Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) exists to ensure the well-being of Veterans and their families. The Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund provides funding to organizations undertaking initiatives to improve the well-being of Veterans and their families.
3.1 Continued need
There is a continued and ongoing demand for program funding from organizations to support initiatives targeting Veterans and their families well-being.
The Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund was created in response to more than 80 requests to VAC from organizations seeking funding for research or innovative services aimed at supporting the health and well-being of Veterans and their families (i.e., benefits or services not currently offered through VAC programming). Prior to the Fund being established, requests were reviewed and assessed internally to determine whether a mechanism existed to provide support. In some instances, internal funding or in-kind support was possible. In other instances, VAC sought one-off funding through a Treasury Board submission or redirected requests to other government funding sources.
The creation of the Fund provided the department with a formal mechanism to provide the type of financial support that was being requested. Demand for the Fund is evident based on the number of applicationsFootnote5 submitted each year. As can be seen in Table 3, four rounds of application calls yielded 509 applications requesting funds valued at over $350 million. VAC has exhausted its program funding each year, and has met 10% of the monetary demand of applicantsFootnote6. This shows that at the current funding levels the demand for funds will most likely continue to surpass the funds available.
Table 3: Overview of applications received and approved with funding amounts
| Fiscal year | Applications received | Funding requested | Successful recipients | Funding awarded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 155 | $ 109,360,635.25 | 21 | $ 7,560,293.86 |
| 2019-20 | 114 | $ 76,254,853.29 | 22 | $ 7,252,739.00 |
| 2020-21 | 142 | $ 111,506,668.74 | 23 | $ 10,492,582.46 |
| 2021-22 | 98 | $ 54,874,591.31 | 36 | $ 11,298,396.00 |
| Total | 509 | $ 351,996,748.59 | 102 | $ 36,604,011.32 |
Source: Program reporting
Between 2018-19 and 2021-22, a total of 102 projects were approved and $36.6 million of program funding committed to the various initiatives. On average, 25 applications have been approved each year. In the 2022-23 application call out, there were 118 applications submitted and 21 applications approved for funding totaling $6 million.
Each year there is a continued effort to approve project applications relating to a diverse array of topics and multiple Veteran sub-populations as can be seen in Table 4. A detailed breakdown by theme and year can be found in Appendix A.
Table 4: Projects funded by theme for 2018-2022
| Theme | Number of projects | Funding awarded | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women and LGBTQ2+ Veterans | 17 | $ 5,083,150.00 | 13.9% |
| Retraining/Employment | 12 | $ 4,890,050.00 | 13.4% |
| Homelessness | 18 | $ 6,767,713.46 | 18.5% |
| Mental health | 26 | $ 8,487,712.86 | 23.2% |
| Research | 14 | $ 6,990,545.00 | 19.1% |
| Families | 12 | $ 3,758,090.00 | 10.3% |
| Indigenous | 3 | $ 626,750.00 | 1.7% |
| Total | 102 | $ 36,604,011.32 | 100.0% |
Source: Program reporting
Note: Projects are counted based on a primary theme, however there may be multiple theme areas targeted by individual projects (e.g., mental health and homelessness).
The need for funding from VAC is expected to continue. Projects supported financially through the Fund have been primarily not-for-profit organizations (90/102). This is not surprising as not-for-profit organizations rely on external funding sources to enable programming/projects and operations.
As part of the evaluation, the team spoke with representatives from various organizations who received financial assistance through the Fund, all of which expressed great appreciation for the funding. During these interviews it was noted that the majority (12/14) of those interviewed noted that the financial assistance from the Fund was required in order to make their project occur. At the time of the evaluation, program related feedback from organizations that received funding was not formally requested as part of the funding agreement. However, feedback was sometimes shared in an ad-hoc manner.
A limited number of projects can be approved for funding each year. A number of organizations are receiving multi-year funding and a disproportionate amount of overall funds.
During the scope of the evaluation, approximately 20% (102/509) of applications were approved at an average amount of $359,000 per project. Of the funded projects, 68 unique organizations received financial support. This means that 23 organizations received funding more than onceFootnote7. These 23 organizations received $22.6 million of the overall $36.6 million of funds committed to 102 projects. In other words, 34% (23/68) of the unique organizations received 62% of the allocated funding, indicating that a disproportionate amount of the overall funds are going to relatively small set of organizations. Some organizations have received funds continually since the inception of the Fund.
