Coalition Against Family Violence
Territorial Expansion Evaluation Report
Submitted to:
Chair, Coalition Against Family Violence
c/o Sharon Thomas
Executive Director
Status of Women Council of the NWT
P.O Box 1320
Yellowknife, NT X1A 2L9
Submitted by:
FINAL
June 2008
Prepared by J. Carey Consulting Evaluations Plus Ltd
Ju ne 2008
Table of Contents
ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................................................................... III
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1
RATIONALE AND DELIVERY APPROACH OF THE COALITION’S TERRITORIAL
EXPANSION................................................................................................................................................. 3
RATIONALE AND O RIGIN........................................................................................................................... 3
D ELIVERY A PPROACH ................................................................................................................................ 4
METHODOLOGY AND DATA LIMITATIONS ..................................................................................... 5
D ATA LIMITATIONS ................................................................................................................................... 5
TERRITORIAL EXPANSION FINDINGS ............................................................................................... 7
IMMEDIATE O UTCOMES ............................................................................................................................. 7
INTERMEDIATE O UTCOMES ..................................................................................................................... 10
FACILITATED D ISCUSSIONS...................................................................................................................... 14
ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................................................. 18
SUCCESSES AND C HALLENGES ................................................................................................................ 18
LESSONS LEARNED................................................................................................................................... 19
STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPING A COALITION TERRITORIAL EXPANSION.......................... 20
CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 21
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................. 22
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Abbreviations
Coalition
Coalition Against Family Violence
GNWT
Government of the Northwest Territories
NWT
Northwest Territories
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Introduction
In Janu ary 2008, the Statu s of Wom en Cou ncil of the N WT w as p rovid ed fu nd ing u nd er
the Ru ral Secretariat’s N etw orking Initiative to find a local solu tion to local challenges
sp ecific to ad d ressing fam ily violence in the N WT. Sp ecifically, the Statu s of Wom en
Cou ncil of the N WT proposed to exp and the m em bership of the N WT Coalition Against
Fam ily Violence (the Coalition) to inclu d e regional p artnership s in ord er to achieve the
following four objectives:
1. inform communities about the work of the Coalition;
2. increase the involvem ent of com m u nities ou tsid e of Yellow knife in the Coalition
activities;
3. raise aw areness of fam ily violence issu es and p rom ote com m u nity based
prevention activities; and
4. allow regional m em bers an op p ortu nity to p rovid e feed back on Coalition
initiatives.
Mem bership w ou ld be increased by bringing local concerns and innovative solu tions to
the territorial d ecision-m aking table. Ultim ately it w as hop ed that strengthened
p artnership s w ith regional m em bers w ou ld lead to ap p rop riate regional initiatives
ou tsid e of Yellow knife that w ou ld m eet com m u nity need s related to ad d ressing fam ily
violence issu es sp ecific to their area; thereby increasing the regional coord ination of
Coalition activities throughout the NWT.
As p art of the Contribu tion Agreem ent w ith Ru ral Secretariat, an evalu ation com p onent
is requ ired as p er the Perform ance Measu rem ent Fram ew ork id entified in Section IV in
the Territorial Expansion Proposal Schedule A. This evaluation component requires that
the Statu s of Wom en Cou ncil of the N WT evalu ate the effectiveness and level of
contribu tion that it had in contribu ting to its com m u nity cap acity bu ild ing efforts
(sp ecifically as it relates to developing and transferring know led ge or inform ation abou t
both the Coalition sp ecifically as w ell as fam ily violence in general). A set of both
qualitative and quantitative data were provided in the Agreement in order for the Status
of Wom en Cou ncil of the N WT to rep ort on the extent to w hich it w as able to achieve its
im m ed iate and interm ed iate ou tcom es, and com p are this achievem ent to the extent of
impact made on its overall objectives.
This rep ort reflects the evalu ation of the Coalition’s Territorial Exp ansion, and is
separated into five other sections:
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Rationale and Delivery Approach;
Methodology and Data Limitations of the Evaluation;
Territorial Expansion Findings;
Analysis;
Strategy for developing a Territorial Expansion; and
Conclusions.
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Rationale and Delivery Approach of the Coalition’s
Territorial Expansion1
Rationale and Origin
At five tim es the national average, the nu m ber of rep orted sp ou sal assau lts in the N WT
is one of the highest in the cou ntry next to N u navu t. Police statistics ind icate that
women in the three northern Territories
experience higher levels of sexual assault and homicide,
are more likely to report spousal violence to the police, but
are less likely to use social services in response to a violent act.
