CHALLENGE

At the dawn of the 2020 decade, Essipit wanted to renew its foundations by conducting a comprehensive community planning (CCP) exercise. Serving as an opportunity to update the community’s values and vision, this process was launched with a view to identifying members’ dreams and aspirations, validating the fit between the administration’s work and members’ needs, and optimizing the energy invested in existing community projects and programs by innovating community practices and fostering collective empowerment.

PROPOSED SOLUTION

MU Conseils was mandated by the Essipit Innu First Nation Council in 2019 to support its efforts in deploying comprehensive community planning and the underpinning engagement strategy. The process was based on a multitude of creative facilitation tools, a variety of consultation processes and the implementation of a user-friendly communications approach. As this participatory approach was mainly carried out in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it goes without saying that the MU Conseils team had to be extremely inventive and responsive in thinking up and deploying accessible and inclusive activities likely to instil a spirit of community despite remoteness.

RESULTS

  • A 60% public participation rate in any of the CCP components, with many members having participated steadily in all the stages;
  • A clear picture of the community’s current situation;
  • A consensus-based vision of the community’s aspirations to foster a positive outlook for the future;
  • A strong, renewed dialogue between the population, elected officials and administration;
  • An inspiring roadmap for getting started and making the community’s dreams a reality.

To find out more, visit the CCP website (only in French).