When multi-year projects are approved, the available amount of future years’ budgets are diminished. The result is the annual budget available for future application rounds appears larger than the reality of available funds, potentially leading to a reduced capacity to approve new projects in future application calls. The budget for the Fund is further discussed in section 4.2.2, Budget capacity.
Fund objectives are broad, and a variety of organizations are eligible to seek funding; however, eligibility is limited to finite projects.
The inclusivity of the Fund‘s eligibility criteria allows for a variety of organizations/groups to apply for funding. VAC’s website describes the Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund as a fund that provides grants and contributions to private, public or academic organizations to conduct research and implement initiatives and projects that support the well-being of Veterans and their families. When elaborating about the Fund on VAC’s external website it says, "If you are an organization that works to create new and innovative ways to improve the well-being of Canadian Veterans and their families, the Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund may offer the support you need to get started."
“Innovative ways” is a broad term. Generally, the interpretation by the Program area has been in line with the overall definition of innovation – a new or different way of doing something. In some cases this looks like adjusting a program to include Veterans and/or address specific Veteran needs or it could be researching a new therapeutic approach to improve Veteran well-being. Assessing innovation is a component of the project application scoring procedure.
In addition to the Fund’s intent relating to innovative approaches to serve Veterans and their families, there are other objectives identified (as highlighted in Table 5, Fund objectives linked to completed projects). The Fund’s objectives center on supporting new ideas and driving progress on Veterans health and well-being, while also supporting capacity building and encouraging coordination among stakeholders.
A file review conducted by the evaluation team identified that all completed projects reviewed (35) were linked to at least one of the Fund objectives. The majority of projects (24/35) were linked to more than one objective; although the reviewers note that the links were not always strong.
Table 5: Fund objectives linked to completed projects
| Fund objective | Number of projects | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Build capacity within the non-profit and volunteer sectors on issues specific to Veterans and their families such as homelessness, careers and employment, transition to civilian life, etc. | 23 | 23% |
| Drive progress on new knowledge and understanding of Veteran and family well-being using the determinants of health model | 17 | 17% |
| Encourage co-ordination between multiple players: agencies, institutions, associations and other level of government | 28 | 29% |
| Support new ideas for adapting existing programs and/or forming new programs and services to address ill-and-injured Veterans’ treatment and care needs | 30 | 31% |
Note: these are not mutually exclusive answers, as some projects were linked to more than one objective.
Realizing that there is intended flexibility built into the Fund (in order to support a variety of projects and organizations targeting Veteran and family well-being), the broad structure may also be creating challenges.Interviews with staff throughout the department, including subject matter experts who assist in reviewing applications, indicate that there is uncertainty on the objective of the Fund. Also, while overall eligibility for the Fund is broad, program planning documents state funding is specific to projects that are finite in nature, and funding is not intended to support ongoing operations/programming. As mentioned, the great majority of funding recipients are not-for-profit organizations, which often have ongoing funding needs. One of the objectives of the Fund focusses on building capacity within the non-profit and volunteer sectors. These factors bring into question the precision of the Fund’s intent, and whether there is an opportunity/need to clarify the overall objective.
The Fund has a limited amount of core funding, and efforts are made to spread support across numerous projects covering many different themes. In addition, factors such as geography, official languages, sub-population groups, etc. must be taken into consideration. There is a great number of expectations based on the numerous objectives (as highlighted in the linkage to various expected departmental results discussed in section 3.2.1) and target populations.
There is an opportunity to re-confirm the intent of the Fund, and whether the current objectives remain appropriate.
3.2 Alignment with government priorities and federal roles and responsibilities
The Veteran and Family Well-being Fund aligns with government direction and departmental roles and responsibilities. There is an opportunity to review how the Fund aligns with departmental priorities given the types of projects seeking funding and other VAC research initiatives underway.
