Convening for Action in British Columbia

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sustainable service delivery

    ARTICLE: “Profile in Courage – Oak Bay’s Sustainable Funding Plan for Infrastructure Replacement” (Asset Management BC Newsletter, Winter 2022)


    “Anybody who is going to hear or read about the Oak Bay story, the thing that they really must understand is the role of Council. There is a special type of courage that Council needs to have to say, ‘give us the naked truth’. There is not a lot of political up-side to shining a light on infrastructure challenges. Oak Bay Council did that, no holds barred. They wanted to know what the situation was. And so that clearly demonstrates a strong commitment to an asset management culture in Oak Bay which is growing day by day. Oak Bay’s driver for action is the $463 million cumulative infrastructure funding gap,” stated Christopher Paine.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: A Network Allows People to Move Out of Workplace Silos” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in February 2022


    “Often, silos are self-imposed by people with an absence of historical knowledge that results in a fear of failure and the subsequent criticism. People in one silo now tend to not interact with colleagues in other silos, both within their own workforce and in their greater community. In today’s world, it is the norm for many people to exit training programs and find themselves in managerial roles without the benefit of exposure to field experience that would give them both a strong basis and confidence upon which to make decisions,” stated Joe McGowan.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery in the District of Oak Bay” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in January 2022


    “We have already started ramping up how much maintenance work we are doing, how much capital rehabilitation, and so on. The growth is going to continue. We are lucky that the community is asking for this. Now we are responding. It is a great situation. In some cases, we are being asked, Can you do this faster? In a lot of communities, it is a struggle because staff has a difficult time getting Council attention. In Oak Bay, we are fortunate to have folks who care about infrastructure and renewal. We can talk about it frankly. Things aren’t perfect but we are able to make progress…which is key,” stated Dan Horan.

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    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


    “Implementation of asset management along with the associated evolution of local government thinking is a continuous process, not a discrete task. We needed a way to illustrate this diagrammatically, and thus communicate, what the journey by a local government to the eventual Sustainable Service Delivery destination would look like. This led us to the concept of a continuum. Over time local governments can achieve the goal of sustainable service delivery for watershed systems,” stated Glen Brown. “It’s all about the service because infrastructure assets are worthless IF they do not provide a service.”

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    ARTICLE: Natural Assets as Ecological Systems and Services: What do you know or wonder about the EAP and MNAI missions? (Asset Management BC Newsletter, Fall 2020)


    “The two initiatives are outcomes flowing from the tireless determination of two pioneers, EAP Chair Tim Pringle and MNAI Chair Emanuel Machado, to transform how local governments view ecological systems and the services they provide. Development of both MNAI and EAP began around 2015. Actually translating policy objectives into tangible outcomes requires that local governments have a methodology and metrics for valuing ecological assets and services in an asset management strategy,” wrote Kim Stephens.

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    DEMONSTRATION APPLICATION OF EAP, THE ECOLOGICAL ACCOUNTING PROCESS: “The once-in-a-lifetime redevelopment of the Argyle high school site in North Vancouver’s Lynn Valley is an opportunity for stream restoration in one of the older urban areas. Application of the EAP methodology and metrics enabled us to quantify how streams influence neighbourhoods and property values, and thus inform the Kilmer Creek daylighting decision process,” stated Tim Pringle, EAP Chair (June 2020)


    “Two school frontages abut the stream. They account for 55% of the channel length through the area developed prior to streamside regulation. Thus, culvert daylighting plus channel realignment through school lands represent the single, most favourable opportunity to achieve stream restoration in the context of redevelopment. Stream restoration would enable the school district to fulfill a compelling social obligation, and that is, to recognize its responsibility to support maintenance and management of Kilmer Creek as a natural commons,” stated Tim Pringle.

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    REPORT ON: “Kilmer Creek Re-Alignment in the District of North Vancouver: Assessing the Worth of Ecological Services Using the Ecological Accounting Process for Financial Valuation” (Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC; released June 2020)


    “EAP addresses this question: How do communities decide how much to invest in the natural commons? The EAP methodology and metrics enable a local government to determine the WORTH of the natural commons, with ‘worth’ being the foundation for an annual budget for maintenance and maintenance of ecological assets. EAP considers the system as a whole, takes into account social values, and is guided by how the community uses the natural commons, including influences on nearby parcel values,” stated Kim Stephens.

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    CONVENING FOR ACTION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: 2010 was a ‘watershed year’ for the Water Sustainability Action Plan, with outreach taking place at 10 major events in three regions, to provide peer-based learning for Living Water Smart, Building Greener Communities, and Adapting to a Changing Climate


    “The Partnership’s outreach spotlight in 2010 was on the rollout of the second in the Beyond the Guidebook series of guidance documents for rainwater management and restoration of hydrologic function in urban watersheds. ‘Beyond the Guidebook 2010’ describes how a ‘convening for action’ culture has taken root in BC. Bringing together local government practitioners in neutral forums has enabled implementers to collaborate as regional teams. How to do it examples help decision-makers visualize what ‘design with nature’ policy goals look like on the ground,” stated Kim Stephens.

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    FLASHBACK TO 2011: “Simply put, we believe if we respect the land, water sustainability will follow. Getting there requires a change in mind-set and land ethic,” stated Kim Stephens at the FCM Sustainable Communities Conference held in Victoria, BC


    At the 2011 FCM Sustainable Communities Conference, eight innovators shared their breakthrough examples of municipal sustainability in a range of sectors. The format was interactive, which allowed participants to share and learn from each other. “Kim Stephens provided a water perspective. His takeaway message was that water sustainability will be achieved through green infrastructure policies and practices. There was a great deal of excitement and energy in the room and delegates were very engaged during the roundtable discussion,” stated Azzah Jeena.

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    ARTICLE: A BC Strategy for Community Investment in the Natural Commons: Why Terminology and Bias Matter (Asset Management BC Newsletter, Winter 2020)


    “Bias comes into play in one or more of the following three ways. First, whether one breaks the ecological system into its parts, or looks at the system as a whole. Secondly, whether the analytical focus is solely on financial values, or also takes into account social values. Finally, whether the guiding philosophy for valuation primarily is influenced by academia and scientific arguments, or by how the community uses the natural commons (stream corridor). These biases seem to persist,” stated Tim Pringle.

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