Comments Off on 2023 Annual Report for the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia
NOTE TO READER:
Waterbucket eNewscelebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on January 23, 2024 featured Partnership’s Annual Report 2023. The document is written to inform and engage the reader through a storytelling approach to sharing of information.
Growing a network breaks all the rules of conventional thinking. It is the antithesis of building an organization that has staff. Instead, the network aligns individuals and organizations to deliver results across organizational boundaries.
However, a network that is guided by a collaborative leadership philosophy does require a nucleus or “engine” for legal and organizational continuity. The Partnership for Water Sustainability serves that function for our local government partners within the Georgia Basin bioregion.
Ensuring continuity of the network comes down to how organizations continue WITHIN the network.
Summit at the Bastion in Nanaimo
Last October, the Partnership for Water Sustainability brought together some 30 ambassadors representing a dozen organizations. They participated in a consultation session around what some might view as an existential topic:
Going forward, this watershed moment will forever be known as the Summit at the Bastion in Nanaimo. At the conclusion, Ray Fung summarized and reflected on aha moments that emerged during the sharing session.
“Emotion is important. Relationships are important,” stated Ray Fung. “It is not just the science and the work itself but the emotion that seems to bind us together in this purpose. And so storytelling becomes a really important way of pointing out successes. BE THE NEXT SUCCESS STORY.”
Ray Fung’s reflections are included in the Partnership’s Annual Report 2023 and thus provide a record of the summit outcome.
EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER
“One ambassador described the Summit at the Bastion in Nanaimo as a turning point in our convening for action story. But it can be so much more. In fact, it will be the springboard to creating a future which so many of us desire, one which coalesces around a shared vision for Water Reconciliation,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.
“The Partnership is seen as a resource that is stable, that is there, and that people can draw upon,” observed Ray Fung. But the founding leadership team is aging out. Growing and sustaining the network through time is very much about finding those to whom we can pass the baton, now and in the future.”
The Partnership is viewed as a movement built around water sustainability
Ray Fung captured the mood of the summit with this summation:
“I liked the comment that THIS IS A MOVEMENT. I find that is really inspiring to not see ourselves just as a network. We are a movement built around water sustainability. We leave the summit inspired to figure out how the FORM of the Partnership will follow the FUNCTION.”
“We can learn things from expanding our perspective. Part of that holistic approach includes the SPIRITUAL as well as the physical connection to the land.”
STORY BEHIND THE STORY: The Partnership for Water Sustainability’s 3-Year Transition Strategy for ensuring continuity of the network – as explained by Ted van der Gulik, President
Extracted from Annual Report 2023, the “story behind the story” is a 450-word essay written by Ted van der Gulik for his President’s Perspective. He paints a broad-brush picture of where the Partnership is heading.
We did what we said we would do!
“A challenge confronting our society is widespread organizational amnesia. The baby boomers have more or less gone out the door. And with them has gone so much oral history. Knowledge and experience are not being passed on. Organizational amnesia is the consequence,” wrote Ted van der Gulik.
“It is a race against time to pass on knowledge and experience. It feels like the gap caused by loss of understanding is widening. When those coming into organizations do not know what they do not know, loss of understanding of the WHAT, WHY and HOW is a cause of concern in managing expectations.”
Our mission is intergenerational in scope
“The Partnership is the engine for a network in the local government setting. Our mission is intergenerational. This means we are striving to bridge the gap in understanding; and we are doing what we can to help governments overcome organizational amnesia.”
“The clock is ticking, and we are working hard to shape this outcome: what the Partnership and associated network will look like after the Year 2025. At the end of Year One, we can proudly state that we accomplished what we set out to accomplish in 2023. We exceeded our own expectations. We are ahead of schedule in moving forward with the strategy for network continuity.”
We must look back to see ahead
“In 2023, the Partnership had two over-arching objectives. One was to connect with a new generation of provincial decisionmakers and staff. The other was to bring our Ambassadors Program to the forefront of provincial and local government awareness. We accomplished both objectives, and all the way up to Premier David Eby, as we proceeded down three parallel tracks to:
WATER TOOLS – Find a permanent home for a suite of online tools that the provincial water management program already relies on for water licensing. These tools provide a powerful capability for water sustainability planning as envisioned in the Province’s Watershed Security Strategy.
ECOLOGICAL ACCOUNTING PROCESS (EAP) – Train next generations of planners and local government staff to tackle the riparian deficit along urban streams. The EAP methodology and metrics address the disconnect in the Riparian Area Protection Regulation (RPAR) between land use oversight and direct responsibility for maintenance and management of stream condition.
BLUE ECOLOGY – Build a bridge between two cultures through a water-first approach, one that embraces lessons learned from Indigenous oral history and imbues a change in attitude among water managers. We describe this desired outcome as Water Reconciliation.”
