How Is It That  in one of the most prosperous nations on the planet, so many Indigenous communities in Canada, particularly isolated northern communities, seem to be locked in situations of economic marginalization and dependency, resulting in rates of unemployment, poverty and social distress that are unparalleled in the rest of the country?

Community Works facilitates a Community Economic Planning process that begins by locating the answer to this question in Indigenous communities’ experience of colonization and the economic impacts of this history.

Community Works puts self-determination at the heart of Community Economic Planning. As such, the process of mapping out their economic future needs to engage as many people in the community as possible, both in developing an economic strategy and in implementing their economic plans.

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Developing a comprehensive Community Economic Strategy and Action Plan typically takes 6 months to a year of planning meetings, and covers topics such as:

• An overview of your community’s economic history

• Analysis of your community’s current economy

• Core values and teachings your community wants to retain in the future

• Future economic vision:  what does full employment look like for your community?

• Reversing colonial economic patterns:  Import substitution, employment to meet community needs, participation in regional/national/global economy, and other approaches

• Sector by sector employment goals

• Sector by sector SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)

• Education and training strategy

• Financial strategy

• Political strategy and finding allies