Budget Guidelines

The Sector Labour Market Partnerships (SLMP) program provides funding to organizations within an economic sector¹, region², or population³ to develop (and deliver) projects that help respond to workforce challenges. These guidelines provide information to assist funding applicants in determining which costs may be eligible for project funding as they develop their required funding proposal budgets.

SLMP funding is not a grant. Contract payments are based on the delivery of outputs identified in the contract. Contract holders are provided payment only after deliverables have been received, reviewed and approved.

The following sections provide non-exhaustive lists of eligible and ineligible costs.

Eligible project costs

Eligible costs for SLMP projects can be categorized into two groups: 

1. Direct project costs: Costs of activities directly related to conducting the project;
2. Administrative costs: The applicant’s administrative overhead costs necessary for project administration but related to the operation of the overall administration of the organization.

Direct project costs

Direct project costs are project specific costs that have been itemized, cost estimated, and rationalized in the proposal. They are expenses directly incurred for project activities included in the proposal and costs related to project functions. For example, wages/salaries and attributable staff costs of management or other staff whose time is spent directly on management or delivery of project activities.

Eligible direct project costs do not include costs that that are required to support the proposed activities but that the applicant would incur, whether or not the contract was entered into. Only costs which are incremental to the applicant and necessary to carry out the project activities are eligible. Direct project costs must be eligible incurred costs and must be itemized and negotiated. Some examples of direct project costs include:

1. Staff wages and attributable staff costs refers to wages, mandatory employer related costs and benefits paid to or on behalf of staff working directly on the project;
2. Professional services refers to fees paid to third-party service providers who provide service to the contract holder for the benefit of the project and fees paid which are essential to the project’s success or for expertise not available through the project applicant or partners;
3. Other project costs refers to new costs that are incurred and that directly relate to undertaking the project and they must be incremental to the applicant’s day-to-day operational costs. Some examples of other project costs include:
   • Insurance (fire, theft, liability) that is increased for the project;
   • Rent and utilities (if applicable) that are increased for the project;
   • Materials and supplies required for the project (e.g. non-capital assets such as pens, pencils, paper, envelopes, cleaning supplies);
   • Operational printing contracted externally (ad hoc unanticipated print jobs, project specific printing jobs, reports, brochures, etc.);
   • Advertising (newspaper ads, website ads, flyers, etc.);
   • Signage;
   • Other contracting beyond professional services (if contracted specifically to support the project);
   • Internet (web page design, etc.) and other IT requirements (beyond normal operating requirements).

Administrative costs

Administrative costs are overhead costs necessary for the applicant to effectively manage the project. The costs relate to the general expenses incurred in the operation and overall administration of the organization delivering the program.

The maximum administrative costs are 15 per cent of the direct project costs. Applicants must supply a rationale for the administrative cost percentage level proposed. These indirect delivery costs are paid as a flat rate and do not need to be detailed or negotiated as part of the application, but detailed records must be kept for auditing purposes.  

This category generally includes the following costs:

• General purpose rent and utilities;
• Administrative and clerical salaries, wages, fringe benefits;
• General purchase professional services (audit, legal, bank, insurance);
• General contracting (if not contracted specifically to support the project), bookkeeping, janitorial services, Information Technology (IT), equipment maintenance services, security, translator, training fees, consultant fees, printing contracts fees (i.e. large job);
• General purpose IT maintenance, services, software, computer supplies, and monthly internet fees;
• General purpose materials and office supplies (e.g. pens, pencils, paper, envelopes, cleaning supplies, subscriptions);
• General purpose postage and courier fees; and
• Business meals.

Only identified project costs are eligible unless pre-approved by the ministry.

Additional notes

All project costs should be based on historical data but they must also reflect current rates of similar costs in the geographical location of the project.

Budgets are not to include a “contingencies” line item. Costs must be foreseeable in order to be reimbursed in accordance with the contract.  Increased costs will require further negotiation and an amendment of the contract.

Applicants

The term applicant is used in this document to refer to an organization, or individual acting on behalf of an organization, that applies for SLMP program funding. The applicant becomes a contract holder if an application made by an applicant is successful and a contract is signed. Although applications are submitted by a single applicant, SLMP funded projects are led by partnerships represented by membership on the project’s governance committee. 

In-kind contributions

All SLMP projects must secure in-kind contributions to offset project costs.

In-kind contributions are non-monetary resources (i.e. securities, land, buildings, equipment, and use of facilities, labour, goods) that are provided by the applicant or a project partner in support of the project. In-kind contributions can also include individuals’ time spent within an applicant organization. It can also include governance committee members’ time spent in providing direction and participating in the project.
 
To be considered as an in-kind contribution the resource must be:

• Provided specifically for the project
• Vital to the project’s success (project cannot proceed without it); and
• Eligible and approved under the program
   

Calculation for inclusion of “in-kind” applicant owned assets

Although an applicant may use a variety of calculations to determine an amount to include in the proposal, in all cases the value attributed to an iin-kind contribution cost cannot be higher than fair market value.

If the cost of an asset is inclusive of related costs for its use, such as utilities, maintenance, gas, taxes, insurance and other, those costs cannot be negotiated separately, and the fair market value should also be inclusive of those costs.

Cash contributions

Strategy implementation projects require an additional cash contribution. The amount of the contribution is not set, but it should reflect the applicant’s readiness to invest in the proposed strategy. The source and amount of the cash contribution should be identified in the project proposal. Applicants are invited to discuss the requirement for a cash contribution with SLMP staff. 

Right to Audit

The Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, which administers the SLMP program, reserves the right to audit the use of funds at any point during or after a project. Any funding used for unauthorized expenditures will be considered to be a debt owing to government and immediately repayable.

¹BC’s Industries and sectors.
² BC’s economic development regions.
³ Population refers to a specific group of people such as the Indigenous Peoples of B.C. or to a specific population working in an economic sector, e.g.: women working in construction.