Victims and Survivors of Crime in Restorative Justice Processes

Overview

Restorative justice (RJ) is a philosophy and an approach that views crime and conflict principally as harm done to people and relationships. It strives to provide support and safe opportunities for the voluntary participation and communication between those affected (victims/survivors, offenders, and community) to encourage accountability, reparation, and a movement towards understanding, healing, safety and a sense of closure. RJ is a non-adversarial, non-retributive approach to justice that emphasizes healing in victims/survivors, meaningful accountability of offenders, and the involvement of citizens in creating healthier, safer communities.

Victims and survivors of crime are key stakeholders in RJ and can benefit from the opportunity to be meaningfully engaged in an RJ process. RJ permits victims and survivors of crime the opportunity to share the impact the harm has had on them, to identify their needs, and have a say in decisions that are made to resolve the matter.

Objectives

Seeking to further strengthen capacity to meet the needs of victims and survivors participating in restorative justice processes and to promote local or regional partnerships, the Justice Canada Victims Fund is inviting partners to submit funding proposals that will undertake any of the following objectives:

• develop or enhance partnerships between restorative justice agencies and victim-serving organizations through joint training, information sharing or awareness raising events, or other means;
• develop tools and resources and/or deliver training for restorative justice practitioners that increases their capacity to work with victims and other stakeholders involved in restorative justice processes from a trauma-informed approach;
• identify and share promising practices in providing victim-centred or victim-focused restorative justice;
• evaluate the impact of restorative justice processes on victims; and
• undertake research on victim-centred or victim-focused restorative justice models.

Who can apply for this funding?

For the purpose of this call for proposals, the following organizations are eligible:

• Restorative justice agencies and associations;
• Not-for profit victim-serving organizations;
• Bands, Tribal Councils, First Nations and community-based Indigenous organizations that provide/support restorative justice services to the community/members; and
• Provincial, territorial, municipal and regional governments and agencies.

Funding cannot be provided to individuals.

What selection criteria will be used?

As funding is limited, the following factors will be considered in order to prioritize funding applications and make funding decisions:

• Funding applications must be completed IN FULL and submitted by December 30, 2016 in order to be assessed for funding;
• The degree to which the proposed project activities are aligned with the funding objectives of further strengthening capacity to meet the needs of victims and survivors participating in restorative justice processes and promoting local or regional partnerships between victim services organizations and restorative justice agencies;
• The degree to which the proposed project activities are aligned with the terms and conditions of the Victims Fund;
• The degree to which an application demonstrates collaboration and partnerships among community and criminal justice organizations, with a focus on victim services organizations; and
• The degree to which the proposed project will minimize duplication in a given community and share results widely.

What additional selection criteria may be used?

To ensure national representation, applicants may be selected from across the country.

What are Eligible expenses?

Funding is available beginning February 1st, 2017 until March 31st, 2018. The Victims Fund will make up to a total of $750,000 available with an anticipated maximum of $75,000 for each project. Funding from the Victims Fund can be used for the following kinds of expenses:

• Wages and benefits;
• Meeting space;
• Consultant and/or contractor fees;
• Reasonable materials and supplies;
• Reasonable printing and distribution costs;
• Training;
• Travel, where appropriate;
• Administrative expenses; and,
• Evaluation and audit costs.

What is Ineligible?

The following costs are not eligible:

• Capital expenses (e.g. purchases of land, buildings, renovations and vehicles);
• Project costs incurred before the agreement is approved;
• Core operational expenses;
• Costs not related to service delivery; and,
• Entertainment fees, alcohol, sponsorships, gifts and souvenirs.

When is the deadline to submit a funding application?

The deadline to submit a funding application for the Victims and Survivors of Crime in Restorative Justice Processes call for proposals is December 30, 2016.

How to Apply for Funding

To submit a request for funding, please complete the Application/Proposal Form: HTML Version. The funding application form requires that you provide overview information on your organization as well as project details including partnerships, a work-plan and a budget. Please ensure a complete response is provided to all questions.

Points to Consider

Please note that funding is limited, and therefore, not all eligible proposals will be funded. The Department of Justice thanks you for taking the time to complete and submit an application for funding.

Gender-based Analysis

When preparing your funding application, please clearly articulate how your proposed activities demonstrate sensitivity to diversity and gender equality issues. Proposals should demonstrate how they consider issues related to power imbalances based on factors such as dependency, age, disability, gender or relationship history between the victim/survivor and the offender. Please be sure to analyze your proposed approach and activities to avoid unintentionally creating barriers to services for other vulnerable groups.

Evaluation

Please be sure to include an evaluation plan as a part of your funding proposal. A completed evaluation will be a mandatory deliverable and reporting requirement upon completion of each project, and final payment will not be released until it has been received by Justice Canada. Up to 10% of the total amount of funding requested should be allocated towards the development of an evaluation framework and the completion of a final evaluation to be shared with Justice Canada, partners and other relevant stakeholders.

Official Languages

In support of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act, the Department is committed to facilitating the participation of official language minority communities and their organizations in the development and assessment of the Department's policies, programs and services having significant impact on the development of the communities; and to take measures to ensure that the Department of Justice's programs and services reach official language minority communities. In the context of project funding, these measures include:

• outreach to official language minority communities to enhance their understanding of the Department of Justice funding programs; and
• encouraging contacts between organizations that are receiving financial assistance and official language minority organizations/groups to ensure that the needs of these communities are taken into consideration in relation to the proposed projects to be considered for Department of Justice Canada funding.

Sustainable Development

The Department of Justice encourages applicants to submit proposals electronically. If you submit your application on paper, please consider printing on both sides of the paper. These actions will minimize environmental impacts.

For more information about the Victims Fund and how to apply for project funding, contact us:

Victims Fund Manager
Telephone: General Victims Fund: (613) 941-4193
E-mail: pb-dgp@justice.gc.ca
Programs Branch
Department of Justice Canada
284 Wellington Street, 6th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8