Aboriginal Business Unit

Economic Development Plan

The First Step to a Sustainable Future

Aboriginal communities across Canada are experiencing a bourgeoning renaissance. Decades of negotiations regarding Aboriginal and treaty rights are resulting in land claim settlements and financial compensation for historical transgressions.

As Native communities and Band Councils receive stewardship over these resources, there is the opportunity to lay the economic foundations that will benefit their communities and future generations. To lay these foundations requires vision, leadership and solid financial planning.

After strong leadership, the most important factor in a community’s resurgence is the formation of an Economic Development Plan. This plan provides a roadmap of opportunities, each of which represent routes to securing the future financial well being of a community and its citizens.

Developing a comprehensive economic plan that suits the very specific needs of an Aboriginal group is based on a series of seven stages:

The Keys to a Successful Community Plan

Community Engagement and Involvement

The success of any plan rests on the engagement and involvement of the local citizens. This fosters commitment and helps develop a community voice in shaping the future and that your goals are common ones.

Current Infrastructure Assessment

Any economic plan requires an assessment of the resources at your disposal. Identifying areas of strength as well as any gaps in the infrastructure is necessary for your economic growth to be sustainable on a long-term basis.

Demographic Profiling

A thorough demographic assessment should be conducted to reflect the social and economic make up of the community. Trends in population, migration, growth and age all need to be understood and factored into the planning process.

Local Economic Profile

The development of a local economic profile allows for an assessment of critical issues regarding the current economic base, revenues, expenditures and resident industries.

Development of Options

With an understanding of both the community and its economic base, a range of options can be developed and explored. This is undertaken through community input, round table discussions and the example of other Aboriginal jurisdictions.

Economic Modeling

The options that have been identified are economically modeled and vetted against a series of criteria that have been specially tailored to measure each option’s economic and societal impact.

Recommendations

Based on all of the findings and in conjunction with the community in question, a series of recommendations are made which details the economic benefits and costs, social impact and resource considerations.