In ord er to ad d ress these statistics, Victim s’ Services Program s, com m u nity cou nselling
resou rces that sp ecially ad d ress the issu e of fam ily violence, and healing resou rces for
p erp etrators of violence ou tsid e of the correctional system are very lim ited in the N WT.
As a resu lt, the Governm ent of the N orthw est Territories (GN WT) is faced w ith
im p ortant challenges in p rovid ing crim inal ju stice and social services to the large,
sparsely populated geographic areas of the NWT.
Centralized governm ent and non-governm ent agencies op erating ou t of Yellow knife
cannot effectively ad d ress fam ily violence w ithou t netw orking and p artnering w ith
com m u nities ou tsid e of Yellow knife. Cu rrently, the Coalition is com p rised largely of
p eop le that live in Yellow knife becau se m ost com m u nities are fly-in and it is exp ensive
to bring p eop le in for m eetings. Given langu age and cu ltu ral d ifferences, it is also
difficult to conduct meetings by conference call. Major decisions are being made around
the prevention of family violence, the design of community responses to family violence,
and treatm ent op tions p articu larly in relation to p erp etrators of abu se w ithou t inp u t
from com m u nities. It is therefore p rop osed that the Territorial Exp ansion of the
Coalition w ill generate regional netw orks that feed into a territorial d ecision m aking
bod y w here regions w ill have m ore inp u t on the d evelop m ent of p rogram s that w ill
directly impact their communities.
This inform ation w as ad apted from the Backgrou nd Section of Sched ule A of the N etw orking
Initiative DRAFT Schedule of Activities and Objectives.
1
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Delivery Approach
The Term s of Reference ind icates that the Statu s of Wom en Cou ncil of the N WT and the
N WT N ative Women’s Association are co-chairs of the Coalition2. The Coalition is a
territorial interagency grou p that brings together non-governm ent and governm ent
agencies to share inform ation and u nd ertake p rojects in keep ing w ith its m and ate to
im p rove p revention of and resp onse to fam ily violence in the N WT. The Coalition
began m eeting in 1999 and has 22 active p artners inclu d ing the GN WT, Royal Canad ian
Mou nted Police, Canad ian H eritage, Statu s of Wom en Canad a, John H ow ard Society,
and other com m u nity or governm ent organizations as w ell as ind ivid u als.
The
Coalition operates solely on the volunteer work of these partners, which include up to 37
members, to develop and deliver projects.
Coalition Projects have been m anaged and ad m inistered by the Statu s of Wom en
Cou ncil of the N WT. As a resu lt the Coalition’s p reviou s p rojects, the N WT Action Plan
on Fam ily Violence w as d evelop ed in 2003 and the GN WT resp ond ed w ith a p lan called
A Framework for Action in 2004. Most recently, the Coalition completed work on a second
p lan ad d ressing fam ily violence entitled A Framework for A ction Phase II. This
d evelop m ent of this Fram ew ork w as u nd ertaken w ith equ al p artnership betw een the
GNWT and the non-government sectors, and has been submitted to GNWT for funding.
Du e to tu rnover in the Execu tive Director position at the N ative Wom en’s Association, it has
been difficult to for their co-Chair position to be filled.
2
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Methodology and Data Limitations
As id entified in the Introd u ction, the Perform ance Measu rem ent Fram ew ork id entified
in Sched u le A of the Territorial Exp ansion Prop osal is w hat gu id ed this evalu ation
effort. The Perform ance Measu rem ent Fram ew ork inclu d es the exp ected ou tcom es,
their associated p erform ance ind icators, and the d ata sou rce from w hich to collect the
ap p rop riate inform ation. The d ata collected as p er the anticip ated ou tcom es and their
associated p erform ance ind icators are inclu d ed in the next section referencing the
Evalu ation Find ings. In ord er to collect the p erform ance inform ation, the follow ing
methodology was undertaken:
Develop ed an evalu ation form , inform ation p ackaged , and p resentation
material for regional information sessions in January 2008 as approved by the
Coalition. This m et the Activity 1 requ irem ent of Sched u le A, Section V of
the Territorial Expansion Proposal.
H ired a contractor as w ell as a local resid ent to p rovid e the p resentations in
five com m u nities: Inu vik, H ay River, Fort Good H op e, Dettah, and Fort
Providence. As w ell, the p resentation w as p rovid ed to the Statu s of Wom en
Cou ncil of the N WT Territorial Board of Directors m eeting. In total, 61
p articip ants attend ed these sessions and 52 evalu ation su rveys w ere
retu rned . This rep resents an 85% resp onse rate. This m et Activity 2
requ irem ents of the Sched u le A, Section V of the Territorial Exp ansion
Proposal.
