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Bringing It Home An Indigenous-led initiative to enable and implement healthy,
energy efficient homes and facilities in First Nations, Métis, and
Inuit communities
FOR DIALOGUE &
ENGAGEMENT
April 18, 2019
Bringing It Home Summary | 2
About ICE
The Indigenous Clean Energy Social Enterprise (ICE) is Canada’s leading non-profit promoting
Indigenous participation and leadership in the energy transition towards a low-carbon, socially
and economically abundant future. ICE’s programs are directed by a national Indigenous
Advisory Council. Lumos Energy manages ICE programs. ICE is accountable to the broader
Canadian Indigenous clean energy community. Our foundational initiative, the 20/20 Catalysts
Program, is the country’s leading clean energy capacity building program for Indigenous
peoples. Our growing ICE Network is broadening the base of collaboration to accelerate the
transition to a clean energy future. The emerging ICE Global Hub aims to enhance international,
Indigenous cooperation on clean energy.
Through these initiatives, we have developed into an immensely strong community of leaders
working together to advance an Indigenous-led clean energy future. It is this community that
is driving Bringing It Home forward.
Bringing It Home Summary | 3
Overview
First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities across Canada are
faced with significantly substandard housing, facilities, and
infrastructure. In many communities, a large percentage of
homes and facilities are energy inefficient, unaffordable,
unhealthy, and overcrowded.
There are positive examples of Indigenous communities
implementing energy efficiency and housing improvement
initiatives. These efforts have resulted in successes related to
building design advancements, increased occupant
maintenance skills, and improved approaches for heating.
These successes are tremendously important for improving the
quality of Indigenous homes and facilities. However, on their
own, they have not been enough to create deep, long-term
solutions at the rate needed by communities across Canada.
To accelerate the implementation of the dramatic
improvements communities need, the Indigenous leaders of
ICE believe it is critical and timely to develop and implement
the Indigenous enabling environment to supports
communities in moving projects forward. Structures, policies,
and practices are needed to maximize the rate, scale, and
benefits of energy efficiency initiatives.
Bringing It Home is an initiative to identify the Indigenous
enabling environment for energy efficiency, and support
communities in fostering it for themselves.
This is an ambitious plan. ICE and our community of
Indigenous clean energy leaders are committed to initiate and
coordinate it, but it must be a co-creation process if it is to
drive systemic change. This process requires intense
collaboration with Indigenous communities, leaders, and
experts, as well as government, the private finance sector, and
others. It will involve building, refining, and iterating on the
process together. Bringing It Home is a multi-year initiative that will have a range of needs and
opportunities for support and interaction. Please contact Ian Scholten at
[email protected] for more information and to get involved.
» There has been limited progress on
improving the efficiency of
Indigenous homes and facilities
» An enabling environment
(structures, policies, and practices) is
needed to accelerate change
» We propose the enabling
environment consists of two
interrelated subsystems:
o Capacity (Governance &
Leadership, Management, and
Skills)
o Capital (Financing, Design &
Construction, and Maintenance)
» A three-stage approach is
proposed for developing and
implementing the enabling
environment:
1. Engagement & Design
2. National Solutions
Development
3. Lead Community
Implementation (to happen
concurrently with Stage 2)
» The Indigenous Clean Energy Social
Enterprise is committed to initiate
and coordinate the process
» This will require intensive
collaboration
» Contact Ian Scholten
(ischolten@indigenouscleanenergy.
com) to get involved
Highlights of Bringing It Home
Bringing It Home Summary | 4
1.0 Where do we want to be?
While we approach this initiative from the perspective of improving
the energy efficiency of homes and facilities, we know that what is
most important to community members are homes, facilities, and
infrastructure that are:
» Healthy – That the space does not create negative personal
health effects (e.g. due to mould, particulate matter,
overcrowding, etc.).
» Affordable – Occupants and communities can afford to
build and maintain buildings and pay for utilities.
» Culturally Relevant – Designs that accommodate
community members needs and uphold cultural practices.
» Durable – Last at least as long as buildings in non-
Indigenous communities.
» Comfortable – Occupants feel at ease in the buildings.
» Abundant – That there is enough housing for people to live
safely and securely.
» Available – That community facilities exist in a state that
members can actively and safely make use of them.
Conservation on the Coast’s purpose
is to reduce energy consumption in
three Indigenous communities in
Northern-Ontario. While they are
improving efficiency, they are also
addressing critical safety concerns in
homes as they perform their retrofits.
Conservation on the Coast has
achieved significant results carrying
out deep retrofits to nearly 90 homes
across the three communities.
