Sept. 14, 2016: Kent Spiers discusses how communities evaluate local well-being in Alaska and Yukon

Many communities are developing ways of evaluating local well-being. Research shows that when local governments ask residents to take part in determining measures of well-being, the public is more likely to get involved in decision-making, and communities have more influence over resource management. But there is little research on how Arctic communities measure well-being, and those communities face particular challenges in assessing well-being, including differences in indigenous and western ways of defining well-being, a lack of data and small populations.

Kent Spiers, a doctoral candidate at the University of Calgary and a former research associate at ISER, compared how communities in Alaska and Yukon evaluate local well-being. He first studied all the publicly available models in Alaska and Yukon and interviewed experts in both regions. He then searched the records of how each model was developed, to document how local governments involved residents in the process; looked for differences and similarities across models; and analyzed what he had learned from interviews. Join us at ISER to hear Kent Spiers talk about his findings.

When: Wednesday, Sept. 14, 12-1 p.m. Where: ISER Conference Room - 1901 Bragaw Street, Suite 301

1901 Bragaw Street is on Bragaw between Northern Lights Boulevard and Debarr Road. Parking is free. Call (907) 786-7710 if you need directions.

Note: Those who can't attend in person can stream the talk live at stream.iseralaska.org.

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