Applicant’s Guide for the Research and Education Component of the Rail Safety Improvement Program

From: Transport Canada

The RSIP is no longer accepting applications for funding. The deadline to apply was January 24, 2024 (12:00 am PST).

Transport Canada’s Rail Safety Improvement Program provides funding for projects that improve infrastructure or propose research or technology to increase safety at grade crossings and along rail lines or that address or prevent the impact of climate change and extreme weather along rail lines. Projects that increase public confidence in Canada’s rail transportation system or education and awareness about rail safety issues are also funded.

This guide applies to the Research and Education component of the Rail Safety Improvement Program which provides funding under the following two sub-streams:

Education and Awareness
Research and Technology

Applicants must use this Project Proposal Template to submit their application under the Education and Awareness or Research and Technology stream.

1. Intake objectives and priorities

The Research and Education component of the Rail Safety Improvement Program provides funding to support activities and initiatives aimed at improving rail safety to reduce injuries and fatalities, as well as reducing railway grade crossing collisions and trespassing incidents on railway property.

Education and Awareness projects will be prioritized over Research and Technology projects for this Call for Proposals

Education and awareness priorities

The project raises awareness and understanding of the potential hazards of road/railway grade crossings and the danger associated with trespassing on railway property among one or more identified at-risk groups:
- youth/teenagers (aged 12-18)
- young adults (aged 18-35, particularly young male adults); and/or
- Indigenous communities (particularly those living near railway tracks)
The project raises awareness in known high-risk areas (as defined by high-risk grade crossings or areas of higher incidence)
The project supports suicide prevention initiatives and raises awareness that help is available
The project supports the development of formal training curricula or other measures to ensure safe driving practices over crossings and around rail lines, especially for new drivers, professional drivers, heavy vehicle operators, farm machinery operators, and off-road vehicle operators

Note: If you are focusing on a target group (other than those indicated above) please clearly identify them in your application and explain why they are considered an at-risk group.

Research and technology priorities

The project contributes to a better understanding of behaviour, attitudes, and the impact of rail safety issues and proposes to share and disseminate this information broadly
The project examines the safety of people near rail lines such as, but not limited to, research on the effectiveness of measures such as restricting pedestrian access outside designated areas or addressing cybersecurity risks
The project conducts research, tests, or promotes new technologies or safeguards, such as wearable technology, communication protocols, or other measures that address the safety of railway workers along rail lines, at crossings, and within railyards
The project focuses on measures that addresses one or more of the following identified at-risk groups:
- youth/teenagers (aged 12-18)
- young adults (aged 18-35, particularly young male adults); and/or,
- Indigenous communities (particularly those living near railway tracks)

2. Expected results

The objective of projects must be in alignment with the expected outcome of the Rail Safety Improvement Program to improve rail safety to reduce incident and accident rates, with the ultimate goal of reducing injuries and fatalities. Alignment with this objective will serve as the primary principle to guide the evaluation and selection of projects.

3. Available funding

The available budget for this Call for Proposals is approximately $1.6 million over two years (i.e., 2024-2025 and 2025-2026).

Basis of payment

Contribution payments will be made based on one or a combination of the following:

reimbursement of eligible expenditures
achievement of pre-determined performance expectations or milestones as detailed in the contribution agreement

Percentage payable

RSIP will reimburse recipients up to fifty per-cent (50%) of total eligible expenditures for any one project and will consider other sources of funding available to the recipient to ensure that the funding is the minimum necessary to complete the project
Expenditures related to the development of training curricula are reimbursable up to 100% of total eligible expenditures for any one project and will consider other sources of funding available to the recipient

Maximum amount payable

The maximum contribution amount payable per recipient shall not exceed $1,000,000 per fiscal year.

4. Selection criteria

Strong projects will meet the criteria outlined below. Proposals will be evaluated using either section 1.1 or 1.2 depending on whether the project submitted is an Education and Awareness (1.1) or Technology and Research (1.2) project.

