1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 EVALUATION MANDATE

The renewed terms and conditions for the contribution component of the National Search and Rescue program, SAR NIF were approved by the Treasury Board on August 30, 2005. The Results-Based Management Accountability Framework (RMAF) requires that:

“An independent evaluation of the contribution program in support of the SAR NIF will be carried out every five years, or more frequently, if requested by the Executive Director of the National Search and Rescue Secretariat. The next independent program evaluation is scheduled for FY 2008-2009.”

“The terms and conditions will apply and payments will be made for eligible expenditures incurred from 01 April 2005 to 31 March 2010, at which time a summative evaluation will be performed prior to seeking approval for the continuation of the program.” The mandate for this independent program evaluation is therefore derived from the above requirement.

1.2 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

In 1986, the Federal Cabinet recognized the National SAR Program as a distinct horizontal program of the government and confirmed the Minister of National Defence as the Lead Minister for Search and Rescue with overall policy responsibility for SAR and authority, responsibility and accountability for the coordination of the National SAR Program. The National Search and Rescue Secretariat (NSS) supports the Lead Minister for Search and Rescue/Minister of National Defence (LMSAR/MND) in this regard ¹.

The Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund (SAR NIF) provides funding for new initiatives in the SAR area. The funding program delivers funds to eligible recipients through two distinct funding mechanisms – a contribution agreement for Vote 10 recipients, and transfers to managing federal departments/agencies through the Parliamentary Estimates process for Vote 1 and 5 projects. Eligible recipients of the SAR NIF contributions are provincial and territorial governments, profit and not-for-profit Canadian organizations from volunteer, academic or private sectors and individuals with responsibilities in the National SAR Program.

The SAR NIF is managed in partnership with other federal, provincial and territorial SAR organizations. This includes the following federal SAR delivery departments:

• Canadian Forces (Department of National Defence)
• Canadian Coast Guard (Department of Fisheries and Oceans)
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police
• Transport Canada
• Meteorological Service of Canada (Environment Canada)
• Parks Canada (Agency).

Representatives from these organizations comprise the Interdepartmental Committee on Search and Rescue (ICSAR).

The SAR NIF receives an annual allotment of up to a maximum of $8.1 million to support the National SAR Program priorities by providing funds for new initiatives aimed at improving the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the SAR program in Canada.

The maximum amount payable under this fund is $40,500,000 over five years, subject to review. The funding breakdown for the period is shown in Table 1 below:

As may be seen from the figures shown in the following Table 2 below ², the Vote 10 contribution component of the SAR NIF program subject to this evaluation averages around 50% or around $4 million of the $8.1 million SAR NIF yearly allocation. Components of the program delivered through Vote 1 and Vote 5 are transferred through the Parliamentary Estimates process to, and managed by, the federal SAR delivery departments mentioned below. Approximately $4M in Vote 5 funding is transferred to other federal government departments and agencies annually for approved Search and Rescue related projects. As per the RMAF, the Vote 1 and Vote 5 program components are therefore not subject to this independent evaluation which is limited to those contribution funds in Vote 10 managed directly by the NSS.

Within the non-federal jurisdiction, the National Search and Rescue Secretariat works directly with provincial and territorial SAR authorities and police services to develop and standardize the quantity and quality of SAR service available to the provinces and territories.

Potential applicants must contact one of the federal, provincial or territorial SAR partners to initiate interest in the program and develop proposals that address program and partner priorities. SAR NIF provides annual funding for new projects (or initiatives), that will improve the National Search and Rescue Program. The SAR NIF continues to use the priorities of the National SAR Program to determine funding priorities. Over the past four years, the NSS has used variations of these priorities ³. The current priorities of the National Search and Rescue Program are:

• National SAR Program Information Management and Data Exploitation - Define and develop mechanisms for monitoring, sharing and measuring the National SAR Program.
• Interoperability - Promote standardization and compatibility of systems, equipment and personnel to achieve greater integration and program effectiveness.
• Public Education and Awareness - Use broad awareness and targeted outreach to minimize the number and severity of potential SAR incidents.
• The SAR Volunteer Community - Develop sustainability and capacity of volunteers in SAR.
• Managing Technology - Encourage technology development which reduces SAR response time and increases survivability.

In order to apply for funding, SAR NIF applicants must determine the appropriate SAR NIF Partner to submit their SAR NIF applications (based upon jurisdiction and area of SAR responsibility).

Proposals received by the managing federal departments and agencies are reviewed, ranked by order of priority and submitted to the NSS/DND for consideration by the SAR NIF Merit Board. Only those SAR NIF Applications that the managing federal departments and agencies endorse are submitted to the NSS.

Provincial/territorial government proposals can only be submitted by the recognized SAR authority within the provincial/territorial jurisdiction. The authority submits an omnibus proposal after surveying or collecting proposals from SAR organizations within their jurisdiction. The method for development of the omnibus proposal is determined by the provincial/territorial authority.

The NSS/DND reviews and submits to the SAR NIF Merit Board SAR NIF applications received from all SAR NIF Partners. The SAR NIF Merit Board reviews the proposals and meets to discuss the merits of the proposals. Once the SAR NIF Merit Board meeting has concluded, individual members score the projects independently and submit the scores to the NSS for tabulation. The resulting SAR NIF Merit List is created by ranking the scored SAR NIF applications from highest to lowest. The SAR NIF Merit List is then submitted to ICSAR for endorsement and transmitted onward to the LMSAR/MND for final approval.

Once projects are approved by LMSAR/MND, the NSS determines how many projects from the SAR NIF Merit List can be funded based upon the amount of uncommitted funds available in the upcoming fiscal year (April 1). The uncommitted funds are those funds not designated for on-going, approved projects from previous fiscal years. Once the funding line has been determined, the NSS prepares the financial documents (including contribution agreements) which must be signed before any funds are released to eligible recipients.

• 1. Much of the program description in this section has been obtained from the Treasury Board approved Terms and Conditions of the Contribution Program in Support of the SAR New Initiatives Fund.



• 2. Figures provided and validated by NSS Comptroller.



• 3. Details for the Call for Proposals (2010-2011) are shown in the NSS web-site modified on 2009-04-20.

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