Gathered inform ation sp ecific to the Coalition and its activities, as w ell as
fam ily violence in general d u ring each of the p resentations (to the extent
possible). As w ell, at least 24 new m em bers w ere recru ited to the Coalition.
This also m et Activity 2 requ irem ents of Sched u le A, Section V of the
Territorial Expansion Proposal.
Created and d issem inated this rep ort for feed back from the Coalition
m em bers in Ju ne 2008. This m et Activity 3 requ irem ents of the Sched u le A,
Section V of the Territorial Expansion Proposal.
Data Limitations
There are three m ajor lim itations to the d ata collected for this evalu ation effort,
including insufficient time to conduct presentations, and second party data collection.
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Late funding
Funding for the Territorial Expansion Project was not received until February 2008. This
left only two months (up to March 31, 2008) to conduct the activities as anticipated in the
Project p rop osal. For exam p le, it w as p roblem atic to cond u ct som e of the community
p resentations as originally anticip ated d u e to conflicting sched u les d u ring the Febru aryMarch tim efram e. As a resu lt, three d ifferent com m u nities (Fort Good H op e, Dettah,
and Fort Provid ence) rep laced those com m u nities (Fort Sm ith, Fort Sim p son, and
Deline) w ho d id not have a local resid ent to help facilitate or w ere challenged by
conflicting schedules.
Insufficient time to conduct presentations
For tw o of the five com m u nities the contractor attend ed , there w as insufficient tim e to
cond u ct the fu ll p resentation and therefore, the d iscu ssion qu estions w ere either
p artially or not at all cond u cted . Accord ingly, the resu lts cou ld not be rep orted p er
com m u nity, and instead are rep orted as p er the total nu m ber of resp ond ents w ho
provided information during the presentations.
Second party data collection
The intent of the Territorial Exp ansion p rop osal w as su ch that one facilitator w ou ld
cond u ct all p resentations for consistency p u rp oses. H ow ever, d u e to u nforeseen
m ed ical circu m stances, the original facilitator w as only able to cond u ct one com m u nity
presentation and tw o other facilitators w ere hired to cond u ct the rem aining five.
Althou gh the sam e set of d iscu ssion qu estions w as p rovid ed to each of the three
facilitators, their interp retation of how to p resent those resu lts w as d ifferent. Therefore,
the analysis p rovid ed herein is com p leted to the extent that the inform ation p rovid ed to
the evaluator is assumed to be complete and valid.
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Territorial Expansion Findings
As noted above, the Perform ance Measu rem ent Strategy in the Territorial Exp ansion
Proposal as w ell as the facilitated d iscu ssions set the d irection for d ata collection and
analysis related to this evalu ation effort. In ord er to be able to id entify how the
Coalition can ad d ress its fou r objectives and cond u ct a Territorial Exp ansion, the d ata in
the Perform ance Measurem ent Strategy as w ell as the facilitated d iscu ssions need ed to
first be collected and analysed . This analysis is p resented in this section and is
organized by the im m ed iate ou tcom es, interm ed iate ou tcom es, and facilitated
discussions. Rep orting is focu ssed on each p erform ance ind icator associated to each
immediate and interm ed iate ou tcom e and each qu estion associated w ith the facilitated
discussions.
Immediate Outcomes
Outcome:
Enhanced cap acity to increase aw areness of fam ily violence issu es and
the Coalition, and increase u nd erstand ing of regional need s regard ing
family violence and the Coalition’s role
Indicator
Result
Extent to which regions engage with the
information provided
N=47
The majority of respondents (74%) agreed that
they felt engaged with the information
provided.
Extent to which regions express satisfaction
with the information and sessions and provide
constructive feedback in the evaluations
Information provided (N=48) – the majority of
respondents (90%) were either very satisfied or
satisfied with the information provided in the
discussion sessions.
Sessions overall (N=46) – the majority of
respondents (87%) were either very satisfied or
satisfied with the discussion sessions overall.
Constructive feedback was provided in the
evaluations in so far as 85% of participants
completed an evaluation form and facilitated
discussions were undertaken across five
communities outside of Yellowknife as well as
at the Status of Women Council of the NWT
Territorial Board Meeting.
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Outcome:
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Enhanced und erstand ing of w hat regions need and w ant regard ing family
violence issues, and enhanced regional u nd erstand ing of fam ily violence and the
Coalition’s role
Indicator
Result
Number of regions that participated in the
development/hosting of the sessions
N=5 – South Slave; Beaufort Delta; Sahtu; and
Dehcho; North Slave. This represented all NWT
regions.
