United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

We are recommending that the agency receive a United Nations Public Service Award in the category, "Fostering participation in policy-making decisions through innovative mechanisms.”

The Tlicho Community Services Agency (TCSA), previously know as the Dogrib Community Services Board (DCSB) serves some 3,000 people in a remote area of the Northwest Territories, Canada.

With its headquarters in Behchoko, (previously called Rae-Edzo), 110 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife, the agency has a staff of almost 200 and serves Behchoko and the three outlying communities of Whati, Gameti and Wekweti. These communities are accessible only by air or, for six weeks in winter, by winter road. In a partnership arrangement with the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT), the agency provides education (five schools), health care (four local community health centres) regional Child and Family Services, and a range of other services.

The agency meets most of the stated criteria:

RESPONSIVENESS. Unlike most services that were created by the federal or territorial governments across the north, the Dogrib Community Services Board was initiated by the Dogrib leadership who were responding to the requests of their people. The GNWT, for its part, responded to the requests of the Tlicho leadership by providing staff and financial resources. Responsiveness is maintained through community representation on the Board of Directors and directly through staff, most of whom are local residents.

PARTICIPATION THROUGH A NEW INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISM.
The agency is unique. It created a new service delivery model that combined education, health and family and children’s services within one organizational structure under one community elected board of directors. It is the only example of an agency providing this broad range of services in the Northwest Territories and, to the agency’s knowledge, in Canada. It is ideally suited to rural and remote areas of Canada and perhaps to similar areas in other countries as well.

FACILITATES E-PARTICIPATION. Though residents have direct access to their board members and to staff, it does not provide e-participation, at least not yet. The majority of older Tlicho citizens and adults use Tlicho as their primary language, lack facility in English, and are not computer literate. However, this is quickly changing with the younger generation who use computers in schools. The agency is currently developing a website (www.tlicho.ca).

INTRODUCES A NEW CONCEPT. The new concept is the Tlicho Model of Integrated Service Delivery. It has four dominant characteristics. It integrates a broad range of services and emphasizes team approaches. It promotes a wellness model of service delivery as opposed to a medical model. It continually helps residents assume personal responsibility for their own health and social well-being by assisting them to make healthy lifestyle choices. It is culturally relevant with the majority of staff hired locally and services provided as much as possible in the Tlicho language. It adopts a community development approach. Unlike most traditional northern services that focus upon needs and problems, the community development approach helps residents identify their strengths—on both a personal and organizational level—and build upon them.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
The major achievements are as follows: In 1971 Chief Jimmy Bruneau requested that the Government of the Northwest Territories allow the Dogrib to set up their own school board in Rae-Edzo. The government agreed. Responsibility for education was transferred to the Dogrib and the Rae-Edzo School Society was established. In the following years the other Dogrib Communities saw the success of the society in Rae Edzo and they petitioned the government to allow them to take control of their local schools. The government agreed and, in 1989 the Dogrib Divisional Board of Education was established. In the early 1990s the Dogrib leadership became increasingly concerned about the quality of health and social services provided in their communities. The service didn’t meet the needs of the residents and they were not culturally responsive. Communities had to deal with increasing health and social problems. In 1996 the Dogrib treaty 11 Chiefs requested that the government allow them to take over control of these services and integrate them into the existing school system structure. Once again, the government agreed. In 1997 the GNWT and the Dogrib Treaty 11 Council established a partnership and created the Dogrib Community Services Board. The Dogrib Divisional School Board was expanded to include responsibility for the delivery of Health and Social Services. Board members were the elected representatives of the four Dogrib communities. This was the beginning of a new and unique institutional mechanism--the only one of its kind in the Northwest Territories. In the following years the Board and staff began developing what has become known as the Tlicho Model of Integrated Service. It is based upon: an integrated service delivery approach; a wellness model; refining the services to make them more culturally relevant; and a community development approach based upon identifying individual and community strengths and building upon them. In 1999 the representatives of the Dogrib communities held a series of meetings and create the vision and mission statement for the DCSB. The organization now had a clear direction into the future (see “Background” below). In 2005 the Dogrib succeeded in negotiating their land claim and gain the right to set up their own aboriginal self-government under the Tlicho Agreement. The Dogrib Community Services Board became the Tlicho Community Services Agency. Within the past year the TCSA continues to refine and expand services and develop the Tlicho Model of Integrated services. It also continues to build capacity and develop its own people. At present more than two thirds of the agency’s 200 staff are Tlicho citizens.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
1971: Establishment of the Rae-Edzo School Society 1989: Establishment of the Dogrib Divisional Board of Education. 1996: The Dogrib Treaty 11 Chiefs formally request the takeover of Health and Social Services and permission to integrate these into the existing divisional board of education. 1997: The Dogrib Chief and the GNWT enter into a partnership to establish the Dogrib Community Services Board. 1999: The Dogrib people hold a series of meetings to create the vision and mission statement for the DCSB (see below under “priorities and purposes) 2005: The Tlicho Agreement is signed. The Dogrib Community Services Board becomes the Tlicho Community Services Agency 2005-2006: The TCSA continues to provide and expand services—and continues to develop and refine the Tlicho Model of Integrated services

