Services
One main practice.
Five things behind it.
Mining and resource liaison leads the firm. The five areas behind it are what make the work stick. Most jobs draw on more than one.
Industry & Resource Liaison
Between companies, government and First Nations leadership: three worlds that often misunderstand each other.
Willow-ICS sits between companies, government program officers and First Nations leadership, and helps each side talk to the others in a way that gets somewhere. Nations hire us on some files and companies on others, never both on the same one, and the standard is the same either way. We work on the biggest files in the region: mining, pipeline, energy and forestry projects on First Nations land. For projects still in development, we also help plan the project itself: the first mandate, the management team and the development budget.
- Engagement plans and protocol
- Consultation support
- Benefit agreement (IBA) negotiation support
- Company–Nation partnerships and joint ventures
- Consultation records
- Government programs and funding applications
Deals & Business Structures
Finding the deal, setting it up right, getting it signed.
Most Nations have offers sitting in front of them: partnerships, contracts, joint ventures, funding programs. They stall because nobody has time to look at them properly, set them up, and push them to the finish. We fill that gap.
- Finding and screening opportunities
- Joint ventures with industry partners
- Limited partnerships and ownership shares (papered by the Nation's own lawyer)
- Getting ready to win contracts
- Business cases and feasibility studies
- Sales and marketing for Nation-owned businesses
Keeping Money in the Community
Money earned at home should stay at home.
When an outside contractor wins the job, or a federal program pays an outside firm to deliver a service, the money leaves the Nation and rarely comes back. We build the setups that keep it circulating in the community.
- Tracking where the money leaves
- Plans to keep it home
- Using the Nation's buying power
- Shared-services partnerships between Nations
- Indigenous procurement programs
- Nations buying together
Council Decision Packages & Plans
The paper that gets a decision made.
Darrel does this work himself: decision packages for Chief and Council, strategic plans, business cases and governance documents. Clear, complete and ready for the meeting.
- Strategic planning sessions
- Decision packages for Chief and Council
- Board and governance documents
- Recommendation memos and briefing papers
- Workshops with several parties at the table
Funding & Capital
Finding the money is half the deal.
We find the right programs, write the applications, and plan capital projects, across federal, provincial, industry and private sources. That includes the new Indigenous loan guarantee programs that now decide which ownership deals can be financed at all.
- Mapping the programs: ISC, PrairiesCan, provincial funds, and the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program
- Writing proposals and applications
- Planning capital projects
- Using one grant to unlock another, so program money stretches further
Websites, Contact Systems & Engagement Tools
The tools of a bigger organization, without the tech team.
Reaching members, partners and communities takes more than good intentions. It takes systems that work and respect how the Nation governs. Darrel builds these himself, with a small set of tools and specialists he has used for years: the website, the contact system, the surveys, the newsletters, and the records that prove consultation happened. Then he hands them over.
- Community surveys
- Newsletters, outreach and social media
- Community engagement platforms and annual reports
- Consultation records and engagement tracking
- Websites
- Contact (CRM) systems
- Automated follow-up and lead generation
- Ongoing support after launch
Willow-ICS is not a law firm or financial advisor. We guide and connect, and bring in qualified specialists where the file needs them.
Most jobs draw on more than one of these.
A thirty-minute call helps us understand your situation and find the right approach. No commitment.
Request a Discovery Call