This presentation gives students of PWI a high-level understanding of the APWA Accreditation Process, it's benefits and requirements.

1. APWA Self Assessment &
Accreditation
Charles R. (Chas) Jordan
M.P.A., P.W.E., F.M.P., ENV SP
President
Radiant Training & Consulting, LLC
Florida Public Works Institute
APWA Florida Chapter

2. Self Assessment &
Accreditation
APWA: The purpose of the
accreditation program is to provide a
means of formally verifying and
recognizing public works agencies for
compliance with the recommended
practices set forth in the Public Works
Management Practices Manual.

3. Self Assessment &
Accreditation
APWA: The purpose of the
accreditation program is to provide a
means of formally verifying and
recognizing public works agencies for
compliance with the recommended
practices set forth in the Public Works
Management Practices Manual.

5. Self Assessment vs.
Accreditation
Self Assessment
Voluntary
Free (w/ Book)
Good Management Practice
Can Be Done Anytime
Required First Step in
Accreditation

6. Self Assessment vs.
Accreditation
Accreditation
Request Through Contract
Costs $$$
Peer Reviewed
Has a Set Schedule
Official Recognition

7. What is Accreditation?
It is a voluntary, self-motivated approach to
objectively evaluate, verify and recognize
compliance with the recommended
management practices.
It is a prestigious acknowledgement of
excellence from the foremost public works
professional association in the USA!

8. What does it cost?
Based on the agency’s population and number of
functional areas provided by the agency and included for
review.
Designed to recover the actual costs associated with
administering the program.
An estimate of total accreditation costs based on the
characteristics of each agency will be provided to
applicants at the time of application.
Costs of the on-site evaluation represent the unknown
cost, since the agencies will be responsible for actual
costs.
Accreditation fees for a medium size municipal agency
are expected to be between $10,000 and $15,000, over
the two- to three-year process, not including the
agency’s staff expenses.

9. What is the Process?
Application
Self
Assessment
Improvement
Evaluation
ACCREDITATION

10. What is the Process?
Application Phase
1. Request information or application
package from APWA
2. Review the accreditation process guide
3. Make formal application and pay fees
4. APWA reviews application and
approves accreditation agreement

11. What is the Process?
Self Assessment Phase
1. Conduct Self Assessment
2. Present Results to Elected Officials
3. Mail in Notice of Completion and
Documentation
4. APWA Mails an Acknowledgement and
a Certificate

12. What is a
Self Assessment?
Internal evaluation of an organization’s:
policies, procedures and practices – used to
determine its strengths and areas for
improvement.
Documentation – forms the basis for making
continuous improvements in agency operations.
Prepares an agency for the accreditation review
and leads to the preparation of necessary
documentation.

13. When should you do a
Self Assessment?
Before you sign contract vs. after you sign
contract?
Or you might choose no contract?
A recent survey of accredited agencies and
found that:
55% did it before
45% did it after
Your decision may be based on
Politics of your community
Management decision
Discipline of your organization
Organization uncertainty
Lock in fee and edition

14. Why should you do a
Self Assessment?
International recognition for the commitment to
processes that promote good government
Increased productivity and effectiveness
through critical evaluation of programs and
services
Tools for establishing performance
measurement systems and internal performance
standards for operations, management and
administrative functions

15. Why should you do a
Self Assessment?
A visible form of recognition that can be used to
gain community support for improvement of
public works facilities and services
An opportunity for professional development of
your staff
A process to discover the latest developments
in public works operation and maintenance

16. What is the Process?
Improvement Phase
1. Implement improvements identified
during self assessment
2. Update Self Assessment documentation
3. File and Document Completion
4. Submit Application for Site Visit with
Checklist

17. What is the Process?
Evaluation Phase
1. APWA ackowledges request for Site
Visit
2. APWA identifies evaluation team
3. Site visit is conducted and an evaluation
report is prepared by team.

18. What is the Process?
Evaluation Phase
1. APWA ackowledges request for Site
Visit
2. APWA identifies evaluation team
3. Site visit is conducted and an evaluation
report is prepared by team.

19. What is the Process?
Accreditation Phase
1. Site Review Report submitted to the
APWA Accreditation Council
2. Council reviews and considers
Accreditation
3. APWA Notifies Agency of the Results
4. Plaque is Presented to Agency at
Elected Body Meeting

21. What Now?
Continuous Improvement
Self Assessment
Identify Needs
/ Set Goals
ImplementationEvaluation
Accreditation
/ Re-Accreditation

22. What are the
disadvantages?
1. There are obvious risks and other implications
associated with pursuing accreditation.
2. It does require a significant amount of effort to
conduct a self assessment and make necessary
improvements in the operations and management
of your agency.
3. There are also costs involved for the
accreditation process, though efforts will be made
to keep these reasonable and affordable to all
agencies regardless of size. (Approx. $15K-$20K
for a medium sized agency).

23. What are the
advantages?
1. Formal recognition of well run agencies
2. A mechanism to evaluate the organization
3. A target for improving operations
4. Public recognition of public works function
5. Justifying budget requests
6. Instilling pride in personnel
7. Reducing liability
8. Lowering insurance premiums

24. What are the
advantages?
9. Raising national public works profiles
10.Benefiting in personnel recruitment
11.Encouraging documentation of policies
12.Encouraging improvement of procedures
13.Raising competencies in public works
14.Consistent, comprehensive practices
15.Fostering interaction among personnel
16.Encouraging employee involvement.

25. What you will need:
• Support of your governing board and upper
management
• Cooperation of other departments, team leaders,
& your staff
• Discipline to stay the course, 3 years sneaks up
on you fast, don’t drag your feet.
• Strength to get others to do their part, YOU
CAN’T DO THIS ALONE. It is a team effort that
will ensure success.
• Resources dedicated to the mission
• Accountability for results, team leaders need to
have responsibility to get it done.

26. What you will get:
• Network – Help with just about anything you need.
Someone out there has done it before and will
assist you.
• Stronger Relationships will develop as a result of
the cooperation of other departments, team
leaders, & your staff.
• Mutual Respect of all those involved that will carry
into other projects and assignments.
• Teamwork will be the standard of behavior.
• Positive Attitude of success with dedication to the
continuous improvement of your organization.
• Results as staff has a sense of accountability.

27. What you will get:

28. Other Resources
• APWA website: http://www.apwa.net/
• APWA infoNOW Community
• Tracy Quintana, Accreditation Program
Manager
• accreditation@apwa.net
• 800-848-2792
• Self Assessment/Accreditation Workshops

29. Questions / Comments?