AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ A G-7512 1 Building Bridges through Science: Increased Geoscience Engagement w ith Canada’s N orthern Communities PASCALE GROULX Office of th e Ch ief Scien tist, N atu r al Resou rces Can ad a p ascale.gr ou lx@can ad a.ca DON N A KIRKWOOD Ch ief Scien tist, N atu ral Resou rces Can ad a d on n a.kirkw ood @can ad a.ca DAN IEL LEBEL Geological Su rvey of Can ad a, N atu ral Resou rces Can ad a d an iel.lebel@can ad a.ca Abstract A decade ago, data uptake by industry was held as the principal indicator of success of the Geological Survey of Can a- da’s Geo-mapping for Energy and M inerals (GEM ) program, an initiative aimed at modernizing geological knowledge of the country’s N orth 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 N orth. It has nurtured enhanced dialogue and relationships, fostered more sustainable economic growth, and helped position the GSC as a more welcome partner to N orthern communities. 1. BACKGROUN D eoeth ics is d efin ed in th e “Cap e Tow n Statem en t on Geoeth ics” as d ealin g “w ith th e eth ical, social an d cu ltu ral im p lication s of geoscien ces kn ow led ge, ed u ca- tion , research , p ractice an d com m u n ication , an d w ith th e social role an d resp on sibility of geoscien tists in con d u ctin g th eir activities” (Di Cap u a et al., 2017). In Can ad a, th ere are good exam p les in w h ich geoeth ics p rin cip les are r e- flected in th e geoscien ce research at th e Geo- logical Su rvey of Can ad a (GSC), p art of th e fed eral govern m en t’s d ep artm en t of N atu ral Resou rces (N RCan ). Th e GSC is Can ad a’s old est scien tific agen cy. It w as fou n d ed in 1842 to h elp d evelop a viable Can ad ian m in eral in d u stry. As th e cou n try m a- tu red , p rovin ces an d territories establish ed th eir ow n geological su rveys to ad van ce r e- sou rce d evelop m en t allow in g th e GSC to sh ift its focu s to ad d ress broad er issu es of n ation al relevan ce. Th is sh ift is exp licitly d efin ed in th e In tergovern m en tal Geoscien ce Accord (IGA) w h ere roles, resp on sibilities an d p rin cip les of coop eration am on gst th e su rveys w ere first e n - tren ch ed in 1996 (Du ke, 2010). Un d er th e IGA, th e GSC is w ell p osition ed to exercise its lea d - ersh ip an d con ven e th e cou n try’s geoscien ces to collaborate on n ation ally im p ortan t th em es. Th is ch an ge also brou gh t th e GSC in lin e w ith th e fed eral govern m en t’s exp ectation s th at its organ ization s exercise resu lts-focu sed lead er- sh ip by p lacin g in creasin g em p h asis on socio - econ om ic con texts at h om e an d abroad . Tod ay, th e GSC m obilizes scien ce to in form p u blic p olicy d evelop m en t on issu es associated w ith h igh social im p act su ch as grou n d w ater, G AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ A G-7512 2 clim ate ch an ge, n atu ral d isasters, an d m in eral an d en ergy su p p ly (Bobrow sky et al., 2017). Th is sh ift, in creasin gly relevan t in all asp ects of th e GSC’s w ork, is also con sisten t w ith th e grow in g in tern ation al tren d to ap p ly geo - eth ical id eas, p rin cip les, an d p ractices to scie n - tific research abou t th e earth an d its m in eral resou rces an d lan d scap es, as w ell as t o m in in g an d su stain able d evelop m en t (Gill an d Bu llou gh , 2017; N ickless, 2017; N u rm i, 2017). 