ICMA’s research activities yield a growing body of information and knowledge about local government. Based on our research, we produce survey summaries, case studies, research reports, LGR: Local Government Review, and other products that provide data, thoughtful analysis, and insights into best practices.
Summary Survey Results
Following the completion of each ICMA survey, we prepare Summary Survey Results that provide a quick glimpse of the findings. Among the survey topics are sustainability, municipal form of government, and alternative service delivery.
Research Papers
Occasionally ICMA publishes brief papers that summarize the state of research in a given area or use published research to provide a primer on the topic. Examples include Public-Private Partnerships (P3s): What Local Government Managers Need to Know and Improving Quality of Life: The Effect of Aligning Local Service Delivery and Public Health Goals.
LGR: Local Government Review
Published twice a year as a special section in Public Management magazine, LGR: Local Government Review, provides key research findings and expert insights into current local government issues and trends. Featured topics include resilient communities, the future workforce, citizen engagement, and cybersecurity.
LGR: Local Government Review, July 2021
LGR: Local Government Review, December 2020
LGR: Local Government Review, February 2020
LGR: Local Government Review, March 2019
LGR: Local Government Review, July 2018, powered by TownCloud
LGR: Local Government Review, December 2017, powered by TownCloud
LGR: Local Government Review, June 2017
Other New Research
Blockchain Technology: Local Government Applications and Challenges
Disaster Recovery Essentials: A Tool for Preparing Your Community to Face the Unexpected
Ethics Matter! Advice for Public Managers
Getting Started: Performance Management for Local Government
Local Government & Immigrant Communities Survey
The Model Police Officer: Recruitment, Training, and Community Engagement
Municipal Form of Government (2018-19)
Veterans Guide to Finding a Job in Local Government
19 on 2019: Predictions on Local Government from 19 Experts
Products of Research Collaborations
In addition to our independent research, ICMA regularly conducts research in partnership with universities, nonprofit and private-sector organizations, and government entities. For example:
Smart Communities: Rethinking Infrastructure (with Siemens)
Smart Solutions: Technology Serving Communities E-Book (with IBTS, the Institute for Building Technology and Safety)
Smart Communities and Data Analytics (with SAS)
Cybersecurity: Protecting Local Government Digital Resources (with Microsoft)
Growing Local Food Systems: A Case Study Series on the Role of Local Governments (with the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems and funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation)
The GIS Guide for Elected Officials (with Esri)
Advancing Social Equity Goals to Achieve Sustainability (with Arizona State University and funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) and a series of related case studies
Solar Survey of Local Governments, 2016 (with the U.S. Department of Energy)
Bring Solar to Your Community: Themes, Summaries and Insights from 27 Case Studies (with the U.S. Department of Energy)
Shared Building Department Services (with the Institute for Building Technology and Safety)
Small Towns, Rural Communities and Sustainability (with the National Association of Development Organizations, the National Association of Counties and others and funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency)
Water Rate Approval Process Research (with ARCADIS, Stratus Consulting, the University of North Carolina, and Richard Atwater and funding from the Water Research Foundation)
Local Libraries Advancing Community Goals, 2016 (with Aspen Institute and the Public Library Association)
To explore potential research partnerships, contact Tad McGalliard at ICMA (tmcgalliard@icma.org).
Use the links below to navigate directly to the video of your choice. Then click on the image to watch the full interview; also viewable on iPhone or iPad. You can control the volume, toggle HD on or off, or expand to a full screen view using the expanding arrows button at the bottom right of the video frame.
- Bruce Katz on The Metropolitan Revolution
- Pat Lencioni on The Advantage
- Daniel Pink on To Sell Is Human
- ICMA and AFI Present: The Next Big Thing in Local Government
- Jim Collins on Great by Choice
- Rebecca Ryan on ReGENERATION
- Bill George on True North
- Tim Brown on Change by Design
- Frans Johansson on The Medici Effect
- Peter Block on Community: The Structure of Belonging
- Daniel Pink on A Whole New Mind
- Jim Collins on Good to Great
To toggle high definition on or off for better large screen viewing or to reduce bandwidth, activate the HD button in the video frame where available. Discussion guides are available - contact rcarty@icma.org for a copy.