Number of sessions and participants at each of the
regional sessions, and the extent to which the
participants play a community capacity building
role
N=6 sessions; N=61 participants
The following number of participants attended each
of the six sessions as follows:
1.
Inuvik – there were 10 participants. However,
because this presentation was conducted during
a regular Interagency Meeting, time constraints
prevented the discussions from taking place in
full.
2.
Dettah – there were 14 participants. However,
because the presentation was added into a twoday Trauma Workshop, time constraints
prevented the discussions from taking place in
full.
3.
Fort Good Hope – 11 participants
4.
Status of Women Council of the NWT
Territorial Board of Director workshop – 5
participants
5.
Hay River – there were 14 participants
6.
Fort Providence – there were 5 participants
All summary session reports identify that, where
time permitted, each participant played a
community capacity building role by engaging in
the discussions
Extent to which the regions gained a better
understanding of family violence issues and the
Coalition’s role
Better understanding of family violence (N=50) –
the majority of respondents (88%)agreed that they
gained a better understanding of family violence as
a result of the information session
Better understanding of family violence issues in
the NWT (N=51) – the majority of respondents (92%)
agreed that they gained a better understanding of
family violence issues in the NWT as a result of the
information session
Coalition’s role (N=51) – the majority of
respondents (84%) agreed that they gained a better
understanding of the Coalition’s role as a result of
the information session
Extent to which the Coalition gained a better
understanding of the region’s needs wants and
assets
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Follow up with the Coalition identified that they learned a
lot about the region’s needs and wants, especially as it
related to needing to change presentations to meet the
specific needs of each community and find other
additional, meaningful means to promote the work of the
Coalition outside of Yellowknife.
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Outcome:
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Strengthened regional p artnership s and increased m em bership from the
regions
Indicator
Number of regional participants joining the
Coalition or expressing an interest to join the
Coalition
Result
N=24 – there were 24 applications submitted as
expression of interest to join the Coalition.
These applications were submitted as follows:
Fort Providence = 4
Fort Good Hope = 6
Inuvik = 2
Hay River = 12
Number, type, and depth of regional
partnerships developed
Outcome:
Partnerships were not formalized at the time of
writing this report. Rather, the Coalition
members agreed to move forward with
addressing the findings of this report to
implement an appropriate strategy to expand
the Coalition’s partnership/membership base.
Strengthened direction for regional membership and networking
Indicator
Result
Extent to which the regional strategy report for
the Coalition serves to strengthen direction for
regional membership and networking
When follow up with the Coalition was
undertaken specific to the draft of this report,
the members identified that the report
provided a good starting point for how to
move forward in its expansion beyond
Yellowknife. However, concern was raised as
to how to implement that expansion
considering the limited resources that existed;
identifying that once a precedent was
developed to include more members, then the
commitment would need to continue in order
to successfully build capacity at the community
level.
Extent to which the report and evaluation
results, to include the regional strategy for the
Coalition are disseminated to the appropriate
community and government stakeholders
When follow up with the Coalition was
undertaken specific to the draft of this report,
the members identified that the report should
be available to anyone who asks for it.
Specifically, a letter of invite for people to
attain copies should be distributed and copies
of the report should be provided directly to
those who helped with the consultation as well
as, MLAs, Band Chiefs, municipal
governments, and community leaders. A
suggestion was also made to post the report
electronically on a website.
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Intermediate Outcomes
Outcome:
Enhanced know led ge in the five regions abou t the w ork of the N WT
Coalition Against Family Violence
Indicator
Extent to which the regions gained a better
understanding of the work of the NWT
Coalition Against Family Violence
Outcome:
Result
N=52
The majority of respondents (83%) agreed that
they gained a better understanding of the work
of the Coalition as a result of the presentation
Increased active p articip ation from regions in Coalition m eetings and
events
Indicator
Number of sessions and participants at each of the
regional sessions, and the extent to which the
participants play a community capacity building
role
Result
N=6 sessions; N=61 participants
The following number of participants attended each
of the six sessions as follows:
1.
Inuvik – there were 10 participants. However,
this session could not conduct formal
consultation due to time limitation.
2.
Dettah – there were 14 participants. However,
time constraints prevented the discussions from
taking place in full.
3.
Fort Good Hope – 11 participants
4.
Status of Women Council of the NWT
Territorial Board of Director workshop – 5
participants
5.
Hay River – there were 14 participants
6.
