ARCHIVED - Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Strategic outcomes:  The Forum’s focus fits well with Canada’s foreign policy priorities, utilizing Canadian expertise in promoting good governance and providing assistance to failed and failing states. The Forum, drawing both on Canadian experiences and international resources, and being an independent organization is the best existing mechanism internationally to provide this exploration of federalism. Likewise on the domestic front, the Forum also plays to a core value of our national political identity: Canada’s flexible approach to federalism. Now that it has established its credibility on the international stage, we anticipate that its neutral status and expertise could continue to pave the way for further activities in the domestic arena. The pursuit of internationalization will help to further its reputation and prominence by integrating a broader base of federal experiences and continuing to attract high quality international personnel.

Funding of Forum activities reaffirms Canada’s commitment to the Forum in the world’s view, thus encouraging other governments to partner with the Forum and further promoting its internationalization. The draw-down nature of the grant anticipates an increase in funding from other partner governments that will diminish Canada’s financial burden in the future as the sole or principal source of funding, while concurrently sending a clear message to foreign governments that Canada supports the Forum and is committed to its further internationalization.

Summary of Results Achieved by the Recipient:  True to its internationalization efforts (moving the Forum from being a “Canadian” organization to an “international” one), the Forum signed Framework Arrangements with India, Australia, Mexico and Ethiopia in 2005-2006. Germany also signed a formal statement of intent to join in 2008. Secretariat support for the Forum's Strategic Council and International Conferences on Federalism is ongoing. The Forum maintained active programs in countries including Iraq, Sudan and Sri Lanka and continues to work closely with the World Bank and the United Nations in responding to requests for technical advice on possible federal solutions. Major activities of the Global Dialogue program included: 1) 13 roundtables on the Practice of Fiscal Federalism; 2) International Roundtable on Fiscal Federalism; and, 3) publishing one book and two booklets, all of which are useful tools for practitioners and academics to acquire a comparative view of solutions to problems encountered by federal countries. The Forum's Youth program included support to three internships in federal countries, a study program for college-level Quebec and Swiss students and organization of the first North American Triumverate that included 70 university students representing ten universities.

On the communications front, the Forum published four issues of its Federations magazine, and its website was broadened to include more organizational material and publications. Regular luncheon seminars continue to be held, providing an opportunity for practitioners to hear from politicians, academics and Forum interns on their experiences abroad. The Forum has also focussed attention on its administrative mechanisms, resulting in changes to its budget and reporting formats in order to be more responsive to funding agencies.