Bruce Katz on The Metropolitan RevolutionBruce Katz discusses his book co-authored with Jennifer Bradley, The Metropolitan Revolution, which focuses on the rise of cities and city networks as the world’s leading problem solvers. Katz is the Co-Founder (with Jeremy Nowak) of New Localism Advisors. The mission of the firm is to help cities design, finance and deliver transformative initiatives that promote inclusive and sustainable growth. Pat Lencioni on The AdvantagePat Lencioni discusses his book, The Advantage. Pat is the author of Death By Meeting, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and many other leading business titles. Pat was a keynote speaker at the 2016 ICMA Annual Conference in Seattle. In the interview, they discuss healthy vs. smart organizations, good conflict, team dynamics, values, and other attributes organizations can harness to make better decisions and harness their unique competitive advantage: their people and corporate culture. Daniel Pink on To Sell Is HumanDaniel Pink discusses his latest work, To Sell Is Human, and delves into data that helps explain that, at some level, everyone in the modern economy is responsible for moving others to action (a form of sales). In the conversation, Dan and Bob discuss the pitch, the new ABCs (attunement, buoyancy, and clarity), the benefits of improvisation, and how simply making things easier can change how people respond.
The Next Big Thing: Local Government's Next CenturyLook into the future of local government with former ICMA Executive Director Bob O’Neill and a panel of local government experts that includes representatives from the Alliance for Innovation (AFI). This live, 90-minute Leading Ideas Series webcast was developed with students, interns, management fellows, and early-career professionals in mind. Presenters will focus on the future drivers of local government and their impact on our communities’ future leaders. This video also has transcription; toggle captions on/off by pressing the CC button in the video frame. Jim Collins on Great by ChoiceJim Collins discusses his latest work, Great by Choice, and navigates us through his nine-year research project to determine the characteristics of organizations and leaders that thrive in uncertainty, even chaos, and others that do not. In the conversation, Jim and Bob discuss the characteristics of Level 5 Leaders in the uncertainty era, the value proposition of professional management, and leaving a legacy. Rebecca Ryan on ReGENERATIONRebecca Ryan discusses her upcoming book, ReGENERATION, and how managers can engage and learn from upcoming generations, and how to strengthen inter-generational cooperation to build better communities. In the conversation, Bob and Rebecca discuss traits of successful communities, how to engage entrepreneurs, the power of a sense of place, qualify of life and how to measure it, what generations want, and generational economic cycles. Ryan was a keynote speaker at ICMA's Annual Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2011. |
Bill George on True NorthBill George discusses his books, True North, and True North Groups, and how managers can discover or reinforce their core beliefs and organizational values. In the discussion they cover how leaders can lose their way - and find their way back; fear of failure; a career-defining crucible; and maintaining meaning in your life and career, especially in a tough profession like professional management. George was a keynote speaker at ICMA's Annual Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2011. |
Tim Brown on Change by DesignIDEO CEO and author Tim Brown discusses his recent book, Change By Design, and how a certain mindset, team structure and methodology can create a culture of innovation in organizations. Brown is joined by Jim Keene, then City Manager of Palo Alto, who worked with IDEO to create a culture of innovation in the city by using the “design thinking” methodology. They discuss creating a culture of observation and creating change by anticipating failure. Brown was a keynote speaker at ICMA's Annual Conference in San Jose, California in 2010. |
Frans Johansson on The Medici EffectAuthor Frans Johansson discusses the origin of his book, The Medici Effect, and what local governments can do in times of tight budgets, including encouraging risk, leveraging diversity, and intersecting ideas to break new ground and encourage innovation. In the interview, Johansson stresses that innovation is a constant: someone is taking the risks necessary to make new innovations happen all the time. Why can't that innovator can be you? Johansson was a keynote speaker at ICMA's Annual Conference in Richmond/Henrico County in 2008. |
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Author Peter Block discusses his book, Community: the Structure of Belonging, and the obstacles to effective community building and his innovative approaches to overcoming them. He talks about the need for building community, how parties come to the table focused on their individual interests leading to further community fragmentation, creating conversation within communities, understanding how actions by government can create a sense of entitlement, and more. Daniel Pink on A Whole New MindAuthor Daniel Pink discusses his book, A Whole New Mind. They discuss Dan’s ideas, based on analyzing research, that those that succeed in the future will utilize a different kind of mind than what led to success in the past century: artists, inventors, storytellers, using creative and holistic “right-brain” thinking will be the forces for success and change in the 21st century. |
Jim Collins on Good to GreatAuthor Jim Collins discusses how communities can move from Good to Great. Why local government can't operate like a business, the impact of the 'Level 5 Leader' on moving an organization to greatness, the Flywheel Concept, resource engines for communities, and more. Collins was a keynote speaker at the ICMA Annual Conference in San Antonio/Bexar County in 2006. |
The Leading Ideas Series was made possible with support from ICMA-RC.
