School Food Infrastructure Fund: Step 6. After you apply

Step 6. After you apply

1. We’ll send you an acknowledgement notice

Your application is considered submitted once you receive the acknowledgement notice.

Please note that even if all eligibility criteria are met, the submission of an application creates no obligation on the part of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to provide funding for the project.

2. We’ll verify your application

We’ll verify that your application is complete and there’s sufficient detail in the application to begin a full assessment. If your application is incomplete, we’ll contact you for the required information.

Missing or incorrect information could result in a processing delay or your application being ineligible. Service standards for assessments only begin once the application is deemed to be complete.

3. We’ll assess your application

We’ll verify that all required forms and declarations have been completed accurately and there is sufficient detail in the application for a full assessment.

• If deemed complete, we’ll review and assess your application against the principles and criteria of the program. Our assessors include program administrators and other technical reviewers within AAFC
• If deemed incomplete, we’ll place your application on hold. A notice will be sent to ask you for more detailed information

At any point after you apply, we may contact you for more information. If you don’t provide the information requested, we may not be able to consider your application further.

4. We’ll send you a contribution agreement

If you’re approved for funding, you’ll receive a written decision letter outlining the level of assistance awarded and any other conditions, if applicable. You’ll work with a program officer to go over the details of the approval, including activities and funding levels, as well as start and end dates. You’ll also work with the program officer to negotiate the details of the contribution agreement you must sign to receive funding.

Note: even if an approval is granted, AAFC does not have the authority to reimburse recipients for costs incurred until a contribution agreement is signed.

You can track the status of your application

Access your program information to track the status of your application.

Reports you must provide

If you’re approved for funding, you must report on finances, performance and results. These reports include:

• Progress reports — reports describing the activities completed and progress made toward the completion of activities described in the project work plan
• Performance reports — annual and end-of-year reports that track progress against mutually agreed to performance measures outlined in the contribution agreement
• Financial reports — reports required with each request for reimbursement of expenditures, in addition to year-end accounting and other financial reports
• Other reports that we may ask for

Service standards

Our goal is to:

• respond to general inquiries made to our phone number or email address before the end of the next business day
• acknowledge receipt of your application within 1 business day
• assess your application and send you an approval or a rejection notification letter within 100 business days of receiving a complete application package