2. A GEOSCIEN CES PROGRAM FOR THE CAN AD IAN N ORTH Can ad a is a geologically resou rce-rich n ation th at covers 9,984,670 km 2 , ap p roxim ately 40% of w h ich in is th e N orth (i.e., Can ad a’s th ree territories an d th e n orth ern p ortion s of six p rovin ces). Th is vast exp an se h as h istorically rep resen ted a d au n tin g m ap p in g ch allen ge. In fact, before 2008, 60% of Can ad a’s N orth w as n ot m ap p ed to m od ern geological stan d ard s. Th at’s w h en th e Govern m en t of Can ad a in itia t- ed th e Geo-m ap p in g for En ergy an d Min eral (GEM) p rogram as p art of its N orth ern Strategy - a strategy w h ich in clu d ed a stron g p osition on ad v an cin g Can ad ian sovereign ty in th e N orth an d th e p rioritization of N orth ern In d ig- en ou s en gagem en t. Lau n ch ed w ith an in itial in vestm en t of $100 m illion over five years (GEM -1: 2008-2013), GEM w as th en ren ew ed for seven m ore years th rou gh an ad d ition al fu n d in g of $100 m illion in 2013 (GEM-2: 2013-2020). Ru n by th e GSC u n d er th e p u rv iew of N RCan , th e p rogram w orks to p rom ote an d m od ern ize geological kn ow led ge in th e N orth to sp u r econ om ic be n - efits. In keep in g w ith th e IGA, th is is ach ieved in collaboration w ith p r ovin cial an d territorial cou n terp arts. Th e p rogram also w orks w ith n atio n al an d re- gion al In d igen ou s organ ization s, territorial govern m en ts, an d th e fed eral d ep artm en t of In d igen ou s an d N orth ern Affairs to h elp n av i- gate th e d istin ct socio-cu ltu ral an d econ om ic con text of Can ad a’s n orth . 3. A GEOETHICAL EVOLUTION 3.1 The local context Socio-econ om ic con d ition s are ch allen gin g in Can ad a’s th ree n orth ern territories, Yu kon , N orth w est Territories (N WT), an d N u n avu t. Th e u n em p loym en t rate is h igh er an d th e ed u - cation level low er th an th e n ation al n orm (Th e Con feren ce Board of Can a d a, 2011). Op tion s for econ om ic p rosp erity in th e territories are lim ited an d h eavily relian t on th e n atu ral r e- sou rce sectors, w ith m in in g oversh ad ow in g con tribu tion s from all oth er sectors (Th e Con - feren ce Board of Can ad a, 2010). Th e territories are h om e to a sm all p op u lation of ap p roxim ately 119,000 p eop le sp read across few er th an 100 sm all com m u n it ies in a rem ote lan d scap e. Geoeth ics th erefore p resen ts an ex- cellen t fou n d ation for en gagin g com m u n ities in th e N orth w h ere large p ortion s of th e p op u l a- tion are In d igen ou s p eop les w h o h ave a d eep con n ection to th e lan d an d a rich cu ltu ral h ist o- ry in th e region (Pep p olon i an d Di Cap u a, 2012). In Can ad a, p rin cip les of m u tu al recogn ition , resp ect, an d sh ared resp on sibility gu id e fed eral en gagem en t related to gov ern m en t activities th at in volve In d igen ou s lan d s, resou rces an d in som e cases su b-su rface righ ts. Th ese p rin cip les are in ad d ition to resp on sibilities set ou t u n d er section 35 of th e Constitution A ct, 1982 th at rec- ogn izes an d affirm s th e existin g aborigin al an d treaty righ ts of th e Aborigin al p eop les of Ca n - ad a. To su ccessfu lly establish research p r o- gram s in th e N orth , it th erefore is im p erative to u n d erstan d an d con sid er local cu ltu ral p ractic- es, com m u n ity h istory, an d Can ad a’s evolvin g relation sh ip w ith In d igen ou s p eop les. 3.2 Changing scientific culture through GEM Th e GEM p rogram ’s p rim ary aim w as, an d r e- m ain s, m ap p in g Can ad a’s N orth . Th ou gh th is m an d ate h as n ot ch an ged , th ere h as been a p rogressive sh ift in h ow GEM is im p lem en ted . As