One of the potentially sticky requests our members receive is to offer testimonials or endorsements to professional service providers who serve their communities. Sometimes these service providers become long-time partners who help members address challenges, and there is professional respect for the work that they have done for their jurisdictions.

This is an area where it is possible to cross into a gray area that may conflict with ICMA’s Code of Ethics. Our members must be cautious about leveraging their public position for personal gain—and while frequently there may be nothing to gain by taking the time to offer a reference or a testimonial, we know that professionalism rests on impartiality.

There are limited circumstances when members should consider providing a testimonial or endorsement. I will break down ICMA’s interpretation in each of Tenet 12’s provisions in the endorsements guideline:

Tenet 12. Public office is a public trust. A member shall not leverage his or her position for personal gain or benefit.

Guideline on Endorsements. Members should not endorse commercial products or services by agreeing to use their photograph, endorsement, or quotation in paid or other commercial advertisements, marketing materials, social media, or other documents, whether the member is compensated or not for the member’s support. Members may, however, provide verbal professional references as part of the due diligence phase of competitive process or in response to a direct inquiry.

This official guideline is admittedly cautious and is intended to help members navigate challenging situations.

Members should not provide written (or video) testimonials. These testimonials could outlive the relationship you have with individuals or a firm, and if they run into issues in another jurisdiction because of poor performance, etc., your endorsement lives on, and your professional reputation could be on the line.

When a local government has a positive experience with a vendor and would like to share it, a member can be a verbal reference as part of a competitive process or in response to a direct question about that experience. Let them know (especially if they are a valued service provider) that you can serve as a reference if another jurisdiction is looking to hear about your personal experience with their services. The proper venue is “private”—not part of their marketing materials.

Members may agree to endorse the following, provided they do not receive any compensation: (1) books or other publications; (2) professional development or educational services provided by nonprofit membership organizations or recognized educational institutions; (3) products and/or services in which the local government has a direct economic interest.

Provided the member receives no compensation for the endorsement, members may endorse books or other publications, professional development or educational services from ICMA or state associations or other nonprofit membership organizations, or for an asset the local government owns like a civic or convention center. The “direct economic interest” in the guideline means those items where the local government has direct budget allocation or responsibility.

Members’ observations, opinions, and analyses of commercial products used or tested by their local governments are appropriate and useful to the profession when included as part of professional articles and reports.

Members can partner with private sector service providers who have been, or are, a local government client to write professional articles or reports or provide content for sessions focused on professional development.

The ICMA Annual Conference provides a good example of this. Members who have used the product and have valuable insights to share with other attendees can propose a session with the vendor to include time for attendees to ask questions about that experience. Vendor sessions featured in the Innovations Theater area in the exhibit hall give companies the flexibility to present with or without a member.

Real-world Member Questions

Here are recent questions members posed to me about testimonials and endorsements, along with my answers.

I’ve recently read a manuscript on leadership topics in the workplace. I enjoyed the book, and after debriefing with the author, he asked me if I would consider writing a testimonial for the book. I provided my thoughts and he wants to include it in his book when it’s published this year. I am not being compensated, and the author has no business dealings with me or my local government. Is this allowable and would this be okay?

Yes, you can endorse a book provided you receive no compensation, and there is no perceived or actual conflict of interest at play here.

I read the Code with the guideline that we can offer endorsements for products and services in which our local government has a direct economic interest. I have been asked to be part of a video for my local government’s service provider discussing a special event we have in our community that has a substantial economic benefit. This service provider is a private company who also runs other events on behalf of my local government.

This scenario is one that does not meet the definition of “direct economic interest.” You should decline because this private company may want media they can use to attract new clients, and this would create conflicts in considering other vendors who may pursue your local government’s procurement for other events.

One of my local government’s IT consultants asked me to join a customer advisory board in a volunteer capacity. The board intends to provide the company with insights to better serve clients, including my local government. From what has been shared, it seems like it is largely a networking opportunity, as well as a sounding board for the company as it grows. They are not seeking (and I would not give) an endorsement.

I believe my participation will be of benefit to the local government, and at first review, I do not see direct ethical issues but thought a second opinion was warranted. To be honest, the “advisory board” wording is the main reason.

The endorsements guideline puts parameters on service provider relationships. The last sentence—“Members’ observations, opinions, and analyses of commercial products used or tested by their local governments are appropriate and useful to the profession when included as part of professional articles and reports”—is a decidedly two-sided approach that is meant to be interactive and not static.

I encourage you to think about any possible conflicts of interest in appearance. If in the future the local government issues a request for proposals (RFP) for IT services, would this company feel like they have a leg up over competitors because you serve on the customer advisory board? Serving on an unpaid, volunteer customer advisory board would be acceptable as long as the local government is not actively going through a procurement process for IT services.

A former employee started their own consulting business and asked me to provide a recommendation. What do you recommend?

This is a situation where you should decline providing your endorsement through a written recommendation or quote about this former employee who is now consulting. You can be a verbal reference as part of a competitive process or if directly asked. You should explain your ethical obligations to this former employee, so it is not just a “no.”

I have been asked to participate in a video for one of my organization’s public safety service providers. I want to make sure my approach aligns with the Code of Ethics. What do you advise?

You should not participate in the video, and I recommend explaining why to the service provider. This would be considered an endorsement and the Code’s Tenet 12 endorsements guideline has very specific parameters for when something like this would be permitted, and this is not one of those circumstances. What is okay is offering to be a verbal reference in the RFP process or partnering with this service provider to do a presentation at a state association or ICMA conference since that presentation would allow for audience Q&A.

While the endorsements guideline allows very limited circumstances for when an endorsement is acceptable, it is designed to protect members’ long-term interests. What if the service provider did something that you no longer wish to align yourself with or they stop meeting the organization’s expectations and the relationship ends?

The guideline helps members stay on solid ethical ground in service provider relationships. When in doubt, pause, review the Code, and seek guidance from me (jcowles@icma.org) before agreeing to any testimonial, quote, or public endorsement.

JESSICA COWLES is ethics director at ICMA (jcowles@icma.org).