ICMA offers 32 datasets from national surveys dating back to 1982. ICMA's database of local governments includes approximately 11,000 municipalities with populations of 2,500 or greater and all counties. These datasets cover a variety of topics including service delivery, form of government, economic development, smart cities, cybersecurity, state of the profession, and sustainability. These ICMA datasets provide useful information for local decision makers as well as researchers, and they are available for download in Excel files. Please view the ICMA data licensing agreement before you purchase a data set.
A complete list of all ICMA Datasets can be found here.
A list of survey summaries can be found here.
Featured Datasets
Alternative Service Delivery
Examine the service delivery choices, practices, and policies of local government, including adopting and evaluating private service delivery.
County Form of Government
This dataset covers form of government, initiatives for referenda and recall, selection, and composition of elected officials.
Economic Development
Examine economic development practices, including economic development funding activities, business retention, business attraction, and more.
Government Technology Solutions Survey
The results of this survey are meant to give an overview of the capabilities, priorities, and difficulties local governments have in implementing technology solutions.
Immigrant Communities Survey
This survey explores local government policies, programs, and other activities related to immigrant populations in their communities.
Innovations and Emerging Practices Survey
This dataset covers various topics related to public sector innovation as well as newly emerging issues and practices affecting local government management.
Municipal Form of Government
This dataset covers form of government, initiatives for referenda and recall, selection and composition of elected officials.
Smart Cities
Examine local governments’ priorities and activities concerning smart city technologies in the U.S., and learn about motivators and barriers to adopting these technologies.
State of the Profession
This dataset scans interactions of top municipal and county administrators with elected officials in their local governments.
Sustainability
Topics in this national sustainability survey cover water, transportation, energy, recycling, recognition programs, and policy actions.
Once the files are downloaded, saving them as text files allows easy import into SPSS or other statistical software packages. We are unable to provide custom cuts of the survey data, but the full dataset pricing provides affordable survey data for academic research.
ICMA collaborates with academic researchers to acquire funding for national surveys, and those survey results are typically not available until the researcher has been able to publish results.
The files for each dataset, which include the survey instrument and a code sheet, are zip files. Please be sure that your university allows zip files to be downloaded before you purchase. Datasets are non-refundable. To see the listing of available datasets go to the bookstore.
All Available Scholarship Opportunities
Annual Conference
Annual Conference Scholarships
Many ICMA members are challenged by limited resources in their pursuit of gaining the very resources they need to better manage their communities. To help members experience the difference the ICMA Annual Conference has made for so many others, ICMA offers Conference Assistance and scholarships. Members In Transition: MITs are granted complimentary registration to the ICMA Annual Conference. As well, there are a limited amount of funds available to provide travel stipends to our MIT members. Interested parties should contact Rosalyn Ceasar at rceasar@icma.org or via phone at (202) 962-3544.
ICMA Partners Program Scholarship to the Annual Conference
The ICMA Partners Scholarship Program annually provides a monetary travel stipend plus complimentary registration to assist a few member partners in attending their first ICMA Annual Conference. Interested partners should complete the brief application for consideration. For questions about the ICMA Member Partners Program, contact Chris Gendell at cgendell@icma.org.
International
Scholarships to assist ICMA members in gaining an international management perspective.
Tranter-Leong Fellowship
The Tranter-Leong Fellowship offers the opportunity for ICMA members to expand their international horizons while advancing ICMA’s commitment to "think globally, act locally."
John Garvey Scholarship Fund
The John Garvey Scholarship Fund offers the opportunity for ICMA members to gain an international management perspective.
Leadership Development Programs
Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in Local Government
ICMA, through the generosity of our corporate partner, The Ferguson Group, offers a scholarship to an ICMA member to attend the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in State and Local Government program.
Leadership ICMA Legacy Fund Grant
The Leadership ICMA Legacy Fund helps individuals to complete the ICMA Leadership Program who otherwise would not be able to because of being in transition, economic constraints or other mitigating factors.
The ICMA Executive Board directed the organization's Governmental Affairs and Policy Committee (GAPC) to produce annual policy white papers, depending on resources available and the topics that require a managerial perspective. ICMA and the GAPC select key policy issues to which ICMA members bring an important perspective and produce white papers on these issues for general release to ICMA membership, other Big 7 organizations, and the general public.