“We have started to engage government with training and will continue through 2024. We also convened the inaugural Ambassadors of the Partnership Forum and will build on the energy that it generated. It is full speed ahead down all three tracks!”
Comments Off on CONTEXT AND HISTORY DO MATTER: “In 2003, we embarked on a journey with a commitment to document our history on waterbucket.ca even as we created it through collaboration and partnerships,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director
Note to Reader:
Waterbucket eNewscelebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision.The edition published on welcomed readers back for another season of Waterbucket eNews! Between September 2022 and June 2023, the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia published 32 feature stories over a 9-month period.
ONE-MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader
Everyone learns through stories. Through sharing stories of innovation and leadership, the Partnership strives to inspire our readers. Our focus is on issues of concern for watershed, water and food security in the local setting. How will we reconnect people, fish, land, and water in altered landscapes?
Stories behind the stories
This season, the Partnership will again feature “convening for action” champions in the local government and stewardship sectors. We share the stories of those who build on knowledge, experience and wisdom to advance Green Infrastructure solutions that achieve Water Sustainability outcomes.
We shine our Waterbucket eNews spotlight on the “story behind each story” because that is what readers are interested in. Through telling stories about champions and trailblazers, we underline that context and history do matter.
The voices of experience remind us that progress is measured in terms of decades, not months or years. Realistic perspectives plus sustained commitment over achievable time horizons would help communities manage expectations and make progress in successfully tackling issues and risks.
EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE: How well are we doing? Now what?
“Mother Nature has an amazing sense of timing. On the 20th anniversary of the evacuation of 27,000 people from Kelowna due to forest fires, history repeated itself in August in the Kelowna region, in particular West Kelowna,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.
Context and history do matter
“We have had two decades to prepare for the obvious and the inevitable. 2003 was the first of a series of ‘teachable years’, with the full onslaught of a changing climate hitting hard as of 2015.
The Partnership path from 2003 through 2023
“The Partnership for Water Sustainability in its present form was birthed in 2003. We seized the moment and moved into a vacuum. Timing is everything. At the beginning of 2003, the members of an intergovernmental committee comprised of three levels of government were in place. By April 2003, we were organized and we were primed for action.”
“In September 2003, mere weeks after the Kelowna fires resulted in evacuation of some 27,000 residents, Lynn Kriwoken of the Ministry of Environment asked me to spearhead development and implementation of the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia, released in February 2004. Then came BC’s first Drought Response Plan in June 2004.”
“At our first inter-regional focus group session, held in Kelowna in November 2003, the vision and game plan for the waterbucket.ca website had crystalized. The Partnership embraced the model for storytelling that Joanne deVries pioneeredwith her FreshOutlook magazine in the 1990s.”
“The rest is history, as they say. We embarked on a journey with a commitment to document our history on waterbucket.ca even as we created it through collaboration and partnerships. And why is this context important for our readers to know?”
Members of the team in April 2005 when the Minister of Environment announced that waterbucket.ca was now LIVE. From left to right: Ron Smith, Lynn Kriwoken, Joanne deVries, Ray Fung and Mike Tanner.
“Well….because people learn from stories! Through storytelling, we pass on an understanding of THE WHY and THE WHAT. Two decades later, you are reading Waterbucket eNews !”
“For more than two decades, the Partnership has been developing tools and resources and mentoring talent, while all the time growing the Living Water Smart Network. The Partnership is all about the intergenerational mission and passing the baton to those who are receptive to embracing it,” concluded Kim Stephens.
Comments Off on 2022 Annual Report for the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia
Note to Reader:
Waterbucket eNewscelebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on March 14, 2023 featured Partnership’s Annual Report 2022. The document is written to inform and engage the reader through a storytelling approach to sharing of information.
Collaborative leadership deliver results across organizational boundaries: Build bridges of understanding, pass the baton!
Over the past 30 years, a series of provincial government initiatives established a direction for water sustainability, including Stewardship of the Water of BC in 1993, the Fish Protection Act in 1997, and the Water Conservation Strategy for BC in 1998. The high-water mark is Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan, released in 2008.
Since its inception, the Partnership for Water Sustainability has been guided by and acted within the 45 actions in Living Water Smart. The enduring strength of Living Water Smart lies in its recognition that collaboration, while important to foster within a legislative framework, also happens outside governments, in communities and non-governmental organizations.
The Water Sustainability Act is another key piece; the Partnership is committed to furthering its implementation and collaborating with the provincial government to fill gaps and improve the legislation.
We are implementers: Look back to see ahead
“A Partnership strength is the real-world experience we bring because of our multiple initiatives under Living Water Smart Actions. Under that vision, various building blocks processes have evolved over the decades. Living Water Smart transcends governments,” states Ted van der Gulik, Partnership President.
“Over the past 30 years, the hard work of hope has resulted in a policy, program and regulatory framework in British Columbia that enables community-based action to adapt to the changing seasonal water cycle.”