Learn more on their website:
conservationonthecoast.com
Success Story
Ways to get involved…
Bringing It Home is an intentionally open and collaborative initiative. We welcome all
interested people to participate in the process through active contribution of ideas and
feedback, financial support, joining in the webinars, or other ways that interest you. Here are
some ideas:
If you are a… Then maybe you’d like to…
20/20 Catalysts Program Alumni Have your community become a core community,
participate in an Insight Session, or take a lead on a
topic area
Indigenous Community Leader or
Member
Have your community become a guide community
or join the ICE Network to see updates.
Energy Efficiency Expert (Private or
Non-Profit)
Join the core team, participate in a specific Insight
Sessions, or take a lead on a topic area
Government Program Office or
Policy Maker
Participate on the core team or financially support
the initiative
Philanthropic Organization Financially support the initiative and/or participate in
relevant Insight sessions.
Financial Institution Join the core team and/or participate in the
Financing Insight session
Theses are just some options for how to get involved, if you’d like to discuss other
options, please contact Ian Scholten, [email protected].
Bringing It Home Summary | 5
While energy efficiency initiatives alone will not address all the
health and safety concerns faced by communities, it can be a means
for impacting those issues. For instance, one key mantra for energy
efficiency is to “Build Tight and Ventilate Right”. Doing this
eliminates uncontrolled air leakage, dramatically improving the
efficiency of the building. But this also reduces the chance of
moisture build up (and therefore mould), making the home
Healthier; eliminates drafts, making the home more Comfortable;
and reduces energy costs, making the home more Affordable.
Attachment A at the end of this document illustrates a selection of
health impacts caused by the existing housing realities and the
impacts the Bringing It Home approach will achieve.
2.0 How do we get there?
Projects like the ones described on in the Success Story boxes to
the right, provide models for specific, much needed changes in areas such as building standards
and occupant maintenance skills. However, these successes have yet to translate and scale
across Canada.
Indigenous leaders have expressed a need to understand needed is a wholesale understanding
of the systems and features that need to be in place to enable communities to implement
projects (the enabling environment). The enabling environment is
what sets the context and possibility for systemic change.
To see significant improvements in Indigenous homes and facilities,
the Indigenous enabling environment must be identified and
implemented for energy efficiency initiatives.
Proposed Indigenous Energy Efficiency Enabling
Environment
At the Indigenous Clean Energy Gathering held in October 2018, a
national group of 20/20 Catalysts and partners discussed what this
system might look like. Based on this input, a model for the enabling
environment for Indigenous energy efficiency initiatives was
developed. This model can be seen in Figure 1. Like an ecosystem,
these features are highly interconnected, each one contributing to
the success of the other; and all components being necessary for
maximum impact and change.
Enabling environments are the
interconnected set of structures,
policies, and practices that support
communities in moving projects
forward efficiently and with the
maximum benefit to the community.
Enabling environments support
systemic change. Features include:
» Leadership capacity,
» Policy approaches,
» Financing mechanisms,
» Skills and training pathways,
» Process knowledge, and
» Other elements depending
on the project type.
Enabling Environments
Nuxalk First Nation in Bella Coola,
B.C. have been literally setting new
standards for housing. Over the past
several years, the community has
established new building standards
that go beyond code to ensure their
buildings are energy efficient,
comfortable, easy to maintain, all the
while creating local employment
opportunities. These building
standards guide all new
development that happens in the
community.
Read more about their efforts here.
Success Story
Bringing It Home Summary | 6
Within the proposed enabling environment, two subsystems exist whose features interact more
closely with each other. Focusing on these two subsystems makes it easier to examine the
necessary interactions and manage the change process when it comes to creating the enabling
environment.
Subsystem 1 – Energy Efficiency Capacity
This subsystem focuses on the human and organizational skills and knowledge required at the
community level to advance an energy efficiency transformation in a way that is community
centered, culturally relevant, and locally implemented. It consists of:
» Skills – The local capacity to build and maintain homes. This includes construction
trades, management capabilities, and occupant know-how and training for performing
basic upkeep.
» Management – Best practices for who and how buildings are owned and maintained.
This includes asset management and how to plan for efficiency improvements.
» Governance & Leadership – An
understanding at the leadership level of
the importance of energy efficiency and,
more significantly, the know-how for
developing and upholding new
standards practices and.