w ith m an y p u blic geoscien ce p rogram s, GEM w as origin ally d evelop ed to focu s on freely p rovid in g p u blic geoscien ce (e.g., m ap s an d syn th esis rep orts) to stim u late in d u stry in - vestm en t (Bern kn op f et al., 2007; Du ke, 2010). Fou r years in to th e p rogram , th e govern m en t an n ou n ced its Resp on sible Resou rce Develo p - m en t In itiative w h ich w ou ld in p art “Prom ote p ositive an d lon g -term relation sh ip s w ith Ab o- AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ A G-7512 3 rigin al com m u n ities in ord er to im p rove reco n - ciliation an d facilitate greater p articip ation of Aborigin al p eop le in th e d irect an d in d irect ben efits of n ew resou rce p rojects”. Th e in itia- tive d em on strates th e fed eral p olicy sh ift t o- w ard s in creased In d igen ou s en gagem en t. Wh en th e tim e cam e to ren ew th e p rogram , m an agem en t d rew from in sigh ts gain ed d u rin g th e first years of th e p rogram , d irection from th e evolvin g p olicy con text, an d sp ecifics tools th at gu id e fed eral action w ith In d igen ou s p e o- p les (Govern m en t of Can ad a, 2011). GEM’s m an agem en t evolved th e origin al a p - p roach to also in clu d e m ore active in volvem en t by N orth ern ers. N orth ern er s, in clu d in g In d ig- en ou s com m u n ities, w ere con sid ered as an in - tegral p art of ach ievin g GEM’s m an d ate to su p p ort a stron g N orth ern econ om y. Th is led to a m ore d yn am ic en gagem en t ap p roach w h ich evolved in to a p rogram firm ly rooted in geoeth ics (Pep p olon i an d Di Cap u a, 2016). Tod ay, th e p rogram is en tren ch ed in a belief th at th e m ore N orth ern com m u n ities kn ow abou t geology an d th e n atu ral resou rces arou n d th em , th e better able th ey are to m ake d ecision s abou t th eir fu tu re. GEM n ow co n - n ects N orth ern com m u n ities w ith critical d ata th at in form s th eir resou rce d evelop m en t an d lan d -u se d ecision s, an d it in vites th em to p a r- ticip ate in th e geo-m ap p in g p rocess. Th is ap p roach is bu ild in g im p roved relatio n - sh ip s betw een N orth ern ers an d govern m en t agen cies. N orth ern com m u n ities, in d u stry an d govern m en ts are exp ected to all ben efit from th is ap p roach . 4. THE EVOLVIN G APPROACH Lookin g forw ard , th e GEM p rogram n ow in - corp orates geoeth ical N orth ern en gagem en t th rou gh ou t its activities su ch as seekin g N ort h - ern ers’ p ersp ectives, u n d ertakin g field w ork, an d su p p ortin g N orth ern er’s d ecision m akin g . 4.1 Impact on GEM Leadership Alth ou gh th e p ath to ach iev in g resu lts w as fo- cu sed on gettin g in d u stry to u se th e n ew in - form ation , an Ad visory Grou p of N orth ern ers (AGN ) w as form ed as a b od y th rou gh w h ich th e GSC’s sen ior lead ersh ip an d N orth ern re p - resen tatives cou ld sh are valu able kn ow led ge an d in form ation . Its recom m en d ation s w ere rep orted to th e Assistan t Dep u ty Min ister of th e Earth Scien ce Sector th at oversees th e Ge o- logical Su rvey. O rigin al m em bers w ere p rim a r- ily d raw n from lon g -stan d in g p artn ers fam iliar w ith geoscien ces, su ch as in d u stry, territorial govern m en ts, an d N orth ern train in g organ iz a- tion s. Over tim e an d w ith gu id an ce from th e AGN , it becam e clear th at focu sin g on servin g th e n eed s of on ly on e en d u ser - th e exp lor ation in d u stry - w as n ot com p atible w ith th e socio - cu ltu ral an d econ om ic realities of