Step 6 of 7
Mitigate Risks
What could stop us?
What are some things, events or circumstances that may delay or stop your community and economic development? These are the risks to your community moving forward. In this step, you plan for them, and decide which good risks are worth taking.
Who should be involved
Chief and Council, EDC and band leadership, Elders, and community members. Everyone has a part in holding leadership accountable.
What you’ll need
Your workbooks from Steps 1 to 5, copies of your community’s current policies and laws, and the Step 6 worksheets.
You’ll finish with
A risk mitigation plan: the risks that could stop your plan, what you will do about each one, and the good risks you choose to take.
01 · LEARN
Six parts of strong governance
Some of the most serious risks to Indigenous community and economic development are about governance. If any of these six is missing, it will interfere with your plan, and becomes a risk.
Voice and accountability
Members have had a voice in this plan. Keep seeking their opinions, thoughts and questions throughout the process.
Political stability and safety
Policies that keep the political climate healthy and plans steady through elections, and no tolerance for violence.
Government effectiveness
A Chief and Council with the skills, policies and ethics to serve everyone in the community, not only a chosen few.
Regulatory quality
Fair, efficient rules for land use and economic development, for members, businesses and governments alike.
Rule of law
Written laws, unspoken laws and your own Indigenous laws, followed through on, not only written down.
Control of corruption
A plan to prevent corruption, and holding each other, especially leadership, to fair, equitable and ethical leadership.
Risks unique to you
There may be other risks unique to your community. Perhaps they are related to your land. For example, your territory may sit on a fault line and be in danger of earthquakes. Think about your community and territory, write down any risks unique to you, and begin working on a plan for each.
From experience
As CEO of an Indigenous economic development corporation, I was the fifth CEO in five years. After an election, new leadership replaced the senior team, and good plans for the community were put on hold or stopped altogether.
Every time this happens, the community stalls. Policies and procedures put in place ahead of time can ensure a smooth transition and protect the community’s plans.
Before you begin: gather your policies
You can’t see a gap until you know what you already have. Collect what is in place today.
- Leadership and elections: policies for transitions between Chiefs and Councils.
- Safety: how your community deals with violence and supports victims.
- Land and business: processes for members, businesses and governments that want to use your land.
- Laws: written laws on property, policing and crime, and your own customs and laws.
- Accountability: anything that guards against corruption.
02 · GATHER
Four community activities
These are honest conversations. Hold them in a setting where people feel safe to speak.
ACTIVITY A
Look at your government
- How effective are our Chief and Council?
- Do they have the skills, experience and education for the work they are given?
- Do the benefits of our government reach everyone, or only a few?
- Are we relying only on Chief and Council to take care of our community?
- Do we have policies that serve the community well, and the ability to create them?
Worksheet 6A · Governance check
ACTIVITY B
Talk about safety
- Do we tolerate violence in our community?
- How do we deal with violence when it happens?
- What motivates violence here, and how can we remove those motivations?
- How do we support victims of violence?
Our ancestors protected victims, women and children. A caring, justice-based community is the foundation for everything else.
Worksheet 6A · Governance check
ACTIVITY C
Review your rules for land and business
- Do members who own land on reserve need approval for everything they do on it? Is the process fair for all?
- What is our process for businesses, members and governments that want to use our territory?
- Are our processes equitable, efficient and effective?
- Do any of our rules hold back economic development more than they help?
Worksheet 6A · Governance check
ACTIVITY D
List your risks
- Write down every risk from Activities A to C.
- Add the risks unique to your land and community.
- For each one, note what could happen and how serious it would be.
- Note what you could do now to prevent it or reduce it.
Worksheet 6B · Risk register
03 · DECIDE
Questions to answer together
- Which risks could delay or stop our plan, and which matter most?
- What policy, rule or action would reduce each one?
- How will we keep our plans steady through changes in leadership?
- How much risk are our leadership and community comfortable with?
- Which good risks are worth taking, and who will watch over each risk?
Worksheet 6C · Risk mitigation plan
Not all risks are bad
There are good risks as well. Ask:
- What might we gain, or lose, if we act now, or don’t?
- What are the pros and cons of this action?
- What level of risk will we accept to reach this goal?
- Can we manage this risk instead of avoiding it?
- Are we willing to try, learn and try again?
Fail well
Not everything you try will succeed. Treat a setback as a learning opportunity: the next time you try, you are not starting from scratch, you are starting from experience.
04 · RECORD
Your Step 6 workbook
Capture your risks and your plan for each in the Step 6 workbook. It becomes the sixth chapter of your community’s plan.
- 6AGovernance check
- 6BRisk register
- 6CRisk mitigation plan
Would it be helpful to work with someone?
ICDPRO’s team can help your community review its governance and build a risk mitigation plan.