When local governments combine asset management practices with climate change considerations, they are better able to address both their infrastructure needs and sustainability goals.
Read this guide to learn why you should build sustainable practices into in your asset management approach, and how you can get started.
In this guide, you will discover:
How a municipality's climate change goals and infrastructure planning objectives are related
How asset management can help your municipality solve infrastructure challenges and take action on climate change
Specific ways you can weave sustainable practices into all stages of infrastructure planning for assets such as roads, buildings and sanitation systems.
This guidebook is designed for municipal staff or elected officials in medium and large municipalities who are responsible for green projects or who are interested in municipal sustainable development.
MAMP was designed to help Canadian municipalities strengthen their infrastructure investment decisions based on reliable data and sound asset management practices. This eight-year, $110-million program was funded by the Government of Canada and delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. It was implemented in partnership with municipal, provincial and territorial associations and other key stakeholders.
Webinar recording: Solutions to municipal sustainability challenges
This webinar series focuses on topics that were featured at FCM's 2018 Sustainable Communities Conference, which was held in Ottawa, ON, from February 6 to 8, 2018.
Is your municipality looking for sustainable solutions to waste management, to neighbourhood infrastructure retrofit or to asset management strategies?
Our free webinar series will help you address these challenges and find innovative solutions that will significantly benefit your residents, the environment and your community. This includes:
Discovering creative solutions for communities of all sizes that you can apply to make your municipality more sustainable
Finding inspiration for your next initiative from managing your waste, to retrofitting car-dependent communities, to advancing your sustainability initiatives through effective asset management
Retrofitting car-dependent communities
Is your community investigating ways to upgrade or update your ageing infrastructure? Are you looking to bring new life to car-dependent areas, including building walk and bike paths? This webinar explores how you can adapt your existing infrastructure to enable alternative and active modes of transportation, as well as the benefits to adapting this approach. Learn what type of sustainable transportation methods best fit your municipality's needs.
Speaker:
John Henderson, RPP, Housing Programs Administrator, Housing and Social Services Department, City of Kingston, ON
Sonya Meek, Senior Manager, Sustainable Neighbourhoods, Toronto Region Conservation Authority
Managing your municipality's assets using an integrated approach can help you take efficient action on climate change and reduce its impacts on your municipality. In this free webinar, learn about asset management and approaches being currently used by Canadian municipalities. Find out how you can take on the effects of climate change with sound asset management practices, and how this can help your community better prepare for the future.
Speakers:
Angela Danyluk, Sustainability Specialist, Planning, Urban Design & Sustainability, City of Vancouver, BC
Karina Richters, Supervisor, Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change, City of Windsor, ON
Kim Fowler, M.Sc., MCIP, RPP, Principal, Sustainability Makes Cents Consulting
Towns and cities across Canada face a constant struggle to maintain aging infrastructure, such as stormwater systems, roads, buildings and other municipal assets, while also building new services and systems to meet community needs. Add to that the pressure to adapt to climate change, and the need to manage development in an environmentally responsible manner. It’s clear that municipal councils have a lot on their plate. Is your municipality facing challenges like these?
Through strengthening your asset management practices, your municipality can:
Improve municipal planning by developing an approach that considers the long-term needs of your community
Identify choices, communicate benefits and better inform council decisions on what infrastructure projects deliver the most value
Make better use of your capital budget, the Federal Government’s Community-Building Fund and other infrastructure grants
Better navigate staff resourcing and succession planning
Watch this video to learn how asset management approaches can help your municipality address specific infrastructure needs while also preparing for climate change.
MAMP was designed to help Canadian municipalities strengthen their infrastructure investment decisions based on reliable data and sound asset management practices. This eight-year, $110-million program was funded by the Government of Canada and delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. It was implemented in partnership with municipal, provincial and territorial associations and other key stakeholders.
Webinar recording: Introduction to the brownfield redevelopment process
Presented by FCM’s Green Municipal Fund in collaboration with Réseau Environnement
Watch this webinar for an overview of the process of redeveloping a brownfield site in your community, from the environmental assessment to remediation of the site. This session focuses primarily on the process for Quebec communities, but many of the concepts are relevant to municipalities across Canada.
You will learn:
How to determine whether or not a site is contaminated
How environmental assessment works
What factors influence the chosen remediation approach
What types of experts you should consult, and the role consultants play in the redevelopment process
How brownfield redevelopment promotes environmental, economic and social health for communities
Moderator
Stéphanie Bohdanow, Advisor, Knowledge Services, Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Speakers
Guillaume Couillard, M.Sc., P. Geo., GMF Advisor, Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Laurent Pilon, M. Sc., Coordinator, Sectors - Soil and Groundwater, Air and Climate Change, Réseau Environnement
Are you searching for best in class Asset Management (AM) resources for municipalities? Check out our curated collection of links to guides, case studies, templates and more, all aimed at helping you implement good asset management practices.
The library is organized by common asset management topics that are found within the Asset Management Readiness Scale (AMRS) and include an assortment of resources to help guide, inform, and inspire. You can find definitions of common terms on the AM Concepts page.
Many of the resources found in this virtual library were developed with grants from the Municipal Asset Management Program (MAMP).