th e N orth . In creased en gagem en t w ith N orth ern ers n ee d - ed to be p art an d p arcel of th e ren ew ed p r o- gram ’s d esign for su ccess. With th e p rogram ’s ren ew al an d th e evolvin g geoeth ical sh ift tow ard s greater en gagem en t of N orth ern ers, a revived AGN becam e a crit ical m ech an ism to seek p ersp ectives on h ow to m axim ize th e p rogram ’s ben efits to N orth er n - ers. Th e n ew grou p brin gs togeth er a d iv ersity of N orth ern stakeh old ers, in clu d in g com m u n ity eld ers, you th , acad em ics, local an d territorial govern m en t rep resen tatives, In d igen ou s asso- ciation m em bers, an d in d u stry rep resen tatives. Meetin gs occu r in p erson an n u ally an d teleco n - feren ces su p p ort on g oin g d iscu ssion s betw een m eetin gs. In p erson m eetin gs leverage creative facilitation tech n iqu es su ch as Op en Sp ace Tech n ology th at en cou rage p articip an ts’ in te r- ests d rivin g th e d iscu ssion s (Sw an son , 2006), resu ltin g in m em bers id en tifyin g an d lead in g w orkin g grou p s on top ics th ey are p assion ately in terested in ad v an cin g. Mem bers’ in sigh ts focu s on issu es im p ortan t to N orth ern ers su ch as: bu ild in g cap acity of N orth ern com m u n ities; en su rin g com m u n ica- tion s p rod u cts su ch as vid eos, en gagem en t le t- ters, an d fin al rep orts are su itable; facilitatin g th e u se of d ata an d kn ow led ge by N orth ern ers; im p rovin g en gagem en t p rotocols, an d ad d res s- in g N orth ern ers’ con cern s regard in g th e field w ork. Th ere are several exam p les of tim es w h en th e AGN p rovid ed con crete in sigh t th at reflected its u n iqu e N orth ern p ersp ective. Most n otably, th e AGN ad vised on h ow to in volve N orth ern stu d en ts in GEM p rogram activities an d h elp ed GSC staff by review in g com m u n ication s p lan s AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ A G-7512 4 an d p rod u cts to ad ap t th em to N orth ern co n - sid eration s an d realities. 4.2 Impact on Science Culture Th rou gh th eir “boots on th e grou n d ” activities, GSC geologists h ave an op p ortu n ity to sh are th eir in terest in an d resp ect for th e lan d w ith local com m u n ities. Th ey act as im p artial in - form ation brokers, sh arin g d ata an d kn ow led ge freely an d equ ally w ith all in teres t- ed p arties. Com m on p ractice is to sh are resu lts op en ly, en su rin g th at com m u n ities an d in d u s- try can access th e in form ation at th e sam e tim e. To su p p ort en gagem en t op p ortu n ities, tools an d gu id elin es w ere d evelop ed to h elp GSC team s en gage In d igen ou s com m u n ities. Th ese in clu d e a strategy, gu id elin es, an an n u al critical p ath , an d en gagem en t p lan s. Th e key to m ain - stream in g en gagem en t con sid eration s as p art of th e field w ork p lan n in g w as establish in g an agreem en t am on gst th e GSC field team s on a critical p ath an d en gagem en t p lan s. Th e an n u al critical p ath h elp s team s p lan th eir en gagem en t by settin g ou t tim elin es for key p h ases of en gagem en t lead in g u p to a p r o- p osed field cam p aign . Th e critical p ath takes in to accou n t th e tim in g requ ired for logistics p lan n in g an d p erm its ap p lication s w h ile ac- com m od atin g th e rh yth m of life in th e co m - m u n ities. Resp ectfu l an d m ean in gfu l en gag e- m en t in clu d es recogn izin g w h en com m u n ity m em bers are m ore likely to be aw ay livin g on th e lan d an d n ot available to an sw er calls, co r- resp on d , or atten d m eetin gs (see Fig . 