Strategic planning
You want a plan your people will use and feel part of.
Plans built with your people, with clear priorities and a simple way to track progress.
Exclusively serving Indigenous Nations and organizations to advance self-determination through dialogue, right-relationship and practice.
If someone sent you my way, or our paths have crossed, I’d love to hear from you. Let’s explore how I can serve you in a way that fits your needs, priorities and capacity.
I’m Marc Woons.
I’m a settler. My mother immigrated from Germany in 1973 and my father from the Netherlands in 1969. They settled on the unceded territories of the Dakelh (Carrier) and Wet’suwet’en peoples in northern British Columbia, where I was born, in Burns Lake.
The seeds of this work were planted when I was a boy. In the early 1990s, I was traditionally adopted by Wilma and Gary Cook of Opaskwayak Cree Nation. Our communities were separated by the Saskatchewan River and too often divided by racism, fear, and misunderstanding. Gary and Wilma welcomed me into their family with generosity. They showed me that love could cross that divide.
I carry that feeling today in the way I walk, the relationships I build, and the work I do.
Today, I live in Lethbridge, on the lands of the Blackfoot Confederacy in Treaty 7 territory. My work is rooted in my responsibilities as a settler: honouring commitments, renewing relationships, and carrying forward the generosity I received.
I envision Indigenous self-determination flourishing across Turtle Island and around the world. My role is to support Indigenous Nations and organizations in advancing their own visions, on their own terms. Through that work, I also hope to show other settlers that right relationship is something we can live—and that we have work to do to make it possible.
After more than twenty years in government, finance, and academia, I now devote myself to this work full time. It is work I feel honoured to do: supporting your priorities, respecting your laws and customs, and doing my small part to live in right relationship with you.
Experience
More than 20 years leading strategy, programs, projects and change. That includes more than five years with the Our Children Our Way Society in British Columbia, senior roles in the BC public service, and Head of Innovation at the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo).
Education
PhD in political philosophy, specializing in Indigenous self-determination and governance, and an MPA, focused on international development. Editor of Restoring Indigenous Self-Determination (free to read) and author of numerous articles.
Certifications
Certifications in program and project delivery (PMP, PgMP, PRINCE2 and PMI‑SP), agile practice (PMI‑ACP), change management (CCMP and Prosci), and risk management (PMI‑RMP).
Sectors
Indigenous child and family services, provincial government (children and families, health, finance, and citizens' services and corporate IT), public pension investment and community non-profits.
OCAP® training & principles
I have also trained in OCAP® principles. I believe in these principles and apply them in my work to support First Nations’ ownership, control, access, and possession of their data.
Bring your challenges. We can figure out how to tackle them together.
I'm a generalist with broad, deep experience at every organizational level, from high-level strategy to the most detailed implementation. More and more, challenges touch several of the areas below at once, which not only makes them more complex, but also creates greater potential when they can be solved. That's where my background makes the biggest difference.
Implementation
You have a plan and want support to make it happen.
Program and project management, from the roadmap to day-to-day delivery. Developing requests for proposals (RFPs), with clear scopes, deliverables and evaluation criteria.
Change management
Your people are carrying a lot of change and you want to support them well.
Support for leaders and staff so change lasts without burning people out.
Governance
Your board, forum or partnership is growing and wants clearer roles and decisions.
Terms of reference, decision processes and facilitation that builds agreement.
Priorities and portfolios
You have more good ideas and projects than capacity, and want to choose well.
Portfolio planning, prioritization, capacity planning and tracking the benefits of what you take on.
Systems and tools
You want systems and tools that fit how your staff work and give you good value.
Case management and IT, tool selection and rollout, and getting real value from the tech you already have.
Service delivery
You want your staff spending less time in systems and more time with the people they serve.
Finding where time goes and designing simple processes that give it back.
AI and emerging tech
You're curious about new tools and want better control of your data.
Practical pilots, policies and safeguards that respect OCAP® principles.
Insurance and risk
You're not sure you're fully covered and want help with a difficult landscape.
Risk frameworks and insurance approaches that fit Indigenous governance and cultural safety.
Not sure your challenge fits? Ask anyway. If I'm not the right person, I'll say so and we can work together to find someone more suited to your needs.
I work alongside you.
Your people already carry deep knowledge and do this work every day. I add what I can, learn alongside you, and help the work keep going on your terms. And the relationship doesn't end when the work does. Whether or not there's a contract, I'm always here when you need me.
Relationship
I approach relationship as reciprocal, while recognizing how much work settlers have to do to earn trust. I take responsibility for my own learning and actions, without expecting you to teach me or carry that work. I honour what you choose to share and look for ways to give back.
Responsibility
I earn each next step and won't ask you to commit before you see value. If I get something wrong, I own it and take responsibility for putting it right. When I need expertise I don't have, I follow your lead on drawing from within your organization or finding outside support. I draw on my training in OCAP® principles to support your control of your data and knowledge.
Results
I check in often and adjust my work based on your feedback. I leave the judgment of its usefulness with you. I measure success by what matters to you and your community, and by whether my contribution helps you move toward your priorities.
Let's Connect
No pitch and no pressure to define a full project. Tell me what's going on and I'll give you an honest view of what I feel might help. In the spirit of listening and relationship, if I get it wrong, we can try again.
I'm based on the territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy in Treaty 7, in Lethbridge, Alberta. I regularly work across Western Canada. I'm also happy to travel further, and I like to line up visits in a region. Meeting in person matters, especially as we build a relationship, so I do it as often as I can.