Support for Interpretation and Translation Enhancement of Official Languages Program Funding Application Guide

Program Information

The Enhancement of Official Languages Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage

Program objective is to promote full recognition and use of English and French in Canadian society.

Promotion of Linguistic Duality Component

The Promotion of Linguistic Duality component assists organizations, from a range of sectors, to undertake or continue activities that promote a better understanding or appreciation of linguistic duality and build stronger linguistic and cultural links between members of the two official-languages communities. The component also fosters the provision of services in both official languages to promote bilingual capacity within non- government organizations.

Support for Interpretation and Translation

The Support for Interpretation and Translation component is intended to:

assist organizations that encourage the participation of Canadians in both official languages at public events; and
increase the number of documents available in both official languages.

Eligible Recipients

Funding is intended for Canadian non-profit organizations that are officially registered and incorporated according to provincial, territorial or federal law.

No funding will be provided to individuals, government organizations, universities, schools, school boards, hospitals or foreign institutions/organizations.

Eligible Projects

Only projects which meet Department of Canadian Heritage funding criteria will be considered for funding. Eligible projects must belong to one of two categories:

projects involving simultaneous interpretation (from one official language to the other and including sign language) and translation related to the delivery of public events such as conferences, congresses, colloquia held in Canada;
translation, from one official language to the other, of documents intended for members of the organization and the Canadian public such as brochures, folders, website content, research reports.

Projects involving only translation services for an event will be considered a translation project and not an event project.

Documents must be provided free of charge. Any documents intended for sale are not eligible.

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Funding Information

Application Evaluation and Funding Decision

Funding decisions are made based on available funds, annual priorities, and an analysis of all requests. Applications are evaluated (using the principles of due diligence) according to the following criteria:

For All Applications:

Application Form duly completed, signed and accompanied by all required documents (see Part E of the Application Form);
proof of non-profit status (letters patent);
copy of documents to be translated (where applicable);
amount of funding previously received from Support for Interpretation and Translation; and
qualified previously for Departmental funding (if applicable) and provided the necessary accompanying documents.

For a Public Event:

scope and visibility of the project (number of participants, based on official language and place of residence; communications plan; anticipated media coverage, etc.).

Applicants must demonstrate that they are the proprietors of the event.

For a Translation:

scope and visibility of the project (target audience in each official language and distribution plan); and
link between documents to be translated and the organization's mission.

Program officers review and evaluate applicant files in order to make funding recommendations. All final funding decisions, however, remain with the Minister of Canadian Heritage. As with other Canadian Heritage funding programs, the eligibility criteria and guidelines for Enhancement of Official Languages Programs shall not impede the discretionary power of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, or his or her agents, to reject an application.

In the event that all available funds for the current fiscal year have been committed, the Department reserves the right not to review any further applications.

Schedule

Applications for funding assistance may be submitted at any time during the fiscal year (April 1 – March 31). The assessment of an application takes several weeks. Please note that an application will not be processed until all required information has been provided.

Organizations are asked to submit their application approximately 12 weeks before the start date of the project for which funding is being requested. The Department reserves the right to refuse an application if the requesting organization has not respected the deadline of 12 weeks before the project start date. If a project has already begun at the time the application is submitted, the project will be considered ineligible.

If translation is the only service required at an event, it will be considered a translation project and not an event project.

Funding Terms

The Department will provide funding to successful applicants by means of a grant. Applicant organizations will be required to sign a form or respond to an e-mail that confirms the amount of eligible funding, based on the organization's estimated eligible expenses.

The Department will assume no responsibility for any contract-related expenses incurred prior to the announcement of a grant. Applicants who incur such costs do so at their own risk.

Funding Limits

Funding may not exceed 50% of eligible expenses, up to a maximum of $5,000 per application.

An organization may submit only one funding application per federal government fiscal year (April 1 – March 31). Projects may not overlap two fiscal years.

