The Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) is thrilled to announce that applications are now being accepted for the 2021-22 Gender Equity in Recreational Sport: Community Grants Initiative. Over 20 grants are available this year, and funding will support efforts to increase the participation and retention of girls and women in recreational sport in Canada. Canadian municipalities and Indigenous communities are encouraged to apply. Application deadline is October 1, 2021. This project is part of the Government of Canada (Sport Canada) funding commitment to achieve gender equity in sport at every level by 2035. 

SOLACE, CAMA's Affiliate Partner in the United Kingdom, is proud to launch their new report "Delivering together for residents: How collaborative working in places and communities can make a difference."

This new publication captures emerging best practices from eight local partnerships across the country where local government working with colleagues in health, housing and the voluntary sectors are having a positive impact on the health and well being of their local communities. It focuses, through a series of case studies, on the challenges, achievements, barriers and learnings from those who are working on the front line to enhance health and care outcomes, address wider determinants of health and tackle inequalities.

Second Collingwood World Summit to be held virtually on October 7-8, 2021 in Collingwood-Canada on Occasion of the UN World Habitat Day

The Urban Economy Forum (UEF), in partnership with UN-Habitat and the Town of Collingwood, is proud to host the 2^nd Collingwood World Summit: Habitat in Towns on October 7^th and 8^th, 2021 in conjunction with World Habitat Day. This year’s Summit is organized around 4 themes with the overarching emphasis on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in particular SDG 11 (sustainable communities and cities) at the scale of towns and small cities. We are delighted to have Dr. Eduardo Moreno, Head of Knowledge and Innovation of UN-Habitat, as the Honourary Chair.

The Summit, in the context of towns, small and secondary cities will focus on housing and sustainable development, climate action and environmental protection, urban assessment, benchmarking progress towards the SDGs, stakeholder participation and good governance. Thus the Collingwood Summit aims to advocate and advance the role of small cities and towns as major drivers of regional and national sustainability.

The second Collingwood World Summit will continue to bring together the expertise and knowledge from leading institutions and individuals around the world and emphasize the urgency for international action and the need to pursue the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development in Towns.

We welcome all town leaders, councillors, practitioners, academics, the private sector and civil society to join us in this important ongoing dialogue. Please visit our website for more information on the 2^nd Collingwood World Summit and to Register for this exciting event.

Willis Award for Innovation Nomination

Under 20,000 Population Category -

Mobile Application

Built on a unique formula that circumvents the web giants, the Municipality of McMasterville is pleased to present its mobile application for the Willis Innovation Award. Opening a direct dialogue with its citizens, this application is a free, powerful communication tool, which makes it possible to reach our population without intermediary. Thus, the Municipality can send, free of charge, alerts or push notifications to the smartphones of members of its community. With one click it also provides access to the entire McMasterville website. The application also allows real-time transmission of information related to public safety or infrastructure maintenance. It quickly issues parking bans during snow removal operations or boil water advisories in the event of a water main failure. In summary, the uniqueness of this application lies in its autonomy and its accessibility to all municipalities. No Service Provider: McMasterville is completely independent and its digital application evolves alongside updates to its website, eliminating all API development costs.

To view the entire award submission (in French), visit the CAMA Member's Section (and search for McMasterville)

Willis Award for Innovation Nomination

Population Between 20,001 and 100,000

Request for Service App

There has long been a high level of concern and frustration from City Council, Administration and residents regarding our procedure for tracking requests for service (RFS) from taxpayers. In 2018 City Council provided funding and direction to procure and implement a new request for service (RFS) system. The City's IT Department engaged in a thorough process to identify all of the issues typically reported by residents to all City Departments, and created a very user-friendly interface based on those requests. The app launched February 12, 2020 and made an immediate impact. The City now has a single interface to see all the requests it receives and approximately half the requests we receive come directly though the app and not through phone calls to the City. Issues are easily tracked, lost issues are no longer a problem and inter-department communication has also increased.

Beyond that, the app provides valuable two-way communication. We regularly issue news notifications about City programs and services and, if necessary, emergencies. To date we have closed over 7700 reported issues and have 4792 subscribers.

To view the entire award submission, visit the CAMA Member's Section. (Search for Service App.)