Introduction
to CCP
Are you looking for general information about Comprehensive Community Planning (CCP) or considering getting started? In this section, you’ll find key elements to broaden your understanding of the concept and its origins, and be invited to explore the main stages that make up a CCP journey.
defining comprehensive community planning
A Comprehensive Community Plan (CCP) is a plan with a vision for the next 20 years or more. This long-term vision makes it possible to embody and achieve the goals that really matter to the community: self-determination, self-sufficiency, healing, language revitalization, and so on.
To create the plan, we embark on a comprehensive community planning journey. Although each journey and plan is unique, they do have certain things in common.
Comprehensive
Planning explores the past, present and future. It covers all aspects of a First Nation’s development, including :
- Culture, language, and history
- Economy
- Education
- Governance
- Infrastructure and housing
- Health and wellness
- Safety and climate change adaptation
- Society
- Land and energy
Community
All community members or Nation citizens are involved in planning activities, regardless of their :
- Age
- Family
- Social status
- Place of residence
Planning
A set of activities aimed at creating a plan. The plan includes :
- A collective vision
- Long-term orientations and objectives
- A strategy to implement the plan
For more information on these key concepts, we invite you to check out the CCP Handbook – Comprehensive Community Planning for First Nations in British Columbia Fourth Edition and the Honouring our Ways Guide.
WHERE DOES CCP come from?
The Peoples of Turtle Island have been planning since time immemorial to ensure that individuals, families, clans, communities, Nations and territories are well and can live in peace, balance, and harmony.
Many examples of Indigenous planning exist, as each People develops their own ways of doing and being, rooted in their territory and relationships.
a few examples of age-old
Indigenous planning practice :
Kanien'kehá:ka Nation - the unification of the Six Haudenosaunee Nations by Kaianere'kó:wa (the Great Law of Peace); the territorial and agricultural organization based on each person’s role; the three levels of governance
Innu Nation - the nomadic life cycle; the management of rivers for salmon fishing; family hunting and trapping grounds
Atikamekw Nation - the management of family lots; the organization of traditional activities according to the six-season cycle
Planning practices have evolved over time to adapt to the ever-changing realities of land and society.
From age-old planning
to comprehensive community planning
In the early 2000s, an approach used in urban planning made its way to Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island. Comprehensive Community Planning is based on a set of practices through which a group collaborates to develop a long-term vision for the occupation and use of a geographical area. With CCP, Indigenous Peoples saw an opportunity to reintegrate their ancestral knowledge, to plan their future inclusively and holistically.
In 2004, a pilot project was launched with five First Nations in British Columbia: Okanagan, Lytton, Squiala, We Wai Kai, and Yekooche. The project was supported by the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). These initial, successful experiences made it possible to develop a CCP approach specific to First Nations in the region. This approach included a mentoring program, the creation of a community of practice, and the development of resources such as the CCP Handbook – Comprehensive Community Planning for First Nations in British Columbia Fourth Edition and the Honouring our Ways Guide.
Meanwhile, the Mi’gmaq/Mi’gmak and Wolastoqey Nations in the Atlantic region also engaged in a CCP pilot project. Led by the Cities & Environment Unit at Dalhousie University, the project developed a land-use and urban-planning methodology based on a different approach, aiming to meet the needs of First Nations communities by ensuring development adapted to their realities and cultures.
In Our Region
In Quebec, Akwesasne, Listuguj, and Waskaganish were pioneers who began their CCP journeys between 2012 and 2016. Also in 2016, the FNQLSDI received federal funding to support CCP efforts in the region. Abitibi8inni and Kebaowek First Nations were the first to participate in the regional pilot project, closely followed by Kahnawà:ke, Listuguj, and Uashat mak Mani-utenam. The movement grew quickly, so much so that today, over twenty First Nations are involved in CCP or considering starting their journey.
