First National Infrastructure Summit Held In Regina

Don't miss the opportunity to engage in lectures, workshops and forums involving leaders in various fields of expertise. Topics of discussion will include assessments, needs, best practices, the importance of partnerships and solutions to better position municipalities for the 21st Century.

The City of Regina is hosting the National Infrastructure Summit, occurring January 26-28, 2011 in Regina.  The Summit is the first organized event of its kind, in which all three orders of government and the private sector are invited and encouraged to engage in discussions and workshops from leaders and experts in various fields on global best practices and new approaches to planning, building and maintaining infrastructure.  These discussions will lead to recommendations and commitments towards bold, new approaches and alternate ways of financing infrastructure, while managing public and political expectations. 

The Summit will conclude with a plan to move forward in a cohesive and coordinated manner, with all three orders of government accepting and sharing responsibility and creating and implementing long-term, out of the box, innovative solutions to eliminating the national infrastructure deficit.

The Summit is the first major step in collectively managing our challenges in a structured, cohesive partnership.  During the next year, while current economic stimulus dollars are being delivered, work will be underway to establish common objectives, goals, resolutions and infrastructure solutions that will unify and strengthen relationships between all orders of government.

The future of modern municipalities must be based on a partnership approach, involving all orders of government, alongside the private sector.  As we have observed in the recent past, we can achieve great success by partnering with the federal and provincial governments.  Together, in the future, we can accomplish even greater things.

The City of Regina’s National Infrastructure Summit offers opportunities for interactive engagement and information sessions in the following areas:

Opportunity for Leading Cities to Highlight Innovation

• Funding innovations
• Transportation asset management
• Leading water utility practices
• Citizen and user engagement in defining required levels of service
• Systems for evaluating operations and levels of service
• Optimizing life cycle capital plus maintenance costs
• Exploration of breakthrough technologies
• Planning 21st Century Municipalities

Where are we really?

• Opportunity for innovative funding beyond property taxes
• 21st Century systems for citizen engagement on needs and pricing
• Outline of 21st Century “destination” for water and sewer services
• Potential for breakthrough technologies
• Foundation principles for shared federal, provincial and local funding

Possible Paths Forward

• Implementing a new funding system (long-term, sustainable, predictable)
• Organization of a national system for best practice implementation
• Sharing support for innovation and breakthrough approaches

If We Change … Will You?

• Political leadership and crisis management
• Paradigm shifts

For schedules and details, click here