Assessing Structural Funding Availability for First Nations Institutions

In 2018, Medow Consulting undertook research for the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) leading to the report First Nations Post-Secondary Review: Institutions Costing. The report found that existing funding sources for First Nations Institutions (FNIs) only support specific and time-limited program delivery, and not institutional sustainability. The report modelled what potential operational costs for FNIs could look like in differing contexts on a per-student basis.  

Building on this foundation, in 2024, the AFN engaged Medow Consulting, with special advisory support from the Indigenous Institutes Consortium (IIC), to undertake a comparative study to analyze structural funding availability for FNIs compared to non-Indigenous Post-Secondary Institutions (PSIs). This study assessed gaps in funding, differences in funding mechanisms, and impacts for First Nations learners.  

As a component of this project, Medow Consulting presented at the 2025 AFN Education Forum, Reigniting the Flames of our Ancestors.