The Blood Tribe is always looking to expand and diversify its economy, whether through internal initiatives or through joint ventures and partnerships with other parties, as per our mission statement.

The Economic Development pillar consists of the Economic Development Department, the Land Management Department and the various Economic Development entities.

When the Blood Tribe investigates going into one line of business or another, it starts in the Economic Development department.  The role of the department is to evaluate opportunities and proposals, perform due diligence, and generally to evaluate the feasibility and viability of any particular venture.  If a corporate business entity has already been established to deal with that area of business, the proposal is directed toward that entity.

The first step, upon making contact, is to ask the person making the proposal to fill out a questionnaire.  This questionnaire covers basic information about the venture, and is the start of the evaluation process.

As the Blood Tribe also has the role of governing, it is unlike most private investors or businesses.  We have to be fairly confident that any project in which has a good probability of succeeding, although of course in business success is never guaranteed.  Before the Department makes any major expenditure of money or other resources on a project, it gets an authorizing Band Council Resolution (BCR) from Blood Tribe Chief & Council.

The Economic Development Department evaluates projects and proposals and makes recommendations to the Economic Development Committee.  If the decision is positive, the Department and Committee present the proposal to the entire Chief  & Council.  If the Chief & Council approve, usually also through a BCR, the project proceeds.

The Department and Committee go through the required steps to establish the business, including all matters regulatory, legal, and financial, among others.  A corporate entity is established to take on the project when it is business-ready, and it assumes control and responsibility of the business.  The entity operates as a business with a board of directors, some of which may be members of Chief & Council.  They report back to Chief & Council (who are their shareholders) on an annual basis.