The Capacity Joint Table Advisory Committee Final Report September 2005 Table of Contents Introduction 1 About the Advisory Committee 1 The Work of the Advisory Committee 2 Research and information sharing 2 Skill development and recruitment 6 Building policy capacity 8 Building financial capacity 9 Lessons Learned 9 Joint government-voluntary sector process 9 Content and content-related process 10 The challenges of time-limited, one-off initiatives 12 Recommended Next Steps 12 Research and information sharing 12 Skills development and recruitment of paid staff to the voluntary sector 13 Developing policy capacity within the voluntary sector 14 Developing financial capacity within the voluntary sector 14 Next steps for sustaining the learning 15 Conclusions 15 Appendix 1 - Membership Appendix 2 - Staff of Government Secretariat Appendix 3 - Operating Principles of the Joint Steering Committee Appendix 4 - Expenditures of the CJT and the Advisory Committee Introduction 1 About the Advisory Committee 1 The Work of the Advisory Committee 2 Research and information sharing 2 Skill development and recruitment 6 Building policy capacity 8 Building financial capacity 9 Lessons Learned 9 Joint government-voluntary sector process 9 Content and content-related process 10 The challenges of time-limited, one-off initiatives 12 Recommended Next Steps 12 Research and information sharing 12 Skills development and recruitment of paid staff to the voluntary sector 13 Developing policy capacity within the voluntary sector 14 Developing financial capacity within the voluntary sector 14 Next steps for sustaining the learning 15 Conclusions 15 Appendix 1 - Membership 17 Appendix 2 - Staff of Government Secretariat 18 Appendix 3 - Operating Principles of the Joint Steering Committee 19 Appendix 4 - Expenditures of the CJT and the Advisory Committee 21 Introduction In 2000, the Government of Canada launched the five-year Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI), with two specific goals: to improve the relationship between the Government of Canada and the voluntary sector, and to strengthen the sector's capacity in order to meet the needs of Canadians. To carry out this work, seven "joint tables" were created; each co-chaired by government and voluntary sector individuals and made up of an equal number of voluntary sector and federal government representatives. One of these was the Capacity Joint Table (CJT), which was assigned three specific areas related to increasing capacity in the voluntary sector: Skills Development and Recruitment (human resources); Research and Information-sharing; and Policy Internships and Academic Fellowships (policy capacity). The CJT also supported some of the work done by the voluntary sector's Working Group on Financing. In the first two years of the VSI, the CJT moved its work forward through a number of specific projects. Late in 2002, the Joint Table phase of the VSI was concluded. As planned, the work of the Capacity Joint Table would continue to be implemented over the next three years by the Capacity Joint Table Advisory Committee (CJTAC), referred to as the Advisory Committee for the remainder of this report. This report focuses on the projects and products overseen by the Advisory Committee during its mandate from the beginning of 2003 to its conclusion in March 2005. About the Advisory Committee The Advisory Committee's mandate was to: ... provide coordination and leadership to ongoing CJT work, ensuring that projects are linked to each other and to broader Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI) activities. The Committee may also propose and provide guidance for additional activities that may become evident as projects unfold. It will continue to provide the joint leadership of three strategic initiatives, as determined by the original CJT: Research and Information Sharing, Policy Internships and Fellowships, and Skills Development and Recruitment. Its membership included the co-chairs of the Capacity Joint Table, the chair or other delegate from its three strategic initiatives (human resources, policy internships and fellowships, and research) and the chair or other representative of the Working Group on Financing. A list of members of the Advisory Committee over its three-year lifespan is included as Appendix 1. Membership was non-substitutional. The Advisory Committee had two sub-committees, the Knowledge Transfer Working Group (KTWG) and the Research Steering Committee (RSC) (described more fully below). Membership on these sub-committees and of the Working Group on Financing is included in Appendix 1. The Knowledge Transfer Working Group (KTWG) consisted of the individuals that headed up each of the Advisory Committee's projects. They met to discuss how common strategies and co-ordination could be effective in launching and disseminating the products of the Advisory Committee and the products from other parts of the VSI. As a result of their efforts, each report makes reference to the others, with a standard description across publications. This committee also oversaw the development and distribution of a brochure and the writing of articles which describe all Advisory Committee projects and products. Further, the Advisory Committee was supported by a Secretariat in the Government of Canada, first at Human Resources Development Canada, and then at the new Department of Social Development