Gold Shovel was acquired by Common Ground Alliance (CGA) on January 3, 2023.  We are working hard to transition you into our systems.  If you were a member in good standing with Gold Shovel as of December 31, 2022, you will now become a CGA member and do not need to apply for membership.  All dues paid to Gold Shovel will be honored by CGA. 

To launch the onboarding process for DPI Accreditation, please complete this enrollment form to confirm your profile information and affirm your leadership commitment to DPI accreditation policies.

DPI Enrollment Form

Accreditation requirements remain the same as under Gold Shovel.  If you were Gold Shovel certified and in good standing as of December 31, 2022, you will be accredited by the DPI once the form is completed.

The month of January is our transition month.  As we transition from Gold Shovel to the Damage Prevention Institute, there is a grace period for submitting data.  You will not be able to enter data from December and January until February.

We appreciate your patience as we make this transition.  Please read through the FAQs on this website and please contact us with questions. Welcome to the Common Ground Alliance and We look forward to building the Damage Prevention Institute with you.

Communications

To ensure you receive CGA and DPI emails, you will want to add us to your allowlist/whitelist (trusted sender). All member newsletters and group emails are sent from the connectedcommunity.org and commongroundalliance.com domain. Please whitelist that domain in full *@connectedcommunity.org *@commongroundalliance.com.

For those able to whitelist by IP address, all CGA emails use the following IP addresses.

54.240.14.78, 54.240.14.79, 54.240.14.80, 54.240.14.31, 54.240.14.32, 54.240.14.106, 54.240.14.216, 54.240.14.217, 54.240.14.218, 54.240.14.219, 54.240.14.220, 54.240.14.221

Shared Responsibility in Data Benchmarking

Through commitment to shared responsibility we can reduce excavation damages to underground facilities.

About the Damage Prevention Institute

The Damage Prevention Institute’s mission is to take the industry to the next level by consolidating the rich data and resources of CGA and GSA to generate powerful insights and efficiencies that will reduce the rate of damages to buried infrastructure. 

The Damage Prevention Institute’s mission builds on the industry-leading insights of CGA’s Next Practices Initiative and the prior success of the Gold Shovel Association by utilizing a stakeholder-centered approach to develop performance metrics that reflect adherence to Best Practices and commitment to improving the reliability of the U.S. damage prevention system for everyone involved.

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Peer Review Model

The goal of DPI’s peer review model is for committed damage prevention participants to share key successes and challenges in reducing dig-ins to buried infrastructure among organizations with similar profiles, and to collaborate on industry benchmarking and systemic improvements.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Have questions about the CGA Damage Prevention Institute? Check out the Frequently Asked Questions to find out more about the DPI transition, participation, data, and more.

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Participate

Participation in the Damage Prevention Institute is voluntary for CGA members at no additional cost. CGA membership is required for DPI participants as a component of demonstrating commitment to advancing safety.

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