Governance

Do you want to upgrade your management skills? Do you want to build your knowledge in strategic planning, communications, human resource management and other management practices that support high performance? Become more knowledgeable in comprehensive community planning and performance measurement & reporting? Do you want to know how and resolve ethical issues in your organization?

The Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada (AFOA) is dedicated to helping Aboriginals reach the highest standard of excellence in finance and management. AFOA's initiatives in the development of Awards and Scholarships are examples of that commitment. Each year a ceremony is held in conjunction with the AFOA Canada National Conference where the following awards and scholarship are presented.

"AFOA is pleased to introduce the Aboriginal Fellowship Program (AFP). The purpose of the program is to transfer vital financial management knowledge to Aboriginals and ultimately develop needed capacity in Aboriginal Communities."

"The objective of this Report is to support to the Government’s commitment to ensuring that Aboriginal peoples are full partners in the Canadian economy, share fully in economic opportunities and achieve economic success that benefits Aboriginal people and all Canadians. The recommendations set out in the Report have been developed by the Board at a number of meetings held between January, 2008 and January, 2009. The Report
addresses Aboriginal economic development in its broadest sense."

"The Aboriginal Economic Benchmarking Report is the first comprehensive document of its kind to assemble indicators and establish benchmarks to measure the social and economic well-being of First Nations, Inuit and Métis. It focuses on the key indicators and measures that best align with the Federal Framework for Aboriginal Economic Development.The Benchmarking Report project was developed by the NAEDB over a four year period beginning in 2008-09. It synthesizes a substantial body of research and analysis undertaken at the direction of the NAEDB."

"Canadian Aboriginal women share this global experience of discrimination and violations of their fundamental rights, as evidenced by the high levels of violence against Aboriginal women, inadequate housing and income, and the low levels of employment, education, entrepreneurship and overall economic advancement. They rely more heavily on social assistance and are more likely to head up a single parent family than their male counterparts. Aboriginal women face socio- economic challenges unlike those faced by any other woman in the country."

The purpose of this paper is to describe a framework for Aboriginal capacity building in the forest sector which will serve as a guide enabling community and regional level strategic planning. The framework provides conceptual approaches to Aboriginal governance and institutional reform and suggests that governmental programs be aligned so as to effectively utilize/maximize available resources enabling focussed initiatives in human resource development relative to the Aboriginal needs in the forest sector.

"The purpose of this research is to contribute to the identification of appropriate forest tenure and governance designs that are in congruence with Aboriginal values, interests and rights. The research is highly relevant to current societal deliberations on sustainable forest management as well as to the future of the forest sector in Canada."

"A major emphasis of the AICFI program is to support the enhancement of Mi’kmaq and Maliseet Fist Nation (MMFN) commercial fishing enterprises (CFE) governance, management, administrative and operational structures and practices in order to build capacity and enhance long-term sustainability of the CFE."

"This guide provides information on the Atlantic Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative (AICFI) offered by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) including the related policies and procedures. It explains the requirements for participating in the initiative, as well as additional information that may assist eligible Mi'kmaq and Maliseet First Nation communities in the Maritimes and Gaspé Region of Québec and their Aggregate Bodies."