Canada. These public officials are identified in Appendix 2. The listed Directors were responsible for the Secretariat and helped to facilitate the work of the Advisory Committee. The operating principles for the Advisory Committee were those defined by the Joint Steering Committee (formerly the Joint Coordinating Committee). They are attached as Appendix 3. The actual expenditures of the CJT and the Advisory Committee are listed by project in Appendix 4. Although for the most part these are final figures, they may change slightly as final closeouts of projects are completed. The Work of the Advisory Committee As noted above, the major task for the Advisory Committee was to oversee and co-ordinate the completion and, where appropriate, the dissemination of the findings of the projects of the Capacity Joint Table. Under the three broad areas -- research and information sharing, skills development and recruitment, and Policy Internships and Fellowships - the responsibilities over the lifespan of the Advisory Committee were considerable. Research and Information Sharing The Research Steering Committee (RSC) was first created by the Joint Table, to be responsible for overseeing the National Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations and for assisting the Joint Table to enhance the research and information sharing capacity of all types and sizes of voluntary organizations. The mandate of the RSC was to: § Assist the Advisory Committee in increasing the research and information sharing capacity of all types and sizes of voluntary organizations by identifying capacity needs and gaps and recommending appropriate research studies to address these; § Provide advice to the Advisory Committee in the determination of the 'drill-down' or NSNVO Phase II research that should be undertaken for the purpose of strengthening voluntary sector capacity dimensions such as policy, human resources, finance, knowledge and use of information; § Advise and assist the Advisory Committee in developing an integrated, multi-year research agenda on the voluntary sector; and § Undertake and/or proffer advice on, as appropriate, any research-related projects as may be assigned to it by the Advisory Committee from time to time. The RSC worked on the preparation, analysis, release and dissemination of three major research projects. Each contributes to a widening body of knowledge about the scope, activities and challenges of non-profit and voluntary sector organizations and among those who support them with their labour, time and/or money. 1. National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP) First conducted in 1997 and then in 2000, by Statistics Canada, the NSGVP provides information on the charitable giving, volunteering behaviour and civic participation of Canadians - how Canadians support individuals and communities on their own or through their involvement with charitable and non-profit organizations. Data were gathered on donations to voluntary organizations, volunteering activities and other forms of participation. (Available online at http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/knowledge/pdf/nsgvp_highlights.pdf) In the fall of 2002, the Government of Canada committed itself to funding this survey every three years, on an on-going basis. The most recent survey - now called the Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (CSGVP), was conducted in 2004, and results are expected to be released in fall of 2005. In order to track flows in and out of volunteering and other supporting roles, the sampling technique for the most recent survey ensured that some respondents to previous surveys, would be included in subsequent surveys thus adding a longitudinal dimension to the knowledge provided by the survey. 2. National Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations (NSNVO) The NSNVO is the first-ever, large-scale survey of non-profit and voluntary organizations in Canada. The survey provides detailed information on the size and scope of the non-profit and voluntary sector in Canada, including types of organizations, what they do, their budgets, and numbers of paid staff and volunteers. The survey also helps clarify the needs and challenges facing the sector by providing data on organizations' perceptions of their strengths and weaknesses. The two major objectives of the NSNVO project were to provide a preliminary assessment of the areas where organizations could improve their capacity to achieve their missions; and to collect comprehensive information about the breadth of the non-profit and voluntary sector in Canada, the types of organizations that make up the sector and the services they provide. The NSNVO was carried out by a consortium of organizations with the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (CCP) (now Imagine Canada) as the lead organization. In the initial phase of the project, a nation-wide series of consultations with non-profit and voluntary organizations were held in 2002 to learn about the challenges that organizations are/were facing in trying to fulfill their missions and achieve their objectives, and the unique strengths and capacities they possess. The results of this research, released in May 2003, are reported in The Capacity to Serve: A Qualitative Study of the Challenges Facing Canada's Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations, available on-line at