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Introduction: Municipal Infrastructure Considerations
Section 1: About CSA
Who is CSA?
What does CSA do?
What is CSA's involvement with infrastructure?
Where do I find out more about CSA?
Section 2: About the CSA Municipal Infrastructure Solutions Program
What is the purpose of this program?
Who is the intended target audience / Who are the “End Users”?
Section 3: About “Products & Services”
What products will be developed and delivered?
When will products become available?
Section 4: About “Development & Updating of Content”
What is the content development process?
How will products be kept up to date?
Section 5: Roles of Program Participants
What is CSA’s role?
What is Infrastructure Canada’s role?
What is the role of organizations and agencies conducting applied research and development?
How will volunteer experts be selected?
Does CSA conduct applied R & D?
How can I get involved?
Section 6: About “Other Community Programs”
How does CSA’s proposed series of municipal infrastructure solutions compare with other publications and training programs that are already available?
Introduction: Municipal Infrastructure Considerations
Infrastructure designers and operators consider many factors and make tough decisions and trade-offs, often in an environment of multiple and contradictory demands and interests. For example, Canadians expect access to clean, safe water, but are also sensitive to issues such as taxation or increasing water rates. They expect improved air quality while also demanding ease of mobility and reduced traffic congestion. They expect and deserve a high quality of life, whether they live in an urban or rural setting. In addition, most Canadians are concerned about their environmental legacy for future generations, and are striving to use water, energy and other natural resources in a more sustainable manner. In short, Canadians are demanding high levels of service from a wide range of municipal infrastructures, all at reasonable cost, now and in the future.
Although pockets of proven, pragmatic and practical knowledge exist across the country, the best of this Canadian and locally relevant international infrastructure know-how needs to be readily accessible to all professionals and trades people that require it. CSA's Municipal Infrastructure Solutions Program is one of many vehicles that will be complementary and synergistic to other ongoing initiatives aimed at helping to make better infrastructure a reality.
Section 1: About CSA
Who is CSA?
Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is a membership association serving government, consumers and other interested stakeholders in Canada and the global marketplace. As a leading solutions-based standards organization, providing standards and codes development, application products, training and advisory services, CSA aims to enhance public safety, improve quality of life, preserve the environment and facilitate trade.
What does CSA do?
CSA has 9,000 members and has developed more than 3,000 publications covering 54 technology areas. CSA's standards development process is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada, and products developed under this process are eligible to become part of Canada's national standards system. In addition to developing standards and related products, CSA hosts more than 600 training events, reaching approximately 8,500 students, per year.
What is CSA's involvement with infrastructure?
From large energy generation and distribution systems to buildings and bridges, CSA has been involved in the development of standards and training for various aspects of built civil infrastructure for more than 85 years. Now, various municipal infrastructure sector actors have requested that CSA become even more involved. With this in mind, CSA is working in partnership with other sector organizations in developing complementary products and services that will help to attain Canada’s goals towards more sustainable civil infrastructure.
Where do I find out more about CSA?
For more information, visit www.csa.ca.
Section 2: About the CSA Municipal Infrastructure Solutions Program
What is the purpose of this program?
The CSA Municipal Infrastructure Solutions Program is one of many necessary and complementary national responses aimed at helping to accelerate the adoption of proven approaches and methods for planning, designing, building, operating and maintaining municipal infrastructure. At the heart of the program's goals is the notion of working synergistically with a wide array of organizations and people who care about municipal infrastructure. This approach ensures that the CSA program helps to enhance efforts of other organizations and does not duplicate effort. Recognizing the broad scope of municipal infrastructure, CSA understands the need for collaboration with a wide range of players and interests. This also includes many infrastructure fixed asset categories: buildings, bridges, sidewalks and roads, and potable water, waste water and storm water systems. This process also involves addressing management practices, not just technology-based solutions, in a variety of high-priority areas. For example, adaptation of built infrastructure to the impacts of climate change, and effective asset management are two of many issues that infrastructure practitioners must address.
CSA is renowned in Canada and internationally as a neutral, third-party organization well-versed in bringing together diverse stakeholders and interests. CSA develops content using consensus-based processes harnessing external stakeholder groups, organizations, individual experts and contributors.
Who is the intended target audience / Who are the “End Users”?
Products and services developed under the Municipal Infrastructure Solutions Program are targeted to Canadian municipalities, their sub-contractors and consultants, and are intended for use by front-line staff such as trades and vocations, as well as municipal engineers, planners and finance practitioners.
Section 3: About “Products & Services”
What products are being developed?
CSA has engaged working groups of multi-disciplinary, multi-sector expert volunteers to achieve consensus on content that is both easy to implement and highly relevant to municipal practitioners. To find out how you can become involved,
contact us
.
