muniBLOG: Newsletters for Municipalities

Municipality Newsletter – March 2015

 
March 11, 2015 – In This Issue:

10 CRITICAL ERRORS YOU MUST AVOID IN DEVELOPING A SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIC PLAN
We thought we’d share this article by SmartDrive, from January 2014.  It serves as a good reminder of the common, critical mistakes that can doom strategic plans.   
 

FREE WEBINAR – LEADING LOCAL GOVERNMENT TEAMS FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE
 
Leading Local Government Teams for High Performance

 

In the dynamic environment of local government, leaders need broad perspectives, expansive vision, and acute awareness of the trends and developments shaping their organizations. As a leader in local government, you must have the skills to guide, coach, partner and inspire your staff -sometimes simultaneously – and make it easier for others to communicate, accept responsibility and problem solve.

 

How are you doing leading your team to high performance? Are you clear about the results you are looking for, the deliverables you expect and the desired behaviours essential for the success of your organization? Based off of a recent workshop at the Local Government Managers Association of British Columbia CAO Forum, this webinar aims to help you reflect on your leadership style and how you can support your organization and your team increase their performance, motivation, and overall effectiveness.

 

Please register here for this free 1-hour webinar.

 

 Date:      April 23, 2015

Time:     2:00 – 3:00 (Eastern Daylight Savings Time, Canada)

                              

 

Presenter: Rob Cooke (@robcooke2) is an ICF-Certified Executive and Leadership Coach. He helps middle and senior level leaders who are smart, ambitious, and represent the future leadership of their organizations. He works with these leaders and their teams to accelerate performance and clarify desired outcomes.

  

A LITTLE ABOUT US…
Why muniSERV?
 

For those of you who do not already know me, for most of my career I was a municipal CAO in Ontario. I know municipalities often need to engage the services of consultants and professionals.  And I also recall how frustrating it was to find the number of professionals I needed to fill quote requirements and comply with procurement policies. Often my only option was to ask a neighbouring municipality, “Who did you use?”. There simply was no one place to find the consultants and professional services I needed.

 

So, muniSERV.ca was created to help municipalities and professionals connect.  The main features for municipalities are the searchable database, which is categorized into the service offerings of our professional members, and the free RFP upload feature.

 

How does muniSERV work with our procurement policies?

 

muniSERV does not conflict with your procurement policies.  In fact, using muniSERV actually enhances your procurement processes, because it broadens your servicing options and enhances your ability to acquire more quotes – and ultimately, more competitive quotes. 

 

Something you may not be aware of too, is that recently we’ve been hearing from our professional members, that they are no longer subscribing to other RFP sites due to policy changes that have now made getting access to your bid documents, quite restrictive for them. This may result in you getting fewer responses and makes posting your bid documents on muniSERV instead of, or in addition to, your own municipal website and/or other RFP sites you may be using, an even more attractive alternative for you.

 

 

NOW 180 CANADIAN CONSULTANTS AND PROFESSIONALS STRONG!

We strive to continually bring you the best selection of consultants we can and word is spreading. In the past 3 weeks we’ve had 20 new professional members join muniSERV!

 

These new members offer a wide variety of consulting and professional services – including fire and life safety expert opinions, service delivery reviews, business continuity plans, IT and social media training, project management and executive coaching, to name just a few. Please continue to check out the service offerings of our 180 professional members to find the services you need.

 

 

STAY INFORMED:

 

Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn and join the discussion on our muniSERV LinkedIn Group. 

 

FEATURED CONSULTANTS
muniSERV provides a searchable database of Canadian consultants and professionals that assist municipalities. Here’s some of our reputable consultants.
 
 
 

             

 
 
 

 

SEARCH FOR A CONSULTANT NOW! 
 Susan Shannon
1-855-477-5095

We’re always working to improve muniSERV.ca. Please share with us any comments you may have. 

 

Since muniSERV is made to assist any department in your municipality, please share this newsletter with the other members of your staff.  
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Municipality Newsletter – December 2014

 
December 10, 2014 – In This Issue:

HOW ARE YOU USING SOCIAL MEDIA IN YOUR MUNICIPALITY?
Municipalities are often skeptical about the usefulness of social media. However, the number one reason social media has not taken off, or is in decline according to GovLoop, is really all about the money for governments.  Read the full article – Learn More

TELL US
 

muniSERV.ca has just celebrated its first anniversary – and what a great year it’s been!

