Strategic & Operational Business Planning
Integrated Community Infrastructure Sustainability Planning, 2010
Know: Over the course of a year Aarluk worked with twenty-four Nunavut communities to inventory and evaluate municipal infrastructure, identify needs and priorities, and recommend future infrastructure investments to promote sustainability.
Collaborate: The project was carried out under the direction of the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Community and Government Services and the Nunavut Community Infrastructure Advisory Committee. with funding from the Federal Gas Tax Fund.
Connect: Planning for infrastructure in Nunavut is a complex process — resources are limited, needs are great, and the political and physical environments pose special challenges. Aarluk’s job was to develop a community-specific vision for sustainability, reflecting both certain core principles and the community’s own goals, then determine how best meet the basic, current needs of individuals, families and the community as a whole.
Act: We organized a four-stage, year-long planning and consultation to achieve the project’s ambitious goals. Following initial planning and research design, the team collected and analyzed demographic information, input from community representatives and government officials, and existing community plans. This led to twenty-four community consultations, which included a workshop planning session with community representatives, and a public presentation of results. The final result was a plan for each community, reviewed and approved by each Hamlet Council.
Succeed: The preparation of these initial plans was the critical first step in a longer term, comprehensive planning process. Aarluk’s work has laid the groundwork for fully integrated community development plans that respect each community’s cultural identity, support social needs, consider environmental impacts, promote economic opportunity, and reflect “green” and sustainable principles.