Building Bridges through Science : Increased Geoscience Engagement with Canada ’ s Northern Communities

A decade ago, data uptake by industry was held as the principal indicator of success of the Geological Survey of Canada’s Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals (GEM ) program, an initiative aimed at modernizing geological knowledge of the country’s North to spur economic growth. Upon renewal in 2013, the geoscience program evolved its approach for engaging local communities, putting principles of geoethics into practice. This cultural shift has not only enriched the GSC as a whole; but has set an example for other science endeavours in the North. It has nurtured enhanced dialogue and relationships, fostered more sustainable economic growth, and helped position the GSC as a more welcome partner to Northern communities.


BACKGROUN D
eoethics is d efined in the "Cape Tow n Statem ent on Geoethics" as d ealing "w ith the ethical, social and cu ltu ral im plications of geosciences know led ge, ed u cation, research, p ractice and com m u nication, and w ith the social role and resp onsibility of geoscientists in cond u cting their activities" (Di Capu a et al., 2017).In Canad a, there are good exam ples in w hich geoethics p rincip les are reflected in the geoscience research at the Geological Su rvey of Canad a (GSC), p art of the fed eral governm ent's d ep artm ent of N atu ral Resou rces (N RCan).The GSC is Canad a's old est scientific agency.It w as fou nd ed in 1842 to help d evelop a viable Canad ian m ineral ind u stry.As the cou ntry m atu red , provinces and territories established their ow n geological su rveys to ad vance r esou rce d evelopm ent allow ing the GSC to shift its focu s to ad d ress broad er issu es of national relevance.This shift is explicitly d efined in the Intergovernm ental Geoscience Accord (IGA) w here roles, responsibilities and principles of cooperation am ongst the su rveys w ere first entrenched in 1996 (Du ke, 2010).Und er the IGA, the GSC is w ell positioned to exercise its leadership and convene the cou ntry's geosciences to collaborate on nationally im portant them es.This change also brou ght the GSC in line w ith the fed eral governm ent's expectations that its organizations exercise resu lts-focu sed lead ership by placing increasing em phasis on socioeconom ic contexts at hom e and abroad .Tod ay, the GSC m obilizes science to inform pu blic policy d evelopm ent on issu es associated w ith high social im pact su ch as grou nd w ater, G clim ate change, natu ral d isasters, and m ineral and energy su pply (Bobrow sky et al., 2017).This shift, increasingly relevant in all aspects of the GSC's w ork, is also consistent w ith the grow ing international trend to apply geoethical id eas, principles, and practices to scientific research abou t the earth and its m ineral resou rces and land scapes, as w ell as t o m ining and su stainable d evelop m ent (Gill and Bu llou gh, 2017;N ickless, 2017;N u rm i, 2017).

A GEOSCIEN CES PROGRAM FOR THE CAN AD IAN N ORTH
Canad a is a geologically resou rce-rich nation that covers 9,984,670 km 2 , approxim ately 40% of w hich in is the N orth (i.e., Canad a's three territories and the northern portions of six provinces).This vast expanse has historically represented a d au nting m apping challenge.In fact, before 2008, 60% of Canad a's N orth w as not m ap ped to m od ern geological stand ard s.That's w hen the Governm ent of Canad a initiated the Geo-m ap ping for Energy and Mineral (GEM) program as p art of its N orthern Strategy -a strategy w hich inclu d ed a strong position on ad vancing Canad ian sovereignty in the N orth and the prioritization of N orthern Ind igenou s engagem ent.Lau nched w ith an initial investm ent of $100 m illion over five years (GEM-1: 2008(GEM-1: -2013)), GEM w as then renew ed for seven m ore years throu gh an ad d itional fu nd ing of $100 m illion in 2013 (GEM-2: 2013(GEM-2: -2020)).Ru n by the GSC u nd er the pu rview of N RCan, the program w orks to p rom ote and m od ernize geological know led ge in the N orth to spu r econom ic benefits.In keeping w ith the IGA, this is achieved in collaboration w ith provincial and territorial cou nterparts.The program also w orks w ith national and regional Ind igenou s organizations, territorial governm ents, and the fed eral d ep artm ent of Ind igenou s and N orthern Affairs to help nav igate the d istinct socio-cu ltu ral and econom ic context of Canad a's north .