1.1 Relevance of Education and Awareness, strong proposals will demonstrate:

alignment to Rail Safety Improvement Program objectives and Education and Awareness priorities:
- describe how the project aligns with the objectives of the Rail Safety Improvement Program with the overall goal of reducing rail related injuries and fatalities and describe in detail and provide evidence/data that the project will increase rail safety through enhanced knowledge, education, and awareness
- clearly identify how the project/intervention addresses knowledge gaps in one of the four priority areas for the Education and Awareness stream (i.e., at-risk groups, high-risk areas, suicide prevention, measures/curricula for safe driving practices)
- describe in detail and provide evidence/data that the project will increase rail safety though enhanced knowledge, education, and awareness in one of the four priority areas

impact of proposed project:
- describe how the project will generate impacts and/or benefits that are broad in scope (i.e., a project that could be deployed across Canada or across more than one at risk group/high risk areas that benefits multiple stakeholders)
- describe how the project proposes education and awareness activities that are new and innovative
- identify strategies or activities that aim to maximize the project’s reach

performance measurement strategy (project results):
- describe the project goals and objectives, and the expected outputs and outcomes
- describe the performance measurement strategy with details describing the specific methodology the applicant will use to measure the achievement of each objective
- describe the data collection and information dissemination strategy

1.2 Relevance of Research and Technology, strong proposals will demonstrate:

alignment to Rail Safety Improvement Program objectives and Research and Technology priorities:
- describe how the project aligns with the objectives of the Rail Safety Improvement Program with the overall goal of reducing rail related injuries and fatalities and describe in detail and provide evidence/data that the project will increase rail safety through enhanced knowledge, technology and research
- clearly identify how the project addresses a research, study, or pilot project gap in one of the three priority areas for the Technology and Research stream (i.e., (1) contribute to a better understanding of behaviour, attitudes, and the impact of rail safety issues; (2) examine the safety of people near rail lines; (3) address the safety of railway workers)
- describe how the project addresses a known gap and is not duplicative of existing activities/resources
- describe in detail and provide evidence/data that the project will increase rail safety through enhanced knowledge, research, technologies, or best practices in one of the three priority areas
- describe how the project focuses on measures that addresses one or more of the following identified at-risk groups:
  - youth/teenagers (aged 12-18)
  - young adults (aged 18-35, particularly young male adults; and/or
  - Indigenous communities (particularly those living near railway tracks)

impact of the proposed project:
- describe how the project will generate impacts and/or benefits that are broad in scope
- describe how the project proposes activities that are innovative or new, or examine untested technologies
- identify strategies or activities that aim to maximize the project’s reach

performance measurement strategy:
- describe the project goals and objectives, and the expected outputs and outcomes
- describe the performance measurement strategy with details describing the specific methodology the applicant will use to measure the achievement of each objective
- describe the data collection and information dissemination strategy

2. Applicant’s relevant experience and capacity, strong proposals will demonstrate:

clear experience and expertise:
- a track record of successful project delivery for similar types of Education and Awareness or Research and Technology projects (i.e., one or more projects successfully completed)
- a highly qualified project team with relevant expertise and experience (i.e., project team with educational credentials relevant to the project, and at least one team member with experience working on similar types of projects)
- a clear governance/management/organizational structure and sufficient financial support to deliver the project

3. Quality of project plan, strong proposals will demonstrate:

project work schedule and budget:
- a realistic and comprehensive project plan including concrete deliverables, budget, timelines, and milestones of the project
- project dependencies and/or interdependencies to implementing the project
- a detailed presentation of the activities, expenditures, and cash flow requirements for the proposal, including a breakdown of the items and expenses
- a relationship between the objectives and expenditures tied to the activities

risk analysis and mitigation strategies:
- a risk management strategy, including the identification of 2 or 3 potential risks associated with project delivery, completion and results
- identify measures to mitigate the impact of the risks
- demonstrate the organization’s capacity to mitigate the risks identified

Sources of funding/partnerships:
- commitments from multiple funding partners
- leveraging of federal investment

4. Value for money, strong proposals will demonstrate:

leveraging of existing resources:
- budgeting and financials in line with real market conditions (i.e., reasonable salaries, operational expenses, travel costs, etc.)
- the benefits of the project outweigh the costs, through a high-level qualitative cost-benefit analysis

5. Eligible recipients

Eligible recipients include:

provinces and territories
municipalities and local and regional governments
road and transit authorities
crown corporations (including VIA Rail)
for-profit organizations (such as railway operators, railway owners)
not-for-profit organizations (including academia)
Indigenous groups, communities, and organizations
individuals/private landowners

