Overview

Finding and Strengthening Informal Peer Communities

in the GHG Toolkit for Alberta Municipalities Project

Presented by Linda Harvey Upwind Downwind Conference, Hamilton, Ontario

February 27, 2012

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Overview• Drivers behind the Toolkit project– 2009 context

• How the Toolkit concept evolved• Research & learning • Lessons learned• Legacy• Conclusion

2009 Context

• Calgary Community GHG Reduction Plan– Funded by FCM, AENV and The City of Calgary

• Alberta 2008 Climate Change Strategy policies emerging– Municipal Climate Change Action Plans

• AUMA Municipal Climate Change Action Centre

• Alberta Climate Dialogue community engagement

Furious activity is no substitute for understanding.

H.H. Williams

Two questions

• What’s the best way to develop the municipal climate change action plans?– Collaborate and coordinate

• How can the province ensure that municipalities are engaged in policy development?– Resources, empowerment

Collaboration & coordination• City of Calgary, City of Edmonton

• Alberta Environment & Water

• Alberta Energy

• Association of Urban Municipalities of Alberta (AUMA)

• Pembina Institute

• Alberta Climate Dialogue

• Federation of Canadian Municipalities

Resources & empowerment

• The Alberta Toolkit project emerged as a way to:– Leverage resource investment and establish synergies between the

Calgary Community GHG Reduction Plan project and other initiatives.

– Ensure municipal expertise adds to development of the Alberta Municipal Climate Change Action Plans

– Provide citizens and their municipalities with deliberative processes and new systems and structures to effectively address complex issues such as climate change.

Two products:

• A user-friendly “document”– a collectively developed resource for municipalities working on

community GHG reduction programs—Intelligent Futures

• An ongoing, collaborative network (community of practice) – to leverage the initial investment of resources and continue the peer

dialogue and learning that was established along the way —Intelligent Futures

A focus on learning

Specific research

• “Governance Options for GHG Reduction” Report—Pembina Institute

• “Community GHG Measurement System Review”—ICLEI

• Peer learning– Action research that would increase the knowledge and capacity of

participants

Specific research (cont’d)

• Deliberative democracy & appreciative enquiry--Alberta Climate Dialogue

– Unique academic & professional insight to a municipally-led engagement program

– Increased municipal awareness of new methods of public engagement through access to a significant body of knowledge (beyond what is typical)

– Advice on managing local variables with replicable practices for success (i.e. a toolkit, not a template)

Bringing municipalities together

Lessons Learned: Peer Communities

• Municipalities are effective as an informal peer community as well as being a partner in multi-stakeholder groups.

• Informal peer communities provide different insight than formal peer communities.

Lessons Learned: Technology

• Efficient formal support for informal peer communities

• A tool for municipalities to meet their local need for action, measurement and engagement

• Can’t replace, but can enhance the face-to-face collaboration that has produced results in the past

• Extends the life of project engagement

The legacy – for now …• City of Calgary completes the project with Intelligent

Futures – December 2011

• Alberta Environment & Water funds the Alberta Municipal Climate Change Action Centre (AMCCA)

• AMCCA incorporates operation of the Toolkit into their mandate

• Calgary hands the Toolkit over to AMCCA

Conclusion

• Informal peer communities may be hiding in plain sight—they may be an untapped resource for achieving [environmental] goals.

Linda Harvey

The City of CalgaryEnvironmental and Safety [email protected]