{"id":12462,"date":"2024-07-25T21:35:37","date_gmt":"2024-07-25T21:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/localcontexts.org\/reflecting-on-sustainability-my-first-six-months-as-local-contexts-executive-director\/"},"modified":"2024-07-25T21:35:37","modified_gmt":"2024-07-25T21:35:37","slug":"reflecting-on-sustainability-my-first-six-months-as-local-contexts-executive-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/localcontexts.org\/mi\/reflecting-on-sustainability-my-first-six-months-as-local-contexts-executive-director\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflecting on Sustainability: My First Six Months as Local Contexts Executive Director"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Caption: Photo of Dr. Stephany RunningHawk Johnson at the Creative Commons Workshop held in Lisbon in May 2024<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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AUTHOR<\/sub><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Photo<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Dr. Stephany RunningHawk Johnson<\/a>
Founding Executive Director, Local Contexts<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s July, and I\u2019ve now been leading Local Contexts for about six months. What an incredible half year! With this milestone, it feels like a good opportunity to both reflect back on the first half of 2024 as well as look at what\u2019s coming up between now and the new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been thinking, talking, and planning around the theme of sustainability \u2014 how do we make Local Contexts sustainable for the multi-generational work needed to achieve our mission of Indigenous data sovereignty? What does sustainability mean in different ways and in different areas? We are focusing in on four aspects: Governance, Adoption, Team, and Funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governance<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Our <\/strong>governance<\/a> is based on strong engagement with and by Indigenous communities who participate in and lead our Council as Members of Local Contexts. In the past six months we have amended our bylaws<\/a> to ensure that our Notices and Labels will always be used in the service of Local Contexts\u2019 charitable purposes. In addition we have adopted accounting and fiscal policies to ensure our financial resources are managed responsibly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the next six months, we have the goal of recruiting three new Councilors. We are hoping to find members of Indigenous communities who can guide our practices and protocols, and\/or those who can provide advice on growing our organization. If you are interested in participating in our governance, please email us at info@localcontexts.org<\/a>. We are launching our Members program<\/a> in August and are working toward welcoming eight Indigenous communities as Members by the end of 2024 and many more in 2025 and the years beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adoption<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The adoption aspect of sustainability is one that we have been heavily concentrating on over the last six months. This includes training for Local Contexts Hub users, continuous improvement of Hub capability including new mapping functionality, support for the use of Notices and Labels, organizing network and working groups, and launching the Early Adopter Service Provider Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have made huge strides toward this goal since January:<\/p>\n\n\n\n