1). Th e En gagem en t Plan s are at th e core of p la n - n in g com m u n ity en gagem en t an d are based on research , an alysis, an d valid ation as reco m - m en d ed in th e u p d ated fed eral gu id elin es (Govern m en t of Can ad a, 2011). Th e research an d an alysis p h ase seeks to cross referen ce p rop osed scien tifically relevan t sam p lin g sites w ith com m u n ity in terests an d righ ts. Research h elp s th e team s learn abou t th e com m u n ities an d can reveal th e lan d scap e of ov erlap p in g settled an d u n settled lan d claim s, self- govern in g n ation s, trad ition al lan d u se, organ i- zation al stru ctu re, an d h istory. Th e an alysis p h ase th en com p ares th e p rop osed field w ork w ith th e com m u n ity -related in form ation to id en tify w h o an d h ow to en g age in a w ay th at resp ects com m u n ity govern an ce. Valid ation w ith N orth ern ers is critical becau se th e avail a- ble resou rces for research can be ou td ated an d p erson al con n ection is very im p ortan t to In d ig- en ou s com m u n ities. Th e team s rely on several ap p roach es to vali- d ate in form ation , in clu d in g w orkin g w ith terr i- torial govern m en t colleagu es, region al In d ig e- n ou s organ ization s, an d d irectly callin g th e com m u n ity to con firm n am es an d p osition s of key com m u n ity lead ers. En gagem en t p lan s are iterative an d evolve th r ou gh ou t th e p roject as team s are exp ected to be resp on sive to co m - m u n ity feed back an d ad ju st th e en gagem en t in ten sity accord in gly. Plan s are created at th e ou tset of each N orth ern research activity. Th ey track p rogress to en su re th at su itable en gagem en t activities are con - d u cted d u rin g th ree d istin ct p eriod s: Figure 1: A nnual Critical Path for Engagement by Field work teams. AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ A G-7512 5 Pre-field w ork Pre-field w ork activities in clu d e corresp on d - en ce exch an ges an d com m u n ity visits. Th ese aim to in trod u ce th e p rogram , p resen t p r o- p osed field p lan s, gath er feed back on h ow best to resp ect cu ltu rally sen sitiv e sites an d d iscu ss h irin g op p ortu n ities. Critical lesson s learn ed in clu d e u sin g p lain lan gu age to d escribe th e p rop osed scien ce an d an ticip atin g qu estion s from local com m u n ities, su ch as “Wh at is th e govern m en t d oin g h ere?” “Are th ey g oin g to im p act ou r lan d , w ild life, or w ay of life?” “Will th ere be ben efits for u s?” Team s m ake u se of tow n h all com m u n ity m eetin gs, social m ed ia p latform s, com m u n ity rad io p resen tation s, an d ou treach tables set u p in local grocery stores, for exam p le. GSC staff som etim es offer training in com m u nities, su ch as a field school hosted in collaboration w ith the Canad a N u navu t Geosci- ences Office. The team held half-d ay w orkshop s that w ere open to the com m u nity and provid ed an overview of basic elem ents of geolog ical re- search su ch as geo-caching, su rficial and bed rock geology, GIS, am ong other top ics (see Fig. 2). Field w ork Th e team s w ork w ith com m u n ity organ ization s d u rin g p re-field w ork en gagem en t activities to valid ate a h irin g p rocess con sisten t w ith th eir govern an ce, often th rou gh th eir H u n ter an d Trap p er Organ ization s. GEM staff h ires locals to w ork in an d m an age th e field cam p s, an d h ire local h elicop ter op erators, w ild