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Part of Municipal Affairs funding programs

Alberta Community Partnership

This program helps municipalities by providing support for regional collaboration and capacity building initiatives.

Overview

The objective of the Alberta Community Partnership (ACP) is to improve the viability and long-term sustainability of municipalities.

Key program outcomes include:

  • new or enhanced regional municipal services
  • improved municipal capacity to respond to priorities
  • effective intermunicipal relations

Program highlights

In total, the 2024-25 ACP budget is $15.4 million.

Intermunicipal Collaboration (IC) project eligibility is focused on projects that result in regional municipal service delivery foundations or frameworks that align with broader regional or municipal priorities and initiatives. This can include new or enhanced regional emergency management frameworks, regional plans for emergency preparedness or disaster mitigation, and regional growth plans (see ACP Guidelines, Schedules 1A and 1B).

IC evaluation criteria focus on project outcomes and regional benefits. Schedule 1B of the ACP Guidelines includes information to consider when drafting responses.

Successful IC funded projects will continue to receive an initial payment of 75% of the grant, with the remainder released upon project completion and the submission of satisfactory reporting.

The Municipal Internship (MI) component continues with a standard 18-month term for all 3 internship streams (Administrator, Finance Officer and Land-Use Planner).

It is the responsibility of the Grant Recipient to monitor reporting due dates and ensure the timely submission of all required reporting.

The status of Statement of Funding and Expenditure (SFE) submissions can be viewed at ACP Online (ACPO) (see ACP Guidelines section 4).

  • Email notification of SFE certification will no longer occur; however, Grant Advisors will continue to follow-up on SFEs that require additional clarification, or that report a variance.

Eligibility

Eligible entities

  • Municipalities (cities, towns, villages, summer villages, municipal districts, specialized municipalities, improvement districts and special areas)
  • Metis Settlements
  • Townsite of Redwood Meadows Administration Society
  • Calgary Metropolitan Region Board and Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board
  • Municipally controlled planning service agencies (eligible only under the Municipal Internship component to host a Land Use Planner intern)

Eligible projects and components

Intermunicipal collaboration

The government provides funding to partnerships of 2 or more municipalities to develop regional plans, service delivery frameworks and regional service delivery efficiencies.

The deadline for 2024-25 IC applications is October 1, 2024.

Municipal restructuring

The government provides funding to municipalities involved with regional governance and municipal restructuring processes such as amalgamation, dissolution or viability reviews.

The deadline for 2024-25 MR applications is January 15, 2025.

Mediation and cooperative processes

The government provides funding to municipalities to develop collaborative protocols and processes, to proactively manage conflict, and to establish an agreed-upon process for collaboration.

The government provides funding to support municipalities for mediation, facilitation or other dispute resolution alternatives to resolve intermunicipal conflict, and to assist with intermunicipal negotiations.

The deadline for 2024-25 MCP applications is February 3, 2025.

Municipal internship

The government provides funding to municipalities and planning service agencies to recruit, train and retain competent municipal employees who may pursue careers in municipal administration, finance or land-use planning.

Refer to the program guidelines for information regarding all program components.

The deadline for 2024-25 MI applications is October 1, 2024.

How to apply

Step 1. Read the guidelines

Step 2. Complete and submit the application

Applicants are required to fill out and submit their applications through Alberta Community Partnership Online (ACPO), which is accessed through MAConnect, the web portal that provides external stakeholders secure access to Municipal Affairs' key business applications.

ACPO gives municipalities the ability to:

  • create, edit and submit ACP applications online
  • view and track the status of ACP applications
  • view agreement, payment and reporting summary information for projects funded under ACP
  • create, edit and submit ACP amendment requests
  • create, edit, submit, and track the status of ACP Statements of Funding and Expenditures

Accessing ACPO

In anticipation of the new program year, municipalities already signed up for MAConnect can request staff access to ACPO through the municipality's MAConnect Stakeholder Administrator.

The Stakeholder Administrator is the person delegated to manage access to applications in MAConnect on behalf of the municipality through the MAConnect Stakeholder Agreement. If the municipality needs to assign another Stakeholder Administrator, a request can be emailed to [email protected].

Municipalities without access to MAConnect will need to enter into a Stakeholder Agreement before requesting access to ACPO.

The Stakeholder Agreement can be requested. Email [email protected] or call 780-644-2413 (toll free 310-0000).

Once the Stakeholder Agreement has been signed and returned to Municipal Affairs, the municipality will be able to request access to ACPO through its designated Stakeholder Administrator.

For more information, read the ACPO User Guide.

After you apply

Funding decisions will be made by March 31 of the program year. Applicants will be advised in writing of the status of their submission and a list of successful projects will be posted annually.

Amendments

An amendment is required if the project scope or time period to use grant funds changes after project approval. However, municipalities are strongly encouraged to complete projects by the completion date identified in their conditional grant agreement.

Applicants are required to fill out and submit their amendment requirements through ACPO, accessed through MAConnect.

Reporting

For all components, final reporting is due within 60 days after the project completion date, unless otherwise stated.

All applicants and grant recipients are required to submit their SFEs through ACPO, which is accessed through MAConnect. Additional reporting may be required under some components.

Approved projects

Contact

Connect with the ACP program:

Phone: 780-422-7125
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: [email protected]

Address:
Grants and Education Property Tax Branch
Alberta Municipal Affairs
15th Floor, Commerce Place
10155 102 Street
Edmonton, Alberta  T5J 4L4