The FWCP was established to compensate for impacts to fish, wildlife, and their supporting habitat, resulting from the construction of existing BC Hydro dams.

BC Hydro has water licence obligations in the Columbia and Peace regions, and has made voluntary commitments to address the impacts of dams in the Coastal Region. BC Hydro fulfils the applicable obligations through the work of the FWCP.

The FWCP is funded annually by BC Hydro. The FWCP directs those funds towards projects that address priority actions across its three regions to fulfil its mission, and work towards its vision of thriving fish and wildlife populations in watersheds that are functioning and sustainable.

We fund projects that align with our Action Plans, which reflect regional conservation priorities and priority actions. An independent Board in each region reviews all grant applications and project funding decisions. Our Boards include representatives from BC Hydro, the Province of B.C., Fisheries and Oceans Canada, First Nations and public stakeholders.

• Coastal Region Board and Committee List
• Columbia Region Board and Committee List
• Peace Region Board and Committee List

Learn more about our grants and projects we fund, subscribe at fwcp.ca/subscribe.

The Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP) conserves and enhances fish and wildlife in watersheds impacted by BC Hydro dams. The FWCP is funded annually by BC Hydro. The FWCP directs those funds towards priority actions across its three regions to fulfil its mission and work towards its vision of thriving fish and wildlife populations in watersheds that are functioning and sustainable.

By funding projects to support fish and wildlife populations in our Coastal, Columbia and Peace Regions, the FWCP is fulfilling BC Hydro’s applicable water licence obligations and voluntary commitments to compensate for fish and wildlife impacts.

We fund and support the following types of actions, which are consistent with our mandate:

• Fund actions to create, restore, or otherwise improve the function of ecosystems that have been impacted by BC Hydro activities.
• Fund actions to create, restore, or otherwise improve the function of alternate ecosystems that provide a better opportunity for investment.
• Participate as a team member in species of interest planning.
• Fund specific management actions for species of interest as identified by recovery teams and action/implementation groups.
• Fund baseline inventory that contributes to the development of habitat- or species-based actions within action plans.
• Fund monitoring programs designed to measure the effectiveness of FWCP-funded habitat- and species-based actions.
• Contribute to all aspects of managing co-operatively managed conservation lands.

We do not fund or support the following activities, which are beyond our mandate:

• Fund core activities of government or non-government agencies or programs.
• Lead the development of species recovery goals.
• Fund, co-ordinate, or lead national recovery teams for species at risk.
• Develop policy related to land or wildlife management.
• Administer government regulations.
• Engage in enforcement and compliance activities, except in relation to co-operatively managed conservation lands.
• Fund programs designed exclusively to address government objectives.

Our annual intake of grant applications is now closed. The next grant intake cycle will open in August 2022.

Each FWCP region has a set of ecosystem-based action plans that identify the priority actions eligible for FWCP grants (see the action tables in each action plan).

We fund five types of projects and our action plan tables identify priority actions by project type:

1. research and information acquisition;
2. habitat-based actions;
3. species-based actions;
4. monitoring and evaluation; and
5. land securement.

Your proposed project must align with one or more priority action(s) in any of our regional action plans.

Each priority action is identified as OPEN, OPEN/DIRECTED, or DIRECTED.

DELIVERY METHOD/Eligible for a grant
OPEN                      Eligible for a grant. Go ahead and apply!
OPEN/DIRECTED Eligible for a grant. Go ahead and apply!
DIRECTED              Not eligible for a grant. Do not apply for a grant for this action. Our regional boards will address DIRECTED projects through other funding mechanisms.

Eligible grant applicants include First Nations, consultants, agencies, non-government organizations, individuals, and academic institutions.

All successful grant applicants must be able to provide:

1. a WorkSafe BC clearance letter; and
2. proof of commercial general liability.

Our action plans guide FWCP investments in fish and wildlife projects, and are referenced annually by our regional Boards to track progress toward implementation, set annual priorities, and guide decision-making in setting out and approving the annual operating plan for each region. Actions in our action plans are eligible for FWCP funding and align with our vision, mission, and geographic scope.

Each region has its own set of action plans. If you are applying for a grant in our Peace Region, be sure to review our updated 2020 action plans.

Coastal Region Watershed Action Plans

Columbia Region Action Plans

Peace Region Action Plans

The FWCP’s annual intake encourages grant applicants to apply for a Seed or Large grant through our online grant management system by Friday, October 29, 2021.

Our Community Engagement Grant is available year-round on a first-come, first-served basis and you may apply anytime.