Application Form Submission

To submit your application, please print your completed form, sign it and date it, attach all required documents, and send the package to the Department of Canadian Heritage at the following address:

Department of Canadian Heritage
Official Languages Support Programs Branch
15 Eddy Street, 7th floor, Room 121
Gatineau QC K1A 0M5

To Contact the Department

For questions related to your funding application, we strongly encourage you to contact a program officer by calling 819-994-5696.

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Part A – Information about the Organization

1. General Information

Organization's Official Name

Enter the organization's name, as it appears on the Certificate of Incorporation, as well as the organization's commonly used name. If the organization is not a Corporation, enter the name commonly used.

Organization's Former Name (if applicable)

If the organization had a different name the last time it received funding from the Department, enter the former name in full.

2. Mailing Address

Enter the organization's complete mailing address.

3. Street Address (if different from mailing address or if address is a post office box)

Enter the organization's street address if the mailing address is a post office.

4. Person Authorized to Represent the Organization

Indicate the name of the person in charge of accounting for the organization's use of funds. This is usually the Chairperson of the Board of Directors or a member of the Executive Board. This person must also sign the application on behalf of the organization (Part F of the Application Form).

Please attach a document which proves that this person has been authorized to sign the organization's official documents (e.g. a resolution from the Board of Directors).

Salutation: Please specify how the authorized representative should be addressed (e.g. Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., Reverend, etc.).

5. Contact Person

The contact person is a representative who can provide detailed information relating to the application. The contact person is usually someone in senior management.

6. Structure and Governance of Organization

Geographical Scope of Activity

Enter your organization's principal geographical area of operation, under its Constitution and By-Laws (please choose only one, even if your organization operates in several):

International (active in at least two countries);
National (active across Canada);
Inter-provincial/Inter-territorial (active in at least two provinces or territories);
Provincial/Territorial (active throughout a province or territory);
Regional (active in at least two municipalities in a region);
Municipal (active in a municipality); or
Local (active in a community or neighbourhood).

Legal Status of Organization

Indicate whether the organization is incorporated or unincorporated.

Choose:

Established as a Federal Corporation (incorporated), and enter registration number;
Established as a Provincial/Territorial Corporation (incorporated), and enter registration number;
In the process of becoming a Federal Corporation, and enter application date (if in the process of incorporation);
In the process of becoming a Provincial/Territorial Corporation, and enter application date (if in the process of incorporation)
Trust;
Cooperative; or
Unincorporated Association.

Mandate of the Organization

Describe the mission and objectives of the Organization according to the status and by-laws.

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Part B - Project Information

7. Project Information

Project Title

Enter the project title, the name of the conference or translation project, as applicable.

Project Duration or Period for which Funding is Requested

Enter the start date and end date of the project (e.g. the date of event or the time required for the translation). If translation is the only service required at an event it will be considered a translation project. Enter the start and end dates for the translation project, and not the start and end dates for the event.

Project Description

Describe the proposed project (approximately 200 words). Specify goals and objectives and indicate the project's target sector (e.g. political, legal, economic, cultural, educational, communications, status of women, youth, seniors, etc.).

Action Plan and Work Timetable

Describe the timetable of work and dates for completion of key stages.

Importance of Project

Describe the scope and visibility of the project. Specify the extent to which your project addresses the needs of the target audience. Provide an overview of the scope and visibility of either the event or the documents to be translated (e.g. anticipated media coverage, communication and promotion plan, target audiences, distribution plan, etc.).

Anticipated Results

State the concrete and measurable results the organization hopes to achieve by delivering this project. By "anticipated results", we mean measurable outcomes, for example, the publication of a brochure or a study, or the percentage of Anglophone or Francophone participants using simultaneous interpretation and translation services during an event.

Part C (1) - Event

Part C (1) should only be filled out for an event requiring simultaneous interpretation services or simultaneous interpretation and translation services. If your event only requires translation services, please fill out Part C (2) - Translation Project.

8. Information about the Event

Geographical Scope of Event

Choose:

International (active in a least two countries);
National (active across Canada);
Inter-provincial/Inter-territorial (active in at least two provinces or territories);
Provincial/Territorial (active throughout a province or territory);
Regional (active in at least two municipalities in a region);
Municipal (active in a municipality); or
Local (active in a community or neighbourhood).

