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First Nations Renewable
Energy Lab
The First Nations Renewable
Energy Lab
W Dusk Energy Group, along with its partners Urban Matters and CoCreative Consulting, are convening a collaborative innovation effort, called the First Nations Renewable Energy Lab, to accelerate the achievement of "energy empowerment" in First Nations communities across Canada.
The Lab will build an organized, multi-stakeholder coalition to create and implement a national strategy that rapidly accelerates the development of renewable energy projects, in concert with energy efficiency improvements, for all First Nations in Canada.
Specifically, the current
o
perat
ing targets are to see:
+
50% of all First Nations fully
energy empowered by 2025
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An average EnerGuide energy
efficiency rating of 70 in 90% of
First Nations homes by 2025
Our budding coalition will not achieve these outcomes on our own. Rather, we aim to act as conveners, connectors, and catalysts to help give structure to a movement that is already emerging throughout the country, a movement of First Nations who want to leverage clean energy opportunities to take command of their futures. We are inviting others who care deeply about this issue to join us as co-conveners and funding partners.
The above goals are indicative of the scale of transformation we want to enable, but we also recognize that energy empowerment will look different for each community. In general, we use the multi-faceted term “energy empowerment” to represent three outcomes:
1) Drastic reduction in, or where possible complete elimination of, dependence on expensive, imported fossil fuels, especially in off-grid communities;
2) Freedom from crippling energy costs in communities that suffer from large energy inefficiency, and;
3) The opportunity to fully embrace more culturally resonant, renewable energy sources in communities that do not want their energy to come from environmental exploitation.
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A
chieving these goals is more than just a major step in
transitioning to a sustainable energy system. It also aims
to serve as a powerful reference point in Canada's narrative
around reconciliation. The Lab aims to support a movement
that is already seeing First Nations communities emerge as
trailblazers in community resilience, vitality, and sustainability,
shifting from a position of "needing" to a position of leading the
charge globally.
Why Energy?
Energy touches on all aspects of what it means to be a vibrant community: community health, environmental wellbeing, economic wellbeing, and community identity. Against the historical backdrop of many First Nations' lands having been exploited for non-renewable energy, energy that honours the land and environment
also has clear symbolic value. Just some of the benefits of embracing renewable energy and improved efficiency are outlined here1:
1. Adapted from "Health and climate change: policy responses to protect public health" - The 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change
One community that is enjoying such benefits is the Lubicon Lake Band, a remote, 500-member First Nation in Northern Alberta. This community faces more than its share of challenges, struggling to provide basic necessities such as reliable, safe running water and health care. Compounding these challenges, its members have typically paid between $400 and $700 per month in utilities due to a reliance on expensive fossil fuels.
We see this as an example of what "energy empowerment" looks like in practice - it's more than just the solar panels, it's about community identity and solidarity. The intent behind the First Nations Renewable Energy Lab is to enable all First Nations communities to take advantage of the same types of opportunities.
Just a few years ago, the Nation’s land suffered a 4.5 million-litre oil spill and continues to bear the social, economic, and environmental costs today. But W Dusk Energy Group, a First Nations-owned organization that is co-convening the First Nations Renewable Energy Lab, recently worked with the Nation to install an array of 80 top-of-pole mounted solar panels, the largest such project in the region (See this video: "Solar in the tarsands")
T
he solar project, which was implemented with no government
money, now serves as a high
l
y visible beacon of hope for the
community's return to self-sufficiency and reduced reliance on
fossil fuels—and a powerful symbol of community identity
against a landscape of oil sands development.
This effort is part of a story that is emerging from a network of First Nations who are taking command of their energy empowerment. This is a movement led not by government, industry, or the consultants and NGOs that dominate the community development landscape, but by communities themselves and partners genuinely committed to their success. This emerging network is being shaped and nurtured with the help of W Dusk Energy Group and includes dozens of First Nations.
"
I
t's the coming of a new era.
An era where we use energy that not
dev
a
stating to our environment. We are leaders in solar power
,
and that's what we're teaching our youth. They have to learn how
to operate it, how to maintain it. So if any of our neighbours in
surrounding First Nations or Metis settlements want to start a solar
power project, we can be there to help them get it going."