Municipal Members: We have welcomed registered municipal members and decision-makers from across Canada – 85% from Ontario, 7% from Alberta, 4% from PEI and the remainder split evenly between BC, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Thank you!  And please continue to spread the word and encourage other municipalities to use and join muniSERV.

 

Professional Members: We have welcomed hundreds of professional members to muniSERV, offering hundreds of consulting and professional services to municipalities. The number of professional members continues to grow almost daily – so check the site often.

 

If you’re having trouble finding a consultant that offers a specific service that is not in our database yet, just let us know and we’ll use our contacts to look for you.

 

Here’s what Luis Moreno, Manager/Lead Business & Technology Training – Strategic Learning Consulting, Ministry of Health & Long Term Care had to say about muniSERV. “Thanks Susan, this is a great service to us the consulting community.”

 

What’s Next?

 

We’re working on a number of new features and tools for our muniSERV members. During 2015 we will be introducing a pre-qualification screening program for our consultants and professional members so you won’t have to spend time investigating if they have insurance, WSIB, etc. You’ll be able to simply let us do that for you.

 

Other features we’re working on include the introduction of automation features that will match your RFPs, Bids, etc. directly to the consultants/professionals who offer that service. (Don’t forget you can always upload your solicitation documents for free!)

 

Here’s what Wendy Macke, of the Township of Georgian Bay had to say. “I’ve been using muniSERV for postings and its great…..easy and free!”

 

We are also concentrating on improved member communication, (i.e. developing newsletters, surveys, focus groups, etc.) and we are working on collaborations with some of our professional members to develop webcasts and training sessions on topics of interest to our municipal members.  Check out our Partners listed at the bottom of the newsletter too.  These valued partnerships will make it possible for us to continue to find new ways to serve you better. 

 

So, TELL US what you think, and if there are any features you would find useful and would like to see added to muniSERV, let us know!

—– 

AND THE WINNER IS….

We attended the MFOA and OMAA conferences this fall and were overwhelmed by the positive response to muniSERV.ca.  We wanted to thank those municipalities who registered by November 30th, by giving away a ASUS 7″ tablet for their municipalities. A random draw was held on December 1st –  And the winner is …. muniSERV.ca

 

COLLABORATING WITH OTHERS TO ASSIST MUNICIPALITIES
Forming new relationships to benefit you

 

We’re pleased to announce muniSERV’s recent collaboration with Cambridge Solutions Inc. – RFP Project Management Solutions and QCsolver – Vendor Performance Management Systems.

 

We love the products they offer because we know that many municipalities simply do not have the dedicated, experienced in-house staff necessary to undertake RFP and vendor performance management processes, that if not done correctly, can expose the municipality to risk. 

 

This collaboration is important to municipalities because muniSERV.ca, Cambridge Solutions Inc. and QCsolver all have the same mission – that is to provide low cost, and often no cost tools to municipalities, to save them time and money – plus help them mitigate risk. 
 

muniSERV will continue to work with QCsolver and Cambridge Solutions in 2015 to bring great new service offerings to our Municipal Members.  If you’d like to learn more, or find out how we can work together to assist with RFP and Vendor Performance Management processes, contact us at [email protected]

 

Learn more about QCsolver and Cambridge Solutions

 

FEATURED CONSULTANTS
muniSERV provides a searchable database of Canadian consultants and professionals that assist municipalities. Here’s some of our reputable consultants.
 
 Learn More.
 

      

Cambridge Solutions Inc. – RFP Project Management Solutions

 

Do you have a project approved but you don’t have the staff in-house to design the RFP, manage the project, and then ensure bidders meet the RFP criteria? Cambridge Solutions Inc. can take care of any component of the RFP project management process you like. You determine the level of involvement you need and they will suggest a RFP management solution that works best for your municipality. Learn More.

 

 
SEARCH FOR A CONSULTANT NOW!
 
 
Susan Shannon
1-855-477-5095

We’re always working to improve muniSERV.ca. Please share with us any comments you may have. 

Please also feel free to share this newsletter with any of your municipal or professional colleagues too.  

 

Happy Holidays and All the Best in 2015! 

 

 

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