Vancouver City Council |
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date:
July 21, 2003
Author:
J. Rogers
Phone No.:
604.873.7626
RTS No.:
3549
CC File No.:
121
Meeting Date:
July 29, 2003
TO:
FROM:
City Manager
SUBJECT:
Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC)
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT City Council approve a grant of $15,000 to host the opening reception at the 2004 Institute of Public Administration Conference.
B. THAT provision be made for these expenditures in the 2004 Operating Budget,without offset.
COUNCIL POLICY
Approval of the grant recommendation requires eight affirmative votes.
PURPOSE
To authorize support for the national conference of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada to be held in Vancouver in August, 2004.
BACKGROUND
The Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) in 1997 celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding. IPAC is a leading Canadian organization concerned with the theory and practice of public management. Its scope covers governance from the global to the local level. It is an association with 17 regional groups across the country providing networks and forums regionally, nationally and internationally.
IPAC is a non-profit organization. It enables public servants from all spheres of government, university and college teachers, staff, students, and others interested in public administration to exchange ideas on trends, practices and innovations in public administration.
The Institute pursues its vision of excellence in public service by:
· Encouraging the highest standards of professional practice and service to the public;
· Enhancing an understanding of the public sector;
· Advocating the values and ideals of public service;
· Expanding and exchanging knowledge about public administration;
· Contributing to the resolution of key issues in public administration;
· Promoting the education and professional development of public administrators.Locally, the Vancouver Regional Group of IPAC presents seminars throughout the year focusing on issues of importance to public sector staff and offers the opportunity for the exchange of ideas between participants. This is an important forum for public sector people from all levels of government across the region to meet, build relationships and address public issues. In this Region, municipal staff represent a large proportion of the participants in IPAC events.
Internationally IPAC has many programs that share the knowledge and skills that public administrators in Canada have with developing countries and countries in crisis.
IPAC gives a national annual award for Innovative Management. In 1997, the City of Vancouver was awarded gold for our Neighbourhood Services Integrated Teams (NIST) program.
It is an honour for City of Vancouver and for me personally, that I have been elected the Vice-President and President-elect of the national organization. My year as President will commence in August this year. The last municipal official in Canada to have been elected national President was in 1991-2.
IPAC holds its annual national conference in various cities across the country. This year it is in Toronto and in 2004 the conference comes to Vancouver in August. The last conference in Vancouver was in 1986.DISCUSSION
My upcoming year as President of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada will provide significant opportunities for me to showcase the City of Vancouver. It will also enable me to make or develop important relationships with senior officials in the Government of Canada, other provinces and other municipalities. As urban issues continue to attract national discussion and attention, in this role I will have increased capacity and visibility to contribute to keeping them in the forefront.
During my year as President (late August, 2003 to August, 2004), I will be required to travel from time-to-time for brief periods, as my responsibilities at the City of Vancouver permit. Some related travel expenses will be covered from the City Manager's Office budget.
As noted previously, the IPAC national conference will be in Vancouver in August, 2004. This conference will attract 500 public sector staff and academics from across the country and internationally. The program theme of the conference will be Canadian Governance: New Relationships, New Challenges and will include substantial content related to urban issues. This will be a significant opportunity to have discussion of urban issues with officials from all levels of government, all provinces and many municipalities. We expect to identify and explore new opportunities for developing relationships, programs and public services that will help set new directions. The Vancouver Agreement will be an example to learn from and from which to build new possibilities and models of intergovernmental cooperation.
Delivering a conference of this magnitude is a significant task. Financial contributions are made from all levels of government, some federal and provincial agencies, from other sponsorship, and from registrants. The support of the City of Vancouver will be very important to the success of the conference, and the success of the conference will reflect well on the City. A number of City of Vancouver officials are involved in IPAC and the contribution of the City's staff is recognized nationally.
For the 2004 conference I am requesting that City Council sponsor the opening reception of the conference to the extent of $15,000. It is hoped that the Mayor's schedule will permit him to bring the City's greetings at a conference event, and to be involved in a part of the program where appropriate and of interest to him. Acknowledgement of the City's contributions will be made at the conference and through conference materials.
It is usual that officials and staff in the cities where these conferences are held each year support the conference planning and execution. These efforts are absorbed within departmental resources, without additional direct cost for materials. We will support the 2004 conference in this manner.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Direct costs of $15,000 for sponsorship of an opening reception.
CONCLUSION
The Institute of Public Administration of Canada is an important organization addressing the issues of public administration. It promotes excellence in public service, seeks to develop public officials and contributes to the study of public administration and management in Canada. City officials are involved with IPAC and both contribute to the discussion of public management issues and benefit from their interaction with others from across Canada and from all levels of government.
Vancouver will host for the national conference of IPAC in August, 2004 with 500 public officials and academics from across Canada and internationally. The conference will be an important forum for the discussion of governance issues in Canada and will specifically include urban issues as a major topic. The City Council is requested to support this event by sponsorship of a reception and participation of staff in conference operations.
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