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“Collaborating with external agencies opened our minds to thinking of AM practices in far broader terms, so that they might be applied in any community, regardless of size. We didn’t realize it, at the time, but it led to us eventually conclude that operationalizing AM would involve four separate, interconnected initiatives that would be the pathway for our journey toward Sustainable Service Delivery: They coalesced into what we locally refer to as The 4C’s – Collaboration, Capacity, Culture, and Council,” stated David Allen.

“The framework provides the basis for the entire asset management process for 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. While there is much attention on the Asset Management plan, there is much more to the process than just the plan. The implementation strategy and long-term financial plan are more important documents than the asset management plan itself,” stated Glen Brown.

“Asset Management is an integrated process, bringing together skills, expertise, and activities of People; with Information about a community’s physical Assets; and Finances; so that informed decisions can be made, supporting Sustainable Service Delivery. Communities build and maintain infrastructure to provide services. Failure to care for our infrastructure, manage our natural resources and protect the benefits provided by nature risks degrading, or even losing, the services communities enjoy, and that future generations may rely on,” stated Wally Wells.

“The Primer on Integrating Natural Assets with Asset Management builds on the foundations established by two BC-based programs: EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process; and the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative. EAP and MNAI represent two points along a ‘green infrastructure continuum’. They are recent evolutions in an ongoing process in BC which dates back three decades. EAP and MNAI share the philosophy that communities can do a much better job of understanding, using and protecting the ecological services available to them in the local landscape,” stated Kim Stephens.

“A province-wide, made in BC, asset management strategy that goes beyond the requirements of the Gas Tax Asset Management Framework, is beneficial for all local governments, as well as other organizations. The BC Framework released in December 2014 provides a high level overview of what is needed to develop, implement and maintain strong asset management practices for local governments,” stated Liam Edwards, Executive Director (Infrastructure and Finance, Local Government Division) Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development.