Our regional expertise has developed over time and is recognized across Turtle Island. To support each other and share our knowledge, we rely on the First Nations Planning Circle, which is constantly growing.
To learn more about the Circle, please visit this page or get in touch with us :
How Do Different Plans
Relate To Each Other?
To achieve its objectives, a community needs several interconnected plans. Each of these plans has a different purpose and set of characteristics.
The Comprehensive Community Plan feeds into all other plans, ensuring the community’s vision and goals guide all actions.
Goal
Guides the development of all areas of a community or First Nation: social aspects, culture and language, economy, education, governance, infrastructure, housing, health and wellness, territory, etc. Generally covers ancestral lands.
Relationship with other plans
Provides orientation to all other community plans, by clarifying the vision, values, and long-term priorities.
Scope
20 years or more
Main components
Collective vision, long-term directions, and objectives.
Participants
All members or citizens, including those living outside of the community.
Goal
Guides the development of a specific department or organization.
Relationship with other plans
Used to implement CCP priorities.
Scope
3 to 5 years
Main components
Goals, actions, responsibilities, and specific timeframes.
Participants
Members of the organization or department, with limited community consultation.
Goal
Guides the occupation and use of reserve and/or ancestral lands.
Relationship with other plans
Used to facilitate or implement CCP priorities related to land, infrastructure, and housing.
Scope
Main components
Zoning, activities, and conditions.
Participants
Members of the Lands, Infrastructure and Housing teams, with community consultation.
Every year, community organizations and administrations also create sectoral and operational plans, which provide details of how activities will be performed. These annual plans, based on the CCP and strategic plans, ensure that the community’s short-term goals are achieved.
The plans complement each other. together, they blaze a path to a First nation's vision
Relationships between plans
CCP: a cyclical
approach
Comprehensive community planning (CCP) is a cyclical approach consisting of four main stages. On average, a community repeats this cycle every 7 to 10 years. The cycle is not linear: stages often overlap; planning activities may be interrupted; or the community may take a step back to validate certain elements.
- Click on a quadrant to explore each planning stage
In practice, detours are often necessary to complete a full planning cycle
- Click to zoom.
Why complete
a CCP ?
What spark ignites the CCP fire in a community? Why choose this collective approach? Each community has its own reasons, but some sparks are more often mentioned than others.
We create a CCP to …
- Improve relations between the community, the administration, and the Council.
- Create spaces to heal together.
- Understand community challenges and issues together.
- Develop new projects and partnerships.
- Facilitate access to funding.
- Align the community's vision with the Council’s vision.
- Identify community priorities and improve services.
- Involve all members or citizens in the community vision.
- Make decisions rooted in our values and vision.
- Work from our strengths and local expertise.
To discover stories shared by communities involved in CCP, visit the SPARKING CHANGE section.
Key elements to
keep in mind
In short, CCP is…
… a community blazing its trail toward self-determination, self-sufficiency, and healing.
… an approach that reflects the community. Each CCP is unique!
…a way for a community to create a collective vision for itself, including all aspects of its development: culture, economy, education, governance, infrastructure, housing, natural resources, health, territory, land use, etc.
…a community plan with a 20-year vision, to achieve the long-term goals that really matter to the community: self-determination, self-sufficiency, healing, language revitalization, wellness, etc.
…a plan that feeds all other plans, placing the community vision and goals front and centre. Department and operational plans based on the CCP ensure that the community’s goals are achieved, and guide the leadership's and the administration’s actions.
…inclusive activities that involve all citizens or members, regardless of their age, job, family, gender, or place of residence.
…a four-stage planning cycle. On average, communities repeat the cycle every 7 to 10 years. The cycle is not linear: stages sometimes overlap, are interrupted, or the community may take a step back to validate certain elements, etc.
…profound and positive change that is rooted in the journey, starting well before the plan is published. CCP can influence all aspects of the community: relationships, ways of doing and being, activities carried out, knowledge, skills...
