NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area, Sahtu Settlement Area, Dehcho Region, North Slave Region, South Slave Region

Tags: social sciences, government, politics, northern community, public servants, community leadership

Objective(s): This project will focus on the question: ôWhat research strategies can the Government of the Northwest Territories undertake, in partnership with community governments and their representative organizations, that would most effectively support the enhancement of local government administratorsÆ leadership competencies and capacities within the Northwest Territories?ö

Project Description: This project will focus on the question: “What research strategies can the Government of the Northwest Territories undertake, in partnership with community governments and their representative organizations, that would most effectively support the enhancement of local government administrators’ leadership competencies and capacities within the Northwest Territories?” Key partners in this are the GNWT (Municipal and Community Affairs - MACA) and the organizations that represent the interests of elected community government leaders (Northwest Territories Association of Communities - NWTAC) and community government administrators (Local Government Administrators of the Northwest Territories - LGANT). Sixteen communities have been selected to be contacted, and all of them will receive a formal letter from a third party other than the researcher, inviting them to consider participating in focus groups (an elected local government leader and/or the local government administrator). A 'shortlist' of two groups of seven to nine interested participants will be formed to take part in the study. The researcher intends to use two inquiry methods for this project: case study methodology, involving document review and interviews, and two focus groups that will be designed using semi-structured open-ended question formats appropriate to the number of respondents. The case study will focus on one community government in the NWT that has historically been successful in recruiting local government administrators from the community who have been effective and who have remained in the position for a significant period of time (longer than two years). Document review will take place to gather data that seeks to demonstrate the leadership capacity of the local government administrator. Subsequently, the researcher proposes to interview community government representatives including the community’s current Senior Administrative Officer (SAO), the current Mayor, one (possibly two) former SAOs and up to two former elected community government leaders. Interview transcripts will be shared with participants for their review and verification. Preliminary findings will be developed from these interviews related to the conditions and practises that have supported the recruitment and retention of local people as administrators and what steps have been taken to enhance their capacity over time. The community government will be provided with a summary of the findings for their information. For the focus groups, or group interviews, the researcher is proposing to hold separate sessions for a group of elected community government leaders as well as for a group of local government administrators in order to test and explore some of the initial findings that arise from the case study, as well as pose questions on the conditions that result in administrators remaining in their position. These focus groups will most likely be held via conference call given the geographic distances in the NWT, although efforts will be made to take advantage of a territorial meeting of elected leaders May21-23, 2009 to see if a face to face focus group could take place then. The purpose of the elected leaders’ focus group will be to discuss the capabilities and competencies they see as being important for an effective local government administrator to have in order to meet the needs of the Council, the community government and the community at large. The local government administrators focus group will seek to focus on the context and positive conditions that would support them in meeting the diverse needs of the elected leaders and community they serve. Their respective sections of focus group transcripts will be shared with participants for their verification. Both NWTAC and LGANT will be provided with summaries of the findings from the respective focus groups for their members. The researcher is seeking the advice, experience and recommendations from a representative cross section of local government elected leaders and administrators. As such, the data collection process will be seeking local involvement through interviews with one community which is proposed as a case study, as well as two focus groups that will seek data from approximately 7 - 9 elected leaders and 7 - 9 administrators, respectively. The researcher will confirm findings from the interviews with current and former leaders/administrators from Fort Providence with the Hamlet of Fort Providence. Further, she will also ensure that participants in the two focus group discussions are provided with the findings from those focus groups. She will also provide the results and recommendations from the overall project with the NWTAC and LGANT for consideration by their membership. Upon completion, the major project will be provided to the NWTAC, LGANT and the Hamlet of Fort Providence. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from May 11 to October 31, 2009, in Fort Providence (case study) and Yellowknife (conference call). The conference calls may involve representatives from 16 communities as follows: Inuvik, Deline, Fort Liard, Whati, Enterprise, Aklavik, Norman Wells, Fort Simpson, Behchoko, Fort Smith, Fort McPherson, Tulita, Gameti, Hay River, Fort Providence and Tuktoyaktuk. Paulatuk may also be included in the list above if this hamlet chooses so.