Balance Co-Lab

Description:

The purpose of The Balance Co-Lab: Collaboration for Sustainable Communities is to advance Indigenous self-determination, community capacity and well-being.  It brings community- and university-based partners together to co-create knowledge and resources for developing decision support and impact assessment systems aligned with and informed by Indigenous knowledge and values. It is a SSHRC research-funded Partnership Grant hosted at UVic. Partners include 7 Indigenous Nations/organizations, including New Relationship Trust, and 24 university-based researchers across 5 universities and 13 research units. 

Partners and Collaborators: 

Balance Co-Lab works in partnership with Ha’oom Fisheries Society and Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation on initiatives that strengthen food security, fisheries resilience, and long-term community capacity. One example is the co-creation of the “Bring good fishers for our people: Business Skills Training” for fishers and communities. With SC’IA⁄NEW (Beecher Bay) First Nation, Balance Co-Lab is supporting the Tribal Park Project through community engagement, value framework development, and governance and economic planning. Balance Co-Lab is also working with Ch’íyáqtel First Nation to share the Sustainability Assessment System developed by the lab and explore decision-making approaches for responding to development proposals.

Our other community and organizational partners include Toquaht Nation, T’Sou-ke First Nation, Mahi Maioro Professionals (Aotearoa New Zealand), Fuerza de Mujeres Wayuu (Colombia), New Relationship Trust, and Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board (Aotearoa New Zealand).

For more information about Balance Co-Lab and its current research, contact: 

Catherine Schafers, Program Manager - balancecolab@uvic.ca

Matt Murphy - mattmurphy@uvic.ca

Funding: 

This 7-year project is funded through a SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) Partnership Grant.