The local context
Socio-econom ic cond itions are challenging in Canad a's three northern territories, Yu kon, N orthw est Territories (N WT), and N u navu t.The u nem ploym ent rate is higher and the ed ucation level low er than the national norm (The Conference Board of Canad a, 2011).Options for econom ic prosperity in the territories are lim ited and heavily reliant on the natu ral r esou rce sectors, w ith m ining overshad ow ing contribu tions from all other sectors (The Conference Board of Canad a, 2010).The territories are hom e to a sm all p opu lation of ap proxim ately 119,000 people sp read across few er than 100 sm all com m u nities in a rem ote land scape.Geoethics therefore presents an excellent fou nd ation for engaging com m u nities in the N orth w here large portions of the popu lation are Ind igenou s peoples w ho have a d eep connection to the land and a rich cu ltu ral history in the region (Pep poloni and Di Capu a, 2012).In Canad a, principles of m u tu al recognition, respect, and shared responsibility gu id e fed eral engagem ent related to governm ent activities that involve Ind igenou s land s, resou rces and in som e cases su b-su rface rights.These principles are in ad d ition to resp onsibilities set ou t u nd er section 35 of the Constitution A ct, 1982 that recognizes and affirm s the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Ca nad a.To su ccessfu lly establish research pr ogram s in the N orth, it therefore is im perative to u nd erstand and consid er local cu ltu ral practices, com m u nity history, and Canad a's evolving relationship w ith Ind igenou s peoples.

Changing scientific culture through GEM
The GEM p rogram 's prim ary aim w as, and r em ains, m app ing Canad a's N orth.Thou gh this m and ate has not changed , there has been a progressive shift in how GEM is im plem ented .As w ith m any pu blic geoscience p rogram s, GEM w as originally d eveloped to focu s on freely p rovid ing pu blic geoscience (e.g., m aps and synthesis reports) to stim u late ind u stry investm ent (Bernknop f et al., 2007;Du ke, 2010).Fou r years into the program , the governm ent annou nced its Responsible Resou rce Developm ent Initiative w hich w ou ld in part "Prom ote positive and long-term relationships w ith Abo-riginal com m u nities in ord er to im prove reconciliation and facilitate greater p articipation of Aboriginal people in the d irect and in d irect benefits of new resou rce projects".The initiative d em onstrates the fed eral policy shift tow ard s increased Ind igenou s engagem ent.When the tim e cam e to renew the program , m anagem ent d rew from insights gained d u ring the first years of the program , d irection from the evolving policy context, and specifics tools that gu id e fed eral action w ith Ind igenou s peoples (Governm ent of Canad a, 2011).GEM's m anagem ent evolved the original approach to also inclu d e m ore active involvem ent by N ortherners.N ortherner s, inclu d ing Ind igenou s com m u nities, w ere consid ered as an integral p art of achieving GEM's m and ate to su pp ort a strong N orthern econom y.This led to a m ore d ynam ic engagem ent approach w hich evolved into a program firm ly rooted in geoethics (Pep poloni and Di Capu a, 2016).Tod ay, the program is entrenched in a belief that the m ore N orthern com m u nities know abou t geology and the natu ral resou rces arou nd them , the better able they are to m ake d ecisions abou t their fu tu re.GEM now connects N orthern com m u nities w ith critical d ata that inform s their resou rce d evelopm ent and land -u se d ecisions, and it invites them to pa rticipate in the geo-m apping process.This approach is bu ild ing im proved relationship s betw een N ortherners and governm ent agencies.N orthern com m u n ities, ind u stry and governm ents are expected to all benefit from this ap proach.