Seed Grants

Seed Grants are aimed at helping you explore the feasibility of your project idea and could be the first step toward submitting a grant application in a subsequent year.

Seed Grants are intended to offset costs to fill information gaps, explore project feasibility, and prepare technical information that may be required prior to developing an application for a Large Grant in a subsequent year. Use our Seed Grant to grow your idea into a future Large Grant application. Up to a maximum of $5,000 is available from the FWCP.

Large Grants

All grant applicants ready to implement a proposed project that aligns with our regional action plans should apply for a Large Grant regardless of the total cost.

The total project cost includes funding from all sources, including, but not limited to, the FWCP, other funders (if any), the total value of all in-kind contributions (if any), and applicable taxes.

You will be asked to submit a written project proposal (maximum six pages) as part of your online grant application.

Follow these steps:

1.    Review our regional action plans

Our regional action plans identify the priority actions eligible for FWCP grants (see the action tables in each action plan). Your proposed project must align with one or more priority action(s) in any of our regional action plans.

1. • Coastal Region action plans
   • Columbia Region action plans
   • Peace Region action plans

Our regional managers can help you align your project idea with a priority action(s) in our action plans.

2.    Develop a project idea to fulfil an action

Develop a project idea that aligns with one or more priority action(s) in any action plan(s) that will achieve the intended outcome(s). Be sure you have selected an OPEN priority action.

REMINDER!

Review relevant project reports and outcomes

Before developing your grant application, review our project report list for relevant work already completed. If there is a relevant project report, consider how, or if, the work you propose in your grant application will build on past work. The FWCP has posted more than 500 final reports on provincial databases, making our project results and data available to anyone. A searchable spreadsheet for all final project reports is available at http://fwcp.ca/results/.

You may also wish to review relevant provincial databases for projects not funded by the FWCP to identify recommendations or reports that could support your grant application.
Species Inventory Database
EIRS: Environmental Information Resource System
EcoCat: Ecological Reports Catalogue
CLIR: Cross-Linked Information Resources

3.    Review our regional guidance and priorities

Each of our three regions—Coastal, Columbia, and Peace—are unique, and the requirements for grant applicants vary by region. To help with your grant application, we’ve prepared 2021 guidance documents for each region. Review the regional guidance documents and be sure to fulfil any mandatory requirements.

If you are submitting a grant application in our Peace Region, our online grant management system will prompt you to complete and submit the mandatory Notice of Intent (NOI) after you login and start your grant application at fwcp.ca/apply-for-funding.

4.    Start your online grant application

All grant applicants must use our system to apply. Start your grant application at fwcp.ca/apply-for-funding.

If this is the first time your organization has applied online for an FWCP grant, you must register at fwcp.ca/apply-for-funding.

If your organization is already registered in our online grant management system but you have never accessed the system, please contact our business coordinator, Lorraine Ens, at lorraine.ens@bchydro.com. She will set up a profile for you and link you to your organization.

Get help online

You’ll find lots of tips and instructions built into the online grant application.

Click on the question mark icon next to each question in the grant application to reveal instructions and more information.

Submit your questions to us from your draft grant application. Click on the “Notes/Questions” tab to submit your question.

We’re here to help

Contact our business coordinator, Lorraine Ens, at lorraine.ens@bchydro.com or 604-528-8136.

5.    Complete all mandatory sections of the grant application

Be sure to complete all sections of the online grant application and fulfil all mandatory requirements. These requirements vary by region.

6.    Submit your online grant application by the application deadline.

Our grant management system will validate your grant application entries immediately after you submit your application and indicate right away if any required information is missing.

We suggest you avoid submitting your application immediately before the deadline in case you need to make corrections or additions. The grant intake closes promptly at 5 p.m. PT the day the applications are due, and we will only review grant applications received by the deadline.

Tips for completing grant applications

• You can save your grant application and return to it anytime.
• The grant application is organized by key sections (see tabs in the online grant application), and you can complete the grant application in any order.

Tips for multi-year grant applications

• If your project spans multiple years, you must apply for funding annually. Approval of annual FWCP funding for a multi-year project does not guarantee FWCP funding in future years.
• If you are in year two or more of a multi-year project, you can save time by contacting our business coordinator, to make a copy of your previous application. This copy can be used to start the current year’s grant application.
• If you are beyond year one of your multi-year project, your grant application must identify achievements and challenges encountered in previous year(s).

This section provides an overview of our grant applications and what information you’ll be asked to provide.