Asset management planning
An asset management plan (AMP) outlines how assets will be managed in one or more service areas. An AMP identifies how assets will be maintained and renewed, and the cost, level of service and risk considerations in each service area. The resources in this section will help users gain an understanding of the process and benefits of developing an AMP.
Northwest Territories Association of Communities (NWTAC)
Toolkit
This toolkit will guide communities through the process of developing a comprehensive Asset Management Plan. It includes a guide, a ready-to-fill template of an AM Plan, an excel template to build the asset inventory, and a Climate Vulnerability Assessment Worksheet. It was updated to reflect the realities of how climate is impacting the ability of communities to deliver services. Now available in French
Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA); Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA); Infrastructure Asset Management Alberta (IAMA)
Workbook
This workbook provides municipal staff with information, exercises and reference material to help them understand asset management concepts and competencies, the asset data required, and the process of building an AM plan. (See Module 3, pg. 45)
Centre d’expertise et de recherche en infrastructures urbaines (CERIU)
Guide
This guide shows users how to collect data, carry out a condition assessment, and develop a plan for the management of the water, sewer, and road systems.
These two short videos feature successful approaches to asset management planning: a risk-based approach that monitors the conditions of assets and a computerized asset management priority decision-making system.
This example of an asset management plan details the current conditions and lifecycle management strategy for the City of London’s core services, the infrastructure gap, and financing strategies to manage its assets.
Asset management policy
An asset management policy outlines a municipality’s commitment and mandated requirements for asset management. The policy is linked to the municipality’s strategic objectives and is shaped by its values and priorities. The resources in this section will assist municipalities in developing their own AM policy.
This guide shows municipalities how to develop an AM policy, strategy, framework, and governance structure that are aligned with the municipality's strategic goals. (See Chapter 2, pg. 13)
Northwest Territories Association of Communities (NWTAC)
Toolkit
This guide and template assist communities in developing an AM policy that is tailored to the local context and articulates Council’s commitment. It includes a ready-to-fill policy template. It was updated to reflect the realities of how climate is impacting the ability of communities to deliver services.
Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA); Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA); Infrastructure Asset Management Alberta (IAMA)
Workbook
This workbook guides elected officials through the process of creating an AM policy, defining the human and financial resources needed, developing an AM strategy and team, and communicating the strategy to others.
This web-based report summarizes the MAMP program’s advances in the Policy and Governance competency of FCM’s Asset Management Readiness Scale, highlighting three examples of municipalities that developed an AM strategic framework, an AM gap assessment, and an AM policy.
This case study demonstrates how the Town of Bracebridge, ON formally established an AM policy and adopted asset management as a decision-making tool for infrastructure investment priorities.
This case study demonstrates how the municipality of Brockton, ON completed an AM policy that set the direction for the AM team, strategy, and roadmap.
This example of an AM policy includes the purpose, scope, goals, principles, and responsibilities for AM for the Town of Wilmot, ON.
Asset management strategy and roadmap
An asset management strategy lays out the direction, framework and approach for implementing the AM policy. The AM roadmap is a step-by-step plan outlining the actions, responsibilities, resources, and timelines needed to implement and deliver asset management objectives. The following resources will assist municipalities in developing their AM strategy and roadmap.
This guide shows municipalities how to develop an AM policy, strategy, framework, and governance structure that are aligned with the municipality's strategic goals. (See Chapter 3, pg. 26)
This web-based report summarizes the MAMP program’s advances in the Policy and Governance competency of FCM’s Asset Management Readiness Scale, highlighting three examples of municipalities that developed an AM strategic framework, an AM gap assessment, and an AM policy.
This case study demonstrates how the development of Selkirk, MB’s Capital Asset Management Strategy enabled the municipality to invest in a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant.
This case study demonstrates how the municipality of Brockton, ON completed an AM policy that set the direction for the AM team, strategy, and roadmap.
This example of an Asset Management Strategy developed by the District of Summerland describes the key practices, processes, tools, and documents that staff will use to put their AM policy into action.
Asset inventory and data collection
Good data provides important information on which assets need to be maintained, repaired, or replaced. This starts with developing an asset inventory (a list of assets owned and their attributes). The following resources will assist municipalities to collect data on their assets and create an asset inventory.
This guide helps municipalities to effectively address deteriorated infrastructure through the collection of timely and effective asset master data and a transition to more proactive maintenance practices.
This video shows the importance of collecting data on assets, updating information, and communication between departments on asset data for sound decision making.
This tool allows municipalities to create an inventory of assets, costs, conditions, and risks and create a preliminary state of infrastructure report. Registration required (free)
This case study demonstrates how a municipality captured data for its linear assets, determined replacement costs, and used an open-source asset management software for decision making.
This report highlights municipalities’ advances in the Data and Information competency and shares a good practice from Perth-Andover, NB in setting up a GIS database to map and store asset information.
Condition assessment
Once a municipality has an inventory of its assets, a condition assessment of each asset should be performed to determine its current ability to perform as intended at a capacity that meets the needs of the community. The following resources will assist municipalities in assessing the condition of its assets.
Centre d’expertise et de recherche en infrastructures urbaines (CERIU)
Guide
This guide shows users how to collect data, carry out a condition assessment, and develop a plan for the management of the water, sewer, and road systems.
