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When developing the BC Stormwater Guidebook, the steering committee believed it was important to have their finger on the local government pulse. Conversations yielded valuable insights while at the same establishing expectations about Guidebook direction. Igor Zahynacz, chair of a regional committee, was one of those leaders. “Accomplishing institutional change boils down to three principles: melt the opposition: implement the change; and then re-freeze! A good idea is immediate, but preparation for implementation can take 5 to 10 years,” stated Zahynacz.

“This organization, this network, has always been about bringing together likeminded people. And we have always been NIMBLE AND OPPORTUNISTIC. The Partnership is seen as a resource that is stable, that is there, and that people can draw upon. We must create a network so robust that it can withstand the shifts in people and positions in organizations. When we gather together we find inspiration. We find camaraderie. The Partnership provides an informal space to seed ideas and innovation. Convening for action gives us a common sense of purpose,” stated Ray Fung.

“Across British Columbia, a wave of new leaders took charge after the 2005 election. These elected representatives had open minds, were passionate about and committed to a long-term view of community, and trusted their staffs to turn ideas into beneficial outcomes across boundaries. A vision shared across regions powered the Convening for Action in British Columbia program. It inspired and aligned the efforts of many champions in local government, elected officials and staff alike. This was a top-down and bottom-up movement,” stated Kim Stephens.

“Knowledge-sharing stories tend to be about problems and have a different pattern from the traditional well-told story. They are told with context, and have something traditional stories lack: an explanation,” wrote Stephen Denning, author of The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations. “Telling stories that build on real knowledge sharing situations, enables individuals to gather in some of the understanding of the storyteller as well as recast the story into their own contextual work environment; hence adding their own understanding to the process”.

“The Partnership mission is to build a network that fosters support in developing solutions to today’s water sustainability challenges. These range from sharing accurate, scientifically grounded knowledge to weeding through political agendas and misinformation; and from the status quo to embracing a wholistic, environmentally sound wisdom. The takeaway message is that we can support each other to make everyone’s work easier by creating a knowledge network. In these busy times, there is tremendous value in networks to help solve problems together,” stated Remi Dube.

“Lead with Civility is a phoenix-like rising from the ashes of toxic culture. Diane Kalen-Sukra brilliantly threads together time-tested civic wisdom with hard-won insights from years in the fray,” stated Professor Emeritus Ron Dart. The phoenix does not rise on rhetoric. It rises on embers tended: memory restored, standards reset, trust rebuilt, truth told, compassion enacted, responsibility shared. That is the work before us. That is why this book matters. It is a book to be studied, applied, and returned to often. Renewal is a craft, learned by doing again and again.”

“The asset management process does not include futures. Only when an asset is newly constructed is it added to the register. That disconnect got me thinking. Infrastructure must one day be replaced. In the meantime, what do we do with the futures stuff? Where does the process and plan fit into the big picture for municipal councils? Councils have dealt with the futures stuff and the need for master plans for decades. But what is missing from the futures agenda is an equal master plan dealing with the future condition of existing infrastructure,” stated Wally Wells.

The Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation brings to life an exciting period in local government “convening for action” history. The Chronicle weaves quotable quotes by those who were in the frontlines of the green infrastructure movement to tell their story. “Creating change is not easy. We talk a lot about barriers that must be overcome. But the real issue is inertia. It takes effort and energy to get everyone moving in the right direction. And it requires a willingness to take calculated risks. By 2012, we had good reasons for optimism when we looked ahead,” stated Richard Boase.

“As individuals, under deadlines and demands for expediency, we can easily forget to look beyond local resources. Accepting and sharing concepts and points of view becomes part of a synergistic process that promotes others above self and focuses on the mission at hand. Constructive collaboration with others creates a powerful tool that is far greater than the sum of its parts. Because of transformational events, such as COVID, we have rapidly shifted to an era where trusted knowledge sharing has become more important than ever,” stated Derek Richmond.

Maureen Connelly founded and led the Centre for Architectural Ecology at the BC Institute of Technology from inception. She recruited a team of engineers, architects, and researchers to establish a world-class research facility. The Centre addressed the lack of performance data for green roofs in the Pacific Northwest. BCIT became an important hub for green roof research, education, and policy development, as the movement grew and evolved across North America. When the Centre suspended operation, out of the ashes emerged GRIN to provide a voice for green roofs.