Appropriate protocols are essential for maintaining trust and ensuring that data is used in a way that benefits the community that owns it. Data sovereignty allows communities to protect sensitive cultural information, maintain control over how their data is interpreted, and ensure that it is used for their benefit, not for exploitation or harm.
If you receive a grant, we will gratefully ask you to report on the impacts that the grant has had on the school community or communities your organization serves. This will help us all understand the effects of our work together, improve our programs, and share stories of impact. The reporting process will include filling out a baseline survey and report at the end of the grant term to help us understand the impacts of these grants and how your funds have been used. These reports will be used to understand the impacts of the program and we will communicate the summary reports with the funder, AAFC. You will not be judged or impacted by the information that you share. We may also use the aggregated data in peer reviewed research and other communications or fundraising work.
Also, we know that people are inspired by stories. We want to be able to share your amazing work, celebrate your efforts and how they have impacted your community, and inspire and encourage others in their own journeys. At the end of your grant term we will ask you to share a story, that may include pictures or videos, about the impacts of the grant on your school community that we would like to post on our website and through social media. You will also be able to share your story out widely within and beyond your community. You will still own the story that you share and can ask us to edit or remove it from our website at any time. Please feel free to reach out at any time if you would like to have a discussion about the use of your data and story.
Our work and how we engage with Indigenous communities is informed by a Circle of Indigenous Advisors (see their bios here). These Advisors represent a plurality of Indigenous Nations across Canada, and they are regularly consulted to help us engage respectfully with Indigenous partners and communities.
