City's response to the Auditor General's audit report on Community Services Grants

Today, the City of Vancouver’s Auditor General, Mike Macdonell, released a performance audit report on the City’s Community Grants program PDF file (1 MB). In response, the City’s Arts, Culture & Community Services (ACCS) department released the following statement:

“ACCS acknowledges the work undertaken by the Office of the Auditor General in conducting this audit. We accept, in whole or in part, the recommendations.

We note some areas of the report do not fully reflect the operational realities or practices of the department; some City and operational processes relevant to ACCS grant programs were not in scope of the Audit. Accordingly, this response outlines our commitments and provides clarification where further explanation is warranted. 

ACCS’s grant programs advance City objectives for arts, culture, social and community services, providing critical funding to support a wide range of non-profit organizations delivering programs, services and infrastructure. 

The City’s grant programs are designed to meet the requirements of the Vancouver Charter, as well as the City’s legal and financial obligations, and policy objectives. They are informed by best practices across municipalities and other funders and seek to balance strong administrative oversight with funding delivery objectives, while operating within resource and system constraints. Within this context, recent jurisdictional reviews indicate that ACCS grant programs align with, and in some areas lead, comparable municipal best practices.

The audit identifies areas for practical action and enhancements. Some recommendations align with work already underway, including the expansion of multi-year grants. Several are already in place and supported by existing processes and governance, including Council approved grant frameworks and regular reporting to Council through reports, memos, briefings and annual grant impact summaries.

Certain audit recommendations, such as those focused on performance measurement, present feasibility challenges within a municipal context, where grant programs support a wide range of priorities and services. Some recommendations could introduce additional administrative requirements that could reduce ACCS’ funding delivery or increase barriers to applicants. These need to be approached carefully to ensure there is a commensurate benefit.

ACCS will implement the recommendations in a way that takes a risk-based approach, seeks efficiencies, reflects operational realities, available resources, and the municipal context. This work will build on existing practices to strengthen coordination and consistency while maintaining accessible and responsive funding programs that advance City priorities.”

About the Office of the Auditor General 

The Office of the Auditor General was established by Vancouver City Council on November 4, 2020, with the mandate of assisting Council in holding itself and City administrators accountable for the quality of stewardship over public funds, and for achievement of value for money in City operations. The audit report on recreation facility management can be found on the Auditor General's webpage on vancouver.ca.