Recently at Engage Delaney, a few of us completed the First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC) course entitled: The Fundamentals of OCAP. OCAP stands for Ownership, Control, Access and Possession and speaks to how data sovereignty is critical for self-determination by First Nations. As a team that works regularly with First Nations organizations and governments, and often includes First Nations People as engagement participants, we felt it was important to better understand OCAP from a principled perspective so that we could then consider how it could be applied in practice.
Ultimately, OCAP is about bringing ethical research standards into a First Nation context, which recognizes First Nations’ rights to own, control, access and possess their own data and data that relates to their land interests. As Nations have distinct structures, histories and data priorities, it is for each Nation to determine how they will implement OCAP for themselves and so there isn’t any single “right away” to implement OCAP, but rather it starts with a principled understanding of OCAP and engagement.
Some of the many questions we ask very early in a process, before an engagement plan is even developed, include:
- Who does this data ultimately represent or impact? Does this data relate to or originate from a First Nation, its lands, or its members, and therefore require that OCAP be applied?
- How will the data be stored?
- Who can access the data and who owns the data?
- What harms might be potentially caused by this data, not just for the individual but also for the community?
- What data is important for the Nation to collect?
- What is our role as third parties and what is the role of the Nation?
- How do we report back in a way that upholds OCAP principles?
In engagement practice, applying OCAP might mean co-developing survey instruments with the Nation, ensuring data is stored on their servers, or confirming that analysis and reporting are led or validated by community members.
Through proactive engagement and dialogue, each Nation or organization who is seeking to engage with First Nations can develop a data management plan and agreement that upholds OCAP.
OCAP invites all of us working in engagement to move beyond compliance and toward genuine respect for First Nation data sovereignty. As technologies, including AI, evolve and engagement methods adapt, principled dialogue remains our most powerful tool for ensuring that data, and the stories it holds, remain in the hands of those to whom they belong.
View the FNIGC overview video here: Understanding the First Nations Principles of OCAP™
Learn more about the FNIGC course here: The Fundamentals of OCAP®