Part C (2) - Translation Project

Part C (2) should only be filled out in the case of a translation project.

9. Information about the Translation Project

Enter the name of the project, the start and end dates of the project, and the title of the documents to be translated.

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Part D - Project Budget According to Quotes Before Taxes

10. Expenses

For an Event:

interpreters' honoraria, travel and accommodation, if any;
rental of simultaneous interpretation equipment, including technicians' honoraria, travel and accommodation;
translators' and revisers' honoraria for the translation of documents related to the conference.

For a Translation:

translators' and revisers' honoraria for the translation of documents from one official language to the other.

Eligible expenses before taxes will be calculated based on the estimates submitted.

Translation services must be provided by a professional translator. An employee or a Board member of the organization may not do the translation.

The organization must show that it is the author of the texts (for which translation funding has been requested) or that it has the permission of the copyright holder to have the texts translated and published.

A Few Tips

The followings tips are provided to help facilitate the preparation of funding applications.

Simultaneous Interpretation

An organization seeking financial assistance to defray part of its simultaneous interpretation costs should keep the following in mind:

three interpreters per day, per room, are necessary (from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.);
two interpreters are sufficient for a half-day;
the interpreter is replaced every 30 minutes;
very few interpreters do consecutive translation; and
the average cost per interpreter is $500 per day.

Equipment

An organization seeking financial assistance to defray part of its equipment rental costs should keep the following in mind:

infrared equipment is commonly used;
equipment must be used efficiently;
plan for a sufficient number of receivers; and
only pay for equipment that is actually used.

Cost-saving Tips

Here are a few suggestions:

ask for several quotes and choose the most advantageous;
negotiate the cost of the services; do not hesitate to use independent interpreters;
ask participants, as they are registering, whether or not they will require simultaneous interpretation services;
group individuals that require simultaneous interpretation services together in the same workshop;
distribute workshops and plenary sessions in a way that maximizes the use of simultaneous interpretation services. Plan activities so that you only need to use one team of simultaneous interpreters;
get workshop participants more involved and try to reduce the number of interpreters required;
arrange for the conference to take place immediately after a similar event in order to share interpretation costs (including transportation expenses) with another organization;
obtain airline tickets with a cancellation or flight-change penalty of only 10 or 20 percent, rather than the full-fare tickets often requested by interpreters;
check to see whether there are equipped rooms available for rent in the region where the event will be held; and
approach a larger number of sponsors for support (e.g. "simultaneous interpretation services are sponsored by…" ).

11. Revenues

Amount Requested from Canadian Heritage

Please note that funding may not exceed 50 percent of the eligible expenses before taxes, as presented in the estimate. The maximum amount of funding is $5,000 per application.

Other Sources of Revenue

If applicable, enter other sources of revenue and the amount of funding provided by each.

12. Financial Support: Address and Telephone Number of Contact Person

For each source of revenue identified in the "Revenues" table, enter the name (and corresponding contact information) of the person who can provide information, for consultation purposes, to the Department.

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Part E – List of Documents to Attach

Indicate the documents that are attached to the application form.

Part F – Conditions and Declaration

Recognizing the Contribution of Canadian Heritage

Any promotion of, and publicity for, the funded activities must mention the participation of the Department of Canadian Heritage in a way that reflects the contribution of the Government of Canada.

The Departmental logo and guidelines are available on the site:www.pch.gc.ca/logos.

Signature

The application must be signed by a person (or persons) authorized by the organization.

Please attach a document of authorization from the organization (e.g. an Annual General meeting motion, a By-Law, a Board of Directors' resolution, etc.).

If your organization's Constitution and By-Laws require it, two signatures are needed on the application. If not, one signature will suffice.

Activity and Evaluation Report

When must I submit an Activity and Evaluation Report?

If your organization receives funding, you must submit an Activity and Evaluation Report no later than sixty days after the activity took place. If applicable, you must also submit an example of the documents translated.

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