Ontario Municipal Benchmarking Initiative goes national and becomes Municipal Benchmarking Network Canada
Hamilton, May 3, 2016 – Sixteen (16) Canadian municipalities are seeing how they measure up thanks to their involvement in a newly renamed national organization, Municipal Benchmarking Network Canada (MBNCanada).
Municipal Benchmarking Network Canada, founded in 1998 as the Ontario Municipal CAO’s Benchmarking Initiative (OMBI), has become a Canadian organization currently present in six (6) provinces. It is a partnership between Canadian municipalities who believe in the power of data to inspire accountability, transparency and continuous improvement in the delivery of services to their communities.
The new name reflects the national focus of the organization. The name, as well as a new brand, was unveiled at the organization’s annual forum in Niagara Falls on April 21.
“I was happy to see Canada in the name,” says Ed Thornhill, manager of corporate planning for Halifax, the organization’s newest municipal partner. “But more significant for me was the term ‘network,’ since networking and information sharing is a key benefit of the partnership.”
Citizens of the sixteen (16) partner cities are the ultimate beneficiaries of the national network. “Canadians want good service value for their tax dollars,” says board chair and City of Hamilton city manager, Chris Murray. “All of the municipalities in MBNCanada want our citizens to trust that we’re delivering high quality services. This benchmarking program provides us an effective way to make that claim ”.
The naming and rebranding process was very inclusive, says program manager,
Connie Wheeler. “That was important, because collaboration is at the core of what we do. Everyone had a stake in contributing to the process. ”
Consultation included an online survey that was sent to more than 1,000 people
involved in the organization. An impressive 45 per cent responded—perhaps not surprising, given the data-driven mission of the organization.
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Media contact:
Connie Wheeler, Program Manager
Municipal Benchmarking Network Canada (MBNC)
t. 905.540.5779
c. 905.973.1235
e. connie.wheeler@hamilton.ca
w. http://mbncanada.ca
Background:
Municipal Benchmarking
Network Canada is a network of Canadian municipalities sharing and using data to continuously improve the way they deliver services to their communities.
There are currently 16 municipal partners: the City of Calgary, Durham Region, Halifax Regional Municipality, Halton Region, City of Hamilton, City of London, City of Montréal, Niagara Region, City of Ottawa, City of Regina, City of Thunder Bay, City of Toronto, Region of Waterloo, City of Windsor, City of Winnipeg, and York Region.
Every year, the organization publishes a Performance Measurement Report sharing and comparing the performance of participating municipalities across 37 service areas—everything from accounts payable to drinking water. Participating municipalities use the data to support Council decisions, set policy, inform reviews, evaluate programs, support budget recommendations, identify trends, and develop data dashboards.
