application with a particular focus on the technical and economic feasibility and practicality of the work proposed.
Step 4 – Upon receipt of the Third Party Evaluator’s report, the application and report will be forwarded to the regional Application Review Board/Committee (ARB/C), which includes First Nation representation, for evaluation and recommendation. The evaluation will be based on the strength of the project and business case. The recommendation of the regional ARB/C, including recommended levels of support, will be passed to DFO.
Step 5 – DFO will review the recommendation of the ARB/C and make the final determination for support under IMSI. If a project is approved for support, DFO will send a Letter of Offer* to the applicant outlining the level of support available for the project, as well as any conditions associated with the funding.
Note: Each project will be reviewed solely on project merit for funding approval.
Step 6 - If the applicant is in agreement with the Letter of Offer, they must indicate so in writing to the Program Authority.
Step 7 - Once the work and level of funding are agreed, DFO develops a Contribution Agreement for ratification by the Chief/CFE representative and DFO.
Note: Project expenses incurred prior to the ratification of a CA are done so at the Applicant’s risk, and are not guaranteed for reimbursement.
*Special note: While it is recognized that very large projects may involve several phases or steps, acceptance of a project by IMSI Indigenous Marine Servicing Initiative implies no commitment to provide support for follow-on work or projects submitted for consideration in subsequent years. While it may be helpful to describe the entire undertaking when applying to IMSI Indigenous Marine Servicing Initiative funding support, approval will be limited to the work outlined in the Letter of Offer.
Contact information
Richard Norrena (Manager – Indigenous Commercial Programs)
Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation Directorate (IARD)
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
300 Laurier Ave. West
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0R5
richard.norrena@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
(613) 404-3690
Annex A - Indigenous Marine Servicing Initiative - application form
Section 1: Applicant information |
|||
Organization: |
|
||
Mailing address:
|
|
Date: |
|
Application contact: |
|
||
Phone: |
|
||
Email: |
|
||
Section 2: Confirmation of application attachment and pre-requisites |
||||
Business case |
Yes ☐ No ☐ |
|||
Detailed budget information |
Yes ☐ No ☐ |
|||
Supporting documents (e.g. quotes, permits, etc.) |
Yes ☐ No ☐ |
|||
Minimum 10% cash contribution requirement met |
Yes ☐ No ☐ |
|||
Section 3: Applicant and partners |
||||
Identify the principal applicant, as well as the name(s) of Nation(s) in the aggregate group and any affiliated business entities who are the partners in this project. |
||||
Organization and nature of the relationship (s) |
||||
|
Section 4: Goals and objectives Note: Use a separate document if more space is needed |
||||
Complete the following table to identify the goals and objectives of the project on how they relate to the IMSI funding objectives – support revenue and profits generation, capacity building, employment creation, and economic sustainability of Indigenous marine servicing operations and facilities. |
||||
1. Employment: How many new jobs will be created from this project? |
|
|||
2. Indigenous employment: Of the new jobs that are created from this project, how many of those would be Indigenous staff? |
|
|||
3. Capacity Building: How many personnel will be trained from this project? For how many days? |
|
|||
4. What level of revenue will be generated from this project? |
|
|||
5. What level of profit is expected from this project? |
|
|||
6. Self-sustainability: How will the project sustain itself beyond IMSI funding? |
|
|||
Section 5: Summary of project |
||||
Activity details: Please indicate the category this application applies to |
||||
Project category: |
1. Opportunity assessmentbusiness planning and development support |
☐ |
||
2. Capacity building support in the form of provision of business and technical assistance, governance design, management practices, accounting |
☐ |
|||
3. Training and skill analysis and development |
☐ |
|||
4.Project investment / financing |
☐ |
|||
Provide a brief project overview Provide, in a non-technical manner, a description of the proposed project activities, including:
|
||||
|
||||
Section 6: Work plan |
Identify and describe the project’s major milestones, indicators of success, and the targeted completion dates.
|
|
Section 7: Schedule and breakdown of estimated costs and financing |
||
Costing details (by activity) |
||
# |
Activity title |
Budget |
1. |
|
$ |
2. |
|
$ |
3. |
|
$ |
4. |
|
$ |
5. |
|
$ |
6. |
|
$ |
7. |
|
$ |
8. |
|
$ |
Total cost of activities: |
$ |
|
Supplementary funding sources (e.g., minimum 10% own-source cash contribution, financing, other sources) |
||
Funding source |
$ |
|
Funding source |
$ |
|
Funding source |
$ |
|
Total supplementary funding: |
$ |
|
Total IMSI Indigenous Marine Servicing Initiative funding requested: |
$ |
|
Section 8: Regulatory and/ or other approvals: |
|
Permits and licences Where applicable, applicants are responsible for obtaining the appropriate permits and licences prior to the receipt of any IMSI funding support. Further, permits and licences must remain valid for the duration of the project. |
|
Regulatory approvals |
Completion date |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Section 9: Declaration and signature(s) |
||
The information provided is an accurate description and accounting of the request for Business Development Fund support. |
||
Authorized representative |
Position |
|
|
|
|
Signature |
Date |
|
|
|
|
Please Note: This application and supporting documentation may be shared, in confidence, by the IMSI Project Authority, with the Third Party Evaluator, Business Development Team and Application Review Board/Committee as appropriate.
- Date modified: