ICN’s six-step process.
We are not a consulting firm. ICN is not-for-profit, non-partisan, and our services to communities are free — funded by corporate and foundation sponsorships and, when appropriate, federal/provincial grants.
01
Discovery Process
✓ Initial contact and face-to-face meeting
✓ Assemble a first consultation table with 8 to 12 people, including community leaders, employers, business owners, youth and employees
✓ Review your community’s strategies, economic plan and local issues; map community assets, challenges and opportunities
✓ Identify your community’s strengths, needs and citizens’ priorities
✓ Introduce the ICN tool sets and processes
✓ ICN proposes a 90-minute future-ready economic community conversation
✓ Produce a project letter of understanding — what, by whom, and projected outcome
02
Implementation — Community Action Lab
✓ A 90-day cross-sector pilot — two pilots in the first year of partnership
✓ Comparable Case Studies: discussion panels or interviews exploring what’s worked in other communities
✓ Foresight method sessions: structured exploration of plausible futures, producing 3+ scenarios
✓ Scenario panel discussions: hosted 90-minute events with panellists, debate, and community Q&A
✓ Youth invited to work on community challenges with mentors
✓Volunteer talent bank: skills-based matching of residents and employee volunteers with projects
03
Community Round Table
✓ Turn community concerns into practical, locally owned action
✓ A place to gather and discuss housing, food security, workforce gaps, infrastructure and economic uncertainty
✓ Gives residents, civic leaders, business, educators and youth a shared voice
✓ Moves beyond talk toward tangible outcomes, stronger partnerships, and community foresight
04
ICN Expo — Second Signature Program
✓ A two-and-a-half-day expo with workshops on action planning
✓ Tomorrow’s employment: opportunities 5–10 years out
✓ Using innovation to strengthen local businesses, public services, youth pathways and civic life
✓ Technology demos connected to real local challenges
✓ Training: basic AI for everyday tasks — faster, easier, more accurate
05
ICN’s Communications
✓ We work through local partners and translate community needs into tangible support
✓ Results publicized in the monthly newsletter, video/audio clips, and social and traditional media
✓ We don’t arrive with ready-made answers — we help communities uncover hidden strengths and move from conversation to visible pilots
06
Performance Indicators
✓ Year one: are we trusted, useful, and catalytic in moving things forward?
✓ Build legitimacy before scaling to larger projects
✓ Establish a disciplined coalition and operating boundaries; avoid duplicating work in progress
✓ Public reporting back to the community on each step, goals, objectives and outcomes
All ICN projects are community-led. Topics, discussions, scenario planning and more are designed with the help of community members. We act on priorities that people already broadly agree on.