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.
