The People | The Land | Laws and Jurisdiction | Institutions | Resources

Sufficient and appropriate Resources are essential for institutions and communities to achieve and sustain their vision. When institutions fall short of what they set out to do, trust is lost and their legitimacy called into question. Institutions are most effective when they are suitably resourced for the activities they are mandated to conduct.

Five Principles That Relate to Resources

• Human Resource Capacity
• Financial Management Capacity
• Performance Evaluation
• Accountability and Reporting
• Diversity of Revenue Sources

All living things require resources to achieve results. First Nations can only achieve effective governance with the right human and financial capacity in place. “Right” in this case means not only sufficient resources but resources that are culturally appropriate. “Resources” in this context refers to resources that communities hold in addition to the Land: information, systems, persons, tools and diverse sources of revenue including the generation of their own sources of income.

Human Resource Capacity speaks to the skills and abilities of the people that govern our communities and implement our community programs and services. With the right to govern comes the responsibility to govern well. The expansion of our human resource capacity, including the professional development of the next generation of leaders and managers, is a necessary investment to see that our Nations possess the knowledge, skills and abilities to govern effectively.

Financial Management Capacity ensures that our good work is not derailed by an inability to plan for, monitor, and account for financial resources. Financial capacity permits long-term, multi-year planning and proactive decision making. Effective financial management permits communities to plan beyond the arbitrary end of a fiscal year or a federal funding cycle and instead to plan for generations.

Performance Evaluation allows for the recognition of achievement, while also shedding light on what adjustments should be implemented when expectations are not being met. Parallel to the significance of evaluating performance, is the need to report results back to the community.

Accountability and Reporting Through rigorous and transparent systems of Accountability and Reporting we close the accountability loop by providing citizens and partners with the information they need to participate in informed decision-making.

Expanding the Diversity of Revenue Sources is critical to financial management. Historically, First Nations have depended on Canada to provide core funding for programs and services working within the narrow scope of the Indian Act and similar limited legislation. Not surprisingly, there are scarce tools and models for working beyond the Indian Act and its jurisdiction. First Nations must reduce the dependency on any one funding source, and work toward generating their own revenues.