• limited political will and accountability by governments, the lack of a national vision for conservation in Canada;
• lack of conservation planning at a landscape or ecosystem level, leading to uncoordinated approaches both within and between governments;
• limited engagement of key actors, including industry, Aboriginal peoples and communities;
• lack of benefits and incentives for key stewards of Canada's lands and waters;
• limited tools to support decision making, including scientific and technical and socio-economic information and resources;
• limited financial resources to support conservation and partnerships;and
• failure to integrate the true costs and benefits of nature into decision-making at all levels, which has led to the perception that conservation is bad for jobs and the economy

1. Increasing the amount of protected forest ecosystem in Canada.
2. Expanding the adoption of sustainable forest practices in Canada.

1. Engaging a range of stakeholders and non-traditional allies in a forest conservation vision for Canada that involves both protection and sustainable use.
2. Basing decisions on credible, unbiased, scientific information; recognizing that a lack of scientific certainty does not preclude action.
3. Establishing policy and legal frameworks that set out clear, measurable targets and standards.
4. Engaging stakeholders in a compelling forest conservation vision by linking forest values with a range of broader community, cultural, and environmental, spiritual and Canadian public values.
5. Supporting the capacity of organizations to be effective by providing meaningful, multi-year support, where warranted.
6. Tracking and reporting on accountability at three levels: government accountability to the public regarding the fulfillment of commitments and obligations toward sustainable forest management; organizational accountability of grantees to the Foundation regarding achievement of their stated goals; and the Foundation's accountability to the public with respect to the responsible and effective deployment of its resources.

1. Policy and Law: Securing conservation-first land-use outcomes in land-use planning processes. Improving land-use and policy decision-making processes regarding forest protection and practices. Improving processes for bringing new and traditional knowledge and ideas to policy development and decision-making. Securing forest biodiversity conservation in the context of policies that address carbon emissions and climate change adaptation. Supporting the responsible implementation of legal protections for wildlife, protected areas and sustainable resource use. Supporting the responsible implementation of legal protections for wildlife, protected areas and sustainable resource use.
2. Applied Science: Innovative science that directly supports land-use or management practice outcomes. These are conservation mapping, ecosystem science and wildlife biology projects that are precedent- setting or produce broadly applicable outcomes and are made readily available to support the Foundation’s efforts in policy, law and markets. Applied science projects must demonstrate that:
• the ecological value or problem under investigation has relevance to traceable, practical conservation outcomes;
• a clear link exists between chosen indicators and threats/issues being studied;
• a methodology that can measure a change in the indicators during the time frame of the project;
• the existence of a mechanism for information resulting from the project to influence conservation policy or land-use planning decisions; and,
• a plan to produce a research product that is credible and accessible to a wide range of audiences.
3. Markets: Assisting with building a sustainable business model for Forest Stewardship Council forest certification in Canada, and assisting with the development of markets for sustainable forest products. Supporting organizations that are working to engage consumers and retailers in programs that encourage the purchase of sustainably-produced forest products.

• Woodlot protection or individual forest certifications
• Land acquisition, easements and private land stewardship
• Community and/or local scale projects (not connected to a broader initiative)
• Land ownership and/or land claim disputes
• School-based projects
• Education or curriculum development
• Films or videos
• Primary research
• Graduate research or bursaries
• Capital campaigns
• Endowments
• Buildings
• Deficit financing
• Projects or organizations outside of Canada

1. Cover Sheet (Cover Sheet template)
2. Executive Summary (1 page maximum)
3. Organization and Project Overview (maximum ½ page):
   Provide a brief description of the issue/problem being addressed, your organization, and the role it plays within its sector. If this request is part of a campaign, include a summary of the campaign goals, strategies, and main players.
4. Rationale and fit with Foundation priorities (maximum ½ page):
   Describe how your project fits with the Foundation's priorities and why your organization is best qualified to carry out the work. If the project is a collaboration, include a brief description of each partner, each organization's role in the project, and the reasons for forming the partnership.
5. Project Description and Staff:
   Include a description of your approach to address the problem, a detailed work plan, methodology and anticipated results. Provide the names and a brief description of the responsibilities of all key personnel involved in the project, and indicate the primary qualifications and skills required for any staff to be hired. If the project is technical or scientific, describe it in lay terms in the body of the proposal and provide a more technical description, for peer-review purposes, as an appendix.
6. Communications and Collaboration Plan:
   Tell us what you will communicate, to whom, how, when, and why you think this will be successful in helping to meet project objectives. List your strategic partners and explain how they will complement your work. Letters of support from partners may be listed in this section, and copies submitted as an appendix.
7. Evaluation Plan:
   Describe how your organization will assess the success of the project. In addition, select relevant indicators for your project from the Program Evaluation Indicators found in Appendix 1. (n.b. indicators may be chosen from either program area; projects with more indicators are not necessarily favoured over those with fewer.)
8. Budget:
   Provide an itemized budget in the template (Budget Template). Typically, the larger the amount requested, the more detail is required. If the Foundation is being asked for partial funding of the project, indicate in the budget which expenses would be covered by a grant from the Foundation and which would be supported with other sources of funding. Specify all other requested and confirmed sources of funding.
   