Climate change and asset management
Climate change has the potential to significantly impact a municipality’s infrastructure, levels of service, and service delivery. The following resources will assist municipalities in understanding climate risks and integrating climate change considerations into asset management planning.
Find additional curated databases of resources related to climate change and asset management here:
This guide distinguishes between the different types of green infrastructure, debunks some of the myths associated with them, and highlights a host of diverse, inspiring and reproducible municipal examples from across Quebec.
Centre d’expertise et de recherche en infrastructures urbaines (CERIU)
Guide
The practical guide provides an overview of best practices for managing assets in the face of heavy rainfall, drought, and storms and is accompanied by a self-assessment tool to determine the vulnerability and resilience of municipal assets to climate change. Registration required (free)
The series of case studies are from the Climate Action Cohort, which brought together municipalities to share common challenges of aging infrastructure in a changing climate.
Northwest Territories Association of Communities (NWTAC)
Worksheet
The purpose of this worksheet is to guide a discussion on the community’s climate vulnerabilities and identify what could happen to interrupt the delivery of essential services that the community relies on.
International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
Report
This report reviews the current literature on climate change hazards, impacts, and adaptation options for six types of built infrastructure across Canada and looks at the complementary role of natural infrastructure solutions in building climate resiliency
This excel tool will assist users to assess the potential impacts of climate change on infrastructure and level of service and evaluate adaptation activities.
Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA); Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA); Infrastructure Asset Management Alberta (IAMA)
Workbook
This workbook is designed to equip elected officials with an understanding of the impacts of climate change on asset management and the ways through which asset management can support climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Collaboration
Collaboration between municipalities, communities of practice, and other sector organizations can help local governments learn good practices, provide mutual support, and work more efficiently in asset management. The following resources highlight municipalities that undertook positive collaborative approaches in asset management.
This special edition report is part of a series of updates on the progress being achieved by Canadian municipalities through MAMP. The report highlights ways your municipality can advance its asset management approaches through collaboration and how collaboration can benefit small municipalities in both direct and indirect ways.
The case study demonstrates how five municipalities developed a coalition to collaborate on asset management, providing mutual support and drawing on each other’s strengths.
In this newsletter, the Chief Administrative Officer of the City of Courtney, BC shares how collaboration in the AM Community of Practice was one of the keys to advancing AM practice in his municipality.
Community engagement
Engaging the public during the asset management process can help the community develop an understanding and gain public support for infrastructure investment decisions. These resources will help municipalities plan engagement activities, share information, and consult with and inform the public.
This facilitator’s guide is written to help municipal staff, community groups or third parties facilitate a program where municipalities work with each other to address shared climate concerns. It also includes a companion resource, Planning Inclusive Public Engagement On Climate Change.
Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA); Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA); Infrastructure Asset Management Alberta (IAMA)
Workbook
This workbook is designed to equip elected officials with an understanding of how to engage the public in the relevant discussions about asset management
This guide provides a roadmap for municipalities to carry out a public consultation process to build understanding about, and support for, required infrastructure renewal.
Council engagement
Getting buy-in from council is a key step to advancing asset management practice in the municipality. These resources share insights about how staff can communicate with council about AM to obtain support, as well as information that will help increase elected officials’ understanding of basic concepts, benefits, and governance of asset management.
This toolkit includes a facilitator’s guide and two customizable presentations to start the conversation or go deeper on asset management and provide municipal council an overview of asset management and its value to the municipality.
This video shares the good practice of a municipality that developed a governance structure, engaged council, and built internal capacity to plan effectively and use funds strategically.
This case study shows how a mayor from a small municipality in Quebec applied learning from an asset management workshop and began to collect data on the municipality's assets.
The Joy of Governing was developed for small northern communities to enhance understanding of governance, leadership, and the link to asset management. It is also available in Inuktitut.
Centre d’expertise et de recherche en infrastructures urbaines (CERIU)
Guide
This municipal infrastructure guide for elected officials provides approaches for managing municipal assets like water and wastewater systems, stormwater and roadways.
Equity, diversity and inclusion in asset management
Equity is the process of analyzing and addressing unfair systems and practices towards the creation of equal outcomes. In asset management, equity-based strategies address specific needs, barriers and accommodations to ensure all have equal access to the services that assets deliver.
This introductory resource demystifies key concepts, shares case studies and lessons learned, and provides a basic framework for making equity, diversity, and inclusion a core part of a municipality’s everyday climate planning.
The City of Vancouver’s Equity Framework is a conceptual and foundational document to help address injustices and inequities experienced by a broader cross-section of the society within each of the municipal departments.
This guide provides an approach and toolkit of actionable ideas for local governments to take action to support climate change adaptation in a way that centers equity and community engagement.
This guide provides guidance to local governments in designing and implementing a more inclusive and equitable planning process for climate preparedness and adaptation.
This factsheet shares definitions and benefits that can inform local governments who are in the early stages of incorporating equity, diversity and inclusion principles and considerations into municipal plans.
This factsheet outlines principles, strategies and examples of successful relationships between municipal governments and Indigenous nations, all of which recognize Indigenous communities as equal, sovereign partners in community progress.
This factsheet highlights how integrating an Indigenous lens and Indigenous knowledge into climate strategies can enhance resilience and strengthen environmental strategies, as well as contribute to broader goals related to Reconciliation.
