Two recipients of ICMA’s John Garvey Scholarship Award joined us to talk about the unparalleled professional global experience they gained through the support of one of ICMA’s global scholarship awards.

Ted Richardson

Strategic Initiatives Coordinator, Office of Strategy
Tacoma, Washington, USA

Daniela Rivas, ICMA-CM

City Manager
Newton, Kansas, USA

You both recently participated in a global exchange with support from ICMA’s John Garvey Scholarship, which provides funding for young ICMA members to participate in global knowledge exchange through attendance at a local government management event in a country other than their home country. Can you each tell us a bit about this experience?

Ted: We attended the Solace Summit in Manchester, England, to learn about the challenges and approaches of UK local government leaders from England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as fellow international attendees from Australia and New Zealand.

Daniela: This conference was invigorating and very exciting. During the week, we had the opportunity to meet key staff in the town of Stockport, along with a walking tour of their redevelopment area. This ICMA experience is one of the most exciting public service opportunities of my career.

This experience has helped me look at my city’s own unique opportunities and challenges from a different perspective. Also, it not only reinforced my recent choice to stay in public service after a tough few years during the pandemic, but it also reignited my passion for the people I serve.

What lessons from this UK exchange do you plan to take back with you to your respective communities?

Ted: A few broad lessons stand out. For example, there are local government functions in the UK that are not fully handled by local governments in the USA, such as social support services. On the other hand, there are some functions that are attributed to national-level agencies in the UK, such as police, that are local and state government functions in the USA. Yet, the problems facing local governments remain similar: cost of living concerns such as housing, workforce pressures, and municipal budget deficits. And because our issues are the same, just under different bureaucratic structures, there is more to learn from each other than we think; we just have to look.

The other lessons I learned were more personal. Being in a very professional environment but in a new country was an incredible space for reflection on my own work, both how I can serve my community better and what I value.

Daniela: That we can learn from each other. We have overlapping, similar opportunities in all aspects of local government. Also, I appreciated the courageous conversations that we had in the UK. I know the trend is to invite more conversations that yield more profound understanding and appreciation into our communities, so it gave me the confidence to continue offering my perspective and appreciate the strides I am making in normalizing shifts and changes in the way things have been done.

Lastly, setting aside time to foster my craft allows me to appreciate and remind me why I do what I do. I got to hang out with some fantastic human beings who are passionate public servants and the sense of connection and value that this experience brought me as a professional, I could not get any other way.

Why are global exchanges and knowledge sharing so valuable to anyone in local government?

Ted: We as humans are much more alike than different, and it takes meeting each other, talking to each other, and having true human connection to realize that. This work is hard, and while it is refreshing to know others around the United States also find it hard, it’s even more refreshing and inspiring to know that across the globe there are local government practitioners dealing with the same issues and making real change.

Daniela: I found two things to be extremely valuable in my exchange. First, I got the opportunity to engage and work on my soft skills, which are very important in our roles as chief executives. Things like collaboration and flexibility, cultural dexterity, being comfortable with the unknown. All these things that make a good leader, and help us appreciate other professionals as people, are strengthened during exchanges.

Second is knowledge sharing and the fact that as we move away from the information age into an intelligence age, we will always require information and knowledge. Every day, it is becoming more and more a critical aspect of success at the local level. The key to unlocking these advantages is to cultivate a strong culture of knowledge sharing.

When I put these two lessons together from this experience, the result is newfound motivation to collaborate more often and consider broader and more diverse perspectives.

What advice can you give other local government professionals who may be interested in taking part in a global exchange?

Ted: Do it! Don’t wait.

Daniela: Just do it! You will not regret it. ICMA has a very intricate and thoughtful program in place to foster global interactions. I also made connections that have already resulted in long-distance friendships. Take the time to learn about all the opportunities that ICMA offers.

What are your hopes for ICMA’s next 100 years of global work?

Ted: Local government issues are the same around the world: affordable housing, shrinking municipal budgets, overworked staff, neighborhoods crying out for reinvestment. The bureaucratic structures and political realities are different to a degree, but that doesn’t mean we can’t share valuable lessons with each other and grow from each other’s work. I see ICMA facilitating this learning over the next 100 years.

Daniela: My hope is that ICMA sustains and grows the incredible work they are doing at the international level. The world is changing, and it is becoming much smaller. The future will require these international interactions as the new normal.

My experience showed me that ICMA is advocating for the manager and our communities. These exchanges have a common denominator—we all want to raise the bar for local government—and I’m excited to see these experiences grow as new managers enter the public service.

Watch the full video interview with Ted and Daniela here.