life m on i- tors, field gu id es, an d tran slators. Th rou gh th ese p articip ation op p ortu n ities, local resi- d en ts becom e m ore aw are of th e field w ork an d can th en sh are th eir exp erien ce w ith th e com m u n ity. Research ers also take ad van tage of bein g in th e com m u n ity to con d u ct sch ool an d com m u n ity visits, h ost op en in form ation se s- sion s, w orksh op s, an d p r esen tation s to p rovid e an u p d ate on th eir research activities. For in - stan ce, th e N askap i N ation an d th e Fon d Min ier d u Qu ébec in vited a GEM p rogram sci- en tist to sp en d a d ay w ith stu d en ts, p resen tin g basic con cep ts of geology w ith d isp lays of ore sam p les, an d review in g th e elem en ts u sed in m an y con su m er p rod u cts. Th ey also d iscu ssed careers related to N orth ern scien tific research , m in eral exp loration , an d th e m in in g in d u stry. Betw een an d a fter-field w ork Regu lar com m u nications and visits p r ovid e an op p ortu n ity to u pd ate the com m u nity on r evised plans and share p relim inary resu lts. At an ou t- reach event in Colville Lake, N WT, for exam p le, the science crew p resented d isp lay -qu ality spec- im ens of local rocks and fossils collected d u ring the field season and d onated them , along w ith several sets of topograp hic m ap s, to the local com m u nity. Ad d itionally, all GEM p rojects pu b- lish an annu al rep ort that is shared w ith relevant com m u nities. Upon requ est by the com m u nity, GEM scientists m ay even retu rn to an area w hen the p roject is com plete to present resu lts and help ensu re that GEM know led ge can be u sed by the com m u nity. Th rou gh early an d on goin g en - gagem en t, GEM’s p roject team s h ave con n ect- ed w ith over 60 com m u n ities an d h ave visited over 30 of th em sin ce th e lau n ch of th e re- n ew ed GEM p rogram in 2013. GEM field w ork - related en gagem en t h as in creased op p ortu n i- ties for op en com m u n ication , en h an ced u n d e r- stan d in g, an d tru st - all kn ow n m ech an ism s for bu ild in g an d stren gth en in g relation sh ip s am on g stakeh old ers (Alm an y et al., 2010) (see Fig. 3). 4.3 Impact on funding tools Figure 2: GEM field school hosted in Taloyoak, N U. AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ A G-7512 6 Gran ts w ere origin ally on ly p rovid ed to ge o- scien ce acad em ics. As th e p rogram evolved it recogn ized th at allocatin g gran t fu n d s d iffe r- en tly cou ld be a w ay to p rovid e N orth ern ers w ith tan gible ben efits. A sp ecial stream of p r o- gram fu n d in g w as th erefore d ed icated to su p - p ort th e d evelop m en t of ap p roach es an d tools th at facilitate th e u se of geoscien ce d ata an d kn ow led ge by N orth ern ers. N orth ern organ iz a- tion s are w ell p osition ed to id en tify th e w ays in w h ich GEM d ata is m ost relevan t to th eir d eci- sion -m akin g. Fou r calls for p rop osals w ere is- su ed , in vitin g N orth ern in st itu tion s to su bm it ap p lication s for p rojects th at su p p orted th eir ability to in corp orate GEM d ata in to th eir d eci- sion -m akin g p rocesses. Th e p rogram fu n d ed p rojects th at are led by N ort h ern in stitu tion s su ch as colleges an d In d igen ou s organ ization s. A total of 16 p rojects w ere su p p orted th rou gh d irect in vestm en ts of n early $1M . 