Informed Youth Program — Stream 1: Developing Critical Thinking

• Project context and justification form
• Project schedule
• Detailed budget forecasts
• Most recent financial statements
• Last annual activity report
• Letters patent
• Signed funding conditions document
• Partner commitment letter, if applicable

Who is eligible?

• Non-profit organizations, cooperatives, and social economy enterprises
• Indigenous organizations or committees whose mission or mandate is to contribute to youth development
• Colleges, universities, autonomous public libraries, and regional public library service centers
• Community media, and generalist or specialized information media on print, digital, radio, or television that meet the Quebec head office or Quebec establishment conditions and have at least one paid journalist whose main task is to produce original information content

Who is not eligible

• Primary and secondary schools; professional orders, unions, political organizations, and religious associations
• Municipal bodies, including Montréal and Québec special-status cities, regional county municipalities, metropolitan communities, and local municipalities; and municipal newspapers
• Individuals operating sole proprietorships
• Organizations listed in the Registre des entreprises non admissibles aux contrats publics, including subcontractors listed there
• Opinion media; unions and professional associations whose purpose is to defend and promote their members’ interests; media businesses whose information content is mainly produced by the owner; organizations in default after formal notice linked to a previous Quebec government aid program; businesses and organizations that do not meet the required integrity standards; and insolvent or bankrupt applicants

Eligible expenses

• Labour costs, including benefits; subcontracting fees; professional fees; study and consulting costs; and training costs for employees
• Travel costs according to the rates in force in the Quebec public service
• Rental of equipment or premises up to 20% of the total subsidy; and purchase of materials or equipment when justified
• Promotion and dissemination costs, administration costs up to 5% of total eligible expenses, and contingency costs up to 10%

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Recurring expenses and costs linked to normal or routine operations
• Expenses already supported by another Ministry program and/or one of its state corporations
• Expenses incurred before the Ministry signs the grant announcement letter
• Debt financing, loan repayment, or financing of a project already completed
• Land purchases, building construction or expansion, fines and related legal costs, donations, personal loans, and personal expenses with no direct link to the project

• Relevance of the project (45%): alignment with the organization’s mission and the program’s objectives, clarity of the issues identified, innovation, and fit with the target age groups
• Quality of the project (35%): clarity of the objectives and planned activities, experience and competence of the team and partners, feasibility and realism of the schedule, and realism of the financial plan
• Expected outcomes (20%): number of participants targeted, impact on the target people, and for volet 2 the reach, diffusion, and promotion of youth information content

• Submit the application online using the di@pason form
• Before filing, register in di@pason as a partner client or update the file if already registered
• Send the application on the dates determined each year by the Ministry
• The application is automatically sent to the Ministry directorate responsible for processing it

• The Ministry reviews applications and may use external expertise; it may also limit the number selected to stay within the budget
• If the file is incomplete, the applicant has five working days to correct or complete it, otherwise the application becomes ineligible
• The beneficiary must submit a final report within 3 months after the end of the project, and progress reports may also be requested
• The Ministry may inspect project sites and verify the use of funds at any time; records must be kept for 7 years and made available for verification, with access rights lasting up to 3 years after project completion or until disputes are settled
• Any change to the agreement requires a signed amendment; the Ministry may terminate the agreement in specified cases and request full or partial repayment of amounts already paid

• The project must be new compared with the applicant’s existing activities.
• A final accountability report is required after completion.
• The applicant must use the Diapason online system to submit and track the application.