Asset management insights: Building a legacy of asset management

How local governments are evolving their infrastructure approach

MAMP was an eight-year program funded by the Government of Canada and delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). Active between 2017 and 2024, MAMP supported communities across the country in evolving their asset management competencies, skills and knowledge and improving service delivery to residents. Through funding, resources, guides and training, MAMP fostered significant positive changes in municipal asset management practices, demonstrating the value of sharing and enabling local governments to gather and access the data they need to plan effectively and reduce risks so they can provide reliable and affordable services to residents.

MAMP leveraged relationships with partner organizations, sector experts, provincial and territorial associations and local communities of practice to help communities manage their infrastructure effectively by integrating current and well-established asset management practices.

$63.7M in asset management grants awarded

1,587 asset management projects funded

35 training partners + 654 trainings funded

1,412 municipalities advanced an asset management competency

149 resources produced by MAMP and partners

The goal of MAMP was to improve municipal asset management practices. Funding played a key role in helping municipalities complete asset management projects, while the program’s capacity building initiatives ensured communities had the knowledge and skills to advance their practices. A significant factor in MAMP’s success was fostering municipal collaboration. MAMP expanded on a culture of knowledge-sharing and supported municipalities in exchanging ideas, which led to a greater understanding of asset management principles and practices both within and across local governments. This included encouraging and facilitating relationships with relevant provincial and territorial organizations to leverage local expertise and foster long-lasting networks of knowledge.

One of MAMP’s priorities was to support municipalities in their efforts to ensure fiscal responsibility by boosting their capacity to use data to manage their assets and plan for essential projects. Local governments want to be sure they’re making the right investments for their communities. By integrating asset management practices learned through MAMP programming and MAMP-funded activities, they can be more confident in their long-term decision-making, boosting fiscal prudence for years to come.

Advancing asset management skills and knowledge

To help municipalities assess their asset management practices and measure how they evolve over time, MAMP created the Asset Management Readiness Scale, which includes five core competencies. The progress local governments made across these five competencies was captured within five reports sharing insights and highlighting sector trends and best practices.

Policy and governance
Putting in place policies and objectives related to asset management, bringing those policies to life through a strategy and roadmap and measuring progress over time.

People and leadership
Setting up one or more cross-functional teams with clear accountability, adequate resourcing and commitment from senior management and elected officials to advance asset management.

Data and information
Collecting and using asset data, performance data and financial information to support effective asset management planning.

Planning and decision-making
Documenting and standardizing how to set asset management priorities and conduct capital, operations and maintenance planning.

Contribution to asset management practice
Supporting staff with asset management training and knowledge-sharing internally and externally to communicate the benefits and learn from experience.

The program also developed a special report on municipal collaboration, bringing attention to the dedicated work municipalities are performing to increase knowledge sharing and cooperation, both internally and with other local governments.

Each of the five core insights reports featured graphs demonstrating where communities rated their activities on the Asset Management Readiness Scale before and after participating in MAMP activities. The graphs below combine this progress into a single visual. Notably, 1,114 municipalities made progress across multiple competencies and are counted multiple times, reflecting significant growth across seen the asset management sector.

Through MAMP-funded projects, municipalities advanced their asset management skills and knowledge, strengthening their competencies across all areas:

Through MAMP partner-led activities, municipalities advanced their asset management skills and knowledge, strengthening their competencies across all areas:

MAMP timeline: 2017-2024

MAMP reached several significant milestones during its tenure, connecting with municipalities in all parts of Canada to support growth in asset management knowledge and competencies. Here are some highlights.

Case study: Building momentum in Conception Bay South

In Conception Bay South, NL, asset management started off as more of a buzzword than a reality. Today, after receiving a MAMP grant, the town of about 26,500 people boasts an asset management (AM) policy, an AM committee with cross-team representation, a populated AM software and has set levels of service for roads, parks and lift stations. They attribute their progress and momentum to key efforts such as:

• Establishing a committee aimed at raising awareness, collecting and sharing information between departments, and streamlining asset management processes
• Mandatory AM training for new hires to build a common understanding
• Customized, in-person workshops
• Hiring an AM student responsible for consolidating data across different departments
• Engaging staff who were already enthusiastic to try out AM initiatives

Staff are incorporating AM tasks into their day-to-day routines and both staff and council now see the town’s AM processes as essential channels for decision-making and planning. The town is now well-positioned to further improve AM processes and begin incorporating climate considerations into their planning, keeping the benefits of AM front and centre.

