UAED Background Briefs:
Calgary Urban Aboriginal Initiative - Profile
Condensed from source documents by Julia Schwamborn, Community Development Institute
The Calgary Urban Aboriginal Initiative’s (CUAI) mission is “[to] provide a home for ongoing discussion, coordination, and informed action in support of Calgary urban Aboriginal issues and initiatives” (CUAI website).
The CUAI originated from a community research initiative, which was established in 1999 under the title “Removing Barriers: A Listening Circle”. The idea was to gather members of Calgary’s urban Aboriginal population to compile information about barriers and make recommendations for future initiatives. In 2000, the original research initiative became the CUAI.
The CUAI has a CUAI Committee, which is not a Board of Director nor does it lead the work of CUAI, rather it assists in coordinating activities and provides support and direction for the CUAI project team. If ever need, the Committee is responsible for hiring the Director. The CUAI Committee exists to support and enhance the work of the domain groups and to act as an arena for any cross‐domain initiatives. The CUAI Committee meets on a quarterly basis. Decisions are based on a consensus‐building model or, if required, one vote per member as listed below. Members of the CUAI include (CUAI website):
-
1 ‐ 2 representatives from the Government of Canada;
-
1 ‐ 2 representatives from the Government of Alberta;
-
1 (One) representative from the City of Calgary;
-
1 (One) representative from the Calgary Aboriginal Urban Affairs Committee (CAUAC);
-
1 (One) representative from Treaty Seven Economic Development Corporation;
-
1 (One) representative from the Métis Nation of Alberta;
-
1 (One) representative from each domain group (see below);
-
1 (One) Elder;
-
1 (One) Aboriginal youth representative;
-
2 (Two) members‐at‐large from the Aboriginal community; and,
-
1(One) member from the Chamber of Commerce, Aboriginal Opportunities Committee (AOC)
The foundation of CUAI’s structure are eight community‐based domain groups, which are facilitated in order to respond to emergent needs in the Aboriginal community and move ahead recommendations from “Removing Barriers: A Listening Circle”
The eight CUAI ‘domain groups’ include a broad range of stakeholders, who have an interest in urban Aboriginal development and effect sustainable enhancements for the urban Aboriginal population of Calgary. The eight domain groups are:
-
Services
-
Justice
-
Human Rights
-
Housing
-
Health
-
Employment
-
Education
-
Funders
Most of the Domains meet on a monthly basis, and try to host events on a Quarterly basis for their Domain membership and the community. Each Domain has either Co‐Chair positions or one Chair and one Co‐Chair, with one of those positions being selected to represent the Domain group at the CUAI committee level (CUAI website). Domain quarterly meetings and memberships are free and open the public. All domain members and chairs volunteer their time. It is the goal of each domain to be a networking platform for urban Aboriginal community members and other stakeholders to identify urban Aboriginal issues in need of attention and collect recommendations for improvements. Each domain has outlined goals and priorities (subject to change, as most Domains review these annually):
The Services domain aims to support culturally sensitive service delivery including all aspects of family and community well‐being in a single‐window service delivery approach.
Justice focuses on culturally appropriate law enforcement and crime prevention methods with the goal of reducing the relative number of Aboriginal people in the Justice system.
The Human Rights group educates and informs Aboriginal individuals about their rights and available resources, while collecting feedback and suggestions from the Aboriginal population and partnering with related service providers and stakeholders.
Homelessness, addiction, the inclusion of Aboriginal people in the preparation and execution of housing projects, and Aboriginal representation on housing committees are aspects addressed by the Housing domain group.
Health works on enhancing communication, networking, and service delivery, as well as increasing the awareness of Aboriginal health issues. The domain provides a platform for discussion and information sharing.
The Employment domain group’s goal is to create a non‐discriminatory work environment and increase Aboriginal participation in Calgary’s urban work force. They also gather and share information concerning employment practices and retention. The domain holds learning events to introduce Aboriginal people in Calgary to service providers and organizations such as the Calgary Workers Resource Centre and the Alberta Human Rights Commission. They have, furthermore, hosted the “Methods to Hire and Retain Aboriginal People” forum, where Canada Safeway, the City of Calgary's Born to Be program, and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce were represented. To expand their hiring and employment retention resources and expertise, the group invites employers to take part in an online survey in their section of the CUAI website.