http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/knowledge/pdf/capacity_to_serve.pdf. The second phase of the project involved a national survey of approximately 13,000 non-profit and voluntary organizations. The survey was conducted in the Spring of 2003 by Statistics Canada on behalf of the NSNVO consortium. The report, Cornerstones of Community: Highlights from the National Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations, was released on September 20, 2004 and is available on-line at http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/knowledge/nsnvo_cornerstones.cfm,. A third phase, to be completed by March 2006, will involve the conduct of a series of roundtable meetings in regions across the country. These roundtables will engage voluntary sector leaders and provincial and local government decision makers and opinion leaders in discussions about the implications of the NSNVO research findings for their region. Reports that outline the results of these discussions by region will be produced. 3. Canadian Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector in Comparative Perspective This report was released in March 2005, and is part of the first systematic effort to analyze the size, scope, structure, financing and role of the non-profit sector in countries around the world. Hosted by the Centre for Civil Society Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, the project aims to increase practical and theoretical knowledge about civil society and to help provide a basis for informed public and private action. Other objectives of the Johns Hopkins Comparative Study are to: § explain why the sector varies in size and character from one country to another, § identify factors that seem to encourage or retard its development, § evaluate the impact of the contributions of the sector, § publicize and increase public awareness of the sector, and § build local capacity to carry on this work into the future. The project began in 1990 in 13 countries and now extends to 40 countries in total. The VSI and the mandate of the Capacity Joint Table Advisory Committee allowed Canada to participate for the first time. The Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (CCP) (now Imagine Canada) became the Canadian lead on the project and is known as the Johns Hopkins Comparative Study "local associate" in Canada. Using the common framework, set of definitions, information-gathering strategies and comparative empirical approach developed for the project, the CCP gathered the required research on key aspects of the sector in Canada. The data for this project came from the data gathered through the National Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations and subsequent analysis. With the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP) and the Satellite Account of Nonprofit Institutions and Volunteering, this new study contributes to a clearer understanding of the sector, its size and economic contribution, its challenges, and the role of citizens in its support. This report available online at http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/knowledge/hopkins.cfm. Skills Development and Recruitment In the work leading up to the VSI, recognition was given to the importance of training, recruiting and retaining paid staff if the capacity of the voluntary sector was to be increased. 1. National Learning Initiative Issues around training paid staff within the sector were the focus of the National Learning Initiative (NLI). The Association of Community Colleges of Canada co-led this project first with the Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations (NVO) and later (2004) with the Community Foundations of Canada (CFC). The vision of NLI has been "to foster dynamic leadership in the voluntary sector - effective, responsive, and accountable - for a vibrant democracy and caring, inclusive communities, by enhancing human resource development, through accessible, relevant education and training opportunities." In its work, the NLI identified core skills/competencies for sector leaders and developed an inventory of learning opportunities for paid voluntary sector staff across Canada. Three documents have been produced, based on discussions with more than 60 voluntary sector leaders from a range of organizations, who participated in five regional workshops across Canada: § A brochure, National Learning Initiative: A National Skills and Learning Framework for the Voluntary Sector, provides background information on core competencies. Available on-line at http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/hr/pdf/nli_brochure.pdf § Several human resources tools were designed to assist Boards of Directors with hiring and performance appraisals for Executive Directors. These are described in the document entitled Leadership in the Voluntary Sector: Human Resources Tools. Available on-line at http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/hr/reports.cfm or at http://www.hrvs-rhsbc.ca/initiatives/pg002_e.cfm The report, What Do Voluntary Sector Leaders Do? summarizes the research process. Available on-line at http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/hr/pdf/nli_report.pdf Three pilot projects were developed to experiment with how to stimulate voluntary sector leadership development. One project, in Calgary, Alberta, used a facilitated peer learning circle to strengthen job performance