Mother Nature delivers services?
Have you heard of natural asset management? I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t really know what it was all about. Then, as I spoke to some of the key people involved in the Municipal Natural Asset Initiative (MNAI), I was more in a state of shock that something so obvious has been missed for so long. I know how easy it is to take the things we enjoy every day for granted – beautiful forests, amazing mountains, gorgeous lakes and rivers, and stunning oceanfront landscapes. When it comes to nature in B.C., we seem to have it all. But I had never thought about all this amazing nature in the context of services being delivered in a community.
Essentially, it became clear as I worked on both feature stories in Exchange that local governments are relying on nature for a number of services, but they may not fully understand the scope of the services or the implications if those natural areas are degraded. I’m also really impressed that the Town of Gibsons is the pioneer leading this important insight into the value of preserving nature to secure sustainable, resilient services. It all started with the Gibsons aquifer, and now the world is watching and learning from work being done in our province.
It seems like these are just early days in the study of natural assets in the context of the services they provide, but it’s also likely that we may only be skimming the surface right now. I found it interesting that researchers who examined tree cover in 10 large cities found that tree canopy provides those communities with an average of $500 million annually in benefits like reducing air pollution, improving water management and lowering the “heat island” effect. Those are significant impacts that in the past may have appeared to be too intangible to measure but are now being quantified in terms that are relatable and can support decision-making, such as when planning neighbourhoods or establishing tree protection bylaws.
I suppose it’s not surprising to anyone that Mother Nature is a lot better at handling weather impacts than what we can design and build. But what is more surprising is that the evidence from Gibsons and other MNAI pilot communities shows that it consistently costs less to expand and maintain natural assets than to build and maintain engineered options. So nature is proving to be more resilient and more cost-effective. This is particularly critical as communities across Canada face the challenge of their aging infrastructure, budget constraints to maintain or expand engineered assets, and continued pressure from more severe weather events and related impacts such as the wildfires and floods experienced this summer. Now local and regional governments just need to find out how to leverage these natural advantages in their local communities.
With work being done by Gibsons, MNAI and other researchers, there is a growing set of tools, expanded research, new policy direction and increased awareness about natural assets as part of core service delivery. With more communities joining MNAI pilot projects, there will continue to be more studies, more evidence and more tools to assess and quantify natural assets so that they can be embedded in local and regional asset management planning.
The next time I get asked about natural asset management, I’m glad I’ll know a lot more about what it’s all about and the tremendous potential it offers our communities.
Practical Performance Management
Performance management – measuring success by tracking progress and reporting outcomes – makes sense for most organizations. In local government, it is becoming more of an imperative as communities demand increased accountability for spending, elected officials want a means to show they are delivering on promises, and other levels of government look for data and other tangible reports for grant applications. At the same time, like always, resources are limited and there need to be practical, realistic options in place to make it a reality.
When I was working with the City of Coquitlam (many years ago), we first started pushing for more measurement of our goals as part of our financial reporting in the City’s Annual Report. The Government Finance Officers Association of British Columbia (GFOA) included measurement on its checklist of requirements for excellence in annual reporting. We wanted to improve our Annual Report (and win their award!), and we began integrating questions in our annual public survey to track and report on our progress in some of our goal areas. (I’m happy to report we won the GFOA award and others.) Our next foray into performance measurement was less successful. We had developed a Corporate Strategic Plan and a Corporate Business Plan, and our goal was to apply a balanced scorecard approach to track and report on our progress. We had a very challenging time identifying viable – and sustainable – indicators that could be used to measure our goals and an even more challenging time implementing the measurement tactics.
As I worked on some articles for Exchange, I developed a better understanding of why we hit a wall and stumbled at the measurement stage. We were trying to apply tangible measurement to intangible goals. As well, while the management team was engaged throughout the process, from Strategic Plan to Business Plan to measurement planning, it wasn’t clear how this would benefit them in their work or bring value to the organization. In The Art of Performance Management, our missteps became clear. But at the same time, we were early through the gate in terms of local governments applying measurement to their Strategic Plan.
Today, about 15 years after this early work in Coquitlam, it’s evident that local governments across the province are implementing performance management programs tailored to the needs of their Board/Council and aligned with the operational requirements in their organization. When writing Practical Measurement. Tangible Benefits, it was interesting to hear from three different communities to learn about the approach they have applied, ranging from technical solutions to tactics integrated into existing processes. As always, we hope that the case studies shared through Exchange generate ideas for how local governments can create similar programs in their communities.
Ideally, we will continue to see performance management programs implemented in local governments across the province to improve the way we track progress, expand the ability of organizations to support sustainable services and communicate success stories to our communities and other key stakeholders.
Tackling the Affordable Housing Crisis
Sitting in the comfort of my home office and looking out at the houses around me, it can be hard to put my mind into a place where I can imagine what it’s like for people who are living on the street or struggling to pay their rent. All it takes is a few minutes watching the news, reviewing social media or talking to colleagues in local government to sharpen the focus on these very challenging issues.
In Exchange, we hear from communities that are taking action to end homelessness and create more affordable housing. This is particularly impressive as both issues involve a myriad of complex causes and influencing factors, and cannot easily be resolved. As I spoke to the local and regional government staff who shared their experiences and insights, it was a bit difficult to avoid feeling bogged down by pessimism or overwhelmed by the sheer challenges and barriers they face.
Addiction, mental illness, job loss, disabilities, low vacancy rates, high rental rates…the list of factors affecting homelessness are widely varied and the result is that there’s no such thing as one solution fits all. It’s also important to remember that these types of health and social issues are not typically addressed by local government. As well, when it comes to the lack of affordable housing, local government has little or no control over many of the contributing factors such as escalating real estate costs and low vacancy rates due to increased demand.
Then there is the NIMBY factor – “Not in my backyard!” No one wants people who are homeless camping in their backyard. I sincerely doubt that most people you talk to would feel any differently, and I can certainly understand the fear and, sad to say, distaste. Residents want to distance themselves from people who are homeless. But there is also resistance to having homeless shelters, even in centralized locations or business districts. Rather than NIMBY it’s really NIMC – “Not in my community!”
The question then becomes, if not in your community – where can people go? Where can they get the help they need? I was shocked to learn how many young people are homeless and addicted to drugs. It was also interesting and somewhat reassuring to learn about the proven benefits of “Housing First” to help change people’s lives and get them off the street – permanently. I think perhaps we all need to remember that these are people first – and being homeless is just their current status. Furthermore, if there are viable solutions out there to help get people off the street and into housing so they can get back on their feet or be helped with their mental health problems, addictions and other issues, we all benefit.
It’s also encouraging to hear about success stories like New Westminster, where the changes and incentives introduced at a local government level are prompting new rental housing developments for the first time in decades, and changes in policies are providing for more varieties of housing options, such as secondary suites and laneway homes. These more affordable housing choices are all a positive step forward.
As each story was shared, it became evident that implementing viable solutions is only feasible when community and social service organizations are integrated into the process. It’s also essential that all three levels of government play a role, including providing leadership to guide new initiatives and allocating funding. It may take months, or more likely years, before there is a significant shift towards more affordable housing and an end to homelessness, but that makes it even more important to get started now.