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The targets above are obviously audacious and aggressive, and they seek to build on inspiring success stories in communities like Lubicon Lake and others that W Dusk has worked with, as well as successes in Behchoko in the Northwest Territories, numerous communities supported by Lumos Energy, and many communities in Ontario supported by the Aboriginal Energy Partnerships Program.
Why a Lab?
D
wide strategy. There are over 630 First Nation governments
espite such successes, there remains a critical gap in
country-across Canada comprising a population of over one million
people. At least 170 of these
are
completely isolated from the
electric grid and dependent on expensive, non-renewable sources
of energy.
Truly realizing the potential benefits of energy for all First Nations is thus a grand and complex challenge. We have pieces of the puzzle - promising projects, regional road maps, policy measures, and emerging leaders - but a national strategy for energy empowerment of all First Nations requires all of these to work in unison and to address the many systemic barriers hindering progress at a country-wide scale.
A "Social Lab", also called a Collective Impact effort, is a platform for addressing complex social challenges. It involves building a coalition of diverse leaders committed to a common agenda and supporting those leaders to experiment with new ways of thinking, seeing, and acting to address a complex challenge. This approach is needed when the challenge has certain unique features, which are certainly present in this case:
The challenge is not just
about
techn
ology
, but also about relationships
Renewable energy technology is proven and available. What's missing is the "connective tissue" - the relationships, communication systems, and capacities needed to match opportunities to resources at scale.
Nobody knows the answer
While many people know part of the answer to how we can achieve energy empowerment at scale, nobody knows the full answer to this complex question. The only way to find out is through structured experimentation, and a Lab supports leaders to go through such a process.
Multiple actors must change together, even if they don't agree with, trust, or
like each other
None of the government, private sector, NGOs, or even communities can achieve these goals completely on their own. A new, collaborative space for them to work together across sectors and trust barriers is needed. A Lab creates that space and recruits people with the authority to bridge these gaps in trust to represent the movement, opening the space for stakeholders to innovate together in a structured way.
It can't end in a report
Research and road-mapping without resources and strategies to execute often simply leads to reports collecting dust on a shelf. A Lab is designed not only to support collective understanding of the issues, but also to support the implementation of a portfolio of innovative ideas - e.g. new projects, models, or policy measures - to put collective understanding to work in the real world.
Social identity is critical
A Social Lab is just that, social. It is convened such that the identity at its core is that of the communities who should benefit, and its culture and values represent those communities. This is critical in a context where the extractive sector, the federal government, and the agents that work for them have, in some cases, a history of exploiting First Nations communities, appearing to put their needs first but failing to do so in practice. This difference is felt in a very real way by many communities.
The Process: Convening the First
Nations Renewable Energy Lab
Over the past year, the convening team has invested $50,000 in evaluating the landscape of organizations and strategies surrounding First Nations community development and energy and developed strategic relationships with some of the key players: Canadians for a New Partnership, the BC and Alberta Real Estate Foundations, Natural Resources Canada, Ecotrust, the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, Aboriginal Friendship Centres of Saskatchewan, the BC Ministry of Aboriginal Relationships and Reconciliation, AANDC, and several academic institutions including the University of Alberta and the University of British Columbia. Most importantly, we have cultivated a network of dozens of First Nations communities that have expressed interest not only in empowering their own community, but also in being part of a larger, country-wide energy movement of global significance.
This work has set the stage for launching the First Nations Renewable Energy Lab in earnest. With the support of funding partners, we anticipate implementing the Lab over three phases:
Phase 1: Understanding the systemic issues, organizing the movement (-Jan 2016-Oct
2016):
In Phase 1, we will conduct a systematic stakeholder engagement process through which we will refine the major goals and carefully identify and organize the leaders who will form the core of the leadership network that constitutes the Lab.
