Capacity Building

Building local
energy teams.

JAZZ shares its professional knowledge, skills, and resources directly with First Nation communities. We train people, build energy teams, secure the funding, and stay involved for years — not months.

Why this comes first

The infrastructure is only half the work.

Building a solar array or a microgrid is engineering. Keeping it running for 25 years — owned, understood, and maintained by the community it powers — is partnership.

JAZZ was founded in 2009 to be a catalyst, not a contractor. Every project we take on is structured so the community's own energy capability grows alongside the infrastructure: people trained, teams formed, funding secured, decisions kept where they belong.

JAZZ team and community members inspecting a ground-mount solar inverter

On-site training — community members and JAZZ engineers, at the inverter.

On-site electrical panel work Rooftop solar install in progress Community solar carport with people at work underneath Community solar carport over a baseball field

How it works

A process grounded in best practice.

JAZZ's capacity-building practice draws on established frameworks for community development — including UNDP-aligned principles and Indigenous-led approaches to self-determination — adapted to the realities of energy projects on First Nation lands.

  1. 01

    Start with relationship

    Trust precedes planning. Before a single line is drawn, we spend time with the people — listening to history, governance, what's been tried, and what hasn't worked. Capacity building that skips this step doesn't last.

    Band office with rooftop solar — the kind of community workspace where relationships are built

  2. 02

    Community-led assessment

    The community names the priorities, the skills gaps, the timeline — not consultants. Our role is to ask sharp questions, share what we've seen elsewhere, and help your team see what's possible. Decisions stay with council.

    Community Centre with rooftop solar — meetings are held in spaces communities own

  3. 03

    Secure the resources

    Capacity-building work fails when it drains general funds. We help write proposals for ISC, NRCan, IESO, OFNTSC, SREPs, and other federal and provincial sources — so capital, training dollars, and wages come from outside the band budget.

  4. 04

    Co-design the path forward

    Western technical expertise meets local knowledge and decision-making. We design solutions with your people, not in isolation. Engineering plans, operations protocols, and training curricula are co-authored — so they reflect what your community actually needs.

    Rooftop solar installation at Oneida Community Centre

  5. 05

    Learn through real work

    Skills transfer happens during projects, not just classrooms. Community members work alongside our engineers, electricians, and field crews — installing, commissioning, and operating real systems. The Earthkeepers.me curriculum and on-site workshops fill the gaps.

    Winter rooftop install — real work in real conditions

  6. 06

    Step back as capacity grows

    As your team's skills and confidence mature, JAZZ moves from leading to supporting to on-call. The goal is your team running things — not us running them indefinitely. We hand off the controls deliberately, project by project.

  7. 07

    Sustain the partnership

    Most of our community partnerships run a decade or more. We're around for troubleshooting, expansion, the next funding window, the next generation of the team. Capacity isn't built in one project — it's built in years of staying in the work.

    Aerial view of Taykwa Tagamou Nation — a 100% solarized community

Get in touch

Let's talk about your community.

Capacity building inquiries go straight to Nancy, our relationship manager. She'll listen, ask questions, and connect you with the right people on the JAZZ team.

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For solar / battery quotes, see our design wizard or email anoop@jazzsolar.com directly.