The Employment domain group regularly revises its priorities to adapt to changing needs in the community. The priorities function as guidelines in the collaborative Granting Process as described in the paragraph about the Funders domain below. The current focus of Employment is on:
-
programs and services for Aboriginal people with disabilities,
-
networking, partnerships, and cooperation throughout the community,
-
employment programs for Aboriginal people in the community,
-
understanding and educating about hiring and employment retention issues.
Education aims to create and promote a sense of belonging for Aboriginal individuals in Calgary’s education system. This domain identifies possibilities for system improvements and addresses youth, Aboriginal educational staff, adult education, and mentorship programs.
The function of the Funders domain group is to leverage funding from governments, corporations, and philanthropic organizations through partnerships for projects that are deemed of high community importance. The Domain group also plays a part in the CUAI Collaborative Granting Process (CGP). This process was initiated in 2003, as a result of a partnership that was established in 2002, between CUAI and the Federal Government’s Urban Aboriginal Strategy. “The objective of the CUAI Collaborative Granting Process (CGP) is to prioritize investment in community‐driven projects that build on existing strengths or address high‐priority needs and service gaps in the urban Aboriginal community” (CUAI website).
The intent of the CGP is to receive exposure to a broad base of funding opportunities and to provide a single‐window facility for project proposals which aim at positive changes to the socio‐economic circumstances of Calgary's urban Aboriginal population. “It provides participating funders with community‐reviewed proposals prioritized against the CUAI Community Plan” (CUAI website).
The CUAI CGP is offered once a year (with cycle timelines varying) and is completed with a focus on improvements over time based on feedback from stakeholders for each funding cycle. Each cycle starts with each of the Domain groups (except funding) reviewing the priorities of the prior cycle and ascertaining if the priorities relating to their sector are still of high need. If so, they stay in the “CUAI Plan document”, which outlines the priorities for that cycle, if not, the Domain group discusses and develops one or more priorities for that coming cycle. CUAI staff sends out a Request for Proposal for the cycle. Once all proposals are submitted, the Domain groups provide community recommendations on projects, which CUAI staff collect for feedback to funders. All of the Domain Chairs (except the funders domain) meet together to review all the multi‐domain proposals. Once this process is completed, all of the applications go to the Funders Domain table for their consideration against their funding mandates. The Funders domain also assists successful applicants in finalizing their applications according to the specific funder’s requirements.
“CUAI is not a service delivery agency, a government department, a funding body, or a not‐for‐profit. CUAI is a true collaborative, and its potential is a function of the degree to which it engages community members, stakeholders and government around common goals” (CUAI website).
Contact Information
Address:
Calgary Urban Aboriginal Initiative
Location #8116
P.O. Box 2100, Station M
Calgary, AB T2P 2M5
Fax: (403) 537‐3063
Barbara Milmine, Director
Phone: (403) 268‐3231
Email: bmilmine [at] calgary.ca
Christy Morgan, Senior Community Liaison
Phone (403) 268‐1241
Email: cxmorgan [at] calgary.ca
Monique Kimber, Community Liaison
Phone (403) 268‐3584
Email: monique.kimber [at] calgary.ca
Sources
Calgary Urban Aboriginal Initiative. Accessed April 07, 2010. http://www.cuai.ca/
Calgary Urban Aboriginal Initiative. 2000. Calgary Urban Aboriginal Initiative Consultation Report‐ Removing Barriers: A Listening Circle. 1999‐2000 2nd Edition. Accessed April 07, 2010. http://www.cuai.ca/about/default.asp
Government of Canada. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Urban Aboriginal Strategy. Accessed April 07, 2010. http://www.ainc‐inac.gc.ca/ai/ofi/uas/index‐eng.asp
Kimber, M. 2010. Personal Email Communication. April 13, 2010.