and enhance job satisfaction of Executive Directors. A report on this project, entitled Strengthening the Capacity of Executive Directors, available on-line at http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/hr/pdf/strengthening_executive_capacity.pdf was released in June, 2004. In British Columbia, the pilot project was entitled "Learning to Lead: Developing a Learning Culture within the voluntary sector"; the report is available online at http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/hr/nli.cfm. The third pilot project was a pan-Canadian Leadership School, offered in four areas (Yellowknife, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ottawa, and Nova Scotia); the report is available online at http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/hr/pancdn_report.cfm. 2. Developing Human Resources in the Voluntary Sector (HRVS) The HRVS focused on providing organizations with practical human resources tools to help in recruiting and retaining paid staff. It was led by Community Foundations of Canada in partnership with United Way of Canada - Centraide Canada. The Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations was an original partner. A key deliverable for HRVS is a resource-rich website (http://www.hrvs.ca) that houses many practical, free, human resources management tools for non-profit organizations in Canada. This website provides information on each step of human resources management from understanding legislation, to recruiting to performance management. Specifically, the website covers the following topics: legislation relating to employment, human resources policies and procedures, the staffing process, training and development, compensation and benefits, people management and workplaces. In addition to original content and tools created by HRVS, there are links to excellent resources on many topics. In addition to the website, the HRVS team developed and tested a full-day training workshop in human resources management for non-profit and voluntary organizations. This workshop was offered without charge to groups of non-profit managers in five communities. A presentation and brochure are also available without charge to voluntary organizations. This package, called "Promoting the Importance of Human Resources," is meant to start a conversation about human resources management in organizations, particularly with Boards of Directors. The HRVS also managed a Human Resources Peer Group pilot project to explore the effectiveness of peer groups in sharing and building human resources knowledge in the voluntary sector. The findings from this pilot project offer valuable insights into setting up and maintaining an Human Resources Peer Group. In the final months of the project, the team worked with a private consultant to create resources and training for non-profit organizations on issues related to conflict resolution and negotiation skills. Two separate and well-received training sessions were offered without charge in Ottawa and Toronto. The HRVS and NLI teams understood early that short-term projects could not respond to the ongoing human resources needs of the voluntary sector. To that end, they approached Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and were supported to examine the feasibility of a human resources council for the voluntary sector. Such councils are sector-run bodies that bring stakeholders together to address challenges related to paid employees in that sector. Stakeholders include sector employers, employees, unions, educational/training institutions and others. A decision has now been made based upon the feasibility study by the Sector Councils Program of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, to set up a Voluntary Sector Human Resources Sector Council. Building Policy Capacity 1. Policy Internships and Academic Fellowships (PIAF) The primary activity within the stream of promoting the development of policy capacity in the voluntary sector was PIAF. It began as a pilot project from fall 2002 to spring 2003 and placed nine interns and fellows in host organizations in either federal government departments or voluntary sector organizations. A second round, during the life of the Advisory Committee, was intended to repeat the pilot with new participants; limited funding prevented the off-setting of costs to voluntary sector organizations of having key staff involved elsewhere, resulting in no voluntary sector representatives participating in the second phase. Five voluntary sector organizations provided placements for federal government interns and fellows. The objectives of PIAF were to develop policy knowledge, experience and skills in both sectors and to enable the voluntary sector to become a more viable partner in the development of public policy. PIAF was managed by the Centre for Voluntary Sector Research and Development (a joint initiative of the University of Ottawa and Carleton University) and the Centre for Public Sector Studies of the University of Victoria. The experiences of interns and fellows were captured in final reports entitled Policy Internships and Fellowship: Bridging the Policy Dialogue Between Voluntary Organizations and the Federal Government. These are available on-line at http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/policy/pdf/piaf_final.pdf and http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/policy/pdf/piaf_jun04.pdf. 