Happy to be Part of the Team Driving Manitoba’ s Vision of Net-Zero Emission

By Ijeoma Okwor, 1st year MDP student 

My name is Ijeoma Okwor. I am a 1^st year student of Master’s in Development Practice: Indigenous Development (MDP). I am from the Igbo ethnic group of Nigeria. 

This is my first placement, and I am grateful for the opportunity to experience it with the Climate Action and Energy Innovation Office, Government of Manitoba, where I work with the Stakeholders Relations and Reporting unit. I am currently providing support to three projects – the ‘Merit’ project under the Federal Low Carbon Economy Fund; Mobilizing Municipalities Project under which we mobilize Manitoba Municipalities to achieve Climate and Green Plan Goals; and the Adaptation project under which we support and facilitate communities’ preparedness in the event of climate change such as heat wave, drought, flooding etc. Under the Merit project, I provide support with contractual process for new grantees while for other projects, my role is mainly around research and strategy development for effective implementation of the projects. I have also developed a community of practice framework which we hope to explore in engaging municipalities to ensure more coordinated engagements.

This placement is an opportunity to learn new things, test some of the learnings from my ‘Environmental and Sustainability’ course, and experience what it feels like to work with a provincial government. I have been able to settle in smoothly, enjoyed huge support from the team during my onboarding process and leveraged the friendship of two wonderful colleagues from the University of Manitoba.

Placement is a unique addition to the MDP program, an opportunity to learn about the Manitoba/Canadian work culture, test the knowledge we’ve gathered so far from our courses and see how our learnings provide solutions to the development challenges in the communities. It has been such a fulfilling journey for me, and I am grateful for the opportunity. Thank you @Tamara and @Jennifer for all the efforts put into making this happen. My gratitude also goes to my manager-@Alexandra for making me feel at home here.

Policy and Progress

 By Mackenzie Roop, 2nd year MDP student

Time goes so slowly during the summer, and yet in a blink of an eye it’s gone. I’ve learned so much in this office over the last three months. Working in the Government of Manitoba in the Agriculture and Resource Development (ARD) policy branch has been an especially eye opening in these times of managing responses to extreme weather events and changes in climate, as we have seen with unprecedented forest fires and drought. It’s been incredible to see the efforts behind developing policy and subsequent program funding.

My projects have mostly revolved around preparing policy option papers to inform ARD’s Next Policy Framework. The papers I have helped prepare surround topics such as Diversity and Inclusion, Producer Mental Health, and Reviewing the Application Process for Indigenous Groups accessing program funding for agricultural and food projects. I learned to be adaptive and adjust the paper’s language and expectations. Throughout this placement, I have built skills in interviewing, qualitative analysis, research, and technical writing. It has been a huge learning curve in terms of adjusting my writing style, learning acronyms, and understanding contextual goals and perspectives. Despite many being online, there is a human element to working in an office. I am grateful to the many conversations, walks, and coffees that I have shared with my colleagues. This experience has given me an in depth understanding of government and political processes, and increased my general knowledge of resource related projects in Manitoba. Working in government and especially policy is a unique position to affect change. I am excited that my research will help inform policy recommendations.

Putting learning into practice

By Mackenzie Roop, 2nd year MDP student

This summer I have the opportunity to work as a policy assistant within the Policy Branch of Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development. Working in government and especially policy is a unique position to affect change, I’m excited that my research will help inform policy recommendations.

My research

Presently, there is significant underrepresentation of Indigenous partners in the Agricultural sector. One reason for this could be the barriers Indigenous applicants might face in finding or completing a relevant funding application. To address this, my main research seeks to understand how to better align the department’s funding application process with the needs of Indigenous applicants. To learn more about different experiences and provisions, I am conducting interviews with our department’s application reviewers along with those from other jurisdictions, such as the federal government and provinces from BC to New Brunswick. In addition to interviews, I am launching an EngageMB survey inviting Indigenous applicants to share their experiences and recommendations with the application process.

One of my side projects includes advancing the department’s respectful engagement financial policy, hoping to make it a common and accessible practice to provide traditional gifts and honorariums. I am also preparing background research and drafting policy papers on topics like farmer’s mental health and diversifying production and market opportunities for newcomers.

Back to the Office

I am grateful for the opportunity to have a flexible working environment where I can come into the office or work from home. Most people in the department work from home, so I enjoy an almost empty office space while being fully vaccinated for COVID-19. After over a year of online work and schooling, this is truly a refreshing arrangement.