Financial planning
Municipalities are faced with critical decisions related to which capital projects should be carried out and must consider factors like the availability of funding. The following resources help municipalities integrate long-term financial planning into the asset management planning process.
Find a video, guides and more to help your municipality improve its long-term financial planning for asset management. Several resources are developed by Asset Management BC in collaboration with the Union of BC Municipalities.
This webinar and discussion questions help community asset management teams understand different sources of funding and how cost impacts levels of service and risk tolerance decisions.
Centre d’expertise et de recherche en infrastructures urbaines (CERIU)
Case study
This video and case study summarize the City of Gatineau’s experience developing a long-term financial plan for asset management, including the steps, tools and benefits.
This toolkit includes a free webinar, template, guide and slides to help municipal employees estimate asset whole lifecycle costs to develop a financial plan.
Centre d’expertise et de recherche en infrastructures urbaines (CERIU)
Toolkit
This set of three webinars and Microsoft Excel tools help municipalities document the inventory and costs of routes, buildings and rolling stock to facilitate the long-term financial planning of these assets.
Municipal Finance Officer’s Association of Ontario (MFOA)
Resource kit
This kit provides a list of tools and resources to help municipalities develop, implement and optimize their AM Plan, including financial planning.
Organizational culture of asset management
The successful implementation of asset management requires support across the municipality. It may require a shift in organizational culture to effectively understand and incorporate asset management into all aspects of planning and decision-making. The following resources will assist municipalities in developing an organizational culture of AM.
The tip sheet helps municipalities to ensure that critical asset management expertise and insights are retained within the organization, even as personnel changes.
This case study shows how the municipality of The Pas, MB, located on Treaty 5 territory, took their existing data and created a robust asset inventory database, developed an asset renewal and replacement forecast, and formalized an AM plan.
This case study showcases how the municipality of Wallace-Woodworth, MB developed an asset management policy, created an asset registry for roads and culverts, and formalized asset management planning to institutionalize knowledge.
This case study shows how the municipality of Thunder Bay, ON created a centralized asset register to better document and share asset management knowledge throughout the organization for improved AM awareness.
The Asset Management Competency Framework for Canadian Communities (AMCF) is a web portal and toolkit that explains the different skills and knowledge needed for effective asset management, the job types where those competencies are relevant, and how all the pieces fit together across a municipality. Registration required (free)
This case study demonstrates how North Battleford is building asset management capacity across the organization through training, establishing a committee, adopting a policy, and hiring an AM coordinator.
This case study shares the success of a municipality that has moved from asset management theory to practice, by creating a cross-functional team, providing group training, and developing an AM policy.
This webinar provides lessons and advice from municipalities on getting started in asset management. Hear from the City of Edmunston, New Brunswick about how they engaged employees and council. (Starts at 7:19 in the video)
Organizational maturity and readiness assessment
Municipalities may be at different levels of readiness to implement asset management practices. The following tools help municipalities assess their current maturity with relation to asset management and identify priority areas for action.
This self-assessment tool will help staff and elected officials assess the current asset management practices in the municipality and guide actions to move along the maturity scale.
This tool enables municipalities to assess their capacity to manage their assets, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and establish priorities.
This excel tool allows municipalities to assess their current capacity with respect to people, governance, finance, and core assets, and use the information to develop a work plan to advance asset management practice.
Governance structure and asset management teams
Asset management is a multi-disciplinary practice that requires the involvement of actors with various competencies and roles. The following resources will assist municipalities in setting up their cross-functional teams and the governance structure to oversee the AM process.
This report is the fourth in a series of updates on the progress being achieved by Canadian municipalities through MAMP. The report highlights progress in AM leadership through the development of cross-functional teams and learning about building dynamic teams.
Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), Asset Management Ontario
Webinar recording
This webinar and slide deck will help users develop an asset management governance structure and foster collaboration across departments to inform Council decision-making.
This guide shows municipalities how to develop an AM policy, strategy, framework, and governance structure that are aligned with the municipality's strategic goals. (See Chapter 4, pg. 47)
Northwest Territories Association of Communities (NWTAC)
Toolkit
This guide, worksheet and annual schedule template helps put AM planning into practice to identify decision-making streams and create an Asset Management team.
The Asset Management Competency Framework for Canadian Communities (AMCF) is a web portal and toolkit that explains the different skills and knowledge needed for effective asset management, the job types where those competencies are relevant, and how all the pieces fit together across a municipality. Registration required (free)
This presentation provides guidance on developing the governance structure for the AM program, including different governance models and roles of key actors.
This template can be readily adapted to create the Terms of Reference for an Asset Management Committee.
Land use planning and asset management
Local governments provide the services needed to support land uses and invariably these services rely upon assets (e.g., roads, treatment plants) and land use plans can impact the affordability of services. The following resources help municipalities connect land use planning and asset management to provide affordable, reliable services now and in the future.
The guide highlights best process for the integration of municipal land use and infrastructure planning, and provides the tools and considerations needed to implement a more integrated approach to planning at the policy and operational levels.
Union of BC Municipalities, Asset Management BC, and the BC Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Primer
This primer provides an overview of the key concepts, the importance, and the steps in connecting land use planning and AM processes. It includes a Tips for Planners checklist in the appendix.