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
For centuries, the Tlicho had lived a very independent, nomadic lifestyle on their land, in what is now part of Canada’s Northwest Territories. But in the later 1950s, with the crash of the fur market, the Tlicho people could no longer sustain themselves by living their traditional lifestyle. They moved into settlements run, for the most part, by the federal government, the church and the Hudson Bay Company. Like many other aboriginal groups that had a similar experience, the Tlicho found it difficult to adapt to this new way of life. They entered a period of their history that they often refer to as “The Time of Darkness”—a period when there was a sense of helplessness from the loss of independence that they had had for so many centuries. The changing lifestyle, the overcrowded housing, the increased exposure to alcohol and the lack of meaningful employment led to various illnesses and social problems, especially in regard to family life. This was also the time of the residential schools when a whole generation of children were taken from their families and shipped off to schools far from their homes. In many cases their culture was ridiculed, they were forbidden to speak their language, and they were sometimes physically abused. In 1971, seeing what was happening to the children, Chief Jimmy Bruneau petitioned the GNWT to allow the Tlicho to set up their own school system in Rae-Edzo. The government agreed and the Rae Edzo school society was established. It was the first example of a locally controlled aboriginal school authority in the NWT and one of the first in Canada. At the time of the opening of the school in Edzo, Chief Jimmy Bruneau, spoke to the assembly. He expressed the desire that his young people should grow up learning both the Tlicho ways and the whiteman’s ways. Over the next two decades the other Tlicho communities pressured the government for similar schools and, in 1989 the Dogrib Divisional Board of Education was established. In the early 1990s there was increasing concern among the people and the leadership about health and social services provided by the government. They were often not culturally relevant and they did not seem to improve the lives of people in the communities. The leaders decided they wanted to take over these services. But they had a problem. They lacked people with expertise to serve on boards and fill staff positions, especially at the administrative level. Being very practical people, they came up with a practical solution. They decided to merge these new services with something they did know something about--how to run their own schools.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
In 1997 the GNWT and the Dogrib leadership signed an agreement to create the Dogrib Community Services Board. As a result of this agreement the GNWT transferred to the Dogrib the responsibility for managing education services, primary health care, and child and family services. It is important to note the significance of the timing of this development. By 1997 the Dogrib were well into their land claims and self-government negotiations with the federal and territorial government. Both the GNWT as well as the Dogrib saw the creation of the DCSB as a significant step on the road to their aboriginal self-government Over the next decade, besides improving the quality of services, there was a significant growth and development in the number and types of services being provided. These included: the takeover of responsibility for ambulance services and a senior’s home; major interdisciplinary effort to establish an addictions strategy and provide addictions training to 28 staff and community representatives; establishing a Teacher Education Program to train Tlicho teachers, making the education system more culturally relevant; developing a nurse practitioner program in the Rae Health Centre; significantly increasing the number of high school graduates coming out of the school system; and developing a counselling service in Rae—the Tlicho Healing Path Wellness Centre—with a branch office and 2 counsellors in Whati. On August 4, 2005, with the Tlicho Agreement, the Dogrib Community Services Board became the Tlicho Community Services Agency. It became an agency of the Tlicho Government and is now in the position to assume even more responsibility for services. The Partnership between the TCSA and the GNWT for service delivery is guided by the Tlicho Intergovernmental Services Agreement (ISA) between the Tlicho Government, on the one hand, and the GNWT and the Government of Canada on the other hand. It is the only such agreement in the Northwest Territories and distinguishes the relationship the Dogrib have with the GNWT and federal government from other relationships with regional boards. In 1999, the Dogrib held a series of meetings to consult residents about the purpose of the DCSB and it priorities. Out of these discussions came both a vision and a mission statement. Together these statements outline the Dogrib service priorities. The vision was articulated by an elder, Elizabeth Mackenzie, who was reflecting back on the words of Chief Jimmy Bruneau, spoken almost two decades earlier, about the benefits of learning both the Dogrib ways and the Whiteman’s ways. She suggested that the vision of the agency be—STRONG LIKE TWO PEOPLE.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