5. RESULTS 5.1 Culture change at a leadership le vel Th e AGN p rovid ed a n op p ortu n ity for d ia- logu e w ith sen ior lead ersh ip an d served as a sou n d in g board on th e N orth ern p ersp ective. En gagin g GEM’s m ost sen ior lead ersh ip d irect- ly w ith N orth ern ers h ad a m u ltip lier effect, as d ecision s tricklin g d ow n from m an agem en t a f- fect th e en tire p rogram . Th e AGN ’s m ost sig- n ifican t im p act is beyon d an y sp ecific in sigh t it p rovid ed on p rod u cts p resen ted to it for r e- view . Th e AGN in flu en ced th e cu ltu re of th e p rogram ’s lead ersh ip on h ow to see an d u n - d erstan d th e p rogram from a N orth ern er’s p e r- sp ective. Th e evolu tion of th e p rogram is a te s- tam en t to th at evolu tion in a cu ltu re th at starts at th e top an d can becom e h ard w ired th rou g h - ou t th e p rogram . Figure 3: M ap of Communities in N orthern Canada engaged since GEM program renewed in 2013. AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ A G-7512 7 5.2 Culture change in field w ork planning En gagem en t p lan s h ave led to sign ifican t cu l- tu ral ch an ges w ith in th e scien ce at th e GSC. En gagem en t p lan d evelop m en t is a team effort an d allow s for op en d iscu ssion s am on gst scie n - tific team m em bers, en gagem en t officers, m a n - agers, an d execu tives. Each team m em ber p r o- vid es th eir in p u t w h ile m akin g th e lin k w ith N orth ern ers p ersp ectives. En gagem en t officers w ith a backgrou n d in In d igen ou s relation s, lead th e research an d an alysis to id en tify rele- van t com m u n ities, an d en su re th at everyon e h as th e op p ortu n ity to con tribu te in sigh ts from th eir exp erien ce an d m ake con n ection s w ith th e com m u n ities in qu estion . Scien tists p rovid e geoscien ce targets for field w ork relevan t to th eir h yp oth esis, an d are ch allen ged to exp lain th eir ap p roach in p lain lan gu age. Th ey also id en tify N orth ern ers’ p ercep tion s of th e kin d of sam p lin g, cam p set u p , an d equ ip m en t u sed (in clu d in g h elicop ters). Th ey su ggest h ow com m u n ities cou ld be in volved , for exam p le in clu d in g servin g as th e base for th e field cam p . Project m an agers u se th e p lan to h elp m an age bu d get an d field p lan n in g im p lication s an d p rep are for region al en gagem en t. Th e a c- cou n table execu tive ap p roves th e p lan an d u s- es it to u n d erstan d th e local com m u n ity co n - text. En gagem en t p lan s en su re th at all team m em bers are on board , u n d erstan d th e r a- tion ale for en gagem en t activities, an d can ad ap t th e p roject’s in ten sity based on com m u - n ity resp on se. Retu rn in g to com m u n ities h as been p articu larly n oted by N orth ern ers as a sign of resp ect an d op en n ess. 5.3 Culture change in funding Ad d in g a fu n d in g stream , th at d irectly su p - p orted N orth ern in stitu t ion s’ u se of GEM d ata an d resu lts, p aid d ivid en d s. GEM fu n d in g an d kn ow led ge su p p orted th e d evelop m en t of th e Qau jisarn ik N u n am ik Ed u cation Program (QN EP) at th e N u n avu t Arctic College’s En v i- ron m en tal Tech n ology Program . Stu d en ts th ere create m ap s th at lin k geoscien ce, In u it kn ow led ge, an d oth er relevan t d ata togeth er in an en gagin g an d in form ativ e w ay. Th is ed u ca- tion al p rogram h as been offered sin ce 2014, an d exp an d ed in 2016 to in clu d e p rofession al GIS u sers an d an in stru ctor train in g p rogram so th at N u n avu m m iu t can teach th e cou rse th rou gh ou t th e territory (see Figu re 4). In th e N orth w est Territories, th e Ɂehdzo Got’ın̨ę Gots’ę̨́ Nákedı (Sahtú