CSA is offering products and services in different formats and delivery modes (or platforms). These include hard copy and/or electronic publications in the form of standards, guides and handbooks, as well as the development and delivery of various types of training products, such as classroom seminars, e-learning, distance learning, scenario-based simulations, etc.
For a list of available and proposed products in development,
click here
.
Section 4: About “Development & Updating of Content”
What is the content development process?
CSA is harnessing its consensus-based approach in the development of program content. As a member-based neutral third party organization, CSA is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada to develop accredited consensus products. For products and services such as training products and certain handbooks and guides, a non-accredited consensus process is employed.
How will products be kept up to date?
CSA recognizes that infrastructure practices and methodology evolve and improve over time as new R & D becomes available. CSA has developed a systematic process dedicated to the continual updating of standards and associated products ensuring relevancy of technical content and its application. Through our accredited standards development process and its alignment with our product development methodologies, CSA is a recognized source for up to date information on standards and codes.
Section 5: Roles of Program Participants
What is CSA’s role?
CSA views its primary role as a neutral third party to provide a forum for developing content, as well as marketing and distributing a range of infrastructure-related products and services. CSA's committee support systems include:
- Indemnification of expert volunteer members (for accredited consensus projects only)
- Project management
- Procedural guidance to volunteer members and committee leaders
- Conference and meeting facilities (including web-based and virtual facilities)
- Management of CSA's consensus process
- Member access to CSA's internet-accessible, members-only work areas (used for virtual meetings, committee correspondence, information share among members, and storage / retrieval of committee documents and files)
- Committee membership database maintenance
- Editorial, production and publishing support
- French translation services for publications
- Other related support services to members and stakeholders
What is Infrastructure Canada’s role?
Infrastructure Canada has provided the catalyst funding of up to $1.5 million for the initial two-year phase. This will be supplemented by funding from additional partners as well as the sale and distribution of products and services through CSA.
Some CSA projects that relate to municipal infrastructure and that pre-date this new CSA program have been funded by other parties and stakeholders.
What is the role of organizations and agencies conducting applied research and development?
CSA views the role of these organizations as conducting necessary prerequisite applied research and development activities to create knowledge and know-how. They will ultimately bring forth this knowledge and know-how to CSA committees so as to enable the development of standardized approaches or solutions via the CSA consensus process. They may also conduct proof-of-concept due diligence activities such as: pilot-trials, case studies and rigorous laboratory and/or on-site testing, in Canada and internationally.
There are many organizations and agencies that are either directly or indirectly involved in applied research and development related to municipal infrastructure. They include: government and non-government policy and technical research groups, universities and colleges, professional and technical societies, and public and private consultants. Typically, these organizations will already have a mandate to research and develop new technologies and/or management and policy approaches. For the objectives of the Municipal Infrastructure Solutions Project, the availability of proven applied knowledge and research is a prerequisite to participation in developing standardized solutions.
How are volunteer experts selected?
Expert volunteers have been selected in much the same manner as other CSA program areas. Typical selection criteria include: suitably qualified as a subject matter expert in the specific topic area; ability to actively contribute to the work-product of a particular committee in a timely manner; willingness and ability to contribute the necessary time, as well as adequate financial means to do so; representative of a specific, relevant interest category and/or stakeholder group; and other considerations.
Does CSA conduct applied R & D?
No, CSA does not conduct applied R & D. However, strong liaisons with Infrastructure R & D organizations, infrastructure roundtables and think-tanks are essential to this initiative. These may include: government and non-government policy and technical research groups, universities and colleges, professional and technical societies, and public and private consultants. Typically, these organizations will already have a mandate to research and develop new technologies and/or management and policy approaches and/or to help set priorities and direction related to municipal infrastructure needs.
The program relies upon the availability of proven applied knowledge and research backed by rigorous testing, as well as sound science, technology and engineering. This is a prerequisite to developing sound training, published practices, and related standardized solutions.
How can I get involved?
CSA's Municipal Infrastructure Solutions Program team welcomes the opportunity to meet with individual and stakeholder groups in an effort to identify prospective areas of collaboration. To find out more about collaboration opportunities or other forms of involvement, please contact:
Section 6: About “Other Community Programs”
How does CSA’s proposed series of municipal infrastructure solutions compare with other publications and training programs that are already available?
The CSA Municipal Infrastructure Solutions Program is intended to be complementary to existing non-CSA programs, publications and projects. It is intended to fill specific gaps based on identified stakeholder needs.
CSA has an international reputation as a credible and trusted neutral third party standards developer with time-proven, cost-effective systems in place. CSA's consensus process, and the products and services developed through this process, have been shown to be suitable in delivering solutions to various municipal infrastructure projects that pre-date this program.
For more information on the CSA Municipal Infrastructure Solutions Program, or to get involved,
contact us
.
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