Levels of service
Levels of service are specific parameters that describe the extent and quality of services that the municipality provides to users. The parameters can include safety, customer satisfaction, quality, quantity, capacity, reliability, responsiveness, environmental acceptability, cost, and availability. The following resources will assist municipalities in determining their current levels of service provided and identify gaps.
Find a customizable PowerPoint presentation to help you communicate the benefits of documenting levels of service, an infographic to visualize the process, case studies, and how-to tools.
This webinar and accompanying discussion sheet will guide asset management teams to define, assess and adjust levels of service, and to assign roles to team members.
This excel tool can be used by municipalities to assess current levels of service, identify gaps, and communicate the results. Registration required (free)
Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA); Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA); Infrastructure Asset Management Alberta (IAMA)
Workbook
This workbook is designed to assist elected officials in defining levels of service, incorporating it into decision making, and communicating with the community
This guide outlines the rationale and basic steps to developing levels of service.
Lifecycle cost
Lifecycle costs are the true costs involved in owning and utilizing a community asset over its useful life: from initial planning, to purchase, to operations, to maintenance, to renewal and/or decommissioning. The following resources will help municipalities calculate lifecycle costs and use that information to evaluate and compare capital projects.
The toolkit includes a webinar, presentation, financial model template, and guide to estimate whole lifecycle costs of assets to understand current and future financing requirements.
This video case study highlights how a team at Halton Region leveraged the principles of asset management and a “one team” approach to demonstrate that a whole lifecycle approach can yield significant benefits, including cost savings.
This video explains how to take informed decisions considering the lifecycle of an asset, including the cost to own, maintaining, operate, repair, and dispose of over its life.
Northwest Territories Association of Communities (NWTAC)
Toolkit
This guide and excel workbook will help users to calculate the lifecycle cost of new capital building arenas and pools, and evaluate the projects based on the cost over the full life of the asset.
Northwest Territories Association of Communities (NWTAC)
Toolkit
This guide and excel workbook will help municipalities calculate the lifecycle cost of new fleet and equipment, and evaluate the projects based on the cost over the full life of the asset.
This guide highlights the main features of a preventive maintenance program for municipal pavements and the steps required for its implementation, applying a Lifecycle Cost Analysis.
Natural assets
Natural assets such as aquifers, forests, streams, riparian areas and foreshores can provide municipalities with vital services equivalent to those from many engineered assets. With effective management, natural assets can become a sustainable provider of one or more municipal services. These resources will help municipalities understand the benefits and approaches to managing natural assets.
This guide provides direction for Canadian local governments to undertake natural asset management by aligning with approaches already in place to manage built assets.
FCM's Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program
Case study
The Alberta municipality of Parkland County has been experiencing both extreme weather events and degradation of natural infrastructure. By partnering with local NGOs and academia, they were able to complete a mapping, modelling and analysis to better understand the value of these ecosystems and build a quantifiable business case for preserving and restoring them.
This primer highlights potential legal issues and liability for local governments, as well as legal tools to help ensure nature and the services it provides are protected. It provides practical, relevant information on environmental governance related to natural assets and management of nature’s services in Canada.
This series of reports summarizes the methodology and results of pilot projects in 11 Canadian municipalities to assess the value of natural asset solutions in addressing climate-related challenges.
This guide shows how local governments can approach defining natural asset service levels in the asset management process. The follow-up Guide to Next Steps provides guidance on what to do after completing the natural asset inventory.
FCM's Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program
Resource library
This page outlines the resources available to municipalities to help improve understanding, valuation and management of green infrastructure in the context of climate change.
International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
Infographics
These four infographics visually demonstrate natural infrastructure solutions for coastal, riverine, rural and urban settings.
Operation and maintenance of assets
Part of asset management is having a plan and budget for the maintenance and operations of existing assets. These resources will assist municipalities to plan for maintaining and operating assets.
FCM's Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program
Toolkit
Discover low-cost and effective strategies and tools to help your municipality build the resilience of services through the assets and programs you already have, while also reducing your carbon footprint.
Centre d’expertise et de recherche en infrastructures urbaines (CERIU)
Guide
This guide helps municipalities evaluate the condition of their bike paths, plan maintenance activities and identify actions to ensure the paths are safe in all seasons.
This is a series of reports that include several guides on the maintenance of specific assets, such as roads, sidewalks, drainage systems, and small water systems.
Union of BC Municipalities, Asset Management BC, and the BC Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Primer
This primer demonstrates the importance of operations and maintenance (O&M) activities in the lifecycle of the asset, makes the case for proactive maintenance to improve service delivery and reduce lifecycle costs, and provides guidance to improve your municipality’s O&M practices and AM process.
Operationalizing asset management
Once municipalities have their asset management policies, strategies and plan in place, the next step is to put it into practice. These resources help municipalities to operationalize asset management, embed it across the organization, and implement plans.
This thematic package introduces how to implement, or operationalize, asset management once an AM policy and plan are complete, including an introductory video, case study, checklist and webinar recording.
This article shares the experience from the City of Courtenay who adjusted the organizational structure, provided staff training, and organized working groups to operationalize AM in their municipality.
This presentation provides an overview of operationalizing asset management by identifying and removing barriers.
