b'POLITICAL FUNDINGBUDGETS: A POLITICAL TOOLUnderstanding the impact of federal budgets on programming and services By Rick GarrickPhotos courtesy of Indspire.K ey to any politicalAccording to Degagn, bureaucrats have aand there are other times when its campaign and govern- list of priorities that they need to follow. farther down the list, DeGagn shares. mental leadership isPolitics doesnt necessarily influence budget development.You go to them to see what those prioritieshow and when things are fundedits While understanding political budgets canare and if what you need to do lines upset by government, the machinery of help us understand the structure of govern- with their priorities, then theres usuallygovernment, and you apply to be part of mental financing, they are also significantlya process that you follow to apply forthe budget and then if you get in there, informative about the priorities of politicalfunding, DeGagn says. In this particularthen you apply to be supplemented by parties and governments. Former CEO ofpolitical environment, usually the fundingother supplementary budgets as the the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF),isnt committed for very long, maybe a yearyear goes through, all of which has to be which shut down due to federal budgetor two, whereas in the past there wouldspent by the end of the fiscal year, which cuts in 2014, and currently the presidentbe much longer horizons of funding, likeis March 31.and CEO of Indspire, Michael DeGagn, isthree to five yearsthat would give you well-experienced and knowledgeable on thea chance to do some planning. FundingGovernment funding also reflects the federal funding process and how it impactsis usually done through the bureaucracydesire of every government to do some-decision-making in government. and the relationships that you develop inthing that is new and interesting.the bureaucracy, but they reflect political Funding in the government representsrealities and political priorities. If youve been around for a long time, political priorities, so whats funded todayDeGagn says the governments budgetslike Indspire, you always have to be by one group may not be funded tomorroware political tools in that they function as aninnovating, you always have to be doing by another group, DeGagn says. Mostexpression, department by department, ofthings differently because, for the most of the funding, virtually all of the fundingwhat the government wants to accomplish. part, [the] government doesnt want to that Indigenous people engage in, comesjust keep funding the same old, same not directly from the political level, butIn our community, the Indigenousold, DeGagn says. What youll find is a it means working with bureaucracy, socommunity, there are times when fundinglot of governments are very comfortable working with bureaucrats who work inof Indigenous programs or organizationsfunding innovationhave you got a new various departments. is number one, its really a high priority,program, have you got something that 44Fall/Winter 2024'