Connecting innovation to opportunity for coastal First Nations communities
Most entrepreneurs will tell you that their idea for a business started with a problem. For James Spencer, founder of Shift Environmental Technologies (Shift), the problem was finding a safer and more efficient way to deal with marine debris cleanups.
“There I was, in the middle of the Brooks Peninsula, miles from anywhere, swimming through an intertidal zone under breaking waves, looking for debris, putting my safety at risk. And I had an aha moment in realizing that there had to be a better way.”
That search led to months spent in his garage building an autonomous surface vessel that could help locate and gather marine debris.
When James was building his prototype of a robot boat, there wasn’t yet a market for it, nor did he have any funding. But he persevered, applying for grants and looking for applications that could expand its use and reach. He soon identified spill response as an avenue for his product, most especially early detection of oil spills that can help improve response times and deliver positive outcomes to First Nation communities invested in protecting their marine territories.
“There’s usually a time and space gap between the time an oil spill takes place, and when it’s dealt with,” says James. “People can’t get there soon enough. Response organizations and the Coast Guard need to know what and where it’s happening. First Nations communities need the right tools and equipment and training to be those first responders who can contain and most importantly gather early intelligence to share with Coast Guard and professional response organizations so that those oil spills can be responded to more quickly, safely and with the right resources. We can help connect the dots and deliver the training and technology that’s needed.”
With Shift nearing completion of an effective autonomous surface vessel platform, they’re envisioning how it can be applied elsewhere in the marine sector, for example intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance marine asset inspection and marine monitoring and protection. “We’re seeing how we can adapt our sensors to the possible uses of our technology.”
A nimble approach powers growth and innovation
The company has grown exponentially from 2019, when the biologist was “building the world’s worst un-crewed surface vessel,” to now. From designing one product focused on one solution, James has, in four years, assembled a world class team of engineers, biologists and scientists who create a variety of effective solutions for coastal resource management, with a specialty in supporting B.C. First Nations and development corporations in diversifying their marine portfolios.
How do you get from there to here? Spencer says he leveraged his passion for finding technological solutions to ocean problems with his interest and experience working with industry and Indigenous communities, and found things aligning as he went along.
Shift’s mission is to help communities and technology partners adapt to ecosystems, take advantage of opportunities, connect with investors and find their competitive edge. This includes capacity building, training, consulting and developing technology that ranges from remote sensing and autonomous systems to emergency preparedness to solve specific problems or challenges for their clients.
So far, their projects have ranged from tourism development planning for the Ditidaht Nation to developing advanced training programs for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for the Snuneymuxw marine team, to novel marine monitoring, coastal management and ghost gear surveillance and recovery for K’omoks First Nation.
“We’re always on the lookout for unique opportunities for partnerships and joint ventures that drive economic development,” says James. “We want to elevate outcomes for our clients. We’re the missing connection between marine industry and technology developers that don’t see the community angle, and for Indigenous communities that may have a technology requirement that can help solve their challenge.”
Leveraging relationships to support Indigenous marine teams
Locally, James says, his team particularly values their relationship with the T’sou-ke First Nation’s marine teams. They’ve worked with the Nation to acquire technology and develop novel technologies for surveillance of the Southern Resident Killer Whale population, help build their coastal stewardship projects, including a Cumulative Effects of Marine Shipping, developing RPAS training programs, and are supporting their pilot Coastal Incident Management System (CIMS), an integrated oil spill assessment and response capability.
Of the relationships his company has formed with their clients, James says that working with First Nations businesses “is not that different from any other relationship. Obviously you need to understand the context of the relationship, the problematic nature of colonialism and how it’s impacted Indigenous peoples. But at the end of the day, it’s one-on-one, between people, and works on trust and mutual respect and understanding.”
He says getting to know First Nation governments, learning what they want for their own growth, who’s making decisions and what’s needed to achieve their goals is an essential part of their work. Then, Shift connects those goals to technology innovators and solutions, to funding and to skills training, closing the loop for First Nations communities who want to manage their own programs and drive economic growth for their people.
“I’ve always wanted to do things a little differently, a little out of the box and challenge the status quo,” says James. “It’s daunting sometimes, and you face a lot of rejection but we stay motivated. We have a really good team, and everyone’s got such diverse skills. It’s interesting to see how those skills interconnect and how we leverage those to serve our First Nations clients. We’re nimble and always evolving, and I can’t wait to see what we do next.”