Subsystem 2 – Energy Efficiency Capital
This subsystem focuses on components that
work together to unlock new sources of capital
necessary for improving the conditions of
Indigenous buildings. It involves:
» Financing – The processes required to
more effectively and easily finance
efforts. This includes new forms of funding
and how to create funds for on-going
maintenance.
» Design & Construction – Approaches for designing high efficiency buildings and
selecting appropriate efficiency technologies.
» Maintenance – The means for implementing on-going maintenance plans both formally
(through community employees) and informally (with building occupants).
When these two subsystems are tied together, the links between each component reinforce the
whole enabling environment. These links define how the change process occurs. Creating
Figure 1. Components and connections for Indigenous
Enabling Environment for Energy Efficiency.
Bringing It Home Summary | 7
systemic change requires all components of the enabling environment and their linkages to be
present and functioning. The Figure 4 below highlights some of these connections. The Bringing
It Home initiative will work to understand what structures, policies, and practices need to exist to
enable these connections.
4.0 Designing and Implementing the Enabling Environment
An intensive co-creative design process is needed to fully understand the structures, policies,
and practices required to make the enabling environment for Indigenous energy efficiency
efforts function. The process needs to identify existing promising practices and where necessary,
develop new solutions to fill gaps in our understanding. Ultimately, this initiative is about
First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities and their partners working together to
implement a framework for accelerating the execution of energy efficiency efforts.
This design process requires three complementary stages:
Figure 2. Overlay of subsystems highlighting linkages between components.
Leadership
establishes new
building standards
Buildings are
managed as assets
with regular
maintenance
Buildings last
longer, improving
financing
opportunities
Financing exists to
build more and
better buildings
Capacity exists to
manage assets
Direction is given
to build skills
Strong management
practices give security
for financing
Understanding how to
leverage different
financing sources
Leadership and
management work
together to affect
change
Building design affects
maintenance
requirements
Know-how exists
to perform
maintenance
Members trained
for building to
higher standards
Bringing It Home Summary | 8
A core collaboration team of 10-12
people will participate throughout Stage
1. The team will consist of:
» Indigenous Guide Communities –
Five to six communities will be
identified to be supported in putting
the enabling environment into
practice in Stage 3. Representatives
from these communities will be
expected to participate throughout
the insight sessions. These
community may overlap with
Steering Group members.
» Capacity Experts – To foster deeper
understanding of the capacity
subsystem, two to three individuals
with expertise in this area will be
asked to join throughout this stage.
Emphasis will be placed on
Indigenous experts.
» Capital Experts – Similar to the
Capacity Experts, a small group of
experts in the capital subsystem will
be asked to participate. Again,
emphasis will be placed on
Indigenous experts.
Members of this team will be asked to
participate in all Insight Sessions.
Core Collaboration Team
1. Engagement & Design – Bringing together
Indigenous energy efficiency leaders and other
experts to identify promising practices and gaps, and
design the pathways for Stages 2 and 3.
2. National Solutions Development – Collaboratively
working to create solutions to gaps identified in
Stage 1.
3. Indigenous Guide Community Implementation –
Supporting 5-6 communities in fostering the
enabling environment.
Stage 1. Engagement & Design
Estimated duration: 8 months – 1 year
This stage will be guided by the following set of Indigenous
engagement and design questions:
» Is the proposed enabling environment accurate?
» What components/models already exist that are
working well?
» What areas of the system need more insight or
design?
» How do you build the capacity and/or processes
needed to successfully make the enabling
environment work?
This stage began with a kick-off webinar February 27, 2019
where the context and plan for the initiative was shared. It
provided an opportunity for an initial assessment of the
proposed enabling environment.
The primary focus of this stage will be on three Insight
Sessions. Each session will consist of 30-35 participants with
a core collaboration team of 10-12 individuals who attend all sessions. This core group will
foster a greater sense of continuity and progress throughout the sessions and yield more shared
insights. The core team will consist of:
» Indigenous Guide Communities – Five to six communities will be identified to be
supported in putting the enabling environment into practice in Stage 3. Representatives
from these communities will be expected to participate throughout the insight sessions
and help guide the Stage 1 process to ensure it reflects community needs.
Bringing It Home Summary | 9
» Capacity Experts – To foster deeper understanding of the capacity subsystem, two to
three individuals with expertise in this area will be asked to join throughout this stage.
Emphasis will be placed on Indigenous experts.
» Capital Experts – Similar to the Capacity Experts, a small group of experts in the capital
subsystem will be asked to participate. Again, emphasis will be placed on Indigenous
experts.
