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Institute for Local Government
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Subject Areas

Effective Governance

Overview

Effective Governance

California’s cities, counties and special districts need the best of leadership and management to effectively govern. When elected officials and top management professionals partner and govern efficiently, the municipal agencies can more effectively serve their constituencies.

The Institute for Local Government, in partnership with Cal-ICMA, the League of California Cities and the City Management Foundation, provide the following resources to help managers and elected officials collaborate and effectively govern. The partnership formed to support both managers and officials following Cal-ICMA’s research on stressors and potential conflicts experienced by local government executives as they relate to elected officials.

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Attributes of effective governance teams

Leading public organizations and governing with colleagues on a board is a challenging art of community service. The Institute recognizes that many aspects of leadership and governance are not intuitive. These resources provide elected officials and executive staff with insight into the attributes of exceptional boards and councils as well as provide practical tips to help them become exceptional.

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Effective governing board/manager relations

Operating as an effective team takes practice and is achieved by working through bumps in the road. Leaders can also practice their craft and learn new skills through training. In this section, officials will find resources to provide training information for elected officials and managers that may be reviewed as individuals on as a team.

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Resources for first-time administrators

Public management is an art form that takes time to learn and master. This section offers resources to help newly appointed managers and executives learn how to work with council members and staff and how to create a highly-effective policy team.

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Peer support resources for local government executives

There is no doubt that being a local government executive is often an extremely challenging job. Because of the unique challenges and demands on local government managers, these individuals often rely on the support advice of others in similar positions. These resources discuss how this peer to peer support can help create more effective governance teams.

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Cal-ICMA Report: Challenges and Strategies: Maximizing Success for City and County Managers in California

This report summarizes an effort during 2014 and 2015 to identify major challenges facing city and county managers in California, as well as to begin the identification and development of strategies and resources to help address the challenges.

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