Renewable Resources Board) compiled and integrated existing GSC - published geocience data and Dene/Métis landscape tradi- tional knowledge into the online Sahtú Atlas. Pro- gram fu n d in g also su p p orted w orksh op s to h elp sch ools an d com m u n ities learn abou t th is u ser-frien d ly m ap p in g tool. Fu rth er w est, th e Teslin Tlin git Cou n cil, a self- govern in g First N ation sp an n in g th e Yu kon - British Colu m bia bord er, in tegrated geoscien ce d ata as p art of its d igital m ap of areas w ith p o- ten tial for m in in g an d en ergy d evelo p m en t. Th ese n ew kn ow led ge ap p lication op p o rtu n i- ties are ju st a few exam p les of th e p r ogram ’s su p p ort for com m u n ities’ lan d -u se an d re- sou rce d evelop m en t d ecision m akin g. Com - m u n ities can u se th e tools to recon cile r e- sou rce-based op p ortu n ities in relation to In d ig- en ou s kn ow led ge an d valu es 6. CON CLUSION S Prior to GEM, th ere w as a geoscien ce gap for m ost of th e N orth . In m an y areas, th e geology w as p oorly u n d erstood an d th ere w as in su ffi- cien t evid en ce to su p p ort in vestm en t resou rce d ecision s. Sin ce 2008, th e p rogram h as closed m ore th an 40% of th is kn ow led ge gap , an d co n - tin u es th is w ork w ith sign ifican t in p u t from N orth ern ers d esp ite th e ch allen gin g logistics of th e N orth . Figure 4: QN EP students from A rctic College work- ing on generating GIS maps. AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ A G-7512 8 Th ou gh th ere w ere en gagem en t op p ortu n ities betw een p u blic geoscien ce an d N orth ern ers d u rin g th e first p h ase, th ese w ere sign ifican tly bolstered an d con sid ered essen tial d u rin g GEM-2. In large p art d u e to th e fact th at ap - p roxim ately h alf of GSC staff are in volved in d eliverin g th e p rogram , In d igen ou s en gag e- m en t before, d u rin g, an d after field w ork is n ow m ore p art of th e organ ization ’s cu ltu re an d a key con sid eration in p rogram p lan n in g exercises. Th rou gh th e p rogram , scien ce d ip lom acy by th e GSC h as p layed a role in d efin in g a r e- n ew ed relation sh ip w ith N orth ern p op u lation s. GSC lead ersh ip h ave su p p orted th is objective by takin g a d eliberate an d ad ap tive ap p roach of com bin in g levers like gran ts an d p a rtn er- sh ip s, ad visory m ech an ism s, an d p rocu rem en t. Th e GSC’s m an d ate to m ap th e N orth rem ain s th e sam e, bu t its m eth od olog y h as ch an ged . Usin g a m ore geoeth ical ap p roach h as brou gh t a rich n ess to geoscien ce p rogram s, created be t- ter relation sh ip s w ith com m u n ities, fostered econ om ic grow th in th e N orth , an d h elp ed p o- sition th e GSC as a m ore w elcom e scien ce p ar t- n er in N orth ern com m u n ities. ACKN OWLEDGEMEN TS A d eep h earted th an ks to Lin d a Rich ard for h er lead ersh ip role, su p p ort an d en cou ragem en t in tu rn in g th is vision in to reality. We are gratefu l for everyon e th at h as been p art of th e GEM Coord in ation Office, th e GEM scien ce p roject team s an d th e GSC execu tive com m ittee, th is tran sform ation cou ld n ot h ave h ap p en ed w it h - ou t you r su p p ort. Jou rn al review ers p rovid e d th ou gh tfu l com m en ts th at h elp ed im p rove th e fin al version of th is p ap er. REFEREN CES Alm an y G., H am ilton R., William son D., Ev an s R., Jon es G., Mataw ai M., Potu ku T., Rh od es K., Ru ss G., Saw yn ok B. (2010). 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