At a recent conference, we asked utility managers and operators to tell us about their everyday communication challenges. Again and again, we heard that communicating with customers about the value of the service their utility provides was difficult, because too often, customers think about water as a good rather than a service. Customers see water all around them (even falling …
Board Member Responsibilities for Managing a Water Utility
Written by: Leslie Kimble Leslie Kimble is a Program Coordinator at the Wichita State University Environmental Finance Center Elected officials or board members may be members of a city council or county commission, or serve on the Rural Water District board. With a long list of to-dos and policy concerns, how are board members supposed to stay up-to-date and knowledgeable …
Workforce Planning: Recruiting and Retaining Employees for your Water System
Written by: Khris Dodson Khris Dodson is the Associate Director at the Syracuse University Environmental Finance Center Your people are your #1 Asset. Well, maybe your #2 asset behind your actual facility. But, without good people, in time, you will likely not have a good facility either. So, how do you find and keep good people? That’s called Workforce Planning. …
Working with Millennials: A Miserable Experience or a Misunderstood Opportunity?
Written by: Tonya Bronleewe & Leslie Kimble Tonya Bronleewe is a Project Manager at the Wichita State University Environmental Finance Center. Leslie Kimble is a Marketing Coordinator at the Wichita State University Environmental Finance Center.
Smart Management for Small Water Systems Program Newsletter | Spring 2015
The Environmental Finance Center Network has published the third issue in a series of bi-monthly newsletters. The Spring 2015 Program Newsletter highlights upcoming workshops and webinars, highlights the story of one small water system who worked with the EFCN, and shares helpful new resources for small water systems.
New Video Series on Financial Topics for Water Utilities, their Boards, and Funders
Water utility governing boards serve a critical role in ensuring the provision of clean, safe drinking water. Governing boards are tasked with making important and complex decisions in line with the utility’s mission, and they ultimately serve to keep water utilities accountable to the public. One of the most important roles of a governing board is to protect the utility’s long-term financial health and sustainability. Yet water utility governing board members don’t always have a background in finance or a strong understanding of key financial issues that impact the utility.
A new series of educational videos produced by the Environmental Finance Center at UNC Chapel Hill, with support from the Water Research Foundation, offers an engaging, accessible, and easily shareable resource on financial management topics designed specifically for water utility governing boards. The Water₡lips© Video Series describes challenges faced by water utilities across the country using eye catching visualizations and easy to understand explanations of concepts that can otherwise be daunting.
EPA Region 5 Leadership workshop
Medina County Library, Community Room A 201 S. Broadway St, Medina O.H. 44256 Dates and Times: 4/29/2014: 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM, and 4/30/2014: 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM Leadership happens at every level of an organization regardless of the organization’s type or size. There are often strong stakeholder perspectives surrounding water issues as well as numerous challenges and opportunities. …
WEBINAR: Leadership Part II – Effective Messaging
What stories move you to action? What images trigger your emotions? Why do you support one issue but oppose another? Whether you realize it or not, effective messaging is often in play whether you are choosing a bag of chips or pledging your hard earned dollars to a cause. In this webinar we will show you some basic messaging concepts including the use of powerful images that evoke the critical values of your audience. You will also be introduced to successful water conservation and improvement campaigns that use both humor and message to convince their communities to pay for better systems. In the end, this webinar will provide a simple three-step structure to help you re-imagine your story and get the job done.
WEBINAR: Leadership Part I – Translating Data into Effective Communication
Have you ever wondered why, when all the facts support your project you still can’t get the approval or the votes to move it to implementation? When you have all the facts in your back pocket and have presented all the data to your audience, why does it seem that – more often than not – the line item goes to someone else? In this webinar you will be introduced to how your audience perceives your data and how to present your information in a more compelling format. From pie charts to columns and busted pipes to sinkholes, find out how to tell your story so that the next project that gets approved has your name on it.
Helping Small Water Systems Help Themselves: Part 3
Clovis Center, Building B, Room 309 390 W. Fir Avenue (Hwy 168/Herndon Ave), Clovis, CA 93611 Date: 01/30/2014 Time: 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM Session 3 focused on asset management, water loss reduction, and framing your message. Asset management is a tool that small water utilities can use to deal with the complicated aspects of managing and operating a water utility …