Risk
Good asset management practice includes the assessment of risk, the likelihood and consequence of an undesirable event or circumstance that could negatively impact the ability of assets to meet the objectives of the community it serves. The following resources provide guidance and tools to assist municipalities in assessing and planning for risks related to their assets and service delivery.
This webinar, discussion questions and outline helps community asset management teams understand how to identify different types of asset risks, their associated impact and likelihood of occurrence, and options for risk mitigation.
Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA); Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA); Infrastructure Asset Management Alberta (IAMA)
Workbook
This workbook is helps elected officials identify risks in the municipality, understand the process of risk management, and identify the tools to use for risk management.
This guide provides an overview of the risk management process, risk analysis, and case studies that highlight best practice.
Software
There are a variety of programs and operating processes that can facilitate the collection, storage, statistical analysis, and mapping of data to inform asset management decisions. The following resources provide information to help municipalities consider asset management software.
Association francophone des municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick
Tool
The geoportal, with an accompanying guide, is a tool to visualize municipal infrastructure data and help municipalities access information and data that guide infrastructure decision-making. Watch video testimony about how the geoportal is helping to improve data management.
Centre d’expertise et de recherche en infrastructures urbaines (CERIU)
Case study
This video and case study summarize how the municipality Dollard-des-Ormeaux organized its asset database and put in place a geographic mapping of infrastructure.
This page contains information on AIMnet Solution, a system of integrated computer software developed specifically to meet the asset management planning needs of smaller communities faced with limited resources. Registration required (free)
This webinar provides lessons and advice from municipalities on getting started in asset management, creating a team, using software, hiring a consultant, and taking an asset inventory.
This case study features how the municipality adopted a computerized asset management priority decision-making system with infrastructure data such as costs, risks and service levels to support budgetary and operational decision-making processes.
Working with a consultant
Many municipalities will not have the capacity or human resources to complete all of the steps in the asset management process and will choose to hire consultants to carry out specific tasks or projects. These resources will help municipalities through the process of hiring and working with a consultant to ensure positive partnerships and effective results.
These tips will help municipalities clearly define and communicate the objectives of an AM project to consultants to facilitate the evaluation and selection process.
This guide will help users select a professional consultant, using an approach that considers the long-term value of selecting the most qualified and competent consultant, rather than lowest cost consultant.
This webinar provides lessons and advice from municipalities on getting started in asset management. Hear from the Township of Frontenac, Ontario about how they worked with a consultant on their asset management project. (Starts at 16:45 in the video)
Resource databases and libraries from across Canada
Find other excellent asset management resources from communities of practice and associations across Canada.
This online platform includes a collection of resources to inform and guide municipalities in Quebec on how to implement municipal asset management. Registration required (free)
This community of practice includes a collection of guides, templates and other resources to strengthen the public sector asset management in the Province of Ontario.
This Atlantic Canada community of practice includes a selection of tools, templates and resources on asset management for municipalities in the Atlantic region.
This resource library is a collection of guides, templates, and other resources to assist northern communities in implementing asset management practice.
This resource library is a growing body of community-created knowledge maintained by the PEMAC member community and includes articles, presentations and webcasts covering a wide range of asset management topics.
* “New” or “Updated” resource listings are as of between September 2022 and October 2024.
MAMP was designed to help Canadian municipalities strengthen their infrastructure investment decisions based on reliable data and sound asset management practices. This eight-year, $110-million program was funded by the Government of Canada and delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. It was implemented in partnership with municipal, provincial and territorial associations and other key stakeholders.
2015 FCM Sustainable Communities Award — Energy program
WINNER: Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia
Homeowners in Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), NS, can take advantage of municipal financing through the Solar City program to install solar-powered water heating systems, lower their energy bills, and reduce water consumption. The municipality arranged over 300 system installations in the program's first 14 months — more than the rest of Canada that year — and aims to finance 700 systems within the first two years. Designed to be simple and create economies of scale, Solar City improves purchasing power and reliability, and offers quality assurance to citizens. The program includes education, free water conservation retrofits, an optional performance tracking system, and the first city-level solar "energy potential" map in Canada — an online resource that calculates annual solar energy potential for individual homes based on data collected through Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), a remote sensing technology.
Solar City's pioneering funding mechanism puts a new spin on Local Improvement Charge financing by offering Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans to individual homeowners to pay for equipment and installation. The loans are tied to the property and are paid back over time, while homeowners benefit right away from the energy savings. HRM is the first Canadian municipality to employ the PACE user-pay model to create a budget-neutral program that covers administrative and financing costs.
This initiative received support through FCM's Green Municipal Fund (GMF 12028).
Results
Environmental
Economic
Social
10,500 tonne reduction in GHG emissions over the 25-year lifespan of 300 systems
14 million litres of water saved annually in 1,265 homes
Fewer sulphur, NOX and mercury emissions from heating oil or coal-sourced electricity
$14.4 million in energy savings over 25 years ($20,600 per home)
$1.69 million in water savings over 25 years (700 homes)
Four local businesses involved and more than 40 jobs created
Strong community engagement, with over 3,000 interested homeowners
Over 900 attended 10 open houses and a Solar Fiesta information night
More than 1,200 households educated on water conservation
Challenges
The project took two and a half years to launch, during which time there were municipal elections and senior management changes. Delays resulted in challenges with procurement and administration.