THE EVOLVIN G APPROACH
Looking forw ard , the GEM program now incorporates geoethical N orthern engagem ent throu ghou t its activities su ch as seeking N ort herners' perspectives, u nd ertaking field w ork, and su pp orting N ortherner's d ecision m aking .

Impact on GEM Leadership
Althou gh the path to achieving resu lts w as focu sed on getting ind u stry to u se the new inform ation, an Ad visory Grou p of N ortherners (AGN ) w as form ed as a bod y throu gh w hich the GSC's senior lead ership and N orthern rep-resentatives cou ld share valu able know led ge and inform ation.Its recom m end ations w ere reported to the Assistant Depu ty Minister of the Earth Science Sector that oversees the Geological Su rvey.Original m em bers w ere prim arily d raw n from long-stand ing partners fam iliar w ith geosciences, su ch as ind u stry, territorial governm ents, and N orthern training organiz ations.Over tim e and w ith gu id ance from the AGN , it becam e clear that focu sing on serving the need s of only one end u ser -the exploration ind u stry -w as not com p atible w ith the sociocu ltu ral and econom ic realities of the N orth.Increased engagem ent w ith N ortherners needed to be p art and p arcel of the renew ed pr ogram 's d esign for su ccess.With the program 's renew al and the evolving geoethical shift tow ard s greater engagem ent of N ortherners, a revived AGN becam e a critical m echanism to seek perspectives on how to m axim ize the program 's benefits to N orther ners.The new grou p brings together a d iv ersity of N orthern stakehold ers, inclu d ing com m u n ity eld ers, you th, acad em ics, local and territorial governm ent representatives, Ind igenou s association m em bers, and ind u stry representatives.Meetings occu r in person annu ally and teleconferences su p port ongoing d iscu ssions betw een m eetings.In person m eetings leverage creative facilitation techniqu es su ch as Open Space Technology that encou rage particip ants' interests d riving the d iscu ssions (Sw anson, 2006), resu lting in m em bers id entifying and lead ing w orking grou ps on topics they are passionately interested in ad vancing.Mem bers' insights focu s on issu es im portant to N ortherners su ch as: bu ild ing cap acity of N orthern com m u nities; ensu ring com m u nications p rod u cts su ch as vid eos, engagem ent letters, and final reports are su itable; facilitating the u se of d ata and know led ge by N ortherners; im proving engagem ent p rotocols, and ad d ressing N ortherners' concerns regard ing the field w ork.There are several exam ples of tim es w hen the AGN provid ed concrete insight that reflected its u niqu e N orthern perspective.Most notably, the AGN ad vised on how to involve N orthern stu d ents in GEM program activities and helped GSC staff by review ing com m u nications plans and prod u cts to ad apt them to N orthern consid erations and realities.

