We weren't able to present all of our brief because of lack of time, but we went through a long process of attending information meetings with CIC staff. There were online resources for us. And yes, we knew we were going into a new phase of funding.
I would like to read to you one of the things that was said at the information session and is still available online.
With this CFP, we are trying to adopt a principle of inclusion, whereby every proposal possible gets assessed on the merits of the project being proposed, as opposed to evaluating your proposal-writing skills. In other words, CIC Settlement Ontario Region is not looking for the first excuse to screen an applicant out. If you can get the basic required documentation of the CFP in by the deadline (see checklist) and provide information on the project you propose CIC will make the effort to contact you for additional details as required before making any decision on whether to proceed with funding or not. The new Modernized Approach to Settlement Programming offers you the opportunity to design your “ideal” program, including new staff. In essence, you tell us what you'd like to do and what you think it will cost, and we'll consider it for funding.
Going through that whole process, this is what we were hearing from staff. We were told that no agency would be cut unless there were performance issues, which would have been identified through the normal channels.
When this decision came down, it was like being hit from behind with a baseball bat. None of us expected it.