Description

Project summary: Project title, project summary statement, and project urgency
Project details: Species that will benefit, detailed project description

Applicant information

Applicant information: Proponent organization, project contact, signing authority, collaborators, project supporters, First Nations communications, and project volunteers

Project information

Project location information: Map, location description, project coordinates (latitude and longitude)
Alignment with action plan(s): Primary action plan, primary project type, priority action, alignment with priority action and intended outcome(s), and optional alignment with secondary action plan
Single or multi-year project: Project duration, provide overview of project achievements and challenges for ongoing multi-year projects
Project phases: Start-up, fieldwork, data entry and analysis, community engagement (i.e., define how you plan to share your project results and involve others in your proposed project), draft reporting, and final reporting
Benefits: Benefits to fish and/or wildlife
Ongoing maintenance: Is ongoing maintenance required to sustain benefits?
Community engagement: What are your plans to share results and engage with First Nations, stakeholders, and others?
Permits and approval: BC Hydro-owned lands, proximity to BC Hydro facility, landowners, required permits, and approvals

Project budget

Budget:

1. labour expenses, materials, equipment, transportation, and field expenses
2. project administration costs
3. GST section
4. revenue (i.e., other funding sources)

Funding: Is this a resubmission of a previously “not approved” application? Have you previously received FWCP funding?

Proposals

A six-page (maximum) project proposal is required for all Large Grant applications only. No proposal is required for Seed Grant applications.

Letters of support

Letters of support are optional in our Columbia and Peace regions. Letters of support are mandatory in our Coastal Region. See our regional guidance documents for more details.

Experience

Project contact experience: It is mandatory to include the experience and credentials of the project contact. We encourage you to provide the credentials and experience of key team members so we can properly evaluate your grant application.

All grant applications go through a three-stage review process that ends with a decision by our three regional boards.

Stage 1: review by regional manager and business coordinator

• Project eligibility: Does the proposed project align with our project eligibility criteria?
• Proponent status: Is the project proponent in good standing with FWCP? If applicable, are past project deliverables complete?
• Completeness: Have all grant application requirements been fulfilled?

Stage 2: review by technical committees and First Nations Working Group

Fish and wildlife technical committees in each region review each grant application for technical merit. In our Peace Region, the First Nations Working Group also evaluates grant applications.

Results from the technical committee and First Nations Working Group (Peace Region only) review are provided to each board to assist in their review and decision-making in stage 3.
During this stage, our technical committees (all regions) will be evaluating grant applications for:

• Alignment with the priority action(s) and the intended outcome (see priority action table in each action plan): Are there clear objectives that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound?
• Technical design: Are the methods and approaches for the proposed project acceptable and appropriate? Are there direct benefits to fish and/or wildlife?
• Urgency: What are the implications if the proposed project is approved, or is not approved?
• Budget: Are the charges for fees and expenses appropriate? Is there a demonstrated good value for the money?
• Relevant credentials and experience of the team members, and roles of individuals on the project: Does the project team have the skills, expertise, and capacity to carry out the project? Are the right people in the right roles?
• Community engagement: Does the project include a community engagement component (e.g., project involves volunteers, an outreach event, etc.)?
• Overall quality of the grant application: Is it a clear, easily understood grant application and project proposal with strong linkages to the priority action(s) and intended outcome(s)?

During this stage, our First Nations Working Group (Peace Region only) will be evaluating grant applications for:

• Inclusion of Indigenous knowledge.
• Incorporation of First Nations cultural values and perspectives.
• Approach to sharing project results with First Nations communities.
• Involvement of First Nations in the proposed project, where appropriate.

Stage 3: review by board members

The three regional boards review each grant application for projects proposed in their region. The boards consider the results of all stage 2 evaluations and make decisions on which grant applications will be approved with conditions. The regional boards evaluate the grant applications and are responsible for all project and funding decisions in each region.
During this stage, our regional boards will be evaluating grant applications for:

• Alignment with the FWCP’s vision, mission, and any applicable regional guidance.
• A clear and well-defined approach that aligns with the priority action, as stated in the relevant action plan(s).
• A strong linkage between the proposed project and the intended outcome(s) as stated in the relevant action plan(s).
• Engagement with and involvement of First Nations in the grant application/proposed project. We recognize engagement may not necessarily result in First Nations involvement, but you will be required to document your engagement efforts in your grant application and provide a rationale why you may not have Indigenous involvement in your proposed project.
• Community engagement: Does your proposed project include a community engagement component? Demonstrated effort to engage with First Nations, stakeholders, and other communities of interest.
• Partnerships: The FWCP values partnerships and encourages grant applicants to identify and involve project partners and/or funding partners to leverage FWCP funds. Inclusion of project and funding partnerships other than FWCP.