Our Approach and Values

Our Name

One of the main inspirations for our name is where we come from, where we were born, and where our ancestors were born.

Verapax (n):

  • True peace. Peace and truth.
  • Verapaz – Region in Guatemala known for its leafy millenary forests, with ecosystems typical of rainforests. Two Mayan symbols of peace and healing are found in the Verapaz region:
    • The Monja Blanca (White Nun) is a species of orchid. It is an epiphyte flower which means that while it does grow on other plants, mostly trees, it does not hurt their growth and grows in harmony with the other plant.
    • The resplendent quetzalli (Nahuatl) or Quetzal is a bird of iridescent green or golden-green wing coverts, back, chest and head, a red belly, and large tail feathers.

Our Principles

Verapax’s approach to independent consulting services follows Indigenous principles of Respect, Relevance, Reciprocity, Responsibility, and Relationships (5 Rs) to participatory, collaborative, empowering, and transformational project management, research & evaluation, teaching & learning.

Our Work

We service small to mid-sized not-for-profit organizations and institutions of teaching & learning. We work with our clients develop their organizational leadership and evaluative thinking throughout the processes of designing, implementing, and evaluating their initiatives.

Our work is informed by our lived experiences of being racialized by mainstream society and navigating systemic barriers to justice, equality, diversity and inclusion.

Professional Standards, Guidelines and Ethics

Our methodologies follow principles and values that are inspired in the work of scholars Archibald’s (2008) Storywork, Tuhiwai-Smith’s (2012) Decolonizing Research, Kirkness and Barnhardt’s (1991) 4Rs, and Parent’s (2014) 5th R.

We comply with the First Nations Principles of OCAP™ (ownership, control, access, and possession), which means that First Nations control data collection processes in their communities. https://www.afn.ca/uploads/files/nihbforum/info_and_privacy_doc-ocap.pdf

We are guided by the professional standards and guidelines of the Canadian Evaluation Society. https://evaluationcanada.ca/program-evaluation-standards https://evaluationcanada.ca/ethics