These Lab "fellows" will be identified using the key initiator approach, which seeks out high-leverage stakeholders (both individuals and organizations) who are well-positioned to produce critical innovation and influence others, are proven collaborators, and are deeply committed to the goals. Beginning in early 2016, we will being convening the Lab, confirm alignment around the headline goals, and develop a shared process to explore how we can achieve those goals. The leaders identified in Phase 1 will feed into the innovation process in Phase 2.
Key activities in Phase 1 include:
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Interviews and other engagement
activities with ~200 stakeholders in
community, industry, investors,
non-profit, government, and other key players
in the energy/ First Nations nexus. Some
of the key stakeholders to engage will
include, for example:
»
Aki Energy
»
Honour the Earth Foundation
»
EcoSmart Foundation
»
First Nations Energy and Mining
Council
»
Funders and investors such as the
McConnell Foundation and Renewal Partners,
»
Great Bear Initiative
»
Reconciliation Canada
»
First Nations Power Authority of
Saskatchewan
»
BullFrog Power
»
Aboriginal Energy Partnerships
Program
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Research to establish a deeper understanding
,
of the energy system’s uncaptured
opportunities and the barriers behind them.
Critical research needs include, for example:
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Convene several multi-stakeholder
workshops to establish the core team of
innovators committed to the Lab's outcomes.
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Through W Dusk Energy Group, continue
to pursue renewable energy and efficiency
"proof-of-concept" projects with several
communities interested in benefitting from
energy empowerment and being a part of
this movement.
»
Communities that have expressed
interest in or already embraced renewable
energy and want to be part of a larger
movement, e.g. T’Sou-ke First Nation
,
Swan Lake First Nation, Fisher River Cree
Nation, and Six Nations
»
3G Energy
»
Ecotrust
»
Refining the definition of "energy empowerment"
and setting a more specific, technical goal for this
multi-faceted outcome.
»
Establishing a clearer baseline for "energy
empowerment".
»
Exploring the relationship between energy and
other community wellbeing issues, e.g. food
security and housing.
»
Understanding the differences in the provincial
policy environments and their implications.
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Raise funds and identify potential
Based on the learning and network established in Phase 1, Phase 2 will build an entrepreneurial, diverse team that will identify and implement a portfolio of initiatives aimed at achieving the energy empowerment goals. With the help of the Lab's convening partners, this team of Lab "fellows" will create a structure and a process to identify, select, fund, and implement a variety of innovations, taking an iterative, experimental approach.
Phase 2: Structuring the movement, implementing a portfolio of innovations (~Oct
2016-2025).
T
he key to Phase 2 is the movement behind the effort. Our
multiple sectors and organizations, at all levels, come together
around a common vision and are supported by a robust
innovation
process
that
supports
active
learning,
experimentation, and scaling of effective solutions.
experience has been that systemic change can happen when
The specifics of Phase 2 - structure, innovation process, and specific initiatives
-cannot be identified in advance. They will be identified and chosen by the Lab team and emerge from the collective wisdom of the network built in Phase 1.
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An example structure could look as shown on the next page, in which the Lab evolves into a series of working groups that are each experimenting with ideas in a number of thematic areas. These innovative ideas aim to serve the goals (*these may change based on what is learned in Phase 1) which are driven by the deeper purpose behind this work.
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A Potential Structure for the Phase 2 Portfolio:
Phase 3, far into the future, is envisioned to be a time of "harvesting". This is a time for reflection on what has been accomplished and learned through the earlier phases and leveraging the new forms of capital (financial, social, human, intellectual) to put in place the pieces needed to sustain this movement. We do not anticipate that all energy-related opportunities will be captured by 2025, so much work will be left to do. Very innovative and radical ideas that may not seem possible now may become possible by 2025; for example, a nationalized co-op arrangement in which First Nations are partial owners of national energy development enterprise enabled through the Lab process.
Phase 3: Harvesting, Transitioning to "Deep Impact" (~2025).
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W
e are seeking partners, collaborators and funders to support
The Team
The First Nations Renewable Energy Lab is being shaped by a team of partners who bring deep knowledge of energy opportunities in First Nations communities, the practicalities of systemic change, and the practice of community development.
