Program Administration

In fiscal 2012–2013, for the seventh year in a row, the Canada Media Fund (CMF) renewed its Services Agreement with Telefilm Canada for the administration of CMF programs.

The CMF Program Administrator|Telefilm Canada (CMFPA) received 2,053 applications in 2012–2013, an increase of nearly 12% over last year. This strong growth can be attributed to the higher submission volume in the Experimental Stream and the creation of the English Regional Pre-Development Program. Of the total number of applications received, 1,407 were granted funding, up 8% over the previous fiscal year.¹

Number of applications approved in 2012-2013

In April 2012, the CMFPA accompanied the CMF on a cross-country tour to explain the Program Guidelines for the following two years (2012–2013 and 2013–2014). During the tour, the team met with nearly 400 industry stakeholders in more than 18 cities in every province and territory.

The CMFPA team also provided pre-application consulting services for 300 projects so that producers could verify the eligibility of their applications prior to submission. More than 140 follow-up meetings and calls with clients in the Experimental Stream were also arranged after decisions were issued in order to help those whose projects had not been selected for funding better prepare for the subsequent round of applications.

In an ongoing effort to improve client services, the CMFPA continues to promote its eTelefilm system, through which clients are able to manage their funding applications electronically, access information relating to their applications and monitor their status throughout the administrative process. In 2012–2013, 41% of the applications submitted to the CMF were filed electronically through eTelefilm. Although the use of these services is already growing steadily (up 10% in 2012–2013), the CMF and CMFPA wish to accelerate the process and encourage all clients to avail themselves of this system. Further efforts will be undertaken in the coming year to promote the use of eTelefilm.

The CMFPA also continued to offer and promote its direct deposit service to clients. In 2012–2013, 239 CMF applicants registered to use this service. Direct deposit ensures producers receive CMF funds in a timelier manner.

For several programs, the turnaround time for processing applications was reduced this year compared with the year before. For example, the time required to process television project applications in the Performance Envelope Program fell by more than 5 days compared to2011–2012, and it took 12.5 fewer days to process Experimental Stream Production applications than in the prior year. However, although more service targets were met in 2012–2013, there were still some gaps, mainly due to the development of the new English Regional Pre-Development Program and the increase in the number of applications received for other programs. Nevertheless, ongoing simplification measures over the past few years have led to a drop in the vast majority of turnaround times. The CMF and the CMFPA will continue to work closely together to streamline the analysis process in an effort to constantly enhance services offered to clients.

Turnaround time (days) - 2012-2013

¹The number of approved projects excludes the 115 approved non-funded digital media components that allow certain projects to meet Convergent Stream eligibility criteria.