In addition to this core team, knowledge area experts relevant to each Insight session will be
invited. This process (including tentative dates and locations for each session) is illustrated in
Figure 5 below. The three insight sessions consist of:
Insight Session 1. Capacity Subsystem – May 28-29, 2019 in Vancouver, B.C.
This session will delve deep into the three components of the Capacity subsystem. It is
expected that beyond this Insight Session, themes related to the Capacity subsystem will
surface throughout the stage as capacity underpins the opportunity of advancing energy
efficiency.
Insight Session 2. Design & Construction – July 17-18, 2019 in Toronto, ON
The Capital subsystem will be examined over two insight sessions. The first will focus on
the Design and Construction components of the subsystem. There will be strong
connection in this session with the Capacity subsystem as relevant skills and
management needs will be considered.
Insight Session 3. Financing Mechanisms – September 14-15, 2019 in Montreal, QC
Given the immense need address existing financing shortfalls for improving the quality
of Indigenous infrastructure, an entire Insight session has been dedicated to this
component.
Each of these sessions will be co-hosted by Indigenous leaders and will have an Elder open the
day.
Between these sessions, additional research, design, interviews, and engagement will occur. We
will also share summaries of these sessions through the ICE Network.
In October 2019, alongside the ICE Gathering, a 1-day Summit Session will be held to bring
both streams back together to review the input received through the process and solidify the
plan for moving forward.
Outcomes of this stage include:
a) A core collaborative working group for advancing through Stages 2 and 3;
b) A summary of existing promising practices for each component of the enabling system;
c) A plan for developing new solutions as required; and
Bringing It Home Summary | 10
d) A design process for Indigenous communities and their partners to create the enabling
environment for their efforts (implementing this process is Stage 3).
Based on the results of Stage 1, Stages 2 and 3 will happen concurrently. While Stage 2 will be
focused on developing solutions to any key gaps, Stage 3 will see the enabling environment
being developed in the Indigenous Guide Communities. This concurrent process is important for
two reasons:
1. It allows action to be taken at the community level as soon as possible (creating early
impacts); and
2. It puts the process into a cycle of design and implementation, allowing ideas and actions
to be developed and refined based on immediate feedback from Indigenous
communities.
Throughout both these stages, sessions will be organized to share experiences and outcomes
from Stages 2 and 3 with other First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities and other partners
who are keen to adopt and support the enabling environment.
Stage 2. National Solutions Development
Estimated duration: 1-2 years
This stage involves articulating the key structures, policies, and practices necessary for each
component of the enabling system. This will be an intensive, collaborative process to understand
the features of each component and how the work together to support the implementation of
energy efficient and healthy, homes, facilities, and infrastructure. For certain components, this
may involve sharing promising practices. In other instances, it may require a collaborative design
process to create new structures or models.
Figure 3. Timeline for Stage 1 of Bringing It Home (Engagement & Design).
Bringing It Home Summary | 11
Tools and processes identified or developed in this stage will be tested and refined in Stage 3 to
ensure they meet the needs of communities. The results will be synthesized into a tool to
support future communities pursuing energy efficiency.
The exact process followed in Stage 2 will be determined through the activities of Stage 1. The
ICE Network will be used to coordinate and share results of Stage 2.
Outcomes of Stage 2 include:
a) Descriptions of promising, scalable practices and approaches for each component;
b) Development of new tools and mechanisms where necessary to fill in knowledge gaps
(such as financing structures); and
c) A comprehensive guide to support communities in fostering the enabling environment
for themselves.
Stage 3. Lead Community Implementation
Estimated duration: 2+ years
The final stage puts the enabling system into practice. Working with the 4-6 Core Communities
we will implement the promising practices and mechanisms identified and developed in Stages
1 and 2.
This stage will happen concurrently with Stage 2. The aim here is to treat this as a true
design process where ideas are being tested by communities in real-time. This allows their
experiences and feedback to be integrated into the Design & Development process.
The process followed in this stage will be identified through Stages 1 and 2. It will likely include
training sessions for community employees and leaders to build their capacity and knowledge in
each of the components. It will also include regular webinars where the Core Communities can
share their experiences with other Indigenous communities. The webinars will help formalize a
community of practice for carrying out energy efficiency initiatives. This community of practice
will support the uptake of the enabling environment tools and insights as other communities
embark on energy efficiency efforts.
Outcomes of Stage 3 include:
a) The implementation of the enabling system in 4-6 Indigenous communities (including
building knowledge, skills, and capacity where needed);
b) The refinement of the enabling system based on community experience; and
c) The creation of a community of practice for fostering the enabling system and scaling
out energy efficiency initiatives.
