Report Template

1. RURAL ASSOCIATION PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

PROGRAMME DE PARTENARIATS AVEC LES ASSOCIATIONS RURALES

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

That the City Council:

1. Approve the Rural Association Partnership Program as an ongoing program for rural business organizations, fairs and farmers markets

2. Approve amendments to the program guidelines and application form, as outlined in this report.

RecommandationS du comité

Que le Conseil municipal: 1. Approuve le Programme de partenariat des associations rurales en tant que programme permanent pour les associations d’entreprises, les foires et les marchés de producteurs des zones rurales;

2. Approuve les modifications aux lignes directrices du programme et au formulaire de demande décrites dans le présent rapport.

DOCUMENTATION

1. Rural Affairs Officer report dated 15 March 2007 (ACS2007-CMR-OCM-0003).

Report to/Rapport au :

Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee

Comité de l'agriculture et des questions rurales

and Council / et au Conseil

15 March 2007 / le 15 mars 2007

Submitted by/Soumis par : Derrick Moodie, Rural Affairs Officer

Contact Person/Personne ressource : Derrick Moodie, Rural Affairs Officer

Rural Affairs Office

(613) 580-2424 x 15134, Derrick.Moodie@ottawa.ca

Ref N°: ACS2007-CMR-OCM-0003

SUBJECT:	RURAL ASSOCIATION PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

OBJET :	Programme de partenariats avec les associations rurales

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

That the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee recommend that Council:

1. Approve the Rural Association Partnership Program as an ongoing program for rural business organizations, fairs and farmers markets

2. Approve amendments to the program guidelines and application form, as outlined in this report.

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité de l’agriculture et des affaires rurales recommande au Conseil :

1. D’approuver le Programme de partenariat des associations rurales en tant que programme permanent pour les associations d’entreprises, les foires et les marchés de producteurs des zones rurales;

2. D’approuver les modifications aux lignes directrices du programme et au formulaire de demande décrites dans le présent rapport.

BACKGROUND

The Rural Association Partnership Program (“RAPP”) was established as a pilot program in 2006 to support the City’s rural economy by providing funding for rural business organizations, fairs and farmers markets. The RAPP was structured as a pilot program in response to recommendations endorsed as part of the 2005 Rural Summit.

The program was designed to achieve the following goals:

Support the rural economy by providing funding for rural business organizations, fairs, and farmer’s markets;
Ensure that public monies are reaching their intended targets and are being distributed in a responsible manner;
Create a framework using a common sense approach that is not overly bureaucratic and provides enough flexibility for community organizations to undertake projects that will address their individual needs and the needs of their community;

Ensure that the process is easy to navigate for applicants; and
Create measurable results that will have a lasting impact for the rural community.

In 2006, the total funding envelope of $75,000 for the Rural Association Partnership Program was awarded to 12 rural business organizations, fairs, or farmers markets for a variety of projects. Due to several projects being completed under budget the total project cost was $65,984. This funding resulted in a total investment of approximately $248,500 in our rural communities.

The RAPP offers project based funding on a matching basis up to $7,500 to ensure that all rural regions have an opportunity to access funding. Successful applications demonstrate a positive economic impact within their respective rural community.

Applications are assessed on a competitive basis using a peer evaluation process involving independent assessors/jurors from the local community with knowledge of Rural Business Organizations, Fairs and Farmers Markets. The jury for the 2006 RAPP included: Denis Perrault, Linda Reesbeck, Eric McSweeney, and Syd Gravel. The jury evaluated all applications based on the assessment criteria and determined the funding priority and award amount for successful projects. The Rural Affairs Office appreciates their volunteer efforts.

RAPP 2006 Recipients

Recipient	Project	RAPP Funding	Total Project Cost
Ottawa's Countryside	Rural Passport Project	$7,500	$16,456
Richmond Ag Society	New Horse Stalls	$7,500	$30,000
Metcalfe Agricultural Society	Celebration 150 Gate Restoration	$7,500	$63,307
Carp Farmers Market	Food Safety Initiative	$1,603	$3,206
Carp Ag Society	Grounds Improvements	$7,500	$28,566
Ottawa Valley Herb Association	Herbfest Promotional Materials	$2,860	$5,854
Manotick BIA	Haunted Harvest Promotion	$7,500	$18,049
Fitzroy Beef Farmers	Refrigeration equipment and marketing	$6,725	$13,450
Cumberland Village Association.	Cumberland Farmers Market	$3,008	$6,017
CEREC Equestrian Club	Ramsayville-Bourget Horse Trail	$1,788	$3,600
Dickinson Square Heritage Management Inc.	Dickinson Square Development Phase II	$5,000	$10,000
La Co-operative Multiservices Inc.	Revitalization de la communaute rural de l'est d'Ottawa	$7,500	$50,000
Total		$65,984	$248,505

DISCUSSION

As a pilot project, the Rural Association Partnership Program (RAPP) has successfully achieved its goals as outlined above. There was positive feedback on the simplicity of the application forms, the need for this type of funding in the rural areas and the impact of the projects on the rural community.

Ottawa’s rural communities do not have access to the same level of funding as our neighbouring municipalities. While other communities within Eastern Ontario have access to funding programs such as the Eastern Ontario Development Program, Ottawa is deemed ineligible, due to this program and the federal government’s definition of what is ‘rural.’ The recent Federal investment of $10.9 million into the Eastern Ontario Development Program could translate into over $500,000 in economic development support for each of our neighbouring counties. Rural Ottawa will not see any benefit from this funding.

The RAPP mirrors one of the elements of the Eastern Ontario Development Program and provides some funding to support our rural economy, albeit to a lesser extent.

Following the pilot project in 2006, the Rural Affairs Office has determined that there is a need for this type of funding and that the size and scale of this program is appropriate to meet this need. For this reason the Rural Affairs Office is seeking council approval to continue to offer this program in 2007 with the ‘pilot’ designation removed. Removal of this ‘pilot’ designation would mean that this program would become a regular offering of the Rural Affairs Office, and like other initiatives would be subject to future budget considerations.

Through the experience of administering this program in 2006 some improvements have been identified and minor revisions are recommended to the RAPP’s guidelines and application form. The proposed amendments are minor in nature, and most simply provide clarification.

The proposed changes include:

· Changes to contact information to reflect the Rural Affairs Office as the program administrator.

Clarification that funding will be limited to one approved project per organization per year;
Clarification that projects are expected to be completed by December 31, 2007, with provisions for extensions if needed;
Applications should clearly identify: a description of the project, objectives, critical issues that project funding will resolve, and specific project activities; and,
Applications should clearly demonstrate incremental enhancements, the potential impact of not receiving funding, and the benefit of the project to the community.

RURAL IMPLICATIONS

As a pilot program, the Rural Association Partnership Program resulted in leveraging the City’s investment of $75,000 into a significant overall investment of approximately $248,000. This investment into the City’s rural communities has supported 12 rural economic development initiatives across rural Ottawa. The continuation of this program is expected to provide similar benefit.

CONSULTATION

The changes to the guidelines are based on feedback from applicants and jury members from the pilot program. While there has been no additional public consultation for this report, stakeholder consultations were completed for the development of the original guidelines.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The $75,000 in funding for the Rural Association Partnership Program has been allocated through the 2007 Rural Affairs Office budget. Continuation of this program beyond 2007 will be subject to future budget considerations.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Document 1 – Amended Program Guidelines for the Rural Association Partnership Program

Document 2 – Amended Program Application Form for the Rural Association Partnership Program

DISPOSITION

Rural Affairs Office to take action as appropriate.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

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