Grant: Operating Grant: Knowledge to Action

The First Nations Emissions Mapping Project (FN EMP) was developed as a collaborative effort between researchers from CAREX Canada, members of the First Nations Environmental Health Innovation Network (FNEHIN) and representatives of the Assembly of First Nations Environmental Stewardship Unit. The FN EMP is an information base consisting of a broad range of Google Earth files, developed by team members from existing datasets on measured levels of contaminants in outdoor air, water, sediments and soils, as well as reported and estimated emissions of contaminants across Canada. The overall objective of this proposal is to understand how to create meaningful and sustained use of the FN EMP within First Nations organizations, not only in the technical aspects of using the FN EMP, but more importantly, for prioritizing environmental health issues, developing relevant environmental health research questions, and identifying data gaps that require future research or local data collection. We will collaboratively plan and design knowledge to action activities with the guidance of a Knowledge to Action (KTA) advisory committee and in-person workshops with FNEHIN members. Rigorous KTA evaluation will be implemented throughout the project. The FN EMP has the potential to enhance First Nations organizations' participation in provincial and federal environmental impact assessments, and thereby provide more control over local environmental quality. Our KTA activities will identify barriers in the use of spatial data and technologies with the FN EMP, as well as to fulfilling increased capacity goals, and propose solutions which will be beneficial to other KTA researchers. The process of collaboratively defining goals and metrics and assessing how established KTA activities contribute to reaching these goals provides an important contribution to evaluating the effectiveness of the KTA mechanisms.