2. Participating in Federal Public Policy The Advisory Committee also oversaw the development and publication of Participating in Federal Public Policy: A Guide for the Voluntary Sector, a resource to help voluntary organizations participate in the federal public policy process. It also gives federal government departments insights into how to involve voluntary sector partners more effectively. Although the focus of the Guide is to assist organizations that do not have full-time staff devoted to policy, it includes resources that could be useful to all organizations. The Guide is available on-line at http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/policy/policy_guide.cfm. Building Financial Capacity As noted above, some financial support for the sector-only Working Group on Financing came from the CJT and then the Advisory Committee. During the life of the Advisory Committee, the Finance Working Group released two reports: Funding Matters: The Impact of Canada's New Funding Regime on Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations by the Canadian Council on Social Development (available on-line at http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/funding/fundingmatters/cont.cfm) and Resources for Accountability and Financial Management in the Voluntary Sector (available on-line at http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/funding/financial_guide/index.cfm). Also, a web-based set of 63 case studies from six regions that highlight successful financing and resourcing practices of Canadian voluntary organizations, was researched and prepared for Internet dissemination by an independent contractor. Additional funding was secured to allow for the wide dissemination of Funding Matters, which included 22 local workshops across Canada involving 1300 participants. Lessons Learned In preparation of this final report, a series of interviews with selected members of the Advisory Committee and its three sub-committees (Research Steering Committee, Knowledge Transfer Working Group, and Working Group on Financing) were conducted, and a focus group of the interviewees was held. An important aspect of the interviews and focus groups was the discussion of the lessons learned. These fell into three broad categories: the joint Government of Canada and voluntary sector process, content and content-related processes, and the challenges of a time-limited initiative. Joint Government of Canada-Voluntary Sector process § Trust and understanding increased: An important outcome, reported by both voluntary sector and Government of Canada representatives on the Advisory Committee and/or its subcommittees, was increased understanding of each other's pressures, constraints and strengths. As trust was built over time, a mutual respect emerged, based on increased understanding and shared commitment. § Public servants are highly mobile: Both Government of Canada and voluntary sector participants commented on the challenges created by turnover among government representatives, usually as the result of normal career progressions of the individuals involved. The reported result was disruption to the continuity, and the need to "start over" in terms of building trust and shared history. Another aspect of this was that government representatives, often at the beginning of relatively steep learning curves, were not in a position to make commitments on behalf of the government as represented by Human Resources Development Canada and then Social Development Canada. § Rapid changes in government priorities require adaptation: Government agendas can shift quickly, as a result of changes in leadership of political parties and/or elections. The shift in attention in 2004 from the Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI) toward the "social economy" is an example. Such shifts can reduce the time and attention available from government representatives to previous government priorities, even though the joint nature of initiatives such as the VSI required a greater time commitment, not less. § Sharing learnings is challenging: Government participants, in particular, commented that they found it more difficult than anticipated to share their learning with their colleagues. Short of "being there", it was difficult to communicate clearly the increased understanding resulting from the process. Voluntary sector participants noted that while there is less turnover in the voluntary sector, there is also less institutional structure, posing its own challenges in sharing learnings over time. § Joint processes take time: Participants from both government and the voluntary sector learned that the process cannot be hurried. Shared and clear understanding of the goals of the Advisory Committee, and the projects it was overseeing, were important and often lacking, because the time was not available at the beginning for the discussion that would have been needed to reach that clarity. Nonetheless, participants from both the voluntary and public sectors described the extra time that the process itself required, as resulting in longer time-lines for projects than would be necessary if either sector were acting alone. Also noteworthy, participants in both government and the voluntary sector believed that the time expended was more than worth it, in terms of results. Content and Content-related Processes § Capacity building is not simple: The