Impact on Science Culture
Throu gh their "boots on the grou nd " activities, GSC geologists have an op portu nity to share their interest in and respect for the land w ith local com m u nities.They act as im p artial inform ation brokers, sharing d ata and know led ge freely and equ ally w ith all interested parties.Com m on practice is to share resu lts openly, ensu ring that com m u nities and ind u stry can access the inform ation at the sam e tim e.To su pport engagem ent opportu nities, tools and gu id elines w ere d eveloped to help GSC team s engage Ind igenou s com m u nities.These inclu d e a strategy, gu id elines, an annu al critical path, and engagem ent plans.The key to m ainstream ing engagem ent consid erations as part of the field w ork planning w as establishing an agreem ent am ongst the GSC field team s on a critical p ath and engagem ent plans.The annu al critical path helps team s plan their engagem ent by setting ou t tim elines for key phases of engagem ent lead ing u p to a pr oposed field cam p aign.The critical path takes into accou nt the tim ing requ ired for logistics planning and perm its ap plications w hile accom m od ating the rhythm of life in the comm u nities.Respectfu l and m eaningfu l engagem ent inclu d es recognizing w hen com m u nity m em bers are m ore likely to be aw ay living on the land and not available to answ er calls, corresp ond , or attend m eetings (see Fig. 1).
The Engagem ent Plans are at the core of planning com m u nity engagem ent and are based on research, analysis, and valid ation as recomm end ed in the u pd ated fed eral gu id elines (Governm ent of Canad a, 2011).The research and analysis phase seeks to cross reference proposed scientifically relevant sam pling sites w ith com m u nity interests and rights.Research helps the team s learn abou t the com m u nities and can reveal the land scape of ov erlap ping settled and u nsettled land claim s, selfgoverning nations, trad itional land u se, organ izational stru ctu re, and history.The analysis phase then com p ares the proposed field w ork w ith the com m u nity-related inform ation to id entify w ho and how to engage in a w ay that respects com m u nity governance.Valid ation w ith N ortherners is critical becau se the available resou rces for research can be ou td ated and personal connection is very im portant to Ind igenou s com m u nities.The team s rely on several approaches to valid ate inform ation, inclu d ing w orking w ith terr itorial governm ent colleagu es, regional Ind ig enou s organizations, and d irectly calling the com m u nity to confirm nam es and positions of key com m u nity lead ers.Engagem ent plans are iterative and evolve throu ghou t the project as team s are expected to be responsive to comm u nity feed back and ad ju st the engagem ent intensity accord ingly.Plans are created at the ou tset of each N orthern research activity.They track progress to ensu re that su itable engagem ent activities are cond u cted d u ring three d istinct period s: Pre-field w ork Pre-field w ork activities inclu d e correspon dence exchanges and com m u nity visits.These aim to introd u ce the p rogram , present p roposed field plans, gather feed back on how best to respect cu ltu rally sensitive sites and d iscu ss hiring opportu nities.Critical lessons learned inclu d e u sing plain langu age to d escribe the proposed science and anticipating qu estions from local com m u nities, su ch as "What is the governm ent d oing here?""Are they going to im pact ou r land , w ild life, or w ay of life?" "Will there be benefits for u s?" Team s m ake u se of tow n hall com m u nity m eetings, social m ed ia platform s, com m u nity rad io presentations, and ou treach tables set u p in local grocery stores, for exam ple.GSC staff sometimes offer training in communities, such as a field school hosted in collaboration with the Canada Nunavut Geosciences Office.The team held half-day w orkshops that were open to the community and provided an overview of basic elements of geological research such as geo-caching, surficial and bedrock geology, GIS, among other topics (see Fig. 2).

