PROJECT SCOPE CLIENT APPLICATION FORM
PROSPECTIVE CLIENT ORGANIZATION INFORMATION
Organization Name
Organization
As a 7,000-strong network, with a volunteer base of 300 sector leaders,
Description
the Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) brings the diverse voices of the
sector to government, funders and the business sector to create and
influence systemic change. ONN activates its volunteer base and the
network to develop and analyze policy, and work on strategic issues
through its working groups, engagement of nonprofits and charities and
government.
ONN convenes the approximately 55,000 nonprofit and charitable
organizations across the province.
The Network began in 2007 as a mobilization of sector leaders
concerned about proposed changes to the Ontario Not-for-Profit
Corporations Act (Bill 65). Incorporated as a nonprofit in 2014, ONN
was developed as an incubated project of the award-winning Centre for
Social Innovation.
Division or
Policy team
Department
Website
http://theonn.ca/
PROJECT INFORMATION
Project Description
Project 1: The commissioning process: Implications for Ontario
nonprofits
PLEASE BE AS
CLEAR AND
SPECIFIC AS
At present, the provincial government engages community nonprofits to
POSSIBLE, i.e. What deliver services to Ontarians via funding agreements called “transfer
is the problem that
payment agreements.” Many of these are ongoing (evergreen)
your organization is
arrangements that have been in place for years, if not decades.
trying to solve?
Building on momentum in other jurisdictions (notably the UK and
Why is it an important Australia), private sector consultants have approached the provincial
problem?
government about opening up these agreements – and the entire
How does the project process by which service-delivery organizations are selected – through
fit into your
a process called “commissioning.” Commissioning poses the question
organization’s regular of whether government, the private sector, or the nonprofit sector (or a
operations?
partnership) is best placed to deliver programs and services, and
PGI is a student-led
creates a competitive marketplace for organizations to bid on contracts.
organization.
It requires agreement on the desired outcomes of programs because
Why/how could you
payments are based on achievement of these outcomes. In a
benefit from studentcompetitive environment, a higher-performing organization stands to
run consulting?
win more demand (people to serve) from government, thereby
increasing its revenue. ONN is interested in knowing how
commissioning is being pitched to government, where (and in what
service delivery areas) it has been tested, what the role is of various
stakeholders in Ontario (nonprofits, private sector, consultants,
government), and how the process/outcome has been perceived by
governments, nonprofits and the people they serve in the jurisdictions
where commissioning has been used. Ideally, the consultant would also
be able to find and analyze data showing the extent to which the
commissioning process has saved government money and the
economic impact on the organizations engaged in the process, as well
as the qualitative impact on the people served by these organizations.
The goal is for this research to inform ONN’s position on commissioning
as an emerging issue, and its relationship to the broader funding reform
agenda, including the proposed shift toward outcome-based
performance agreements.
*********
Project 2: Provincial flow-through funding via municipalities:
Issues facing Ontario nonprofits
One of ONN’s key policy files is funding reform, through which we aim
to reduce the administrative burden for nonprofits that receive provincial
funding to deliver programs and services. One element of this work
relates to issues with delivering provincial funding that flows to
nonprofits via municipalities. For instance, municipal bodies administer
provincial funding for child care and, in turn, invest these dollars in local
nonprofits. When the province announced a wage increase for child
care workers last year, there was a delay in flowing the wage-increase
funding, resulting in the need to pay retroactive wages to current and
former workers. This increased the administrative burden for nonprofits
which were then required to calculate retroactive pay and track down
former employees.
The purpose of this research project is to identify these kinds of
challenges (likely related to child care, social housing, and employment
supports) in the administration of provincial funding to nonprofits via
municipal bodies.
The goal is for this research to inform a future pilot project focused on
funding approaches that reduce the administrative burden for affected
nonprofits. The pilot would therefore contribute to advancing ONN’s
funding reform agenda and also strengthen our network’s connections
to municipal social service managers.
Structure of work (for both projects)
We would anticipate:
1 month of exploratory work / familiarizing with the current landscape,
informed by background documents and information to be provided by
the researcher’s ONN liaison
2 weeks to develop an initial scoping for the report
2 months for further research and development of bibliography and
outline [mid-term deliverable]
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1 month for writing an initial draft
1 month for revision and targeted additional exploration
1 month for the final draft report (with executive summary) and slide
deck to be completed
Desired Project
Start Date
Project Duration
Research and
Analysis Required
Final Deliverables
Expected
Timelines
Resources to be
Provided
Project Impact
October 1, 2015
October 2015 – April 2016
Consultants will undertake a literature review on:
 the commissioning process as proposed and implemented in
other jurisdictions (UK, Australia, various states in the USA) and
materials related to its nascent introduction in Ontario. [Project
1]
 the agreements and related processes through which funding
flows from the Ontario government through municipal bodies to
nonprofits, and material on challenges that have emerged in
these processes. [Project 2]
Consultants will use a combination of peer-reviewed and grey literature,
with most being grey literature from practitioners and researchers
working in the field. In each case, the ONN liaison will provide the
researcher with a preliminary set of reports and documents as a starting
point. This literature review will form the basis for the researcher’s
report (supplemented by interviews and meetings, as outlined below).
Mid-term deliverable: Bibliography and report outline
Final deliverable: A report with an executive summary and, optionally,
an oral presentation (with slide deck) to a small group of ONN
stakeholders (e.g., the nonprofit members of the Funding Reform
Forum and/or the ONN Board’s policy committee).
See above
Students will have access to a printer, shared office space as needed,
and ONN’s staff and volunteer network as appropriate.
The funding reform agenda is of central importance to ONN’s work.
Research on provincial-municipal flow-through funding and on the
commissioning process will provide a research foundation on which
future funding reform proposals, including pilot projects, will be based.
Nonprofits have identified the former as an important element of muchneeded funding reform, while ONN views the latter as an emerging
issue that the nonprofit sector must be prepared to address in ensuring
that funding dedicated to the public benefit is not redirected to profitoriented activities.
CONSULTANT INFORMATION
Number of
2
Consultants
Required
Expected Hours per 3
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Week, per
Consultant
What the
Consultants can
Expect
Desired
Qualifications*
While the consultants will primarily be conducting independent research
(literature review), they will also have the opportunity to meet and think
strategically with ONN’s core staff and volunteer teams and, as
appropriate, interview network members and attend events and external
meetings to gather other information and perspectives across partners.
They will also be able to take part in the process of ONN’s policy and
systems change work (see how we work for more detail about our
model), and gain knowledge in the areas of funding and revenue
generation for nonprofits, and government contracting and partnership.
Strong analytical skills, conceptual skills, written and oral
communication skills, and research skills. Ability to work independently,
formulate and articulate questions and seek answers, and question
authority. Perseverance. Knowledge or experience of the nonprofit
sector.
Knowledge or experience of community organizing, exploratory
research, community-based research, and systems theory, social
innovation and systems change are strong assets.
PROJECT COORDINATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
Contact Person and Heather Laird – Policy Lead
Title
Liz Sutherland – Policy Advisor (research supervisor)
Address
720 Bathurst Street Toronto ON M5S 2R4
Telephone
416 642 5786
Fax
N/A
Email
heather@theonn.ca, liz@theonn.ca
OTHER INFORMATION
Please see the funding reform page at theonn.ca
Thank you for the chance to apply.
* Note: this information will be used to help PGI directors with the consultant assignment
process. There is no guarantee that the PGI will assign consultants with these specific
characteristics.
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