“When it comes to asset management, there’s strength in numbers. We keep the momentum going by encouraging new staff to become involved and using our champions to boost interest internally and throughout the municipality.”
~ Suzanne Grouchy, Senior Capital Asset Accountant, Conception Bay South

Grants for municipalities

MAMP funding supported municipalities of all sizes in developing AM competencies and embarking on AM projects. In fact, of those municipalities who accessed a grant, 67 percent have a population of under 5,000, making them more likely to have limited resources when it comes to improving AM knowledge and practices. MAMP grants have resulted in better infrastructure decision-making through improved asset inventories, enhanced use of data and an increased focus on equity, long-term value and climate resilience.

Asset management training

MAMP worked with a variety of partners to offer skill-building opportunities to all, no matter their previous knowledge of AM. These included specialized coaching, workshops, webinars and other tools, and were especially valuable due to their emphasis on working with cohorts to advance learning together and to share knowledge. MAMP included a special focus on small and rural communities: 81 percent of municipalities who accessed funding or training have a population of fewer than 15,000 people. The ability to stack activities—i.e., to participate in multiple training activities or combine training and project grants—made programming especially effective.

Since the program’s inception, MAMP has funded:

15,000+ participants in awareness-building events
8,500+ participants in technical-assistance training

Resulting in:

73% increased their understanding of asset management
95% increased their skills in asset management

Case study: Municipal collaboration in Southeast Alberta

Under support from Palliser Regional Services, nine municipalities in Southeast Alberta coordinated their applications for MAMP grants and pooled a part of the funding they received to collectively develop a regional geographic information system (GIS) web map with an asset management module that houses key information about their municipal infrastructure. This collaboration aimed to address common challenges such as lack of infrastructure planning and loss of institutional knowledge due to changes in staff personnel.

Palliser played a vital role in managing the project, offering technical support and coordinating workshops. The project provided cost savings, digitized infrastructure data and standardized asset management processes. Despite challenges like the need for ongoing tech support and administrative burdens, the project is expected to create lasting efficiencies and foster an asset management mindset across the region.

“Adopting a regional approach to developing tools and technologies for infrastructure management enables municipalities with limited resources to collaborate effectively. This strategy helps reduce costs, share expertise, and create efficiencies, allowing these communities to manage their assets more sustainably and affordably”
~ Devin Diano, CEO/Director of Planning, Palliser Regional Municipal Services

MAMP resources

MAMP developed a number of resources to help municipalities of all sizes develop a baseline understanding of AM activities and advance their AM skills and knowledge. These resources included guides, templates, tools, videos and more, all created through stakeholder consultation and best-practices research. Listed below are select resources that can help municipal practitioners get started with asset management and identify how to evolve their asset management practices. 

Guide: How to develop an asset management policy and strategy	Case study: How the Village of Warfield, B.C., updated and modernized its asset register	Starting the asset management conversation with your municipal council: a communication tool
This guide shows municipalities how to develop an AM policy, strategy, framework and governance structure that are aligned with their strategic goals.	This case study demonstrates how one municipality captured data for its linear assets, determined replacement costs and used open-source AM software for decision-making.	This presentation can easily be adapted and used to give councils an overview of asset management and its value to municipalities.
Case study: North Battleford’s asset management culture shift	Guide: Getting started with asset management in your community	Case study: Collaboration breeds success
This case study demonstrates how North Battleford, Sask., is building asset management capacity across the organization through training, establishing a committee, adopting a policy and hiring an AM coordinator.	The Building Blocks of Asset Management was created to support communities in the early stages of establishing asset management practices. This step-by-step guide is geared toward those who are just getting started or at Level 1 on the Asset Management Readiness Scale.	This case study discusses how seven municipalities collaborated to share costs related to asset management training, asset inventory and software.

Summary

MAMP and its programming have proven vital in helping Canadian municipalities advance their asset management capabilities in an efficient, collaborative way. Its impact can be demonstrated through the sheer number of communities it has reached and the amount of practitioners who have advanced their asset management skills through MAMP resources. This influence will continue to be felt throughout Canada as municipalities incorporate their improved AM knowledge and capabilities into their long-term planning, decision-making and daily operations to improve service delivery and foster more sustainable, resilient communities. As the program comes to an end, new opportunities such as GMF’s Local Leadership for Climate Adaptation (LLCA) initiative are arising for local governments to better serve their communities’ infrastructure needs.