2025-2029
Strategic Plan
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Executive Summary
At Ampere, our beginnings were built on the belief that belonging is the heart of everything we do.
It is more than a sentiment to us, it is a shared truth and a sacred space where people see themselves reflected in our work, in community, and in the possibilities we nurture together. Belonging is not an outcome, it is who we are. It is a quiet yet powerful force that connects us together to create spaces where belonging thrives, where communities feel empowered, and every individual can find their place just as they are.
Every single thing we do — our programs, our partnerships, our resources — are intended to break down systems that were built to exclude rural, remote, and Indigenous communities.
Over the past several months, Ampere has engaged stakeholders through surveys, key person interviews, and focus groups with community members, staff, partners, and many more. These engagements were not just examples of consultation but ways of relationship-building that will continue beyond the lifespan of this plan.
This strategic plan is more than a roadmap of growth, it is an anchor that grounds us to stay rooted in our why, to hold true to our identity as we continue to grow. Growth can pull organizations in many different directions.
This plan will guide us with intention so that as opportunity expands, our purpose will always be to deepen the impact of belonging. This plan positions Ampere not just as a service provider, but as a partner, an advocate, and a catalyst for community-led innovation.
At Ampere, we know that true growth is not measured in numbers, but in the lives connected and belonging inspired. The strategic directions outlined here reflect a collective vision for a future, it is designed to be adaptive, allowing Ampere to respond to evolving needs while staying grounded in its values.
With this plan as our guide, Ampere will continue to grow in scale but in our depth deepening our relationships, our impact, and our belief that belonging has the power to change everything.
Managerial, Oversight, and Development Support
Message from Ryan Oliver
Ryan Oliver is the Chief Executive Officer of the Pinnguaq Association. After working ten years with the Government of Nunavut in both Economic Development and Intergovernmental Affairs, Ryan founded the association in Pangnirtung, Nunavut and has overseen its growth over seven years into an organization providing STEAM resources in rural and remote communities across Canada
I write this 14 years after I registered the business in the Hamlet of Pangnirtung as a business designed to “Promote and develop gaming in Inuit communities”, almost 12 years to the day I incorporated the Pinnguaq Association as a federal non-profit focused on technology education and opportunities. In that time we have grown our mission, our own understanding of who we are, expanded nationally and even changed our name.
I also write this exactly 74 days into the second administration of Donald Trump. We are witnessing a threat to so many of the values this organisation holds dear, and a fundamental realignment of the world so many believed we existed in. Beyond just the direct threats to the sovereignty of the country we operate in, we understand that a new permission structure has been created that devalues diversity and purposefully misinterprets equity.
There could be no better time to outline the roadmap we intend to take Ampere over the next five years. Our mission remains the same; but the evolution of the organisation to this moment provides us with an imperative to define and clarify an approach to our work that centres at the core of what we do, the feeling of belonging.
We centre the rural, remote and Indigenous communities we serve in an equity focused and sustainable lens. We honour and celebrate those who welcome us as educators, as developers, and as advocates. Our communities define our role, define our path in their lives and we ensure our growth centres those relationships and reciprocity.
The work Ampere does in the next five years belongs to the communities we serve. The clues to our path forward will always be in our core values and now the five pillars listed in this strategic plan. But five years is a long time. This organisation will continue evolving and understanding our role; as we always have.
I hope this strategy excites you for what is to come. Clarifies the mission of our organisation for you and you see a path for yourself, and/or your organisation as you read over this plan. You should, you belong here.
Our mission is to work alongside rural, remote, Indigenous and other communities, to support the development of STEAM skills through innovative technology, art and play.
We started over a decade ago as the Pinnguaq Association — that name reflected our beginnings as a non-Inuit founded organization in Nunavut focused on providing Nunavumiut youth with access to technology through games. Today, we operate as Ampere, with programming from coast to coast to coast. We work with youth and adults, businesses and job seekers, educators, funders and social change organizations. The new name speaks to all of our audiences — it’s a unit of electricity, or ‘power”. That’s what STEAM education offers — the power to communicate, to create, to connect, to prosper and discover in new ways.
Community is the core of who we are at Ampere.
These strategic directions have been created with engagement and collaboration with a number of interest holders at Ampere including community partners, elders, youth, funders, staff, board members, and our executive team. Together we have shaped priorities that are reflective of a collective vision; Rural, remote and Indigenous communities with the resources and support to thrive in the ways they define. This strategic plan is not a static document but a living guide that will evolve alongside the people and communities it is designed to support.
1.1. Honouring Stories and Strengthening Community-Led Narratives
Impact Statement
By 2030, Ampere will be a leader in community-driven storytelling, ensuring that our narratives reflect the lived experiences, realities, strengths, and aspirations of the people and communities we work with.
