Program Administration

In 2016-2017, the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Telefilm Canada achieved their 11th year working together on program administration. The Services Agreement with Telefilm for the administration of CMF Program was first established in 2005-2006.

The CMF Program Administrator | Telefilm Canada (CMFPA) received 1,976 applications in 2016-2017, 4.5 % less than the previous year (2070). Of the total number of applications received, 1,295 were funded, down 8.4% from 2015-2016. The CMFPA also reviewed final costs of more than 800 files, processed about 2 600 disbursements and validated that more than 1 200 conditions not attached to a disbursement were respected.

The number of approved projects excludes the 86 approved non-funded applications (5 television components and 81 digital media components that allow certain projects to meet Convergent Stream eligibility criteria). Also, the concept of value-added digital media component was introduced for production in 2016-2017 and 192 digital media components (47 in production and 145 in development) were submitted as part of the television component and not as a separate project.

Number of applications approved in 2016-2017

In the Convergent and Experimental streams combined, the CMFPA team provided pre-application consulting services for more than 330 projects so that producers could verify the eligibility of their applications prior to submission. 

In 2016-2017, CMFPA continued to implement a number of process improvements to efficiently manage the CMF’s funding programs. In order to optimize staffing and efficiency, the CMFPA reviewed its management structure by eliminating one level of management. Each deputy director is now responsible for a portfolio of projects based on content types or selective programs. The team is managed by a National Director who oversees all the activities to ensure coherence between the markets. In addition, a new file administration system was successfully launched in April 2016 for the administration of the Experimental Stream programs. The deployment of the system will continue in 2017-2018 for the Convergent Stream programs.

Administrative service levels improved in 2016-2017 compared to 2015-2016. However, Experimental Stream Development and Marketing projects experienced a small increase in the turnaround time due to the higher number of projects that were submitted for financing; and final costs reports for development files in the Convergent Stream continued to be a challenge in 2016-2017, due to prioritization of signing contracts and of processing first payment (which since 2013 amounts to 100% of CMF contribution). The CMF and the CMFPA continue to work closely to streamline the analysis process in an effort to improve the level of services offered to clients. 

Turnaround time (days) - 2016-2017