“Living Water Smart successes are defined by collaboration and a “top-down and bottom-up” approach. This brings together decision-makers and community advocates. Successes are milestones along a building blocks continuum.”
“The Watershed Security Strategy and Fund, an initiative of the current provincial government, is the obvious mechanism to revisit, understand, learn from, and leverage past successes in the building blocks continuum. We have tools to help do the job. We can achieve better stewardship of BC’s water resources for present and future generations.”
EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER
“The Partnership is a legal entity. Operationally, however, we function as the hub for a network, which we describe as the Living Water Smart Network, “stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.
“The Partnership leadership team is growing the network. We are not building a conventional organization. The Living Water Smart Network is guided by the collaborative leadership model, and this shared vision:
“The network also holds the key to intergenerational collaboration. It is how we build bridges of understanding and pass the baton from the past to the present and future. In this way, the network is a foundation piece for succession planning and thus continuity.”
“For the Partnership to be successful as a catalyst for facilitating changes in practice over the long-term, the hard work on the ground must be done by our partners. This means the mission and work of the Partnership must be aligned with and support their organizational aspirations and objectives.”
“The Partnership’s Annual Report 2022 lays out our mind-map for a 3-year transition strategy for ensuring the continuity of the Living Water Smart Network.”
“The document is not a conventional annual report in the way people typically expect one to look like. Rather, it is written to inform and engage the reader through a storytelling approach to sharing of information.”
“We do this because everyone learns through stories!”
STORY BEHIND THE STORY: The Partnership for Water Sustainability’s 3-Year Transition Strategy for ensuring continuity of the network – as explained by Ted van der Gulik, President
Extracted from Annual Report 2022, the “story behind the story” is a 600-word essay written by Ted van der Gulik for his President’s Perspective. He paints a broad-brush picture of where the Partnership is heading. It is our road map of Tier One priorities. These build on notable accomplishments in 2022.
Below, the highlighted quotable quote is also extracted from Annual Report 2022. In clear terms, Dr. Jane Wei-Skillern conceptualizes how a network gets to its “mission impact”.
Make it so!
“The long-term success of the Partnership is founded on recognizing when there is either a need or a watershed moment, and then creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. We have done this repeatedly over the years and decades. Notable examples are EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, and the suite of online calculators that the BC Agricultural Water Demand Model has spawned,” wrote Ted van der Gulik.
“Last October, the Partnership leadership team convened in Nanaimo. We looked back to see ahead. We reflected on how we would ensure the continuity of the Partnership network. We emerged from our session with the concept for a 3-year transition strategy to create a self-fulfilling prophecy once again.”
“The Partnership itself is a unique approach to collaboration because we place the emphasis on growing the network within a constellation of networks. We know that from our conversations with Dr. Jane Wei-Skillern of the Haas Business School at the University of California Berkeley.”
“A foundational idea is that we are not building a PWSBC organization per se. But there will always be the need for an “engine” or guiding force, which is the Partnership leadership team. And we cannot just be cheerleaders and facilitators. We must also continue to develop tools and resources that others may not even contemplate. That is one of our strengths. That sets us apart.”
“Growing and sustaining the network is very much about finding those to whom we can pass the baton.”
Year One of the 3-Year Transition Strategy
“Currently, a challenge facing many organizations is the loss of oral history and long-term understanding due to organizational amnesia. This reality is uppermost in our minds as we proceed with Year One of a 3-year strategy,” continued Ted van der Gulik.
“With the foregoing in mind, our Annual Report 2022 is structured in two parts. First, we provide context – we describe how the Partnership embodies collaborative leadership and how we achieve our intergenerational mission through the power and continuity of the network. Then we highlight three Partnership priorities for 2023.”
Three priorities align with desired outcomes for a 3-year transition strategy
“The defining question is this: Who among the next generation will step forward, accept the baton, and provide the type of leadership that would ensure continuity of the network? We have an answer for EAP which is foundational to municipal asset management for sustainable service delivery. EAP is our precedent and our first model for a 3-year transition strategy.”
“The Partnership has embarked upon a 3-year program to embed EAP in the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Research Institute (MABRRI) at Vancouver Island University. MABRRI has accepted the baton and will lead the next stage of EAP evolution. They believe in EAP and are committed to meeting the needs of local government through training of the next generations of planners and local government staff. They have bought into the vision.”
“Learning from the EAP precedent, we are committed to doing something along the same lines with either the provincial government or other partners. For example, this may be where our objective is to ensure the legacy of tools that others may be relying on for their water use decisions such as those related to water licensing. This means we must establish relationships with a new generation of provincial decisionmakers and staff.”
“In 2023, our big idea is to convene a workshop for senior managers in the provincial government, up to and including Deputy Ministers. The theme would be helping people meet their mandate. We would build strategically and communicate and coordinate with early adopters.”