Key Commitments
Over the next five years, we will …
- Centering Community Voices in Our Messaging: Ensure that all internal and external communications uplift and reflect the diverse experiences of the communities we serve. We are committed to establishing community advisory circles to guide messaging decisions and ensure stories are shared with consent, accuracy, and cultural respect. This will include the development of a vision for Ampere with our community partners.
- Aligning Messaging with Our Core Values: Develop an internal communications guide rooted in Ampere’s values, ensuring consistency and integrity across all platforms. We will provide staff with training in culturally responsive communication and relationship development to ensure Ampere has a strong foundation to amplify community narratives.
- Uplifting Narrative Sovereignty: Prioritize Indigenous knowledge systems by supporting land-to-tech-based innovations, co-designed community projects, and storytelling that operate outside of colonial frameworks. Amplify stories of resilience and self-determination, ensuring that narratives are owned and controlled by the communities themselves.
1.2. Rooting Workforce Development in Relationship and Reciprocity
Impact Statement
By 2030, Ampere’s workforce will be reflective of the communities we partner with, fostering intergenerational knowledge sharing, holistic staff well-being, and sustainable leadership pathways.
Key Commitments
Over the next five years, we will …
- Invest in Community-Driven Hiring and Leadership Pathways: Develop recruitment strategies that prioritize local hires, providing community members with mentorship, training, and leadership development opportunities. We will establish clear advancement pathways that recognize lived experience as expertise.
- Deepen Staff Wellness and Sustainability Practices: We will continue to look after our staff by embedding holistic wellness practices into Ampere’s organizational culture, ensuring they are supported mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
- Strengthen Collective Learning Spaces: Facilitate mentorship opportunities that foster intergenerational and cross-cultural knowledge sharing. Expand physical and virtual community-based learning through Makerspaces and virtual collectives ensuring they are accessible, culturally relevant, and responsive to local needs.
1.3. Practicing Economic Sovereignty and Funding with Integrity
Impact Statement
By 2030, Ampere will sustain its work through diversified, values-aligned funding streams that respect community autonomy and advocate for systemic change in funding relationships.
Key Commitments
Over the next five years, we will …
- Build Financial Pathways that Respect Community Autonomy: Develop funding models that prioritize the visions of community partners, ensuring financial decisions do not compromise local autonomy or cultural integrity.
- Diversify Revenue Streams: Establish a balanced funding portfolio that includes social enterprise initiatives, long-term partner investments, and philanthropic support grounded in relationship-driven funding priorities.
- Advocate for Industry-Changing Funding Models: Establish standards for sectorwide policy change to move beyond traditional, transactional philanthropy toward reciprocal investments in community-led change.
1.4. Scaling Our Reach and Deepening Our Roots
Impact Statement
By 2030, Ampere will expand its reach while remaining grounded in community-identified needs, strengthening both physical spaces like the Makerspace network and internal systems that sustain long-term impact.
Key Commitments
Over the next five years, we will …
- Strengthening the Makerspace Network: Evolve Makerspaces into vital community hubs that serve as places of belonging, cultural reclamation, and technological innovation. Through engagement with rural, remote, and Indigenous communities we will continue to increase the number of accessible Makerspaces and develop a network of resources and connections.
- Developing Sustainable Leadership Structures: Build internal systems and operational frameworks that are agile to respond to the evolving needs identified by community partners and capable of supporting Ampere’s long-term vision.
- Approach Expansion Thoughtfully: Adopt an “inside-out” approach to growth, ensuring every step is guided by community-identified needs rather than external pressures.
- Commit to Impact Evaluation: Implement a robust evaluation framework to measure the effectiveness of our programs. This commitment to impact assessment will ensure that our initiatives create tangible, lasting benefits while informing thoughtful decision-making.
1.5. Upholding Relational and Systemic Change
Impact Statement
By 2030, Ampere will actively challenge systemic inequities through community-driven solutions capturing our impact with community centric evaluation methods.
Key Commitments
Over the next five years, we will …
- Define Pathways for Community Innovation and Transformation: Co-develop initiatives with communities that drive long-term social change, focusing on partnerships rooted in shared goals rather than institutional gain. Ensuring that creativity is celebrated through community led evaluation of projects undertaken.
- Use Our Lifecycle Approach to Ensure Accountability: Implement continuous evaluation processes to understand how community members can access multiple touchpoints in the lifecycle and what impact that has.
- Shift Power Structures Through Lived Experience: Amplify the voices of participants most impacted by systemic inequities, ensuring their insights directly influence change.