Hockey North Organizational Sustainability Project

Consultant Terms of Reference

1. Project Background

Hockey Canada, in partnership with Hockey North, is undertaking an Organizational Sustainability Project to strengthen governance, organizational effectiveness, financial sustainability, and hockey delivery across the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

A comprehensive governance review has already been completed by Sport Law, identifying a number of potential future governance and organizational options. Additional legal, governance, and financial information is also available to support this work.

The purpose of this engagement is not to repeat previous reviews, but to evaluate the identified options, recommend a preferred future-state governance and operating model, and develop a practical implementation plan to guide organizational decision-making.

2. Project Objective The objective of this engagement is to provide the Steering Committee with an evidence-based recommendation on Hockey North's preferred future governance and operating model, together with a practical implementation plan to support decision-making.

- Evaluate the organizational options identified through previous work.

- Recommend a preferred governance and operating model.

- Develop a practical implementation roadmap.

- Identify implementation costs and resource requirements.

- Support Hockey North in making an informed strategic decision.

3. Scope of Work

Phase 1 – Review and Validation

Activities

- Review the Sport Law governance review and related project documentation.

- Validate assumptions supporting the identified organizational options.

- Identify any information gaps requiring further analysis.





- Confirm evaluation criteria with the Steering Committee.

Deliverable

- Validation Summary and Evaluation Framework

Phase 2 – Preferred Model Assessment

Activities

- Assess the identified organizational options using agreed evaluation criteria.

- Consider governance effectiveness, financial sustainability, operational feasibility, service delivery, northern realities, and long-term organizational sustainability.

- Facilitate discussions with the Steering Committee and key stakeholders.

- Recommend one preferred governance and operating model with supporting rationale.

Deliverable

- Preferred Organizational Model Recommendation Report

Phase 3 – Implementation Planning

Activities

- Develop a phased implementation roadmap.

- Identify governance and organizational changes required.

- Develop an implementation budget.

- Identify resource requirements.

- Develop a transition plan.

- Identify implementation risks and mitigation strategies.

- Recommend implementation milestones and timelines.

Deliverables

- Implementation Roadmap

- Implementation Budget

- Transition Plan

- Risk Register

4.



Stakeholder Engagement The consultant will engage key stakeholders throughout the project to validate assumptions and ensure recommendations reflect northern realities and community needs.

- Design engagement appropriate to northern and remote environments.

- Recognize geographic dispersion and travel limitations.

- Respect territorial, Indigenous, and community governance realities.

- Engage Boards, leadership, and key stakeholders.

- Incorporate stakeholder feedback into the final recommendation and implementation plan.

5. Required Experience

- Governance modernization and organizational restructuring.

- Strategic planning and organizational design.

- Implementation planning and change management.

- Financial sustainability analysis.

- Stakeholder engagement and facilitation.

- Experience working with Indigenous, northern, remote, or geographically dispersed communities.

- Knowledge of Canadian sport or nonprofit governance.

6. Deliverables

Validation Summary

Preferred Organizational Model Recommendation

Implementation Roadmap

Implementation Budget

Transition Plan

Risk Register

Final Presentation to the Steering Committee

7. Reporting and Timeline The consultant will report to the Steering Committee through the Project Lead, provide regular milestone updates, and submit deliverables in accordance with the approved project schedule and budget.

8. Success Measures

- The Steering Committee receives a explicit, evidence-based recommendation.

- A preferred governance and operating model is identified.

- Implementation requirements, costs, and timelines are clearly understood.

- Governance, financial, and operational implications are documented.

- Hockey North has a practical roadmap to support implementation.

📌 Hockey North Consultant (Calgary)
🏢 Hockey Canada
📍 Calgary