Fort Providence – there were 5 participants
All summary session reports identify that, where
time permitted, each participant played a
community capacity building role by engaging in
the discussions
Extent to which regional participants indicate their
intention to participate in future Coalition meetings
and events
Participate in future Coalition meetings (N=52) –
the majority of respondents (81%) felt that they
would either very likely or most likely would
participate in future Coalition meetings
Participate in future Coalition events (N=51) – the
majority of respondents (80%) felt that they would
either very likely or most likely would participate in
future Coalition events
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Outcome:
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Increased aw areness of fam ily violence issu es and know led ge of
community based prevention activities
Indicator
Extent to which the regional participants
gained a better understanding of family
violence issues and knowledge of community
based prevention activities
Result
Better understanding of family violence
(N=50) – the majority of respondents
(88%)agreed that they gained a better
understanding of family violence as a result of
the information session
Better understanding of family violence
issues in the NWT (N=51) – the majority of
respondents (92%) agreed that they gained a
better understanding of family violence issues
in the NWT as a result of the information
session
Better understanding of family violence
prevention activities that are happening in
my community (N=35) – the majority of
respondents (71%) agreed that they gained a
better understanding of family violence
prevention activities that are happening in
their community as a result of the information
session
Better understanding of family violence
prevention activities that are happening in
my region (N=52) – the majority of
respondents (62%) agreed that they gained a
better understanding of family violence
prevention activities that are happening in
their region as a result of the information
session
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Outcome:
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Increased engagem ent of com m u nities ou tsid e of Yellow knife in the
d evelop m ent of a regional strategy arou nd fam ily violence issu es and
community based prevention activities
Indicator
Extent to which regional participants in direct
community capacity building activities are
applying their knowledge and skills to
contribute to the regional strategy around
family violence issues and community based
prevention activities
Result
When asked whether they agreed or disagreed
with whether they could apply their recently
gained skills and knowledge through the
workshop, the following responses were
elicited:
Increasing awareness about family violence
within your community (N=51) – the majority
of respondents (88%) agreed that they would
be able to do so
Increasing awareness about the NWT
Coalition in your community (N=50) – the
majority of respondents (86%) agreed that they
would be able to do so as a result of the
Territorial Expansion
Strengthening regional partnerships to
prevent family violence (N=51) – the majority
of respondents (78%) agreed that they would
be able to do so as a result of the Territorial
Expansion.
To determine whether the respondents are in
fact applying their knowledge and skills would
require further consultation beyond the scope
of the Project proposal.
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Outcome:
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Increased regional m em bership , w ith active p articip ation, w hich exp and s
the territorial network of the Coalition Against Family Violence
Indicator
Result
Extent to which the Coalition is representative
of the territorial community
When follow up with the Coalition was
undertaken specific to the draft of this report,
the members identified that further
consultation would need to be undertaken with
those who expressed interest to become an
additional member of the Coalition in order to
determine how best to implement the strategy
for expansion. It was felt that this consultation
could take multiple forms: teleconference, faceto-face meeting, surveys, etc. Resources would
need to be identified in advance, and
suggestions to look at the priorities in the
Family Violence Action Plan as well other
community events for supports were provided.
In the interim however, it was agreed that
letters welcoming those who expressed interest
to join the Coalition would be mailed out.
Number of regional participants joining the
Coalition or expressing an interest to join the
Coalition
N=24 – there were at least 24 applications
submitted as expression of interest to join the
Coalition
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Facilitated Discussions
Question 1
If you were to define family violence, what would your response be?
The d efinition of fam ily violence p rovid ed in the Framework for A ction Phase II d ocu m ent
is
Fam ily violence is an abu se of pow er w ithin relationships of family, tru st, or
d epend ency. Fam ily violence inclu d es m any d ifferent form s of abu se, m istreatm ent, or
neglect that ad ults or child ren m ay experience in their intimate, kinship, or d epend ent
relationships.3
When the participants defined family violence through this question, the responses were
reflective of this d efinition. In ad d ition, there w as a key em p hasis p laced on Eld er
abuse, with many participants feeling as though this should be accurately defined in any
definition of family violence (i.e. and not just specific reference to adults or children).
In d efining fam ily violence, the p articip ants also id entified variou s root cau ses of fam ily
violence. These included:
School yard bullying;
Lack of communication;
Loneliness;
Pain;
Darkness, fear, and abandonment;
Child apprehension;
Drug abuse/drinking;
Forcing kids to do things that they don’t like to do; and
Cycle of family violence.
