Vancouver Chapter Virtual Meeting
Structured Decision Making and First Nations engagement - Sharing experiences from BC Hydro
Featured Speakers: Basil Stumborg & Julian Gonzalez
Date: February 19, 2026
Time: 3:30pm - 5:00pm PT
Via Microsoft Teams (Meeting Link will be sent after registration)
Abstract:
This session shares practical lessons from BC Hydro's use of Structured Decision Making (SDM) in its engagement with First Nations. Basil will outline BC Hydro’s five-step SDM approach, its use across projects and planning processes, and who leads this work internally. Julian and Basil will then walk through several examples from BC Hydro’s experiences to highlight the choices and trade-offs a large corporation faces when balancing efficiency in project delivery versus the desire for deeper consultation. We'll delve into some tools, such as constructed scales, that can only emerge from deeper consultation and other tools, like risk matrices, that require careful consideration when applied in corporate decision-making in this area.
About the Speakers
Basil Stumborg is BC Hydro’s Decision Analysis Expert. Basil has been with BC Hydro since 2000 and has been involved in providing decision support for numerous highly complex decisions. He also supports the integration of corporate processes with BC Hydro’s decision analysis frameworks and provides training and advice across the company.
Julian Gonzalez is BC Hydro’s Indigenous Relationships Project Engagement Lead for our Southwest region. In this capacity, Julian manages relationships with First Nations and leads complex, high-impact negotiations for our project delivery group.