“At the end of the day, ensuring continuity of the network is really about how organizations continue within the network.”
Comments Off on About the Lifetime Category of Membership in the Partnership
The Mission Continues
“The Lifetime Members category recognizes the contributions of key individuals who have played a pivotal role in the genesis and/or evolution of the Partnership,” reports Tim Pringle, President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability.
“The Directors created the Lifetime Membership category to achieve two outcomes. First, we believe this is a material way to recognize the valued contributions over time of key individuals who have been involved in developing and/or delivering the program elements comprising the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia (and which provided the genesis for the Partnership).”
“Secondly, this provides those key individuals with formal standing in their retirement so that they can continue to identify with the Partnership and the Water Sustainability Action Plan. In other words, they may have retired from their day-jobs, but the mission to advance a new way of doing business in BC continues.”
“Continued participation in the activities of the Partnership is a tangible way for our Lifetime Members to share the knowledge and wisdom that they accumulated over the course of their careers in leadership positions in BC,” concludes Tim Pringle.
Comments Off on About the Champion Supporter Category of Membership
Sharing a Vision for Water Sustainability
“The Champion Supporters category of membership in the Partnership is our way of formally recognizing agencies and organizations that provide the Partnership with substantial financial and/or in-kind support. Their support is vitally important because that is what enables the Partnership to develop tools and deliver programs under the umbrella of Convening for Action in British Columbia,” reports Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability.
“While the Partnership is a not-for-profit society, our members mostly represent local governments. Hence, their demonstrated commitment to achieving a shared vision for water sustainability in a local government setting is vitally important to the Partnership’s capability to carry out our mission.”
Recognition of Water Balance Model Partners
“A catalyst for incorporation of the Partnership was the Water Balance Model initiative,” continues Ted van der Gulik, a founding Director of the Partnership and Chair of the Water Balance Model Partnership. “An essential part of the plan for ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Water Balance Model was creation of a legal entity where the tool would reside permanently. The Partnership for Water Sustainability is that entity.”
“The Champion Supporters designation also allows the Partnership to recognize the commitment of those Water Balance Model Partners that are making exceptional contributions to the success of the Partnership’s outreach and education program.”
Comments Off on Lifetime Member – Brian Carruthers (inducted in 2022)
Note to Reader:
In September 2022, the Partnership for Water Sustainability honoured Brian Carruthers with a Lifetime Membership in recognition of his stalwart support for the Partnership in his role as Chief Administrative Officer (2014-2022) of the Cowichan Valley Regional District.
Brian Carruthers career in government spans 40 years. He spent the first 20 years with BC Parks, supervising and managing operations in some of the largest and busiest provincial parks in BC. In 2001, he switched to local government, and served as both a municipal and regional district CAO in the Kootenay Boundary, North Central and Vancouver Island/Coast regions of BC.
Living and working in communities across the province, Brian has gained a deep understanding and appreciation for the unique opportunities and challenges facing regional districts and small to medium size communities.
Kim Stephens (on the right) presented the LIFETIME MEMBER certificate of recognition to Brian Carruthers (on the left). Scenic Cowichan Bay is the backdrop.
Brian Carruthers is a Champion Supporter of the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Education Initiative
“Cowichan Valley Regional District experience has influenced core content for provincial guidance documents and curricula for training sessions, workshops and seminars held around the province and delivered by the Partnership for Water Sustainability under the umbrella of the Water Sustainability Action Plan,” states Kim Stephens, Partnership Executive Director.
“CVRD collaboration with the Partnership has been supported by successive Regional Boards and Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs). Their support is the essence of handing off the baton from one administration to the next over five election terms and three CAOs, namely – Frank Raimondo (2006-2007), Warren Jones (2008-2014), and Brian Carruthers (2014-2022).”
“Support by elected representatives and staff for program elements delivered by the Partnership (through initiatives such as the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Educational Initiative) enables the Partnership to foster and support collaborative leadership among participating local governments. In turn, that builds bridges of understanding through intergenerational collaboration.”
“For almost decade, stalwart support by Brian Caruthers has been a critical success factor in building momentum for a whole-system approach to water resource management,” concludes Kim Stephens.
A Window into the Cowichan Water Journey
“I had a real incentive to come to the CVRD in 2014 because water was the primary focus. I was really impressed by the CVRD’s work in terms of water, the Cowichan Watershed Board, and protection of the Cowichan watershed,” states Brian Carruthers.
“It made it intriguing for me because I came from a regional district that had no desire to be involved in those kinds of things. When I started at CVRD, the region was in the midst of a watershed governance study. It was looking at how the CVRD could take a more active role in watershed governance.”
“The Board Chair and I did tours of First Nations communities and met with their chiefs and councils around the intent of this initiative and what would their interest be. We realized that this was bigger than we could take on at that time. Instead, we turned our attention to the Drinking Water & Watershed Protection (DWWP) model for a regional service.”
