In June 2012 and in concert with the 10-year anniversary of the Voluntary Credentialing Program, ICMA initiated a conversation about the future of the program with credentialed managers and candidates and those not yet eligible. The purpose of the discussion with members was to determine likes, dislikes, ideas for the future, and the best way to develop a formal path to credentialing that spans the career stages of a member, as outlined in the 2008 ICMA Strategic Plan.

As part of this conversation, ICMA conducted 19 discussion sessions and received survey responses from 404 credentialed managers and candidates and 441 non-credentialed in-service members.

The ICMA Credentialing Advisory Board and ICMA Executive Board reviewed and discussed the results of the surveys over a period of many months and made the following decisions:

1. Allow graduates of ICMA and other approved leadership development programs to receive additional experience credit toward the credential, effective March 1, 2014.
2. Consider new eligibility tiers for the Credentialing Program after the leadership development program credit has been in place for one year.
3. Add a new, optional credentialing designation for members who want more structure in conjunction with the development of new credentialing software in late FY15.

Also, as part of a continuous effort to enhance and increase the value of the ICMA Voluntary Credentialing Program, the Credentialing Advisory Board has decided to provide more flexibility to the five-year multi-rater assessment requirement for credentialed managers.

As of July 1, 2014, ICMA will no longer offer the Performance-Based Assessment and Professional Development Planning Assessment for purchase. Managers who purchase either of these assessments prior to this date, should submit their participant designation form no later than November 1, 2014.

Beginning July 1, credentialed managers will have the option of 1) choosing from a list of preapproved multi-rater assessment tools; or 2) completing another multi-rater assessment of their own choosing. If a manager does want to choose his or her own assessment, information on the assessment tool selected can be sent to credentialing@icma.org for pre-approval.

These two elements are important to the pre-approval process:

• Managers should attempt to involve their supervisors, subordinates, and individuals who they work with outside the organization.
• The process should address most of the first 17 ICMA Practices for Effective Local Government Management.

Be aware that the list of preapproved assessments is not an indication of endorsement. It is simply a list of assessments for which members have already received approval and no further review is required. Managers who need assistance in developing an "in-house" instrument should contact credentialing@icma.org.