Charlottetown joins the WCCD Network at the Highest, Platinum Level
(Please visit the following link to view the original release on the City of Charlottetown's website)
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December 15, 2020
The City of Charlottetown is pleased to announce that the City has received World Council on City Data (WCCD) ISO 37120 Platinum Certification. Charlottetown is now among a select group of 100 cities in a global network that have reported over 90 of the 104 indicators within WCCD’s ISO 37120 standard for city data. The City has thus reached the highest standard available in collecting, distributing, and employing data to make efficient decisions at the municipal level.
At a certification ceremony on Monday, December 14th, the WCCD President and CEO, Dr. Patricia McCarney presented Council with the WCCD Certification. She was also joined by Mr. Sean Casey, MP. Mr. Casey represented Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, the Hon. Catherine McKenna. This recognition, and the WCCD initiative, was made possible thanks to the support of the Federal Ministry of Infrastructure and Communities through the “Data for Canadian Cities Project.”
“COVID-19 has underlined the importance of making decisions based on data and accurate facts,” said Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown. “With the world as unpredictable as it is, this certification will allow us to harness standardized, globally comparable, and independently verified municipal data to address global challenges. By committing to evidence-based and data-driven decision-making, we reaffirm our commitment to making Charlottetown a more sustainable, smart, resilient and inclusive city for all residents.”
The Data for Canadian Cities Project support has permitted cities like Charlottetown to compare their data to other cities as well as establish important milestones for efficiency and growth. The data accumulated during the pilot project will permit City Council to efficiently measure and communicate tangible information about the results of its policy decisions, as well as assist in aligning the municipality with provincial, national, or even international areas of priority such as climate change, prosperity, and inclusivity.
“As the WCCD network grows across Canada – and specifically across Atlantic Canada – we are so pleased to be able to welcome Charlottetown into our global network of data driven cities. The commitment of Mayor Brown and Council to a more data-informed, sustainable, smart and inclusive future for Charlottetown’s residents is only underscored by this important, WCCD ISO Platinum Certification,” said Dr. McCarney, speaking at the Certification Ceremony. “As we continue this important work with the City, we look forward to working with you even more closely in applying the WCCD indicators to your strategic planning process, but also working with you to use this very high calibre and globally standardized data for a wide variety of applications - from economic development to climate change mitigation to infrastructure planning. I very much look forward to the time that we can meet in person, and to discuss all of these exciting opportunities.”
“All communities, large and small, need good data to plan and build modern public infrastructure,” stated The Hon. Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities. “Meeting global data standards is critical. Through the Data for Canadian Cities Pilot Project, in partnership with the World Council on City Data, we've been helping municipal leaders in a number of communities across Canada do just that. I am delighted that Charlottetown has obtained the ISO standard for municipal data, which will help the City plan projects with quality data and will help guide evidence-based decision-making. Canada's infrastructure plan invests in thousands of projects, creates jobs across the country and builds stronger communities."
Charlottetown has now joined one hundred cities around the world in measuring and reporting data that gives an accurate portrait of a city’s quality of life. These indicators include factors such as air quality, access to education, energy consumption, waste management, active transportation, food security, and so on. With two years of verified data preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, WCCD certification will provide the City of Charlottetown with benchmarks to work towards through the recovery period ahead.
Having received this certification, the City can now begin an exciting chapter of this project, which is to find ways to put this data to use. This includes comparing Charlottetown with other cities across the globe on the ISO 37120 indicators, as well as incorporating the data into the Council decision-making process.
