You can’t have collaboration without a collaborator. Before Lac Carling X, there was no national organization with a mandate to serve as a municipal voice in collaboration with other levels of government to advance the cause of citizen-centred service.
Now there are two.
One represents municipal IT organizations; the other, service delivery executives.
And both are being welcomed by officials at other levels of government.
The Board of Directors of MISA/ASIM Canada, or Municipal Information Systems Association/Association des systèmes d’information municipale Canada (www.misa-asim.ca), was introduced at the opening of Lac Carling X.
This was the third year in a row when Lac Carling was the site of significant events for this organization.
At the 2004 Congress, municipal delegates agreed to create an Interim executive, which crafted a statement, objectives and bylaws for the national association.
In 2005, representatives of five regional organizations – the four chapters of MISA, plus the Réseau de l’informatique municipale du Québec (RIMQ) – formally endorsed the By-laws and Operations Manual and agreed to ask their organizations to join.
This year the five independent organizations, now officially members of MISA/ASIM Canada, met the day before the official opening of the 2006 Congress, elected four officers from among the 10-member Board of Directors and decided that their annual meeting will take place each year during the Lac Carling Congress.
President Kevin Peacock, branch manager of Corporate Information Services for the City of Saskatoon, told participants that the new board has already decided to pursue two collaborative projects: to redevelop the Municipal Reference Model as a means of helping all levels of government to speak in a common language about programs and services, and to develop municipal ideas for identity management, authentication and authorization on a national scale.
The second new municipal organization is modelled on MISA/ASIM Canada but has not yet been formally launched.
It had its genesis at the 2006 Municipal Service Delivery Officials Conference, organized by the City of Ottawa and held there May 8-10, attended by 43 delegates representing 33 municipalities.
At the instigation of conference chair Philip Clarke, director of Ottawa’s Client Services and Public Information Branch, delegates agreed to form regional networking organizations. Five networks are envisioned: British Columbia and Alberta, Prairies, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.
Like MISA/ASIM Canada, the new organization, tentatively called the Municipal Service Delivery Officials Network, is represented on the Joint Councils.
Two representatives from MISA/ASIM Canada sit on the Public Sector CIO Council, while three participants in the service-delivery network – Joni Mines of Edmonton and Cathy Mellett of Halifax, plus Clarke – sit on the Public Sector Service Delivery Council.
Clarke said the network intends to work with MISA/ASIM Canada and other levels of government to address universal issues such as authentication, and will be contributing to the municipal presence at future Lac Carlings. 062763
– Moule