3.2.1 Alignment with Government of Canada priorities
The Government of Canada continues to recognize supporting the well-being of Veterans as an area of priority. Alignment with Government of Canada direction is evident through mandate letters to the Minister of Veterans Affairs in both 2017 and 2021, where the successful implementation of the Fund was a priority. Program initiation documents from 2017 stated that the ongoing funding through the Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund will “foster innovation across the public, private and academic fields. This Fund would select proposals put forward by organizations to conduct research and develop or implement a wide range of innovative programs that will make a real difference in the lives of Canada’s veterans and their families”.
Alignment with departmental roles and responsibilities is evidenced through Budget 2017 and Budget 2021. Budget 2017 proposed establishing the Well-Being Fund “to support the creation of innovative services and support specifically tailored to improving the quality of life for our veterans.” Budget 2021 proposed that the Fund be used as a mechanism to help support post COVID-19 recovery in Canada, through an additional $15 million used to support Veterans and their families in the areas of homelessness, employment, retraining and health challenges.
VAC’s Departmental Plan sets out core responsibilities for the department and associated planned results and resources for the year. The Fund is currently linked to three departmental results, indicating significant alignment with VAC roles and responsibilities. The evaluation team notes the Departmental Plans from 2018-19 through 2022-23 show somewhat inconsistent wording describing the activities of the Fund and linkages towards departmental results. In particular:
- In 2018-19 and 2019-20, the Fund was not linked to specific departmental results
- In 2020-21 through 2022-23, the Fund was linked to housing with some changes in result wording from: ‘creative solutions for Veterans at risk for becoming homeless’ to ‘establishing safe and secure environments for long term stability’
- In 2021-22 through 2022-23, the Fund has been linked to the departmental result ‘Veterans and families are physically and mentally well’
- In 2022-23, the Fund was also linked to a new departmental result ‘Veterans have a purpose’
The linkage to three departmental results highlights both the importance that the department is placing on the Fund as well as the impact that it hopes to achieve. However, the performance indicators for these three departmental results are linked to themes of projects funded, versus the Fund purpose itself. For example, the indicators for ‘Veterans have a sense of purpose’ are: ‘the percentage of Veterans who are employed' and 'the percentage of Veterans satisfied with their job'. Indicator results reported for 2021-22 are based on VAC programming like the Education and Training Benefit, Career Transition Services, and federal government outreach initiatives. There is no mention of the Fund. Some projects that received financial support through the Fund target employment and re-training, and this is one of the theme areas of focus for Budget 2021 funding.
The program aligns well at a high level with the government’s desire to support projects which make a difference in the well-being of Veterans and their families. The reality is not-for-profit organizations need ongoing funding, regardless of the type of programming or projects being delivered and therefore won’t always match the overall Fund intent of fostering innovation. Please see Unintended impacts, section 4.13, for additional information regarding funding projects for operational costs.
Additionally, in April 2020 VAC launched the VAC Research Funding Program. This program provides funding to similar organizations (private, non-profit, and academic sectors) to undertake projects for similar purposes (research-oriented projects and/or innovative initiatives to improve the well-being of military members, Veterans, and their families). As another new departmental funding program, there continues to be evolution and understanding garnered through experience. During the evaluation planning phase, it was noted that there was no overlap or link among the two funding programs and the Research Funding Program was scoped out of the evaluation. As the evaluation progressed, indications began to emerge that there may be some overlap in supporting research initiatives.
There is an opportunity to combine the research aspect of the Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund and the separate Research fund into one departmental research funding program.
3.2.2 Alignment with federal roles and responsibilities
The Department of Veterans Affairs Act provides authority to the Minister of Veterans Affairs to administer Acts of Parliament and Orders in Council that are not, by law, assigned to any other federal department or any Minister for the care, treatment and re-establishment in civil life of Veterans and the care of their dependents and survivors, and such other matters as the Governor in Council may assign. A 2017 Order in Council gives VAC authority to provide funding through the Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund to qualified recipients “for the well-being of Veterans and their families”.
The evaluation team, through document review and interviews, confirms that VAC continues to deliver on its mandate through the Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund and that the Fund contributes to the department fulfilling its responsibilities of supporting the well-being of Veterans and their families. Though, as noted above, there may be opportunities to clarify the intent and objectives of the Fund, and to align activities among research and innovative initiatives within the department.