   Required Appendices:
   
   1. Organizational Information:
   i. A list of your organization's Board of Directors, identifying each person's affiliations, and relevant committees or advisory groups on which s/he sits.
   ii. A concise biography of your organization’s chief executive officer.
   iii.A copy (electronic or paper) of your most recent annual report.

   2. Financial Information:
   i. A copy of your organization’s most recent audited financial statements.
   ii. A copy of the current year’s operating budget (including expenditure & revenues to date).
   

External Review

All proposals in the Conserving Canada's Forests Program over $20,000 are reviewed by at least one independent peer-reviewer and vetted by a committee comprising of Foundation Directors and external members.

The Foundation relies on peer-review of proposals from a large list of anonymous experts across Canada. We thank them kindly for their outstanding voluntary contributions to our decision-making process.

1. Did you carry out your project as planned? If not, what was changed and why?
2. How do your results compare with your objectives? Are there success measures beyond those that have been identified?
3. Please describe measurable progress toward the indicators selected for your project.
4. What were the critical elements that led to your successes and what are your main lessons learned? Did anything happen that you did not anticipate?
5. Were collaboration efforts successful? How could they be strengthened?
6. Please describe how the capacity and/or reach of your organization was changed as the result of this project.
7. What will happen as a result of your project in the next five years?
8. What was the single best and single worst feature of this grant and/or project activity?
9. How were the funds spent? (please include a financial summary sheet with budget, actual expenditures, and a commentary explaining variances.)

• Securing conservation-first land-use outcomes in land-use planning processes by improving land-use and policy decision-making processes regarding forest protection and practices.
• Improving processes for bringing new and traditional knowledge and ideas to policy development and decision-making.
• Supporting the responsible implementation of legal protections for wildlife, protected areas and sustainable resource use.

1. Protected Areas Establishment and Management
   
   

   1.1	Area of protected area regulated or legislated as a result of program activities
   1.2	Prohibition of industrial activity in protected areas
   1.3	Requirement for maintenance of ecological integrity and conservation for management of protected areas.

   
   
   
2. Conservation of Wildlife
   
   

   2.1	Requirement for science-based listing of species at risk
   2.2	Requirement for protection and recovery of habitat of species at risk
   2.3	Requirement that quantifiable habitat objectives for a meaningful range of indicator species are used in resource planning
   2.4	Requirement for special planning to maintain connectivity between habitats, core forest areas and key landscape features
   2.5	Requirement for the protection of riparian reserves for fish and wildlife habitat

   
   
   
3. Land Use and Forest Planning
   
   

   3.1	Requirement for conservation first land-use planning before development decisions
   3.2	Requirement that forest harvest levels (or industrial disturbance rates) are the result of planning for conservation needs first
   3.3	Requirement for the maintenance of a range of forest age classes within the range of natural variation
   3.4	Requirement that forest species composition at the stand and landscape level be patterned on natural forest systems
   3.5	Requirement that site-specific operations require impact assessment prior to commencement of operations
   3.6	Requirement that access planning set ecological thresholds for road density, describe abandonment strategies and avoid sensitive biodiversity/ecological values
   3.7	Requirement that environment pollutants impacting forest health be regulated (e.g. acid rain, ground level ozone, greenhouse gases)
   3.8	Requirement that use of pesticides and GMOs be banned from commercial forest operations.

• A plan was followed to produce a research product that was scientifically credible and accessible to a wide range of audiences.
• A clear link exists between chosen ecological value and the threats/issues being studied, evidence of the success of using a particular ecological value to be provided.
• A methodology was used to measure a change in the ecological value during the time frame of the project and a positive change is measured.
• The project led to traceable, practical conservation results that influenced outcomes.

• a brief description of the project or purpose for which assistance is requested*;
• a brief description of the organization's history, objectives and activities;
• a brief budget and time line.