When Public Safety Canada launched a bold initiative to empower First Nations to establish their own policing services through new funding and legislative frameworks, KES was there to support their critical initiative. The process demanded trust, inclusivity, and resilience. Public Safety needed KES to create an engagement strategy that addressed: • The lack of trust between First Nations and Public Safety – particularly on matters related to policing • The huge diversity of needs and challenges related to policing in different regions across Canada • The anger and frustration caused by the current shortfalls in policing experienced by First Nations from coast to coast to coast • The Zoom fatigue that was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic
At KES, we understood that a project of this magnitude and complexity demanded a meticulously crafted engagement strategy designed to achieve several critical objectives. Our KES team leveraged our expertise, our compassion, and our attention to detail to create an engagement strategy that addressed the challenges by:
KES set clear expectations for the engagement, focusing the conversations on the elements of the legislation that could be influenced through the engagement which fostered transparency and trust.
The strategy included First Nations voices from every province and territory as well as urban, rural, and remote communities, youth voices, and 2SLGBTQI+ perspectives to ensure the solutions we developed could be tailored to work for a diverse range of needs.
KES facilitators did not shy away from or shut down conversations that expressed frustration, anger, or outrage. Instead, we delved into why people felt angry and the types of solutions that could help alleviate frustrations. Overcoming Fatigue: During Covid-19, KES tackled screen fatigue by creating agendas.
During Covid-19, KES tackled screen fatigue by creating agendas that were concise, had many screen breaks, and prioritized seeing participant faces over sharing presentation decks to help foster personal connections.
Our Successes
The KES Factor:
At the heart of KES lies our transformative 7 Gens Methodology, rooted in a steadfast commitment to the Two-Eyed Seeing approach. This philosophy seamlessly weaves together the strengths of Indigenous and Western worldviews, ensuring inclusive and impactful engagement.
For this project, we found a number of opportunities to bring Indigenous and Western worldviews together, including:
This holistic approach allows KES to deliver meaningful outcomes while honoring the complexities of community needs and governance.
