DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Asset Management Continuum for Sustainable Service Delivery” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in December 2021
Note to Reader:
The approach BC local governments follow for their asset management process is enshrined in the document Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery: A BC Framework. The important and telling part of the title is that Asset Management is a process to provide a sound basis for decisions relating to the function of service delivery. Assets exist and are created, upgraded, replaced, maintained, and operated to provide a service. There is no other reason for their existence than provision of the intended service.
‘Sustainable Service Delivery’ Explained
Glen Brown coined the term Sustainable Service Delivery in 2010 when he was an Executive Director with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Formal branding came with release of Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery: A BC Framework in December 2014, and rollout in 2015. The emphasis on service is a game-changer for local government infrastructure asset management.
At that time, and thanks to the early work of the then newly formed Asset Management BC, chaired by Glen Brown, local governments were just starting to wrap their minds around the ‘20/80 Rule’ – that is, the initial capital cost of municipal infrastructure is about 20% of the ultimate total cost, and the other 80% is an unfunded liability.
“The core document for asset management for BC local governments is Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery: A BC Framework. It provides the basis for the entire asset management process for our local governments to follow. The title of the Framework is deliberate and important. The ‘function’ and responsibility of Municipal Councils and Regional Boards of Directors is Sustainable Service Delivery. The process to support decision making is Asset Management,” stated Glen Brown.
“The Framework provides the basis for the entire asset management process for our local governments to follow. Funding agencies, as part of funding applications, request communities to identify where they are within the asset management process using the framework.”
To Learn More:
To read the complete story, download a PDF copy of “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Asset Management Continuum for Sustainable Service Delivery”.
