Host a Fellow
When it comes to getting work done, four hands are better than two. Given the choice, most local governments prefer to hire full time employees. Though this is often not a practical solution to solving workload issues, ICMA has a solution: share a management Fellow with another local government!
Read a September, 2009 article about the partnership between Dubuque, Iowa and Lancaster, Wisconsin, from the Dubuque Telegraph Herald.
A growing number of local governments are implementing programs that bridge communities. Sharing a Fellow between communities allows managers to build capacity in the profession without having to go through the process of creating a full-time position, and creates a personal link between those communities. If you are interested in this option and would like assistance locating a partner organization to share a Fellow, add that to the "comments" section of the host form (using the button above), or e-mail lgmfprogram@icma.org.
Sharing a Fellow gives communities an opportunity to recruit a highly qualified professional that they otherwise could not place.
-Cori Burbach, 2008 Local Government Management Fellow, Dubuque, Iowa,/Lancaster, Wisconsin
Some benefits to sharing a Fellow
- Build regional communication and cooperation
- Launch and manage projects with cross-jurisdictional issues
- Share the costs of the Fellow with another local government
- Fellows share knowledge and ideas from the other organization
- Fellows are exposed to different management and organizational styles, better preparing them for managerial roles
- Launch a new project that does not require full-time staff
Recommendations for creating a partnership
- Have one of the governments act as the "lead agency." The lead agency would bill the other government(s) for the Fellows' time spent working there
- Pull together a work plan that points to specific projects on the city's strategic plan
- Agree with your partners on job flexibility - make sure the Fellow has time to check e-mail and voicemail for all of their other organization(s), wherever they are
- Minimize the amount of people involved in the hiring process, if possible
- Agree to hold regular meetings (monthly, or less frequent) with your partner government(s) and the Fellow to discuss the experience and opportunities.
Examples
Lancaster, Wisconsin shares a Fellow with Dubuque, Iowa
Lancaster, WI and Dubuque, IA shared a Fellow (Cori Burbach) in the 2007 Fellowship year, and renewed her for the 2008 year. Based on the success of this experience, they shared again in 2009 and renewed this fellow through 2010. This is a unique experience for a variety of reasons. Small and large city experience, different management styles, different states with different regulations, different revenue streams, different management structures and levels of responsibility. It's a real crash-course in local government management. A copy of their share agreement is available for download to see how these two communities structured their program. The managers of both communities have made this available for any host interested in replicating this program.
University Place and Federal Way, WA, shared a Fellow in 2005. Christina Smith followed her manager to another community, and based on the successful experience, both University Place and Federal Way have continued hosting Fellows in their communities in following years. In successive programs, they decided not to share, but put in enough resources to have their Fellows full-time, given their Fellows' successes. Bob Jean, University Place, city manager, said, "sharing a Fellow allows both communities to receive executive level talent at the Fellowship level. I was very impressed with the quality of the candidates from whom we could choose and we are delighted with our Fellow." A copy of their share agreement is available upon request.