most important lesson learned is that increasing the capacity of the voluntary sector, even once narrowed down to three (or four, counting financing) areas, is not simple. The range of issues to be considered and the great diversity within the sector made the development and application of capacity-building tools and resources very challenging. § Defining and understanding research questions is not easy: The surveys and international comparison were intended to build the evidence base, as to the size and significance of the non-profit and voluntary sector in Canada. Participants in the interviews and focus groups described the complexity involved in understanding the questions that guided the research. How the sector was defined, how boundaries were drawn between and among categories, and the challenges of finding data on smaller organizations in new and emerging subsectors (like ethno-cultural minority groups or Aboriginal capacity issues) all created challenges that were daunting to researchers and Committee members alike. § Building policy capacity is especially challenging: Participants also noted the particular challenges in addressing the need for greater policy capacity in non-profit and voluntary sector organizations. Given the attention and interest from the Government of Canada in working with the sector to identify and address challenges and opportunities regarding the public policy process, the sector is increasingly called upon to think in policy terms and to go beyond identifying problems to offering solutions. Despite the best efforts of the Advisory Committee, interviewees remain unclear on how to proceed with respect to building policy capacity in the voluntary sector. Consortium models of project management have benefits and pose challenges: Participants noted that the Advisory Committee (and the Joint Table before it) had pursued the creation of a consortium to handle large projects in anticipation of benefits. This model helped to: o distribute the demands on the capacity of the largest organizations among a variety of voluntary sector organizations, o keep voluntary sector organizations involved in the management of projects, and o increase capacity in the organizations involved, particularly smaller organizations, which may not have undertaken such sophisticated and large-scale projects in the past. On the other hand, the consortium resulted in challenges to project management and some confusion in roles between the consortium and the Research Steering Committee, each of which thought its role was to oversee the research project. The challenges of time-limited, one-off initiatives § The ending is not as clear as the beginning: When an initiative is launched, it begins, if not entirely from the ground up, at least at a particular point in time. The starting point is relatively clear. The end point, however, is not so clear. "What happens next?" is a question that is being asked by many of those who participated. In a joint project, it would seem that the answer does not lie with either sector alone, yet there is no clear indication that a joint decision will be made about next steps for the issues and concerns being dealt with by the Advisory Committee. § Institutionalization is important: Many of those interviewed and involved in the focus groups are deeply concerned that what has been produced and learned will be lost, because the effort is not being sustained. Those interviewed believe that there is a need to continue the research, to broaden the dissemination, and to continue the focus on the sector as a whole. Fears of balkanization, of asymmetrical relationships between the sector and the government, are the result of the absence of an institutional framework for continued collaboration on a wide range of capacity issues between the voluntary sector and the Government of Canada. Recommended next steps During interviews and focus groups participants were asked about next steps in each of the three broad streams that were the focus of the Advisory Committee - research and information sharing, skills and recruitment and policy internships and academic fellowships - and for recommendations based on their work with the Advisory Committee. Their responses are grouped here under five headings: one for each of the three streams identified above, one for financial capacity building, and one for sustaining the learning. Next steps in research and information sharing § Integrate the National Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations (NSNVO) into departmental budgets, on a three year cycle - possibly co-managed by Statistics Canada, Social Development Canada and Canadian Heritage. § Analyze the results of the NSNVO further, by sub sector, (perhaps through a call for proposals for such analysis, with results to be presented in a user friendly way). § Make copies of all reports available on the new Voluntary Sector Portal. Participants noted that voluntary sector organizations, particularly small ones, would not know that these products exist, and would look for resources only when their own situation required them. § Commit to on-going Canadian participation in the Johns Hopkins Comparative Study on the non-profit sector in Canada. Next steps in skills development and recruitment of paid staff to the voluntary sector § Create a Voluntary Sector Human Resources Council with resources to sustain currently produced materials