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SOCIAL INNOVATION: Tapping the Ingenuity of Social Entrepreneurs
A new government approach to partnering with “social
entrepreneurs” is emerging in both the United States and Britain,
to tackle some of their most persistent social problems. Whether
it is the Obama Administration’s Social Innovation Fund (SIF),
promoted by the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic
Participation (OSCIP), Prime Minister Cameron’s vision of a
“Big Society,” or New York City Mayor Bloomberg’s
Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO), governments are viewing social
innovation created through new government, private capital, and social
entrepreneurial partnerships as a practical, cost-efficient approach to
support a range of social enterprises, charities and voluntary groups in
opening up public services to new providers. Go to the following link to read about what initiatives
policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic are challenging bureaucracies
to pioneer and pursue.
GREEN CITIES/GREEN BUILDINGS
Vaxjo, Sweden has been described as “The Greenest City in
Europe” by many in the international media, in recognition of its
strategic environmental work and 35% reduction of CO2 emissions per
capita over the last fifteen years. In addition to its development
of many fine parks, green areas and forests, the city has undertaken a
number of leading environmental projects and actions, both private and
public, that enable residents, visitors and businesses to live and
operate with minimal environmental impacts. Click here and view the video feed to learn more.
In B.C. the City of Quesnel is actively pursuing Sustainable Community
Planning, branded as the “Our Quesnel” initiative.
Learn more about this work here and about the
community’s Wood First By-law.
DETERMINING APPROPRIATE ARCHITECT SERVICE FEES
Today municipalities can no longer rely on a schedule of fees for
architectural services based on a percentage of construction
costs. Now it is necessary to examine every single building
project to determine appropriate fees and negotiate a fee based on
the unique aspects of each project. Visit to here to access a guide that has been developed by
the Royal Architectural Institute to assist architects and clients in
determining appropriate fees for services and avoiding costly change
orders.
A Guide to Determining Appropriate
Fees for the Services of an Architect
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MUNICIPALITIES TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NEW CANADIAN WATER
TECHNOLOGIES
As the Walkerton water contamination tragedy demonstrated 10 years ago,
clean and safe drinking water is not something to be taken for granted.
Since that time, technology to purify water, whether drinking water for
consumption or removal of contaminants from waste water, has been vastly
improved and Canadian companies are playing a leading role. New
purification technology is focused on processes that move away from
chemical treatment of drinking water to kill bacteria and sewage
treatment that relies on waste settling out in water. New approaches
include removing organic substances using membrane filtration in
industrial and municipal water treatment, treatment of drinking water
and sewage using more energy efficient ultraviolet light, rather than
chlorine, which enables recycling of waste heat and electrolysis to
treat wastewater, while at the same time producing commercially useful
quantities of hydrogen and oxygen. Some leading innovations can be
found at h2oinnovation, Eimco Water Technologies, Xogen and TrojanUV.
Ontario Business Program Guide
The Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade has developed the
Ontario Business Program Guide, a free online directory of
Ontario government tax incentives, credits and support programs for
business. The Guide, which is a government Open for Business
initiative, will connect to more than 60 government support programs and
services for business. To access the Guide, please click here. |
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Disclaimer
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Welcome to the Ontario
Municipal Knowledge Network.
The Municipal
Knowledge Network is a web-based resource for information about what
municipalities across Ontario and beyond are doing to improve service
delivery and provide better value to taxpayers.
- Has your municipality found a better way to
deliver a program or service?
- Are you interested in what others have done
to tackle the challenges you face?
- Are you interested in learning more about
successful practices that are being used by municipalities around the
world?
The OMKN is a free service provided by the Association of Municipalities of
Ontario and funded by the Ontario Government,
through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and
Housing.
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