Question 2
Know ing the definition, and keeping our discussions of how w e have
collectively defined family violence in mind, w hat w ould you say if I
told you that family violence is five times the N ational average AN D
that reported assaults in the NWT is one of the highest in the country?
The participants of the facilitated discussions had different opinions about this question.
For som e particip ants, they w ere not su rp rised by the d ata and in som e cases felt that
there m ight even be u nd er-rep orting d u e to the secrecy behind fam ily violence and the
tendency that only the seriou s offenses are being rep orted . For these stakehold ers, it
w as u nd erstood that m u ch m ore need ed to be d one to ad d ress fam ily violence, to
include a com m itm ent from lead ership /Government, w atching over child ren m ore
3
Framework for Action Phase II, p. 5.
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closely, and p lacing m ore efforts into p revention cam p aigns related to alcohol, d ru gs,
and suicide.
Other p articip ants how ever felt that statistics, esp ecially in the area of fam ily violence,
shou ld not alw ays be believed , and low ering them shou ld not be the sole focu s of
ad d ressing fam ily violence. For these p articip ants, the m ain issu e related to the fact that
the nu m bers are likely to be highly u nd errep resented and rep resentative of only the
larger regional centres.
Question 3
Are you aware of any prevention activities specific to family violence
that are happening (or have happened) in your community and/or
region?
For the m ost p art, p articip ants w ere not aw are of activities sp ecifically geared tow ard
fam ily violence p revention that w ere taking p lace (or took p lace) in their com m u nity
and /or region. Rather, these p articip ants knew of p rogram s that m ight ad d ress fam ily
violence issu es (i.e. Wellness Program s, Fam ily Life Program s, Safe H ou ses for Wom en
and child ren), and instead knew m ore abou t w ho to contact to sp eak abou t or get
information related to family violence issues, such as
Victims Services;
Social Services;
Seniors Programs;
Status of Women Council of the NWT;
Native Women’s Association;
RCMP;
Churches; and
Counsellors.
Som e concerns w ere also ad d ressed by these p articip ants in that the professionals are
often hard to talk to in a sm all com m u nity w here everyone know s everyone. For these
p articip ants, there is the p ercep tion that the p rofessionals are alread y too bu sy and w ill
not conduct confidentiality with the individual’s concerns.
Only one of the 6 grou p s consu lted cou ld id entify activities sp ecific to fam ily violence.
These included,
Take back the Night events;
Family Violence Awareness Week;
National Addictions Awareness Week;
DARE Program;
White Ribbon Campaign;
Family Nights;
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Question 4
Ju ne 2008
Before the presentation; were you aware of the NWT Coalition Against
Family Violence and/or the activities it undertakes?
Tw o of the six grou p s consu lted cou ld not answ er this qu estion d u e to lack of tim e to
ad d ress it in the facilitated d iscu ssion. For the rem aining grou p s consu lted , p eop le
heard abou t the Coalition, and for the m ost p art, w ere not aw are of any of the activities
that it undertook.
Question 5:
As part of the Family Violence Action Plan, the Coalition wants to
expand its membership outside of Yellowknife to include regional
and/or community-based partners. Would you see a benefit to
expanding the Coalition’s membership? It is hoped that this expansion
would allow the Coalition to be better informed when bringing local
concerns and innovative solutions to the territorial-decision making
table.
All p articip ants that had tim e to answ er this qu estion agreed that the Coalition shou ld
exp and its m em bership . For these p articip ants it w as felt that the m ore p eop le knew
abou t the Coalition, the better. It w as anticip ated that the exp ansion w as a very p ositive
p lan to bring m ore resou rces to the com m u nity level w here inform ation is not often
readily accessible or available.
Question 6
What would be the best way for the Coalition to expand its
membership at a territorial level?
There w ere several them es that arose in the facilitated d iscu ssions p ertaining to how
best the Coalition could expand its membership at the Territorial level. These included:
Develop a Coalition com m u nications cam p aign w ith the intent to increase its
ad vertising and p rom otion. Activities cou ld include p am p hlets, p osters,
rad io ad vertisem ents, p resentations/booths at Aboriginal Assem blies, school
visits, etc.
Visit com m u nities m ore often to inform them of the Coalition and
su bsequ ently recru it a territorial-w id e m em bership w ith those w ho are
interested to be p art of the w ork. Also visit schools and m ake hom e visits
during consultation.
Increase Chief and Cou ncil involvem ent in the Coalition activities and /or
inclu d e them as p art of the m em bership .
Also inclu d e you th on the
Coalition.
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Mass mail the Coalition kit.