There was no blueprint for the program's most innovative aspects, including its unique financing mechanism.
When setting up contracts and managing legal risks, the municipality had to balance taxpayer and community interests (economic and environmental) with homeowner concerns, while keeping the paperwork simple and easy to understand.
Lessons learned
Keep the program as simple as possible for homeowners and use a comprehensive approach that accounts for quality control, achieves economies of scale, and encourages high participation rates.
Engage the public, municipal council and provincial departments early to create a shared program vision.
Develop and implement the program within 18 months to capitalize on momentum and prevent barriers that may arise with an extended timeline.
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.
Residential energy programs overcome barriers to financing retrofits
The City of Toronto's Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) and High-Rise Retrofit Improvement Support Program (Hi-RIS) have won a 2016 FCM Sustainable Communities Award for successfully stimulating energy and water retrofits in privately owned residential buildings. To date the programs have achieved energy savings of 25 per cent and 28 per cent respectively through long-term, low-interest loans to finance energy and water efficiency retrofits.
Read the case study below to learn more about the program results, as well as the challenges and lessons learned that can help your community in planning a similar program.
About the project
Municipal population
Project duration
Total project value
1.8 million
January 2014–December 2016
$20 million capital allocation ($10 million per program)
No cost to municipal taxpayers
Buildings account for about half of Toronto's overall greenhouse gas emissions. To increase energy efficiency in privately owned residential buildings, Toronto is taking advantage of recent changes to Ontario's Local Improvement Charge (LIC) regulations, allowing municipalities to use LICs as loans to finance energy retrofits on private property.
The first programs of their kind in Ontario, the HELP and Hi-RIS programs are innovative financing tools that support energy and water efficiency retrofits on private residential properties. The city leverages its borrowing power to offer low-interest, long-term loans that cover the upfront costs of improvements. Owners repay the city over time through installments on their property tax bill. Loans are attached to the property rather than the owner, so that if a property is sold, the loan transfers to the new owner, along with the energy savings.
HELP is geared toward single-family homeowners, while Hi-RIS operates as part of the city's Tower Renewal Program and focuses on older apartment buildings. Collaboration with Toronto Hydro and Enbridge Gas ensures linkages with existing conservation incentives.
"The programs run through a Local Improvement Charge that allows you to borrow against the future savings and then have it paid back connected to the property rather to the individual, which is key to the programs' success."
— Councillor Mike Layton
Project Highlights
Results
Environmental
Economic
Social
Anticipated average energy use reduction of 25 per cent for HELP and 28 per cent for Hi-RIS buildings
Estimated annual GHG reductions of 4,900 tonnes of eCO2 per year for all projects combined (3 tonnes per HELP participant and 340 tonnes per Hi-RIS project)
Estimated annual electricity savings of 4.8 million kWh and natural gas savings of 2.37 million m3
Lower energy bills for property owners
Average payback of 10 years with an estimated 12 per cent rate of return for owners on funds borrowed
Revenue-neutral, with programs' operating costs covered by funders and user fees
Improved quality and durability of city housing stock
More equitable access to financing for lower-income homeowners
Improved home comfort and quality of life for residents
Owners restricted from passing project costs on to tenants
Challenges
The city needed to work closely with financial institutions to develop a mortgage lender consent process for this new type of financing tool.
Due to longer timelines required for many improvement projects at multi-residential buildings, there is a potential that some property owners may alter the improvements that they implement or fail to complete part of the project after the Property Owner Agreement is executed. Program guidelines are designed to accommodate factors such as changes to improvements, and a protocol has been developed to maintain regular communication with property owners before and after the Property Owner Agreement is signed.
For multi-residential building property owners with larger portfolios, owners may choose not to participate if the interest rate offered by the city is not competitive enough compared to market rates for conventional loans.
Education is required to help people understand this new financing model. As the first municipality in Ontario to use this model, the city cannot point to other examples to demonstrate how it works.
Lessons learned
Clearly identify the target market to position the program successfully and encourage uptake.
Promote the broad range of co-benefits to reach audiences with different interests. For example, some may be most interested in reducing energy bills or improving home comfort, while others could be more concerned with environmental stewardship.
Leverage the communication networks of utilities, local distribution companies, retrofit contractors, energy advisors, equipment manufacturers, community groups, industry associations and realtors, to promote the program widely.
Engage all relevant city departments in setting up the program, to coordinate and streamline its administration and ensure that the program meets all regulatory requirements.
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.
Conducting an efficient tendering process is a key step in managing a successful brownfield redevelopment project. This guide will help Canadian municipalities of all sizes attract, evaluate and select the best suppliers using a fair and transparent selection process.
This guide will help you:
Understand when to use different procurement processes such as a Request for Information, a Request for Qualification and a Request for Proposal (RFP)
Solve common challenges, such as how to promote your request for proposals and how to evaluate bids
Write a strong RFP that will generate quality responses from bidders
The guidebook is designed for municipal staff, such as brownfield coordinators, planners and economic development officers, who are responsible for overseeing brownfield redevelopment in their community.