Bringing It Home Summary | 12
Leadership, Collaboration & Co-Creation
ICE is committed to initiating and coordinating this process of understanding the Indigenous
enabling environment for energy efficiency. Our experiences designing and implementing the
20/20 Catalysts Program and the ICE Network provide us with a strong foundation for
facilitating this process. Additionally, the community of Catalysts, mentors, and members of the
ICE Network provide a strong cohort of leaders prepared to contribute and act on this process.
However, we know no one should do this alone. We’ve designed this process to be open
and collaborative.
There exists tremendous knowledge within Indigenous energy efficiency experts and community
leaders: this insight must be the main driver of the initiative. Acknowledging this leadership, ICE
is approaching this initiative with an openness and desire for shared leadership. While we will
undertake organizing and facilitating the process, we welcome others, particularly Indigenous
leaders and communities, to take ownership of processes or knowledge for which they are well
suited.
Interested parties
and change
adopters
Specific
knowledge
contributors and
collaborators
Core
Collaboration
Team
Change Adopters
Individuals interested in the
process and who will use the
outcomes. Insight session
summaries and process updates
will be shared with them through
the ICE Network. They will also be
able to participate in webinars.
Knowledge Contributors
Individuals with specific
knowledge to share. They will be
invited to sessions related to
their knowledge area and
receive process updates.
Core Collaboration Team
Individuals will be present
throughout the process and will
actively contribute to the
design, outcomes, and
deliverables.
Figure 1. Collaboration opportunities for Core Collaborators, Knowledge Contributors, and Change Adopters.
Bringing It Home Summary | 13
We have identified three levels of interaction to ensure the participation and inclusion of all
interested parties. See Figure 8 above.
5.0 Outcomes & Impacts
This initiative is an opportunity to create significant impacts with Indigenous communities across
Canada. We see the three-to-five-year plan described above as a first step on a generational
change process towards improving the efficiency, durability, and healthiness of Indigenous
homes and facilities.
Bringing It Home will deliver several important outcomes that drive the impacts summarized in
the table below.
Outcome Impact
1. Indigenous enabling environment for energy
efficiency projects has been defined and
communicated in a tool for communities.
A defined pathway for energy
efficiency projects making it easier
for communities to act.
Bringing It Home Summary | 14
2. Governance and management curriculum for
community leaders based on Indigenous best
practices.
Building community capacity to
foster the enabling environment.
3. Development of a community of practice for
Indigenous energy efficiency.
Communities have a support
network they can turn to when
implementing projects.
4. Increased number of Indigenous energy efficiency
mentors.
Recognition and expansion of
Indigenous expertise and leadership.
5. Improved collaboration amongst communities,
governments, finance sector, and other
collaborators.
Better collaboration improves overall
support, making it easier to
implement projects.
6. Established financing mechanisms to access social
finance capital.
Increased access to capital for
Indigenous housing and facilities.
The impacts of this initiative will continue to grow well past its conclusion. ICE is committed to
fostering that growth. ICE is positioned to support on-going efforts that result from this
initiative through its established community, partners, the ICE Network, and its other programs.
This is the same commitment we have shown for the 20/20 Catalysts Program as it has
developed over the past 5 years.
Bringing It Home Summary | 15
Attachment A Energy Efficiency – A Key Determinant of Indigenous Health
Existing Situation Bringing It Home Impacts
Energy-Housing Factors
▪ Very poor indoor air quality
▪ Poor air circulation
▪ Insufficient heat
▪ Inadequate lighting
▪ Increased Particulate Matter 2.5
▪ Soot, mould, and moisture build up
Primary Health Risks &
Disease Incidences
▪ Respiratory illnesses
▪ Asthma
▪ Skin conditions
▪ Tuberculosis
▪ Alzheimers
▪ Cancer
Secondary Health Risks & Disease
Incidences
▪ Mental illness
▪ Depression
▪ Neurological conditions
▪ Systemic poverty
Healthy Housing
▪ Culturally appropriate homes
▪ Local materials and employment
▪ Energy efficient designs and solutions
▪ Major and minor retrofits and repairs
▪ Enabling environment for sustained,
long-term improvements
Primary Health
Impacts & Benefits
▪ Dramatic reduction
in chronic illnesses
▪ Sustainable housing
▪ Poverty alleviation
through energy cost
reduction
▪ Improved conditions
for education
Secondary Community Impacts &
Benefits
▪ Local economic development and
careers
▪ Reduced fuel spills and contamination
▪ Reduced home and facility fire risks
Core Impact Areas