through any transition period between the end of the HRVS and the beginning of a Sector Council. § Provide federal funding for aspects of voluntary sector human resources development where the potential Sector Council funding cannot be applied. § Synthesize and analyze the findings of the pilot projects of the National Learning Initiative for lessons learned in common. § Create a forum for the voluntary sector and the wide range of stakeholders involved in providing leadership training for the sector to ensure on-going benefits from collaboration and shared information. § Modify the NSNVO to provide input to decision-making by trainers and employers within the voluntary sector. Next steps in developing policy capacity within the voluntary sector § Develop and implement new approaches (with funding) to increasing the capacity of voluntary sector organizations to participate in the public policy process. § Create a "policy shop", with some government funding, to serve voluntary sector organizations, both in terms of increasing their own capacity for policy analysis and development and providing the analysis and policy development on their behalf. § Implement a project to allow the voluntary sector to assess its own policy needs and to pool its own resources to meet them. § Create a mechanism through which voluntary sector and government could work together to support exchanges between the sectors to build the policy capacity of the voluntary sector. Next steps in developing financial capacity within the voluntary sector § Implement the government's plans for a community investment task force to consider longer-term funding for organizations whose work supports the broad policy and program goals of government. § Implement all of the recommendations of the Code of Good Practice on Funding and those recommendations of the Treasury Board's Federal Funding Study which were not included in the Code. The Treasury Board's study was entitled Guide to Improving Funding Practices between the Government of Canada and the Voluntary Sector and is available on-line at http://www.vsi-isbc.org/eng/funding/pdf/guide_eng.pdf . § Provide tax and other financial and regulatory incentives to encourage private and corporate giving on an on-going basis. Modifications such as allowing voluntary sector organizations to accumulate reserves, and extending to voluntary organizations supports offered by Industry Canada only to for-profit businesses, should be considered. § Ensure that products and research overseen by the Capacity Joint Table Advisory Committee are kept up-to-date and accessible to all stakeholders within government and the voluntary sector. Next steps for sustaining the learning § Develop materials to communicate the research results and other tools developed under the guidance of the Advisory Committee to ensure that the information is received and used by small organizations. § Disseminate the learnings from the VSI, ensuring that voluntary sector organizations are informed and/or reminded of these resources periodically on an on-going basis. § Put in place a mechanism to ensure on-going joint consideration by the voluntary sector and the Government of Canada of important issues that are sector wide. Conclusions The Advisory Committee inherited an ambitious agenda from the Capacity Joint Table, with a mandate to oversee its completion. With a diverse and complex set of challenges before it, the members of the committee worked diligently and constructively together, to ensure that the public investment in building capacity in the voluntary sector resulted in high returns. The array of products, summarized above, provide valuable resources to the sector where few or none had existed before. A rich body of knowledge about the sector, tools for both paid and unpaid leaders in the sector, enduring networks within the voluntary sector, and relationships between sector and government members are some of the more important outcomes to date of the work of the Advisory Committee. A Human Resources Sector Council has been established to address sector human resources issues, and an approach to gathering data about the sector on a regular basis is being considered. The products developed under the oversight of the Advisory Committee will make a significant and durable contribution to the voluntary sector's capacity in key areas. The oversight had its costs, in time, effort, and learning for the members of the Advisory Committee and its subcommittees. The costs were worthwhile, according to those who bore them, and resulted in a shared satisfaction for a job well done, important learnings personally and professionally, and strong relationships established and nurtured over the life of the Advisory Committee. The lessons learned will certainly inform future collaborations between the federal government and the voluntary sector when any of the committee members are involved. The next steps outlined above are the means by which the effort, the investment and the learning can be sustained over time. The tools and knowledge created must be kept fresh and usable, and be disseminated widely so that they are readily available whenever the need arises. These steps alone will solidify the accomplishments of the Advisory Committee. Appendix 1 - Membership Advisory Committee Sol Kasimir, Co-chair (Voluntary Sector) Debra Young, Co-chair (Government of Canada, until 2004) Allen