This free publication is part of a series of guidebooks on brownfield redevelopment, created through FCM's Green Municipal Fund and the Leadership in Brownfield Renewal program.
Small municipality faces its challenges head-on
Minto’s Integrated Strategic Sustainable Community Plan
The urban-rural Town of Minto developed an integrated sustainable community plan to help it meet the challenges of slow population growth and a shortage of jobs. Leaders were also concerned about high energy consumption and the car-oriented way of life. The project team created a plan that would grow the population to an optimum size, make agriculture practices more sustainable, keep retailers in the downtown, diversify businesses into sustainable products, and make the community more walkable. The sustainability plan will strengthen the local economy, improve community health, reduce energy consumption and minimize the town's environmental footprint.
Results
Environmental
Economic
Social
Uses agricultural abundance to feed the town's land, people, and economy.
Builds main streets that support business and civic life.
Creates and retain enterprises that have low environmental impact and provide fulfilling jobs.
Grows to a manageable and sustainable size.
Supports the health and recreational well-being of residents.
Challenges
Provincial funding fell through, resulting in two false starts and the loss of the initial consulting team.
Farming commitments limited participation in the initial community consultation, held in summer.
Shortened project schedule reduced opportunities for community engagement and input.
Lessons learned
Building awareness and community engagement takes time. Make use of social media to build support.
To avoid delays and complications, secure funding before beginning work
Focus groups provided richer information than online surveys.
Gordon Duff
Treasurer
Town of Minto, ON
T. 519-338-2511, ext. 35
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.
The City of Toronto's Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) and High-Rise Retrofit Improvement Support Program (Hi-RIS) have won a 2016 FCM Sustainable Communities Award for successfully stimulating energy and water retrofits in privately owned residential buildings. To date the programs have achieved energy savings of 25 per cent and 28 per cent respectively through long-term, low-interest loans to finance energy and water efficiency retrofits.
Read the case study below to learn more about the program results, as well as the challenges and lessons learned that can help your community in planning a similar program.
About the project
Municipal population
Project duration
Total project value
1.8 million
January 2014–December 2016
$20 million capital allocation ($10 million per program)
No cost to municipal taxpayers
Buildings account for about half of Toronto's overall greenhouse gas emissions. To increase energy efficiency in privately owned residential buildings, Toronto is taking advantage of recent changes to Ontario's Local Improvement Charge (LIC) regulations, allowing municipalities to use LICs as loans to finance energy retrofits on private property.
The first programs of their kind in Ontario, the HELP and Hi-RIS programs are innovative financing tools that support energy and water efficiency retrofits on private residential properties. The city leverages its borrowing power to offer low-interest, long-term loans that cover the upfront costs of improvements. Owners repay the city over time through installments on their property tax bill. Loans are attached to the property rather than the owner, so that if a property is sold, the loan transfers to the new owner, along with the energy savings.
HELP is geared toward single-family homeowners, while Hi-RIS operates as part of the city's Tower Renewal Program and focuses on older apartment buildings. Collaboration with Toronto Hydro and Enbridge Gas ensures linkages with existing conservation incentives.
"The programs run through a Local Improvement Charge that allows you to borrow against the future savings and then have it paid back connected to the property rather to the individual, which is key to the programs' success."
— Councillor Mike Layton
Project Highlights
Results
Environmental
Economic
Social
Anticipated average energy use reduction of 25 per cent for HELP and 28 per cent for Hi-RIS buildings
Estimated annual GHG reductions of 4,900 tonnes of eCO2 per year for all projects combined (3 tonnes per HELP participant and 340 tonnes per Hi-RIS project)
Estimated annual electricity savings of 4.8 million kWh and natural gas savings of 2.37 million m3
Lower energy bills for property owners
Average payback of 10 years with an estimated 12 per cent rate of return for owners on funds borrowed
Revenue-neutral, with programs' operating costs covered by funders and user fees
Improved quality and durability of city housing stock
More equitable access to financing for lower-income homeowners
Improved home comfort and quality of life for residents
Owners restricted from passing project costs on to tenants
Challenges
The city needed to work closely with financial institutions to develop a mortgage lender consent process for this new type of financing tool.
Due to longer timelines required for many improvement projects at multi-residential buildings, there is a potential that some property owners may alter the improvements that they implement or fail to complete part of the project after the Property Owner Agreement is executed. Program guidelines are designed to accommodate factors such as changes to improvements, and a protocol has been developed to maintain regular communication with property owners before and after the Property Owner Agreement is signed.
For multi-residential building property owners with larger portfolios, owners may choose not to participate if the interest rate offered by the city is not competitive enough compared to market rates for conventional loans.
Education is required to help people understand this new financing model. As the first municipality in Ontario to use this model, the city cannot point to other examples to demonstrate how it works.
Lessons learned
Clearly identify the target market to position the program successfully and encourage uptake.
Promote the broad range of co-benefits to reach audiences with different interests. For example, some may be most interested in reducing energy bills or improving home comfort, while others could be more concerned with environmental stewardship.
Leverage the communication networks of utilities, local distribution companies, retrofit contractors, energy advisors, equipment manufacturers, community groups, industry associations and realtors, to promote the program widely.
Engage all relevant city departments in setting up the program, to coordinate and streamline its administration and ensure that the program meets all regulatory requirements.
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.