6. Eligible activities

Raise awareness and understanding of the potential hazards of road/railway crossings and the dangers associated with trespassing on railway property

Support research that contributes to a better understanding of behaviour, attitudes and the impact of rail safety issues
Support research as well as testing and development of technologies that can enhance the safety of rail lines (federal or provincial)
Support the development of training curricula or other measures to ensure safe driving practices over crossings and around rail lines, especially for new drivers, professional drivers, heavy vehicle operators, farm machinery operators, and off-road vehicle operators

6.1 Eligible project duration and approvals

Project durations can span one or two years, as determined by the project scope and complexity.

Applicants are required to provide an accurate project timeline and cashflow that reflect multi-year funding.

Please note the following when establishing project timelines:

single year projects will have a completion date of March 31, 2025
two-year projects will have a completion date of March 31, 2026:
- expenditures are made eligible as of the date of project approval and no reimbursements will be made until the project has been approved and a funding agreement has been signed by both parties
RSIP cannot issue advanced payments:
- applicants are required to demonstrate that they have sufficient funding available throughout the proposed project’s life cycle (including start-up) to ensure successful completion.
applicants are required to identify the source of all project funding in their application, such as in-kind and third-party contributions
letters from partner organizations that confirm financial support are required to be included in the application

7. Eligible expenditures

Costs are made eligible as of the date of project approval.

Eligible expenditures include:

staff salaries and benefits
costs related to the printing, publication, and distribution of material
room rentals and other facility costs
conference fees
professional fees for contracted services (e.g., translation, development and distribution of information, data collection, analysis and processing costs, etc.)
purchase or lease of capital assets
administrative expenditures (including general administration expenditures, rent, insurance, office equipment rental, and membership fees)
overhead costs up to 15% of the total federal contribution
travel expenditures (including the cost of accommodations, vehicle rental and kilometric rates, bus, train, airplane or taxi fares, allowances for meals and incidentals). Travel and per diem expenses cannot be more than the rates and allowances determined in the Travel Directive of the National Joint Council
other costs that are, in the opinion of the Minister or his/her delegated representative, considered to be direct, reasonable, and incremental for the successful implementation of the project and have been approved in writing prior to being incurred

Eligible expenditures can be cash-equivalent expenditures associated with in-kind contributions. These expenditures may be reimbursed so long as the following three criteria are met:

the associated costs are deemed as eligible expenditures and have been approved by Canada
the associated costs are not a donation received from a third party
the associated costs are related to goods, services, or other support that would otherwise be purchased and paid for by the recipient as essential for the project

In-kind contributions received from a third party are considered donations and may form part of the total eligible expenditures of the project but are not reimbursable.

For additional information regarding in-kind contributions and what would be considered eligible, please reference the In-Kind Contribution Guide.

8. Ineligible expenditures

Certain expenditures are not eligible for funding and therefore will not be considered in the calculation of the total eligible expenditures of the proposed project, including:

costs incurred before the project approval date or after the final claim date
excess overhead charges*
expenditures for Provincial Sales Tax and Goods and Services Tax, or the Harmonized Sales Tax, where applicable, for which the recipient is eligible for a rebate, or any other costs eligible for rebates
purchase of land and/or buildings, related real estate fees, and vehicles; Financing charges and interest payments on loans
expenditures that have been reimbursed from other sources of funding, federal statutes, or funding programs

*Recipients are eligible to include up to 15% of the total Transport Canada contribution in overhead costs. A cut-off is imposed to ensure that Canada’s contribution goes primarily to direct costs (i.e., costs that are completely attributable or directly tied to implementation of the project and the achievement of the project/program outcomes).

9. How to apply

Follow the Project Proposal Template when drafting your proposal
Submit your proposal by email or mail:
- by email to TC.RSIP-PASF.TC@TC.GC.CA. An electronic package must be submitted in MS Word or PDF format and ensure the file size of your submission does not exceed 10Mb.
- by mail, enclose a signed hard copy or a digital copy saved on a USB key to the following address:

ATTN: Director, Transportation and Infrastructure Programs (AHSE)
c/o Program Officer
Transport Canada
Place de Ville, Tower C, 19^th floor
330 Sparks Street
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0N5

10. Notification

After projects are approved by the Minister of Transport, the Department will inform all applicants if they have been selected for funding. Transport Canada reserves the right to accept or reject any application.