Field w ork
The team s w ork w ith com m u nity organ izations d u ring pre-field w ork engagem ent activities to valid ate a hiring p rocess consistent w ith their governance, often throu gh their H u nter and Trap per Organizations.GEM staff hires locals to w ork in and m anage the field cam ps, and hire local helicopter operators, w ild life m on itors, field gu id es, and translators.Throu gh these participation op portu nities, local resid ents becom e m ore aw are of the field w ork and can then share their experience w ith the com m u nity.Researchers also take ad vantage of being in the com m u nity to cond u ct school and com m u nity visits, host open inform ation sessions, w orkshops, and p resentations to provid e an u pd ate on their research activities.For instance, the N askapi N ation and the Fond Minier d u Qu ébec invited a GEM p rogram scientist to spend a d ay w ith stu d ents, p resenting basic concepts of geology w ith d isplays of ore sam ples, and review ing the elem ents u sed in m any consu m er p rod u cts.They also d iscu ssed careers related to N orthern scientific research, m ineral exploration, and the m ining ind u stry.
Betw een and after-field w ork Regular communications and visits provide an opportunity to update the community on revised plans and share preliminary results.At an ou treach event in Colville Lake, NWT, for example, the science crew presented display-quality specimens of local rocks and fossils collected during the field season and donated them, along with several sets of topographic maps, to the local community.Additionally, all GEM projects pu blish an annual report that is shared with relevant communities.Upon request by the community, GEM scientists may even return to an area when the project is complete to present results and help ensure that GEM knowledge can be used by the community.Throu gh early and ongoing engagem ent, GEM's project team s have connected w ith over 60 com m u nities and have visited over 30 of them since the lau nch of the renew ed GEM program in 2013.GEM field w orkrelated engagem ent has increased op portu n ities for open com m u nication, enhanced u nd erstand ing, and tru st -all know n m echanism s for bu ild ing and strengthening relationships am ong stakehold ers (Alm any et al., 2010) (see Fig. 3).Grants w ere originally only provid ed to geoscience acad em ics.As the p rogram evolved it recognized that allocating grant fu nd s d ifferently cou ld be a w ay to provid e N ortherners w ith tangible benefits.A sp ecial stream of program fu nd ing w as therefore d ed icated to su pport the d evelopm ent of ap proaches and tools that facilitate the u se of geoscience d ata and know led ge by N ortherners.N orthern organizations are w ell positioned to id entify the w ays in w hich GEM d ata is m ost relevant to their d ecision-m aking.Fou r calls for proposals w ere issu ed , inviting N orthern institu tions to su bm it ap plications for projects that su p ported their ability to incorporate GEM d ata into their d ecision-m aking p rocesses.The program fu nd ed projects that are led by N orthern institu tions su ch as colleges and Ind igenou s organizations.A total of 16 projects w ere su pp orted throu gh d irect investm ents of nearly $1M.

Culture change at a leadership level
The AGN provid ed an op portu nity for d ialogu e w ith senior lead ership and served as a sou nd ing board on the N orthern perspective.Engaging GEM's m ost senior lead ership d irectly w ith N ortherners had a m u ltiplier effect, as d ecisions trickling d ow n from m anagem ent a ffect the entire program .The AGN 's m ost significant im pact is beyond any specific insight it provid ed on prod u cts p resented to it for r eview .The AGN influ enced the cu ltu re of the program 's lead ership on how to see and u nd erstand the program from a N ortherner's perspective.The evolu tion of the program is a testam ent to that evolu tion in a cu ltu re that starts at the top and can becom e hard w ired throu g hou t the program .

Culture change in field w ork planning
Engagem ent plans have led to significant cu ltu ral changes w ithin the science at the GSC.Engagem ent plan d evelopm ent is a team effort and allow s for open d iscu ssions am ongst scientific team m em bers, engagem ent officers, m anagers, and execu tives.Each team m em ber pr ovid es their inpu t w hile m aking the link w ith Northerners perspectives.Engagem ent officers w ith a backgrou nd in Ind igenou s relations, lead the research and analysis to id entify relevant com m u nities, and ensu re that everyone has the opp ortu nity to contribu te insights from their experience and m ake connections w ith the com m u nities in qu estion.Scientists provid e geoscience targets for field w ork relevant to their hypothesis, and are challenged to explain their ap proach in plain langu age.They also id entify N ortherners' percep tions of the kind of sam pling, cam p set u p, and equ ipm ent u sed (inclu d ing helicopters).They su ggest how com m u nities cou ld be involved , for exam ple inclu d ing serving as the base for the field cam p. Project m anagers u se the plan to help m anage bu d get and field planning im plications and p rep are for regional engagem ent.The accou ntable execu tive ap proves the plan and u ses it to u nd erstand the local com m u nity context.Engagem ent plans ensu re that all team m em bers are on board , u nd erstand the r ationale for engagem ent activities, and can ad apt the p roject's intensity based on com m unity response.Retu rning to com m u n ities has been particu larly noted by N ortherners as a sign of respect and openness.

