Purpose
As part of the Cal-ICMA Coaching Program, the City/County Manager-In-Residence project provides an opportunity for university MPA or similar programs to host a city or county manager for a week on campus. This opportunity will also be open to “Next Phase / Encore” managers who have recently retired from full-time positions. The university will schedule the Manager to make in-class presentations, provide advice or coaching on career development, and interact with students and faculty and career center staff.
PROGRAM GOALS
- Provide undergraduate and master-level students with a practitioner’s “in-the-trenches” perspectives on local government challenges and leadership and career development topics
- Promote the rewards and benefits of local government management careers and thereby attract university students into local government
- Offer students and faculty the opportunity to interact and network informally with a City or County Manager
- Enhance the curriculum of MPA and other Masters programs
Renew and refresh senior local government managers with an on-campus experience
Responsibilities of City/County Manager
- Arrange for travel to and from university
- Free up a week to reside at the university and participate in classes and activities scheduled by the hosting university program
- Prepare for any formal presentations based on topics identified in advance by the university program
- Make several in-class presentations and participate in informal meetings with students and faculty and career center staff
- Team up, as an option, with an Emerging Leader from the Manager’s local government organization in order to provide some of the presentations
- Provide written feedback, observations, and suggestions to the Cal-ICMA Coaching Program based on the one-week residency
Responsibilities of the Local Government Agency
- Continue salary and benefits for the Manager during the week of residence (or Manager can take appropriate leave time for the week-long residence)
Responsibilities of the Hosting University Program
- Schedule the week with the selected City/County Manager (during mid-quarter or mid-semester to avoid exams)
- Identify and schedule the in-class presentations and topics as well as informal meetings and conversations between the Manager and students and faculty members
- Schedule the Manager to meet with appropriate staff at the Career Center to provide info and promote local government careers
- Provide accommodations and some designated meals for the Manager, preferably on campus, as well as pay for travel expenses
- Promote the Manager-In-Residence among students and faculty
- Host, as an optional event, a Roundtable Discussion involving the Manager-In-Residence, other local government managers from the area, and students and faculty on selected issues
- Provide written feedback and suggestions for the future based on the one-week residency
Responsibilities of Cal-ICMA Coaching Program
- Market the Manager-In-Residence project to university MPA programs and other similar programs
- Recruit City and County Managers to participate
- Select university programs to participate
- Match Managers and universities
- Provide some basic materials on local government careers
- Promote the results of the pilot project in California and nationally
- Otherwise oversee the pilot project and offer guidance for participating universities and Managers
Anticipated Outcomes
- A minimum of two matches in the first year and four matches in the second year
- A written summary of the feedback from each of the hosting university programs submitted to the Cal-ICMA Coaching Program
- A summary of observations and feedback from the Manager-In-Residence
- A report distributed through Cal-ICMA and ICMA summarizing experiences, results, lessons, and recommendations after the two-year pilot