11. Service standards

To continually improve service and conduct a transparent process, the RSIP has established the following service standards:

provide applicants with an automated receipt of application upon submission
issue payments within 20 business days following the notification to the recipient that the requirements outlined in the funding agreement have been fulfilled

If the program cannot meet the above standards, we will advise recipients in a timely manner.

12. Funding agreements

A contribution agreement is funding that is shared by various contributors and is based on the reimbursement of eligible expenditures. Contribution funding must be accounted for to ensure that it is being used for the intended purpose. Reporting on projects will be required on a bi-annual basis, to track progress and monitor how the project contributes to the RSIP objectives. A contribution is subject to an audit by Transport Canada.

12.1 Project risk assessment

Transport Canada will conduct a project risk assessment of all approved projects prior to signing a funding agreement. This ensures that funding agreement requirements correspond to the project’s risk levels, and the recipient's capacity to deliver results. The project risk assessment will determine:

how often the recipient must report project progress
financial documentation that the recipient must submit with payment claims
how often we will contact the recipient
audit requirements (all funding agreements indicate the Government of Canada's right to audit)

The risk assessment will be based on, but not limited to, the information provided in the application.

12.2 Project scope and agreement

The application will define the project scope, mandatory legal documentation, clauses, terms and conditions, performance measurement and payment structure in the formal funding agreement. Once the funding agreement is signed, no change to the scope of the project (including budget, structure, timelines, etc.) is possible without written agreement between the recipient and Transport Canada. The recipient will be responsible for costs associated with work performed outside of the approved scope of a project.

12.3 Reporting requirements

Reporting requirements will be established in the funding agreement based on the type of project submitted, and may include financial claims, list of invoices, progress reports, bi-annual reports, and a final report, among other elements.

Progress reports

Recipients may be required to submit progress reports, as identified in the funding agreement
Progress reports will identify the progress achieved during the reporting period and accompany financial claims
For multi-year projects, the recipient may be required to produce annual reports
- These reports will include but may not be limited to the following: A detailed description of the project's progress, major achievements during the year, an update on how the project is moving forward, and how it relates to the project’s initial objectives and final results
- Updated data on performance indicators indicated in funding agreement compared to the start of the project
- The recipient will ensure that appropriate data collection processes are in place to enable the capture and reporting of the performance indicators used to measure the achievement of the project's outcomes
- Annual reporting on the recipient’s eligible expenditures incurred and based on the breakdown of the eligible expenditures claimed, in accordance with the funding agreement budget
- Highlights of communications activities of the project during the reporting period
- Issues, areas of concern, or risk factors that may affect completion, the schedule or the budget of the project as per original plans and the proposed mitigation strategies to correct the situation

Final reports

when the project is complete, recipients may be required to submit a final report as established in the funding agreement
in those instances, Transport Canada must receive the final report before it will pay the final expense claim
along with the information required in the Annual Report, recipients may be asked to include:
an overall assessment and analysis of the objectives met, outcomes achieved, and lessons learned
examples of any promotional items produced during the project
any surveys, analyses, reports and/or research, and raw data associated to the project

12.4 Payment requirements

Financial claims

Recipients can only submit claims for reimbursement of expenditures incurred that are identified in the funding agreement. Transport Canada will provide recipients with templates that reflect the eligible expenses, as indicated in the funding agreement. Recipients may also be required to submit a list of invoices with each claim.

12.5 Stacking Limits

The maximum level of total Canadian government funding (municipal, provincial, territorial, and federal) authorized by the RSIP terms and conditions cannot exceed one hundred percent (100%) of total eligible expenditures.

Please note that the remaining portion of your project may be funded by another Canadian government funding program; however, it is important to refer to the stacking limits of the other program. In the event of different stacking limits between programs, the more restrictive (lower) stacking limit takes precedence.

13. Contacts

Any questions or concerns can be directed to: TC.RSIP-PASF.TC@TC.GC.CA

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