RUSS GASKIN is the managing director of CoCreative, a U.S. consultancy that
specializes in convening networks of business, NGOs, and public sector leaders to solve complex social problems. He is a Senior Fellow with the Center for Sustainability Solutions and a member of the Expert Panel on Social Innovation & Design with the UN Development Program. CoCreative is a convening partner for this effort.DAVE ISAAC is a Mi’kmaq and a prominent advocate for the independence and
health of Aboriginal communities. He previously served as the Deputy Executive Director for the Vancouver Native Health Society and is currently developing projects throughout Canada involving solar and wind energy integration, urban horticulture, and community planning. He is the President of the W Dusk Energy Group, which supports Aboriginal communities to harness the power of their renewable energy resources. Through the work of W Dusk, dozens of communities have come forward and expressed their desire to take command of their energy futures and be part of a bigger movement. W Dusk Group is a convening partner for this effort.KEN GAUTHIER is the President of Urban Matters CCC. Urban Matters CCC
partners with impactful community groups, foundations, and non-profits to create
new relationships between “unexpected allies”, help connect community innova-tions with resources, and challenge the social and economic systems that currently marginalize many Canadians. Urban Matters’ practitioners have worked with over 200 Aboriginal communities over the past 4 decades, and Ken himself has over 20 years’ experience facilitating processes in Aboriginal communities and municipali-ties as well as the linkages between them. Urban Matters also serves as the Chair of
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JODY RECHENMACHER
is a Community Catalyst with Urban Matters CCC, a Community Infrastructure Consultant with Urban Systems Ltd., and the Co-Founder of the Engineering Leadership Council, a group that convenes and supports profes-sional engineers who aim to have greater social impact through their engineering work. She is supporting Urban Matters CCC in its role as a convening partner for this effort.LINDSAY MITCHELL
is the Executive Director of Bridges Social Development,which works with communities across Canada, and particularly in the Calgary area, engaging with youth towards practices of change leadership and social entrepre-neurship, with a particular focus on Aboriginal youth. She is an advisor to this effort.
MIKE KANG is a facilitator of systemic change in community development,
pub-lic services, and climate change, and a Community Catalyst with Urban Matters CCC. He helps diverse teams build strategies to address tough problems in which politics, power, and technology are intertwined in complex ways. He holds an MPhil Degree in Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge and has led multi-stakeholder processes in the UK, Canada, Malawi, and Ghana. He is supporting Urban Matters CCC in its role as a convening partner for this effort.Partnership Opportunities
We are seeking partners to support the undertaking of Phase 1. We need collaborators and funders to support:
1.
~3 full time equivalent staff, to conduct research, interviews and coordination
activities. W Dusk, Urban Matters, and CoCreative staff, who form the working
group, will contribute to this but prioritize hiring a key First Nations leader in
energy to take the lead on these Phase 1 activities;
2.
Travel and communications expenses to conduct interviews, stakeholder mapping,
coalition building and community engagement;
3.
Four working group meetings and 2 multi-sector workshops, including a subsidy
for First Nations community members who wish to participate in the formation of
the Lab but cannot afford to pay their own way.
An investment in Phase 1 is an essential stage-setter, with a potentially high social return down the road. While our partners have never initiated a network that has failed to launch and deliver on its objectives, it is possible that we discover that the conditions do not currently exist to achieve goals at this scale. If that is the case, we will provide the funder with a thorough report on the conditions that need to be further developed in order to convene such an effort at scale, which at the very least will establish a clear baseline for future success and a thorough understanding of the issues.
Ken Gauthier 250-862-6364 kgauthier@urbanmatters.ca Mike Kang 604-250-0444 mkang@urbanmatters.ca David Isaac 604-442-2127 david@wduskgroup.com
For more information and to discuss funding specifics, please contact David
Isaac, Mike Kang, or Ken Gauthier:
H
owever, based on our experience, the more likely case is
for energy independence, sustainability, and efficiency in First
Nations communities in Canada, but also with a dedicated
network of cross-sector actors who are committed to moving
forward to realize the vision together.
that we will conclude Phase 1 not only with a strong roadmap