The combined vision and mission statement was as follows: Strong Like Two People For thousands of years, Dogrib people have lived in harmony with their families, their communities and with the land. Our people took pride in passing on our knowledge, skills, and values to each generation and, in the excellence of this tradition, our survival as a people was assured. In this century we became dependent on the church and the government and, in this loss of control, we find that our families, the community, language and culture are threatened. Our very survival as a people is at stake. Thus… We, the members of the Dogrib Community Services Board, are committed to the development of a continuum of care that will return control of education, health and social programs & services to the people of our communities, support them in the task of strengthening their families, promote the knowledge and skills they need to survive today, and model the values they need to live in harmony with their families, our communities and our land. The DCSB vision and mission statement has been adopted by the TCSA. The strategies were: To gain control over the design and delivery of services To develop a new model of integrated services based upon: a wellness approach, an integrated continuum of care, cultural relevance, and community development-capacity building § To develop and maintain an effective, mutually beneficial partnership with the Tlicho Government and the Government of the Northwest Territories.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
The project has instilled confidence in the agency and the people it serves. It has reduced dependency on other governments, has made services more culturally relevant, and has given the Tlicho people a sense that this is their agency. It has built capacity on a personal and organizational level. It has achieved a decade of sustainability in a difficult and highly volatile environment. It has developed a model that may be duplicated elsewhere.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The Tlicho Agreement is the first self-government agreement between GNWT and an aboriginal government in the NWT. But there could be as many as ten more over the next decade—all of them concerned with taking over services. Because it was the first, and because it has been successful, The Tlicho Model of Service Delivery has become the standard and provides a template that may serve as a model for other partnerships. Recognizing this, the GNWT, in cooperation with the Dogrib treaty 11 Council, commissioned a five-month review of the model in 2004. Conducted by an outside group of consultants, its purpose was to determine how other aboriginal groups might use the model in other regions. The review was overwhelmingly positive. In 2005 the GNWT also produced a video to help promote the model. The TCSA has continued to receive requests for information from governments and aboriginal groups in other parts of Canada. In 2006, competing with 70 other applicants, it received the silver medal Award for Innovative Management from the Institute of Public Administration of Canada.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
1. Always begin similar projects with a thorough assessment of requirements and a plan. When the DCSB was established in 1997 there was no independent assessment of service requirements or costs. The GNWT was dissolving an existing regional health structure and needed an alternative. The Dogrib wanted to take over services as soon as possible. As a result there was no assessment of needs and a project plan was not developed. From the beginning the project was seriously under-funded. It took the GNWT a number of years to rectify this situation. There was no accurate planning of space requirements to bring the headquarters components together in one location. The GNWT originally estimated it would take 18 months to develop the space. It took four years. Without the initial assessment and plan, the agency, often found itself in a crisis mode, having to continually react to problems as they arose. 2. Find the common ground upon which to establish a partnership. This project would not have been possible without a viable partnership between the Tlicho leaders and the GNWT. But the partnership has not always been easy. The GNWT must work with a number of aboriginal groups living in different regions. Each one of these groups is, or will be involved in negotiating self-government agreements with the GNWT. One of the GNWT priorities, faced with a variety of diverse interests, is to develop a consistent and, if possible, a uniform approach to ensure equity and fairness. But the Tlicho, concerned about their culture, have wanted to differentiate themselves from other groups and from the GNWT—and emphasize their distinctiveness and unique identity. Thus it is essential to find the common ground between uniformity and distinctiveness if essential partnerships are to be preserved and flourish. 3. Be willing to make a long-term commitment. Some of the problems the Tlicho experience today and have experienced in the past trace their roots back several generations. It will take time and on-going commitment—often through a trial and error process—to effect change and make the required improvements. There are no quick fixes. 4. Build internal capacity. Over the years the Dogrib have had the experience of hiring service providers from outside their communities—often from southern Canada—only to see these people leave within a year or two, taking their expertise with them. The Tlicho will always require skilled people from the outside—at least for the immediate future. But depending upon outsiders leaves the organization vulnerable. It is essential to take the time and commit the resources to train people. 5. Learn to work with systems. Making the transition from a traditional oral culture into the present written and systems-based culture requires knowledge of modern systems. The Tlicho have learned—often with great difficulty—that they are not taking over services. They are taking over parts of service systems. Their education services are part of the NWT education systems; their health care services are part of the NWT health care system; their administrative systems (personnel, financial, information, policy, etc.) must be consistent with, and linked into, GNWT systems. This requires knowledge of systems and an ability to work with them.


Institution Name:		Tli Cho Community Services Agency
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Jim Martin
Title:		Chief Executive Officer
Telephone/ Fax:		867 392-3000
Institution's / Project's Website:		867 392-3001
E-mail:		jmartin@dogrib.net
Address:		Bag 5
Postal Code:		X0E 0Y0
City:		Behchoko
State/Province:		NT
Country:		Canada

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information