“It is a story of ups and downs. Running into obstacles and resistance, whether in the community or at the Board table, but always keeping the end-result in mind: making sure we have enough water in our region to satisfy a growing region. And that outcome is what always kept us focused on moving drinking water and watershed protection forward.”
Comments Off on CHAMPION SUPPORTER: recognition of the City of Kelowna (May 2022)
Note to Reader:
The Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia is a non-profit society that delivers services in collaboration with government. . Operationally, however, the Partnership functions as the hub for a network that is guided by the collaborative leadership model. This approach reflects the Partnership genesis, first as a technical committee and then as a roundtable.
The Champion Supporter designation is the Partnership’s way of formally recognizing organizations whose enduring commitment enables the Partnership to foster and support collaborative leadership in the local government setting by “convening for action” in the interests of the common good.
Mayor Colin Basran (L) and Kim Stephens (R), Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC
City of Kelowna is a Champion Supporter of the Partnership for Water Sustainability
“The City of Kelowna was a founding member of the original inter-governmental Water Balance Model Partnership that morphed into the Partnership, a legal entity, more than a decade ago. This scenario modelling and decision support tool was developed as an extension of Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia, released in June 2002 by the provincial government,” stated Kim Stephens, when he presented the certificate of recognition to Mayor Colin Basran.
“Kelowna was one of a select group of local governments whose case study experience was incorporated in the Guidebook. It is therefore timely that we will shortly be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Guidebook. The occasion is an opportune time to highlight the City’s valued contribution.”
City’s contribution to the BC Landscape Water Calculator
“In the early years, a succession of City staff supported and/or contributed to the work of the Partnership. With retirements and departures, however, there was an interruption in the relationship until Alan Newcombe returned in 2014 and initiated a process of re-engagement,” continued Kim Stephens,
“Most recently, the City of Kelowna stepped up to be in the first cohort of local government partners to operationalize the BC Landscape Water Calculator in three regions (Okanagan, Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island).”
“With each application, there is a new twist. Each time, we evolve the tool to meet the needs of our partners. Everyone benefits. This is the power of the collaborative approach. The Kelowna version is oriented to contractors who must submit reports as a requirement of the QWEL program.
Landscape Water Conservation Reporting in Kelowna
“Over the past decade, collaboration with the City of Kelowna was a natural fit to both build the BC Landscape Water Calculator and undertake a pilot demonstration application,” stated Ted van der Gulik, Partnership President in June 2021.
“The City has implemented innovative approaches to management of water use and landscape irrigation, such as the QWEL program. The City has an oversight system in place to ensure that landscape design and irrigation design work together to achieve water efficiency.”
“QWEL, the Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper certification program, is a great way for homeowners to ensure that landscape and irrigation contractors have water conservation in mind, consider native landscape material, and provide top notch workmanship in their services,” adds Ed Hoppe, Water Quality and Customer Care Supervisor, City of Kelowna.
“The City’s approval process for integration of landscape and irrigation system design is keyed to three requirements. First, use of turf-grass is limited to a maximum of 60% of the site. Secondly, irrigation systems must be sized so that water use would not exceed the allowable annual water budget. Thirdly, a Landscape Water Conservation Report must be submitted for the City’s approval.”
Comments Off on 2021 Annual Report for the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia
Note to Reader:
The Partnership’s Annual Report 2021 is written as a communication tool to present a big picture look at the work of The Partnership. The format comprises a set of “30-second takeaways” to illustrate the breadth and depth of initiatives and programs. Click on the cover image below to download a copy of the document.
The Living Water Smart Network is guided by a shared vision.
By pulling threads of understanding from the past through to the present and future, it would help communities reconnect people, fish, land and water in altered landscapes.
Are you, the reader, curious about “the story behind the story” of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia? If so, continue reading. You will learn who we are, what we represent, how we came to be, and why we are committed to an intergenerational mission.
A Non-Profit that Provides Services to Government
The Partnership is a registered non-profit society, a legal entity. Operationally, however, we function as the hub for a network in the local government setting – the Living Water Smart Network. We are guided by the collaborative leadership model. An over-arching goal of collaboration is to align efforts around a shared vision for “settlement, economy and ecology in balance”.
This approach reflects The Partnership genesis, first as a technical committee and then as a roundtable, before morphing into the present non-profit legal entity. We are growing the Living Water Smart Network. We are not building a conventional organization.
Collaborative leadership uses thepower of influence rather than positional authority to engage and align individuals and organizations within a network, and deliver results across organizational boundaries.
The network is the ultimate source of strength of The Partnership. The network also holds the key to intergenerational collaboration. It is how we build bridges of understanding and pass the baton from the past to the present and future.
For The Partnership to be successful in facilitating changes in practice over the long-term, the hard work must be done by our partners. This means the work of The Partnership must be aligned with and support their organizational aspirations and objectives.
EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE
“At the beginning of 2021, the Partnership leadership reflected on our long-term commitment to collaborative leadership and growing a network. From the outset, we had vowed never to fall into the trap of concentrating our energies on building an organization and thus losing sight of “the mission”. This view of the world reflected our history as a roundtable,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.
“Are there other precedents for our approach, we wondered? Or are we unique? In 2015, for example, United States Senator Patrick Leahy reached out to The Partnership to provide an inspirational address at his 2nd Environmental Summit held in Burlington, Vermont. When I asked why they approached us, the summit organizers responded that they could find nothing in North America comparable to what The Partnership is doing.”
“Although our Vermont experience provided anecdotal evidence, we decided it was time to research the social science literature to definitively answer this question: Has anyone else tried to do what we have been doing for the past two decades under the “collaboration umbrella” that is theWater Sustainability Action Plan? “
Is Our Experience Unique?
“Mike Tanner, a founding Director, took on the research task. He found the groundbreaking paper co-authored by Dr. Jane Wei Stillern in 2008. Published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, her work provided us with the textbook reference to describe what we are doing intuitively!”
“Fast forward to October 2021. The Partnership leadership reached out to Jane via email. We wanted to learn more about her research findings. Jane responded within minutes. Were we ever impressed. Within days, we met via Zoom. Jane kicked off the conversation by telling us that she had heard about the work of the Partnership and had long wanted to connect with us.”
“The focus of Jane’s research is on non-government organizations (NGOs). The Partnership is unique in that our main focus is on evolving a network that is government-based. Governments, especially local governments, are also nonprofits. From experience, we can draw the conclusion that the research findings for an NGO-based network apply equally well to the Partnership’s government-based network.”
“Jane Wei Stillern introduced us to a set of four counter-intuitive principles that are critical to collaboration success. Her findings offer insights into how champions in the local government and stream stewardship sectors can ensure that their collaborative efforts can have an impact that is dramatically greater than the sum of the individual parts.”
Principles for Effective Networks
Focus on mission before organization. Effective network leaders build strategies that advance the mission even when it does not result in direct benefits to their organization.
Build partnerships based on trust, not control. Leaders depend upon shared values and trust rather than top-down controls and accountability systems.
Promote others rather than yourself.Network leaders exhibit a strong norm of humility above all else, sharing credit and foregoing opportunities for individual advancement and institutional growth and brand building.
Build constellations rather than lone stars. Leaders who catalyze successful networks acknowledge their weaknesses as readily as their strengths. The goal is to build the larger system that is necessary for delivering on the mission, not to become the “market leader”.
JANE WEU-SKILLERN’S RESEARCH WORK IS GUIDED BY THIS MISSION STATEMENT: “To champion network leaders, and the networks that they serve, to nurture change on the challenges that dwarf us all.”
“Based on fifteen years of research on successful networks across a range of fields and contexts, and more than two centuries of collective experience of nonprofit network leaders themselves, the four counter-intuitive principles are the common norms that effective networks have in common,” states Dr. Jane Wei-Skillern.
“They challenge us to examine the characteristics of our own collaborations and they provide guidance on how to ensure that the impact of our collective work is dramatically greater than the sum of the individual parts.”
Intergenerational Context for the Living Water Smart Network
2021-An Extraordinary Year Reflections by Ted van der Gulik, Partnership President
Looking back, 2021 is an extraordinary year of accomplishment for the Partnership. We continued to elevate our game and in so doing demonstrated what is possible. We provided leadership for a range of initiatives of provincial importance. These four stand out:
Groundwater Licensing is a cornerstone of the Water Sustainability Act. It is the biggest endeavour the Province of BC has taken on in its water management history.
EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, is game-changing. It provides local governments with a methodology and metrics to integrate stream corridor systems within Asset Management Budgets.
BC Landscape Water Calculator is aligned with the next iteration of the provincial government’s Water Conservation Condition. This is the contractual mechanism for infrastructure grants.
Blue Ecology is an ecological philosophy whose time has come. Interweaving Indigenous knowledge and Western science would be the foundation for a whole-system approach to Water Reconciliation.
These successes were achieved through the power of collaborative leadership. The process involves bringing the right people together in constructive ways with good information, such that they create authentic visions and strategies for addressing the shared concerns of their organizations and communities.
Looking ahead to 2022, the Partnership and our partners in the Living Water Smart Network are poised to build on these breakthrough initiatives. We will also be celebrating the 20th anniversary of Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columba. The Partnership is the steward for the Guidebook.
In 2022, the Partnership will publish the fourth in the Beyond the Guidebook series of guidance documents. Tentatively titled Flowing Towards “Water Reconciliation” within the Georgia Basin/Salish Sea, Beyond the Guidebook 2022 will showcase parallel streams of effort by our local government partners in five sub-regions over the past two decades. This work is ongoing under the umbrella of the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Education Initiative, launched in 2012.