Question 7
How could the Coalition best interact with its expanded membership?
There w ere several them es that arose in the facilitated d iscu ssions p ertaining to how
best the Coalition could expand its membership at the Territorial level. These included:
Face-to-face m eeting once p er year, then m eetings via teleconference or
webcam other times as needed/scheduled
N ew sletter that id entifies the roles and resp onsibilities of the Coalition
members as well as the different activities undertaken
Translating materials into all of the official languages of the NWT
Question 8
What would entice you to join the Coalition?
Where tim e p erm itted for this qu estion to be answ ered , the follow ing enticers w ere
provided:
Better p rom otion of the benefits of joining the Coalition so that ind ivid u als
see it as a w orthw hile end eavou r (i.e. that it is abou t w orking together to
break the cycle of abu se; m aking progress in bu llying p rogram s; ed u cation
and aw areness of fam ily violence; op p ortu nity p rovid ed to brid ge the gap s;
etc).
Form ing com m u nity-based coalitions and have one p erson rep ort to
Yellowknife
Send out invitations to join, acknowledging the benefits as identified above
H ost m ore w orkshop s geared tow ard s the pu rp ose of the Coalition, its
activities, and benefits of becoming a member
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Analysis
As p art of the evalu ation requ irem ents of the Perform ance Measu rem ent Fram ew ork in
Sched u le A of the Territorial Exp ansion Prop osal, an analysis of the d ata in the Find ings
section should also determine:
Where there were significant deviances from the original plan and why;
What effect this has had on the success of the Territorial Expansion; and
What lessons have been learned?
This inform ation is rep orted by d escribing the overall su ccesses and challenges
presented by the Territorial Expansion Findings as well as the lessons learned. Based on
this information, a strategy is identified in the next section of this report for developing a
Coalition Territorial Expansion.
Successes and Challenges
The Territorial Exp ansion Project w as su ccessfu l in p rovid ing six d ifferent p resentations
across five com m u nities ou tsid e of Yellow knife as w ell as one d irected to the Statu s of
Wom en Cou ncil of the N WT Territorial Board Meeting. Particip ation w as greatest in
both Inu vik and Dettah, w ith 14 p articip ants attend ing each. H ow ever, in both these
sessions there w as not enou gh tim e allotted to sp eak to all (or any) of the facilitated
discussion questions presented.
Based on the 61 p articip ants w ho d id attend the facilitated d iscu ssions, the evalu ation
survey results confirmed that the majority of participants
were engaged in the discussions;
were satisfied with the information presented as well as the discussions overall;
better u nd erstood fam ily violence in general, fam ily violence issu es of the N WT
specifically, as well as what the Coalition was and the activities it undertook;
better understood what family violence prevention activities were taking place in
their community and/or region;
agreed to participate in future Coalition meetings and events; and
w ere better equ ip p ed to strengthen regional p artnership s to p revent fam ily
violence.
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Another su ccess of the facilitated d iscu ssions is the fact that at least 24 p articip ants
submitted membership forms to become part of the Coalition’s Territorial Expansion.
Where the Territorial Exp ansion Project d id not w ork so w ell is in targeting their
anticip ated com m u nities. The challenge in d oing so related to the need to alter the
d elivery of the w orkshop s to accom m od ate those com m u nities w ho cou ld no longer
ad here to the Project sched u le and w here the original facilitator w as no longer able to
cond u ct all of the p resentations as p lanned . Recognizing these challenges, the Statu s of
Wom en Cou ncil of the N WT qu ickly ensu red that five com m u nities ou tsid e of
Yellowknife were still consulted.
The Project w as also not su ccessfu l in its exp ansion sp ecific to form alizing m em bership s
ou tsid e of Yellow knife based on the 24 m em bership form s that w ere su bm itted . This
has m u ch to d o w ith the fact that the m em bership s cou ld not be form alized u ntil su ch a
tim e that the Coalition agreed to a Strategy for exp ansion at the Territorial level. Based
on follow u p that w as u nd ertaken w ith the Coalition based on a d raft version of this
rep ort, it w as id entified that fu rther consu ltation w ou ld need to be u nd ertaken w ith
those that exp ressed interest to join in ord er to d eterm ine logistics of exp and ing the
Coalition and w hat resou rces w ere available to d o so. In the interim how ever, it w as
agreed that letters w ou ld be sent to w elcom e those m em bers w ho exp ressed interest to
join the Coalition.
Lessons Learned
There w as one learned by going throu gh this Territorial Exp ansion p rocess. These
included:
When a p rop osal is fu nd ed later than anticip ated , ensu re that the tim ing w ou ld still
allow the p rop osal to be im p lem ented as anticip ated w ith the resou rces available.
