Island Coastal Economic Trust hired Sa̱nala to help advance its strategic goal to “transform the Trust into a permanent, co-governed, regional development organization for coastal communities.” To support this, Sa̱nala led an engagement process to gather strategic input and direction on transforming the Trust as a model of shared decision-making. After co-developing engagement questions and materials with the Trust, Sa̱nala conducted outreach to 53 First Nations and organized 33 meetings – both virtual and in-person. Sa̱nala was responsible for facilitation, note-taking, and report backs to Nations, as well as compiling and analyzing the data. This work culminated in the writing of a "What We Learned" report for First Nations and a final First Nations Strategic Recommendations Report to inform legislative changes.

Read the First Nations Strategic Recommendations Report here.

Read the media coverage on the project:

• The Tyee: There’s a Path to Prosperity on BC’s Coast. It’s Called ICET

• Coast Reporter: First Nations call for co-governance in coastal economic development

• Ha-Shilth-Sa News: First Nations call for shared decision-making in future of Island Coastal Economic Trust