Overview

The Human and Social Services Transfer Payment (HSS TP) Modernization Initiative was a key part of Ontario’s broader Transfer Payment Consolidation (TPC) project within the Ontario Onwards: Action Plan, to reduce the complexity of transfer payment management across the entire province. The HSS TP Modernization Initiative focused specifically on accelerating improvements to transfer payment processes for human and social service programs.

Specifically, we worked collaboratively across impacted ministries to implement five standard business processes, which created common ways of working through a single digital system — the Transfer Payment Ontario (TPON) platform — for managing transfer payment activities.

We also worked with ministries and organizations to understand their experiences so that we could design solutions and processes that meet their needs in three priority areas:

  • Risk and oversight: to streamline and increase the transparency of risk assessment practices and oversight requirements across ministries
  • Financial processes: to streamline the processes that ministries use to get funding to organizations, while ensuring adequate controls were in place so that the province is accountable to taxpayers
  • Contracting alignment: to ensure better consistency and streamlined requirements across ministries so that organizations know exactly what information is required

This initiative helped the thousands of organizations who deliver human and social service programs on behalf of the province to use more of their time and talent on delivering vital services to Ontarians.

Organizations involved

The HSS TP Modernization Initiative was led by the Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services (MCCSS), in close partnership with the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Treasury Board Secretariat. It included over 80 programs across 10 ministries including:

  • Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG)
  • Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services, (MCCSS)
  • Ministry of Education (EDU)
  • Ministry of Francophone Affairs (MFA)
  • Ministry of Health (MOH)
  • Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development (MLITSD)
  • Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH)
  • Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility (MSAA)
  • Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport (MTCS)
  • Ministry of the Solicitor General (SOLGEN)

Over 2,000 organizations in the human and social services sector, both governmental and non-governmental, receiving transfer payment funding were impacted by this initiative.

These organizations included municipalities, not-for-profit and community organizations that enter into transfer payment agreements with the province. Transfer payment agreements outline how provincial funding will be used to achieve program goals.

Objectives of the initiative

Through the HSS TP Modernization Initiative we aimed to:

  • improve user experience and reduce administrative burden for organizations who administer human and social service programs
  • increase efficiencies, for instance by reducing the time organizations spend on transfer payment administration
  • improve data quality and visibility so both organizations and the province can better understand the positive contribution programs have on people in Ontario
  • establish consistent transfer payment processes to be used across human and social services programs and use a standardized digital platform — Transfer Payment Ontario (TPON) to complete transfer payment activities so that transfer payment administration is easier

Transfer Payment Ontario (TPON)

Over the years, we had shifted from paper-based to digital approaches to manage funding to organizations. The processes and digital systems used across ministries and programs were not always the same, and so the HSS TP Modernization Initiative streamlined the administration of transfer payment programs by driving human and social service ministries to use a centralized digital platform. TPON is a centralized digital platform that many provincial ministries and organizations now use for transfer payment activities.

Having TPON as the common platform for transfer payment activities was central to enabling a more coordinated way of managing transfer payments across human and social services programs.

Conclusion of initiative

MCCSS has transferred project deliverables and knowledge to central agencies and partner ministries to benefit from and continue this work as part of the government’s regular business.

If you have a question about program-specific requirements, please contact your ministry program contact.