Otherw ise, activities end u p being im p lem ented in a qu icker p ace than anticip ated ,
resu lting in instances w here som e activities cou ld not be com p leted , and the Project
not show ing as m u ch su ccess as it cou ld have if m ore tim e w as d ed icated to the
Project. Id eally, a Septem ber – March tim efram e w ou ld allow su fficient tim e to
complete project activities.
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Strategy for Developing a Coalition Territorial Expansion
Exp and ing the Coalition to inclu d e territory-w id e m em bership w ill be critical for the
Coalition to d evelop innovative solu tions to ad d ress fam ily violence at the com m u nity
level, and across the N WT. The strategy that shou ld be u nd ertaken for this exp ansion
inclu d es one of increased p rom otion of the benefits of joining the Coalition; increased
netw orking at the com m u nity level; and p roactive m echanism s u nd ertaken to
communicate with the expanded membership.
Sp ecifically, it is recom m end ed that the Coalition shou ld consid er d evelop ing Regional
Coalition Chapters where the Chair of each Regional Chapter sits on, and reports back to
the Yellow knife-based Coalition (the N WT Coalition) as the Strategy for exp and ing its
m em bership . Mem bership for each Regional Chap ter shou ld be collated from the
m em bership form s collected d u ring the facilitated d iscu ssions to d eterm ine how m u ch
of an interest exists in each Region to p articip ate on the Coalition (as a start), and collect
more as necessary.
The step s that shou ld be u nd ertaken to im p lem ent this Territorial Exp ansion Strategy
include:
Undertake face-to-face consultation with the regional membership to determine roles
and resp onsibilities of the Chap ter and its m em bers. Also assign a Regional Chap ter
Chair that would sit on and report back to the NWT Coalition.
In collaboration w ith the Regional Chap ter Chairs and the N WT Coalition m em bers,
d evelop a Term s of Reference for the Territorial Exp ansion. This Term s of Reference
shou ld in the least, d efine roles and resp onsibilities, term s of the p ositions, m eeting
schedule and structure, and a clear communications path.
Sched u le at least one face-to-face m eeting p er year w ith the exp and ed Territorial
Coalition (to inclu d e Yellow knife-based m em bers and the Regional Chap ter Chairs)
to review activities to d ate, d iscu ss su ccesses and challenges, and p resent id eas for
the follow ing year. Interim m eetings shou ld be p rovid ed in the m ost cost-effective
w ay, be it throu gh teleconference, w ebcam , or otherw ise. All m eetings shou ld be
scheduled in advance to the extent possible.
Develop a communications plan of the Coalition and its planned activities. This plan
shou ld in the least id entify d ifferent m echanism s to p rom ote the Coalition and its
activities throu ghou t the N WT as w ell as the logistics of d oing so (i.e. relying on the
Regional Chapter Chairs of the Coalition).
Implement a monitoring and evaluation mechanism of the Coalition’s expansion and
the activities of the Coalition so as to ensu re that it is p rogressing the w ay it
intend ed , and can m ake any ad ju stm ents as necessary. The exp ertise of an evalu ator
shou ld be consu lted for this p u rp ose and shou ld be cond u cted p rior to exp and ing
the Coalition.
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Conclusions
Resu lts from this evalu ation effort confirm that it is an ap p rop riate tim e to consider
exp and ing the m em bership of the Coalition at a territorial level. Sp ecifically, the
Strategy for exp ansion em p hasizes the d evelop m ent of Regional Coalition Chap ters that
w ou ld consist of local regional Coalition m em bers and one Chair that w ou ld sit on the
N WT Coalition. Althou gh this strategy w as agreed in p rincip le, it w as id entified that
further consultation needs to be undertaken with those that expressed interest to join the
Coalition to best d eterm ine how im p lem entation of the strategy w ou ld occu r and w hat
resources could be available to do so.
In ord er to not loose the m om entum that has been bu ilt to d ate, it is recom m end ed that
this consu ltation be u nd ertaken before Sep tem ber 2008 in a consistent and econom ical
m anner. Assigning a key contact p erson to ad d ress the exp ansion of the Coalition w ill
help with maintaining a consistent and economical manner.
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References
GNWT. (2006). Framework for Action Phase II. Yellowknife, NT: Author.
Status of Women Council of the NWT. (2008). Schedule A Networking Initiative Draft
Schedule of Activities and Objectives. Ottawa, ON: Rural Secretariat.
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