Speaker Series 016: Walking in Two Worlds: Forging a New Path for Indigenous Non-Profit Leadership

NUICC’s Speaker Series 16 featured a panel discussion and learning circle exploring topics of how Indigenous non-profits can navigate, redefine, or rebuild systems of good governance standards, accreditation, and evaluation to strengthen our work. And how this can be done while also upholding our communities' values and increasing capacity rather than draining it. Non-profit leaders, researchers, and professional evaluators discussed current realities for urban Indigenous organizations, and forging systems that strengthen, rather than squeeze, Indigenous organizations. Guest Speakers: Andrea L.K. Johnston is from the Neyaashiinigmiing First Nation. Andrea is the CEO of Johnston Research Inc. and Committee Chair of the Indigenous Evaluation Network. Since 2001, Johnston Research Inc. has been working with communities to provide Indigenous evaluation services, training, and guidance, to nurture organizations and programs as they grow. In 2016, Andrea launched the first-in-the-world training curriculum in Indigenous evaluation practice, titled “Honouring Reconciliation in Evaluation.” Andrea seeks to deconstruct the language and assumptions behind evaluation to support the unfolding of a reconciliation process that changes the ways evaluations are operationalized. Dr. Robert P. Shepherd is a Carleton University Professor and Graduate Supervisor of the Diploma in Public Policy & Program Evaluation. Robert's research spans public management and governmental reform, Indigenous public management, ethics, and policy and program evaluation. He is interested in how public accountability and oversight systems intersects to improve overall public management and governance systems. Robert is the senior evaluator and researcher on the 7-year SSHRC Partnership Grant, Indigenous Youth Futures Initiative. About the National Urban Indigenous Coalition Council (NUICC) Speaker Series NUICC welcomes researchers from across Turtle Island to our monthly Community of Practice, our Urban Indigenous Knowledge Mobilisation Hub monthly meetup. Over these months, the Hub’s Community of Practice is hosting Speaker Series sessions—talks and workshops with guest speakers from coast to coast to coast. NUICC’s Urban Indigenous Knowledge Mobilisation Hub (“Knowledge Hub”)​ is a network of urban Indigenous coalitions, policymakers, and allied researchers at universities across Canada. Founded in 2021, the Knowledge Hub has since been operated in cooperation with the Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg and Metro Vancouver Aboriginal Executives Council. The Knowledge Hub produces knowledge exchange events, an annual conference, the “Stories Have Always Been Our Governance” journal, toolkits, and policy briefs to promote knowledge sharing and policy change to improve the lives of urban Indigenous people. Through the Knowledge Hub's community and academic alliance infrastructure, the work is grounded in the goal of achieving relevant, applicable outcomes for urban Indigenous communities. #urbanindigenous #coalitions #indigenousknowledge #indigenousgovernance #indigenouseducation #knowledgemobilisation #speakerseries #evaluation #indigenousevaluation #indigenousnonprofits