CON CLUSION S
Prior to GEM, there w as a geoscience gap for m ost of the N orth.In m any areas, the geology w as poorly u nd erstood and there w as insu fficient evid ence to su pp ort investm ent resou rce d ecisions.Since 2008, the program has closed m ore than 40% of this know led ge gap, and continu es this w ork w ith significant inpu t from Northerners d espite the challenging logistics of the N orth.Thou gh there w ere engagem ent opp ortu nities betw een pu blic geoscience and N ortherners d u ring the first phase, these w ere significantly bolstered and consid ered essential d u ring GEM-2.In large p art d u e to the fact that approxim ately half of GSC staff are involved in d elivering the program , Ind igenou s engagem ent before, d u ring, and after field w ork is now m ore p art of the organization's cu ltu re and a key consid eration in program planning exercises.Throu gh the program , science d iplom acy by the GSC has p layed a role in d efining a r enew ed relationship w ith N orthern popu lations.GSC lead ership have su pp orted this objective by taking a d eliberate and ad aptive ap proach of com bining levers like grants and partnership s, ad visory m echanism s, and procu rem ent.The GSC's m and ate to m ap the N orth rem ains the sam e, bu t its m ethod ology has changed .Using a m ore geoethical ap p roach has brou ght a richness to geoscience p rogram s, created better relationship s w ith com m u n ities, fostered econom ic grow th in the N orth, and helped p osition the GSC as a m ore w elcom e science par tner in N orthern com m u nities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMEN TS
A d eep hearted thanks to Lind a Richard for her lead ership role, su p port and encou ragem ent in tu rning this vision into reality.We are gratefu l for everyone that has been part of the GEM Coord ination Office, the GEM science project team s and the GSC execu tive com m ittee, this transform ation cou ld not have hap pened w ithou t you r su p port.Jou rnal review ers provid ed thou ghtfu l com m ents that helped im prove the final version of this paper.

Figure 1 :
Figure 1: A nnual Critical Path for Engagement by Field work teams.

Figure 2 :
Figure 2: GEM field school hosted in Taloyoak, N U.

Figure 3 :
Figure 3: M ap of Communities in N orthern Canada engaged since GEM program renewed in 2013.
Ad d ing a fu nd ing stream , that d irectly su pported N orthern institu tions' u se of GEM d ata and resu lts, p aid d ivid end s.GEM fu nd ing and know led ge su p ported the d evelopm ent of the Qau jisarnik N u nam ik Ed u cation Program (QN EP) at the N u navu t Arctic College's Env ironm ental Technology Program .Stu d ents there create m aps that lin k geoscience, Inu it know led ge, and other relevant d ata together in an engaging and inform ative w ay.This ed u cational program has been offered since 2014, and exp and ed in 2016 to inclu d e professional GIS u sers and an instru ctor training program so that N u navu m m iu t can teach the cou rse throu ghou t the territory (see Figu re 4).In the N orthw est Territories, the Ɂehdzo Got'ı̨nę Gots'ę Nákedı (Sahtú Renewable Resources Board) compiled and integrated existing GSC -published geocience data and Dene/Métis landscape traditional knowledge into the online Sahtú Atlas.Program fu nd ing also su pp orted w orkshops to help schools and com m u nities learn abou t this u ser-friend ly m apping tool.Fu rther w est, the Teslin Tlingit Cou ncil, a selfgoverning First N ation sp anning the Yu kon-British Colu m bia bord er, integrated geoscience d ata as part of its d igital m ap of areas w ith p otential for m ining and energy d evelopm ent.These new know led ge ap plication op portu nities are ju st a few exam ples of the pr ogram 's su pp ort for com m u nities' land -u se and resou rce d evelopm ent d ecision m aking.Comm u nities can u se the tools to reconcile r esou rce-based opp ortu nities in relation to Ind igenou s know led ge and valu es

Figure 4 :
Figure 4: QN EP students from A rctic College working on generating GIS maps.