Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

CANADA #116:Pilot Project for Coordination of Northern Voice in development of national policy  (Pilot Project for Coordination of Northern Voice in development of national policy)

Outline
Project goal: 1) Test whether coordination of input by a central agency will increase the ability of northern NGO’s to contribute their voice in the shaping of national policy to address specific northern needs. 2) Measure the impact of board/staff/organizational development training on an organization’s ability to participate more fully in this process Project Description/Background: The ability of all non-profits to contribute to the development of national policy is critical but national trends show that more and more non-profit grassroots groups (the ones that are seeing social and health needs and trends at the ground level) are increasingly unable to voice their experiences and knowledge to policy –makers in a meaningful way, but more so in the North due to several factors that serve as barriers to inclusion. Remote geographic location, isolation, cost, and the inability of NGO’s to respond due to lack of resources or time; are just some of the factors that play a role in the tendency for policy-makers to exclude northern input in the development of health and other policy on a national scale. Based on point ‘d’ of Health Canada’s Determinants of Health (see appendix one), this project would pilot the development of a Northern Policy Institute/Advocate that would coordinate the research of opportunities to contribute input to national policy issues, liaise with local groups to raise awareness of opportunities to contribute, coordinate and facilitate local networking/brainstorming sessions, provide information to national bodies, and follow up with local groups to report on progress. It would also measure the impact of organizational capacity-building through the provision of training to boards and high-level staff on an organization’s ability to participate more fully in this process. This particular project would find much support nationally, as it is a stated goal of the government of Canada to address this issue nation-wide. In XXXX the Government signed the Voluntary Sector Accord, which essentially showcased its promise to work with the non-profit sector to address this issue. As well, the ‘Walter and Duncan Gordon’ Foundation has recently revised its mandate to focus specifically on supporting projects that address this issue, particularly in the north.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
This project would identify and address barriers to inclusion of northern regions in developing the national or international policies that directly impact upon them. It would pilot a new method of developing national and global linkages (theme 3) between northern regions and the rest of the globe, and ensuring that northern voices are strong in the process of policy development in health, and in all areas that concern Northerners directly. It would document the processes currently used (theme 1), and work to study how changes in those processes (theme 2) could benefit northern regions globally. It is also directly related to theme 6 – particularly the human dimension of NGO work in these regions, and whether changing the capacity of people within those organizations will impact upon their ability to participate in a more valuable way.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
There are a number of circumpolar organizations that meet in various locations in the circumpolar north – work proposed in Canada would inform other circumpolar regions, and from there it can be discerned whether there are organizations in other countries who would collaborate to do similar research in their geographic areas, in order to compare and contrast northern issues across different cultures. The Northern Policy Advocate model could be developed internationally to test whether it improves ability of northern organizations to impact upon international policy-making as well.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: n/a
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
This pre-proposal has been reviewed and is being submitted by the Canadian Steering Committee (CSC). Ongoing discussions will integrate this pre-proposal into a larger network of related national and international initiatives. The CSC has initially sorted this pre-proposal into: Healthy and Sustainable Communities: Healthy Communities

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?

How will the project be organised and managed?

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?

How is it proposed to fund the project?

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
None

PROPOSER DETAILS

Ms Tracy Erman
PO Box 31107 Whitehorse YT


Y1A 3W1
Canada

Tel: 867-456-4304
Mobile: no
Fax: 867-456-4302
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation