What We Do
Service Areas
We offer services across three main areas: socio-economic, environmental, and economic. Our focus is on enabling informed decision-making through the clear presentation of data in the socio-economic and environmental contexts of communities. We support client objectives by providing practical tools and facilitating dialogue among all project stakeholders.
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Social Research & Policy Development
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Facilitation and Community Engagement
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Socio-Economic Impact Assessment
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Environmental and Regulatory Approvals
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Economics and Business Planning
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Organizational Management, Governance and Capacity Building
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Environment, Social, and Governance
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Environment, Health & Safety
About Our Service Offerings
Social Research & Policy Development
At Avaanz, we blend art and science in social research and policy development. Our specialists excel in qualitative research methods, enabling us to analyze and synthesize existing research and gather new data through interviews, surveys, and focus groups. We are adept at collecting feedback from thousands of participants and analyzing it to uncover important relationships, trends, and future projections. Our expertise extends to crafting compelling narratives from data, essential for engaging project partners, community members, and funders. Additionally, we develop technical reports for environmental assessments and regulatory processes using qualitative information.
Our social research drives policy development, funding acquisition, and partnership building. We have substantial experience in post-secondary education, healthcare, housing, child and family well-being, mental wellness, and food security for Indigenous communities. Our approach begins with building partnerships and understanding stakeholder needs and priorities. We then craft policy options based on existing commitments, a shared vision for the future, and the most current research and data.
Our work has successfully helped clients secure vital funding and provided clear strategies to achieve their goals.
Our key services include:
Policy Research, Analysis, and Development
Health and Social Research
Socio-Economic Baseline Studies
Program Planning and Implementation
Demographics Forecasting
Facilitation and Community Engagement
At Avaanz, we streamline the process of planning and hosting strategic sessions for information gathering and sharing, making them both effective and impactful. Our experienced team excels in facilitating both large and small-scale meetings, helping clients gather the insights needed to advance projects, foster community discussions, and make informed decisions. We manage both in-person and virtual gatherings, effectively bringing people together to exchange ideas. Our expertise extends to nationwide engagements, where we collect crucial feedback to guide policy and strategy development.
Our facilitation team comprises Certified Professional Facilitators with extensive experience working with Indigenous, public, and private sector organizations. We are dedicated to ensuring that all voices are heard, ideas are generated, and strategies are crafted thoughtfully.
We leverage our facilitation skills to engage directly with communities, working closely with organizations to identify key stakeholders and knowledge holders. We design and implement outreach strategies to encourage community participation and learning. Our successful programs have engaged youth groups, community organizations, leaders, elders, and the public. We meticulously track and map feedback to provide our clients with a comprehensive understanding of community values, visions, and support.
Our engagement services support various initiatives, including Environmental Approvals, project planning and development, and strategic community planning.
Our key services include:
Capacity Building & Training
Indigenous Community Engagement
Public, Industry, and Stakeholder Engagement
Strategic, Action, & Implementation Planning
Workshop Facilitation
Socio-Economic Impact Assessment
Our team at Avaanz boasts extensive experience in conducting socio-economic impact assessments across various industries, including mining, nuclear, and transportation. We are adept at handling both proponent-led and Indigenous-led assessments.
Socio-Economic Impact Assessments are crucial for identifying, predicting, and managing the adverse social and economic effects of projects while maximizing positive outcomes. They also serve to address broader issues affecting the relationship between project proponents and the communities they impact.
We adhere to the International Association for Impact Assessment’s definition of socio-economic impact assessments, which involves “analyzing, monitoring, and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of planned interventions (policies, programs, plans, projects) and any social change processes invoked by those interventions.”
We ensure that cultural and spiritual values of communities are integrated into our assessments. Our comprehensive approach encompasses all dimensions of community life—economic, psychological, sociological, and physical. Beyond desktop research, we employ primary research methods tailored to the community, ensuring thorough and respectful engagement. We strive to involve those potentially affected by developments, recognizing their essential role in the assessment process and in evaluating the significance of potential impacts.
Our key services include:
Socio-Economic Baseline Studies & Community Profiles
Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Land and Resources Use Studies
Visual Aesthetics Studies
Socio-Economic Impact Assessment
Socio-Economic Management & Monitoring Plans
Gender-Based Analysis
Environmental and Regulatory Approvals
From project planning through to construction, operations, decommissioning, and reclamation, our growing Environment and Regulatory Approvals Team excels in navigating the complex landscape of environmental permitting and approvals at municipal, provincial, and federal levels. Our specialists bring extensive experience in managing projects of all scales across sectors including mining, oil and gas, transportation (rail, roads, and bridges), energy (nuclear, wind, natural gas, solar, and hydropower), and transmission.
We leverage technical expertise to offer practical, cost-effective solutions for the challenges our clients face. Our team is skilled in assembling and managing multi-disciplinary teams, conducting regulatory scoping and compliance, developing and coordinating technical studies, and authoring high-quality documentation and reports. We prioritize local knowledge and aim to report through a perspective that reflects both our clients’ needs and the communities we serve.
Our key services include:
Federal and Provincial Environmental Impact Assessment
Adaptive Environmental Management
Ecological Offsetting
Cumulative Effects Assessment
Mitigation Implementation and Follow-up
Environmental Permitting
Issue Scoping
Alternatives Analysis
Baseline Study Design
Multidisciplinary Team Management
Community Capacity Building
Technical Peer Review
Economics and Business Planning
Our team delivers expert economic and financial analysis to a wide range of clients, including Federal, Provincial, Municipal, and Indigenous governments, as well as private sector organizations across Canada and internationally.
We specialize in:
Economic costing and impact models
Business and finance model development
Market condition and trend evaluation
Financial assessments for projects and businesses
Budgeting and forecasting
Our approach is based on three core principles: alignment, analysis, and communication. We work closely with clients to understand their values and goals, ensuring that our assessments reflect their objectives. Through focused analysis, we evaluate the broader economic impacts of projects, providing insights that inform decision-making. We emphasize clear communication, tailoring our reports to be accessible and aligned with the client’s strategic needs.
Our key services include:
Input-output modeling
Cost modeling and forecasting
Cost-benefit analysis
Economic market indicators
Labour and workforce trends
Housing, real estate, and property value trends
Supply and demand forecasting
Effects on municipal finance
Financial modeling
Capital forecasting
Operational assessments
Business and project evaluation
Budgeting and lifecycle costing
Feasibility and portfolio analysis
Short- and long-term planning
Strategy and executive management services
Our practice is committed to providing clients with the data, insights, and analysis they need to make informed, impactful decisions.
Organizational Management, Governance, and Capacity Building
We offer expert support in Organizational Management, Governance, and Capacity Building to enhance your organization's effectiveness and performance. Our approach focuses on reinforcing your organizational structure and performance, delivering strategic support tailored to your goals.
Our key services include:
Business Coaching: Expert guidance to overcome business challenges.
Procurement Review: Evaluating procurement processes for improved efficiency.
Life Cycle Costing: Analyzing costs throughout a project’s lifecycle for financial optimization.
Strategic Planning: Developing focused strategies for sustainable growth.
Monthly Financial Reporting: Providing regular financial reports to ensure transparency.
Financial Assessment: Assessing financial health to support decision-making.
Service Reviews: Conducting reviews to boost operational efficiency.
Business Planning: Crafting robust plans for business development.
Project Portfolio Review: Enhancing project management practices.
Funding Opportunity Reviews: Identifying and assessing potential funding sources.
Training & Coaching: Offering training and coaching to strengthen project leadership skills.
Environment, Social, and Governance
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) represents the intersection where our environmental, social, and governance practices align with due diligence and performance. Our ESG services go beyond mere compliance, helping clients raise capital, mitigate risks, and enhance overall performance. Our multi-disciplinary team integrates ESG standards and best practices into corporate strategies to improve risk management and performance.
We have extensive expertise in ESG governance and regulatory frameworks across Canada, including federal, provincial, and municipal levels. Our experience with financial institutions and global clients has also provided us with in-depth knowledge of international standards, such as those from the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank, and global ESG reporting frameworks like GRI and ISSB.
Our key services include:
ESG Project Financing: Support for securing credit agency financing and other funding sources.
ESG Disclosure Reporting: Comprehensive reporting to meet ESG disclosure requirements.
ESG/EHS Auditing & Assurance: Auditing and assurance services to ensure ESG and Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) compliance.
Health & Safety Programs: Developing and implementing programs to enhance workplace health and safety.
ESG Strategy Creation & Benchmarking Analysis: Crafting tailored ESG strategies and conducting benchmarking analysis.
Climate Change Risk Assessment: Evaluating risks related to climate change and developing mitigation strategies.
Human Rights Risk Assessment: Assessing and addressing potential human rights risks within operations.
Our approach is designed to strengthen your ESG practices, aligning them with strategic goals to drive sustainable growth and performance.
Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) Services
EHS (Environmental, Health, and Safety) performance is a top priority for us. We specialize in developing customized EHS programs and ensuring regulatory compliance through comprehensive assurance, safe work procedures, best practice implementation, and behavior-based safety strategies.
Our expertise extends to EHS program and management system implementation, particularly in high-risk sectors such as construction, mining, downstream oil & gas, telecommunications, and infrastructure & facility management. With experience across various provinces and territories, we understand jurisdictional differences and legal requirements.
We assist companies in preparing for audits, including Certificate of Recognition (COR®) accreditation, ISO 45001 certification, and internal line of defense (LOD) audits. Reach out to discover how we can enhance your EHS performance and develop best-in-class systems.
Our key services include:
Health & safety program development
Auditing & Assurance
Training Content & Facilitation
Management System Implementation
Job Observations & Hazard Assessment Creation
Workplace Inspections
Custom Safety Talks & Toolbox Talk Creation