GROUNDWATER LICENSING:
In mid-September 2021, The Partnership released a Groundwater Licensing Primer that laid out WHAT must happen to rectify a chaotic situation, provide a dedicated budget, and get groundwater licensing implementation back on track.
EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process:
The goal of making the financial case for the stream has been realized through a systematic process founded on case study applications. A notable outcome is Riparian Deficit, a new way of defining “loss of riparian integrity”.
BC Landscape Water Calculator:
BC’s new reality is longer, drier summers. Targeting seasonal outdoor water use represents the best opportunity to achieve “water use in balance with a changing water cycle”.
Blue Ecology / Water Reconciliation:
More than a decade ago, international recognition gave Michael Blackstock’s Blue Ecology research early credibility and profile. The initiative is guided by a vision to build a bridge between two cultures through a water-first approach.
Launched in 2012, the IREI facilitates peer-based education among local governments located on the east coast of Vancouver and in the Lower Mainland. In 2016, five Regional Boards – Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo Region, Comox Valley, Capital Region, and Metro Vancouver – recommitted through 2021 to collaborate and work as a team. 2022 is the 10th anniversary of the IREI.
About the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC
Incorporation of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia as a not-for-profit society on November 19, 2010 was a milestone moment. Incorporation signified a bold leap forward. The Partnership evolved from a technical committee in the 1990s, to a “water roundtable” in the first decade of the 2000s, and then to a legal entity. The Partnership has its roots in government – local, provincial, federal.
Conceptual Framework for Inter-Generational Collaboration
Technical knowledge alone is not enough to resolve water challenges facing BC. Making things happen in the real world requires an appreciation and understanding of human behaviour, combined with a knowledge of how decisions are made. It takes a career to figure this out.
The Partnership has a primary goal, to build bridges of understanding and pass the baton from the past to the present and future. To achieve the goal, the Partnership is growing a network in the local government setting. This network embraces collaborative leadership and inter-generational collaboration.
Application of Experience, Knowledge and Wisdom
The Partnership believes that when each generation is receptive to accepting the inter-generational baton and embracing the wisdom that goes with it, the decisions of successive generations will benefit from and build upon the experience of those who went before them.
The Partnership leadership team brings experience, knowledge, and wisdom – a forceful combination to help collaborators reach their vision, mission, and goals for achieving water sustainability. When they are successful, the Partnership is successful.
The Time Continuum graphic(above) conceptualizes the way of thinking that underpins the inter-generational mission of the Partnership for Water Sustainability. Influence choices. Capitalize on the REACHABLE and TEACHABLE MOMENTS to influence choices.
Comments Off on CHAMPION SUPPORTER: recognition of the City of Abbotsford (October 2021)
Mayor Henry Braun, City of Abbotsford, and Ted van der Gulik, President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC (October 2021)
City of Abbotsford is a Champion Supporter of the Partnership for Water Sustainability
The Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia is a non-profit society that delivers services in collaboration with government. . Operationally, however, the Partnership functions as the hub for a network that is guided by the collaborative leadership model. This approach reflects the Partnership genesis, first as a technical committee and then as a roundtable. The Partnership is growing the network rather than building a conventional organization.
The Champion Supporter designation is the Partnership’s way of formally recognizing organizations whose enduring commitment enables the Partnership to foster and support collaborative leadership in the local government setting by “convening for action” in the interests of the common good.
“The City of Abbotsford was a founding member of the original inter-governmental Water Balance Model Partnership that morphed into the Partnership, a legal entity, more than a decade ago. Beginning in 2002, a succession of City staff has supported and/or contributed to the work of the Partnership. For some time, Stella Chiu and Amy Peters have been steadfast in their support,” stated Ted van der Gulik, Partnership President, when he presented Champion Supporter certificate of recognition to Mayor Henry Braun.
“Most recently, the City of Abbotsford stepped up to be in the first cohort of local government partners to operationalize the BC Landscape Water Calculator in three regions (Okanagan, Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island). With each application, there is a new twist. Each time, we evolve the tool to meet the needs of our partners. Everyone benefits.”
“This is the power of the collaborative approach. The Abbotsford contribution was a database of common water-wise plants that can be used towards the City’s Water Wise Landscape Rebate Program. An important feature of the BC Landscape Water Calculator is how the dropdown settings guide the user selection of native and water efficient plants depending on whether planting locations are in the sun, shade, or a combination.”
Outdoor Water Use in Balance with a Changing Water Cycle
“I started with the City of Abbotsford in 2010 at a time when water conservation was really ramping up because of high peak demands in the late 2000s,” recalled Amy Peters. She coordinates the City’s water conservation program.
A regional bulk water supply system serves the City of Abbotsford (south side of Fraser River) and District of Mission (north side of the river). The principal supply source is Norrish Creek/Dickson Lake.