Zeesman, Co-chair (Government of Canada, since 2004) Dr. Adriana Davies, Research Mary-Jane Lipkin, Policy Internships and Fellowships, until 2003 Sylvie Dufresne, Policy Internships and Fellowships, since 2003 Guy Tanguay, Human Resources David Boyd-Thomas, Working Group on Financing Brenda Cameron Couch, Liaison to the Voluntary Sector Forum Research Steering Committee Dr. Adriana Davies, Co-chair (voluntary sector) Roger Boe, Co-chair (Government of Canada) Paddy Bowen, until spring 2003 Marlene Deboisbriand, since spring 2003 David Boyd-Thomas Barry Schmidl Don McRae Knowledge Transfer Working Group Dr. Michael Hall Lynn Toupin Katherine Scott Paula Speevak Sladowski Liz Nieman Beverly Suderman David Boyd-Thomas Greg Bamford Brenda Cameron Couch, Liaison to the Voluntary Sector Forum Appendix 2 - Staff of Government Secretariat in HRDC and subsequently in Social Development Canada The following people supported the Advisory Committee at various times. Nancy Amos Liz Hong-Farrell Raphael Ogom Timna Gorber Liz Nieman Sabrina Guerin Marilyn Collins Directors Nancy Gardiner - July 2001 to June 2003 John M. Connolly - June to December 2003 Vivian Knapp - January to April 2004 Lynne Westlake - May to August 2004 Marie Gauthier - August 2004 to present Appendix 3 - Operating Principles of the Joint Steering Committee Quorum Quorum for any votes taken at JSC will require 8 members, 4 from both the voluntary sector and federal government, which may include the Committee Co-Chairs. Confidentiality JSC members are expected to be open and candid in discussing items before the Committee. For this reason it is important to maintain confidentiality. Committee members are committed to respecting the privacy of committee participants and agree not to disclose information or views expressed by individuals during meetings. Records of decision will respect the principle of non-attribution. Deliberations should remain confidential until there is general agreement and consensus to make them public (see principle 3 below). Public Communication and Media Regular communications about the progress of work being undertaken by the Committee is a priority and should be part of the regular work of the JSC. Records of decision, progress updates and other joint communications tools (questions and answers) will be regularly developed and approved by Committee members for posting on web sites and communicating with the media and other interested observers. Material will be made available to people outside the Committee upon approval of the Committee co-chairs. Reaching Agreement Committee members will seek to reach consensus wherever possible. If, for whatever reason, consensus can not be achieved, the JSC Members may choose to move to a majority vote or permit dissenting reports to be included in the record of decision. Official Languages All members will be encouraged to participate in the JSC deliberations in the official language of their choice. All JSC products will be produced in both languages (e.g. records of decisions, joint reports, media lines). Accessibility To ensure the active participation by any members and invited guests who may have accessibility requirements, JSC meetings will be held in facilities that are barrier-free. Where required, technical aids, anthropometric equipment, attendant and other specialized services will be provided to accommodate the needs of members with disabilities. Expert Members and Invited Guests The JSC may, from time to time, require experts, academics or other government/voluntary sector representatives to attend meetings as presenters, advisers or observers because of their knowledge of the subject, of the sector or as part of another consultation mechanism. Such invitations will be agreed to in advance by the Co-Chairs. Appendix 4: Expenditures of the CJT and the Advisory Committee from October 2000 to December 31, 2004 Budget Item Organization Total Operations and Management Salary Social Development Canada (SDC) 1,239,671.00 Non-Salary SDC 3,308,882.00 Subtotal 4,548,553.00 Grants and Contributions Project Name Organization's Name Amount National Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations Canadian Centre for Philanthropy(CCP) 5,016,120.00 Johns Hopkins Comparative Non-Profit Study Johns Hopkins University (JHU) 501,221.00 Policy Internships and Academic Fellowships - Phase I** Carleton University Centre for Voluntary Sector Research (CVSRD) 409,970.00 Policy Internships and Academic Fellowships - Phase II CVSRD 198,608.00 2000 NSGVP Analysis and Dissemination CCP 1,660,482.00 National Learning Initiative - Phase I Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations (CNVO) 266,713.00 National Learning Initiative- Phase II CNVO/Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) 307,310.00 Sources and Mechanism on Funding "Funding Matters" Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) 260,139.00 Human Resources in the Voluntary Sector - Phase I CFC 509,470.00 Human Resources in the Voluntary Sector - Phase II CFC 429,699.00 Subtotal 9,559,732.00 Support to VS Secretariat *345,000.00 Grand Total 14,453,285.00 * CJT supported the Voluntary Sector Secretariat during the period February 2001 to October 2002 with $345,000. ** Health Canada also delivered VSI funds for PIAF Phase I Note: these figures are based on expenditures in the Department's financial systems up to and including December 2004.