In 2014, President Jim Bennett appointed the Task Force on Strengthening Inclusiveness Within the Profession co-chaired by Troy Brown, city manager, Tracy, California,  and Tansy Hayward, assistant city manager,  Raleigh, North Carolina.

ICMA and the profession have a long-held commitment to diversity. Most recently this was expressed as a Core Belief in the 2008 ICMA Strategic Plan “Ensuring that local governments and the association reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.” 

Over the past several years, ICMA members have participated in a variety of efforts intended to help identify how the profession can work toward better reflecting the communities we serve. The next step in the process is to combine thoughts and recommendations into an action plan for the association. This task force has been asked to develop short- and long-term recommendations for the ICMA Executive Board that are designed to help achieve the membership’s core value of being an inclusive association and profession.  

The Task Force on Strengthening Inclusiveness Within the Profession kicked off its work at the 2014 ICMA Annual Conference. Conference attendees were invited to participate in a session to share their ideas with the task force to help inform and inspire its work. This video, Inspiring the “I” in Inclusive, summarizes the feedback. 

The Task Force will continue working this year to identify recommendations to address three key questions:

1. How can ICMA encourage and equip managers to increase equity in employment and services in their organizations?
2. What structural and institutional barriers to inclusion exist within ICMA and state and other affiliates and what strategies are being used to address the barriers?
3. What can ICMA do to increase the diversity and inclusivity of the association?

In-service members received an e-mail on March 13 with a link to a task force survey. Take a few minutes to share your perspective!