Context for Water Use Efficiency
“Because the Fraser Valley’s population had been (and still is) growing so fast, our peak demands were getting quite high a decade ago. In addition to looking for a new water source, the City’s immediate priority was to target peak demands to reduce total water use.”
“In 2011, Abbotsford became the first municipality in Canada to implement Advanced Metering Infrastructure (smart meters). Soon after, the City switched from an annual water billing to bi-monthly billing.”
“We were really lucky. Implementation of the smart meters combined with the changes in billing made a massive difference. We saw a 20 to 30 percent drop in peak demand! This level has held steady over the past decade and bought us time to explore different source options.”
You Manage What You Can Measure
“In 2011, the City looked at options to reduce peak water demands due to the high cost of a new water source. This included conservation, optimizing existing sources and system efficiencies. Several different conservation programs were explored, one of the programs implemented was a voluntary program for irrigation and landscape water efficiency,” continued Amy Peters.
IRRIGATION AND LANDSCAPE WATER EFFICIENCY PROGRAM:
“This program involved doing assessments of individual properties. Because they were in-depth, the assessments took a lot of time. We did not know whether the impact was great or small. Our rationale was that it is more about building awareness.”
“These assessments led homeowners to ask for incentives. In turn, this led to the rebate program. And so, we wanted to find a way to evaluate the program and demonstrate that there were water savings.”
“The solution to our need was the BC Landscape Water Calculator. The value of the calculator is that homeowners can now provide us with a report that shows how their choice of water efficient plants and landscape design meets their water budget. The report is the basis for payment of a rebate.”
MANAGING PEAK WATER DEMAND:
“The City sees the BC Landscape Water Calculator in helping us manage our peak demand. It really is about building the awareness through education. I like that the calculator will be able to show people just how much they can reduce their water use.”
“Many homeowners are now familiar with how much they are using because the number is on their utility bill. It really is important that they be able to see how much outdoor water use contributes to their total water demand. The BC Landscape Water Calculator does this.”
CONVERSION OF LAWNS TO WATER EFFICIENT LANDSCAPES:
“I have been looking at different ways to market water conservation. It is something that I really want to focus on. We already have sprinkler patrols, the main purpose of which is education. The patrol members also talk to homeowners about the Irrigation and Landscape Program.”
“We are encouraging people to transform their front yards by replacing grass with water efficient plants. We are promoting both water efficient and native plants. The BC Landscape Water Calculator provides them with choices for both. An unintended outcome of customizing the tool for Abbotsford is in the way it gives homeowners direction for plant selection. This is powerful.”
Comments Off on CHAMPION SUPPORTER: recognition of eVision Media for design and enhancement of waterbucket.ca website to showcase success stories and celebrate champions who lead by example (October 2021)
Note to Reader:
The Partnership for Water Sustainability has a decade-long working relationship with eVision Media. Collaboration-based, this relationship has involved two re-builds of the waterbucket.ca website – in 2012 and then again in 2017.
Kim Stephens presented the Champion Supporter certificate of recognition to Susan Friesen, founder of eVision Media, in October 2021
Vision for Waterbucket.ca Website
“The Partnership for Water Sustainability values everything that Susan Friesen and her staff have done for the past decade to help us ensure the success of the waterbucket.ca website. It is a powerhouse website with a great look-and-feel. Susan’s support of the Partnership over many years means a lot to us,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director, when he presented the framed Champion Supporter certificate of recognition.”
“The vision for the waterbucket.ca website is that it will inform and educate land use, infrastructure servicing, and asset management practitioners by providing easy access to information, tools and resources. Many in this province do know in principle what they ought to do. However, there is still a gap between UNDERSTANDING and IMPLEMENTATION. This results in a capacity-building challenge. Hence, the waterbucket.ca spotlight is on how to ‘bridge the gap’ between talk and action. That is mission possible,” continued Mike Tanner, Chair, waterbucket.ca website.
“The level of service and the rapid response when there is a website glitch to be fixed is amazing. Whether on a week day or during the weekend, and regardless of time of the day, all I need do is send an email to eVision staff and waterbucket.ca functionality will be immediately restored to normal,” concluded Kim Stephens.
Flashback to 2017
“We truly appreciate the recognition. Working with the Partnership Executive is always a pleasure. In 2017, for example, we were excited to have the opportunity to give their tired old site a fresh, new look with enhanced features,” stated Susan Friesen, Web Specialist and Social Media Advisor with eVision Media.
“Knowing the waterbucket.ca user-base was wanting to find information easily, we redesigned the home page with not only a more contemporary look and feel but also to facilitate it being a portal to all of the different content-rich sections of the site.
“Now site users can enjoy a faster, easier and mobile-friendly experience to conduct their research and become more informed with the valuable resources the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC provides.”