ICMA's Policy Papers
- Blockchain Technology: Local Government Applications and Challenges (November 2018)
- Public-Private Partnerships (P3s): What Local Government Managers Need to Know (December 2017)
- Infrastructure Financing: A Guide for Local Government Managers (January 2017)
- Municipal Bonds and Infrastructure Development - Past, Present and Future (August 2015)
- Leveraging Local Change: The States' Role (May 2014)
- Management's Perceptions of Annual Financial Reporting White Paper (December 2013)
- Striking a Balance: Matching the Services Offered by Local Governments with the Revenue Realities (December 2012)
- Coping with Crisis: How are Local Governments Reinventing Themselves in the Wake of the Great Recession? (December 2011)
- 211/311: Is There a Case for Consolidation or Collaboration? (July 2010)
- Measuring the Results of Economic Stimulus Investments: Local Government Leading the Way (October 2009)
- Restoring the Intergovernmental Partnership: What Needs to Change(July 2009)
- Immigration Reform: An Intergovernmental Imperative (December 2008)
- A Networked Approach to Improvements in Emergency Management (August 2006 with April 2009 update)
- Emergency Management and Homeland Security (An Overview) (August 2006)
Other White Papers
- Navigating the Fiscal Crisis: Tested Strategies for Local Leaders (January 2009)
- Navigating the Fiscal Crisis: An Introduction for Elected Officials (2009)
- A Proposal for an Intergovernmental Policy Council
This proposal was created by ICMA and with the support of NACo and NLC. The proposal outlines ideas on how to rebuild the intergovernmental partnership between the federal, state, and local governments.
As a whole generation of baby boomers begins to retire, we in local government are searching for energetic learning-oriented younger workers and talented second- or third-career older workers. Public service is a wonderfully fulfilling career for a number of reasons:
1. Meaningful, Challenging Work
Local government service is inherently meaningful because our work is related to building and improving communities. Police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, and building inspectors keep us safe. Engineers and public works staff build and re-build the physical infrastructure. City and county planners help envision and shape future community growth. Recreation, arts and culture, and library professionals enhance community life. City, town, and county management takes the aspirations of residents and the policy goals of the elected governing board and puts those aspirations and goals into action.
Public service at the local level is also fulfilling because employees see the fruits of their labors. On a daily basis, local government employees see street and other infrastructure improvements; new buildings coming out of the ground; safety improvements; and happier, more fulfilled children, families, and senior residents.
Public service at the local level is also challenging work. The efforts of local government workers happens in the context of local government, where everyone gets to participate, and everyone has a say.
Every day presents new challenges, new problems, and lots of stimuli.
2. Financial Benefits
Local government service offers salaries that are now competitive with the private sector and benefits that are often better. Public agencies need employees with all kinds of talents, skills and occupational interests. Below are samples of positions and recent salaries offered by an average small-to-mid-sized city or county:
| POSITION | SALARY |
| Account Specialist | $53,196 |
| IT Manager | $106,787 |
| City Planner | $80,811 |
| Recreation Supervisor | $101,379 |
| Police Officer | $74,534 |
| Engineer | $89,895 |
| Fire Fighter | $73,195 |
| Building Inspector | $74,727 |
| Administrative Assistant | $60,112 |
| City, Town, or County Manager/Administrator | $136,345 |
| Sr. Water Systems Operator | $78,733 |
| Librarian | $57,695 |
As you can see, local government offers employment in many, many disciplines.
3. Steady Demand for Services
Another reason to consider a career in local government is that the public needs, wants, and demands services. Residents typically do not ask their local government to reduce library, police, or fire services; public works; utilities; park and recreation; or other programs.
While local government may have to cut programs from time-to-time because tax or other revenues decline, the demand for services remains steady.
4. Learning Abounds
Local governments operate in a very dynamic environment. Changing resident demands, new federal and state laws and regulations, technology advances, demographic changes, new value trends, and other societal forces often make technical skills obsolete. Consequently, local governments need agile learners who are eager to pick up new ways of doing business or delivering services. Simply put, we are looking for young people and second- and third-career people who provide "learn-how" as well as "know-how" to our public organizations.
5. Plenty of Opportunities
Again, longtime baby-boomer employees (born 1946-1964) are now retiring. Local government needs a new generation of younger workers as well as those considering second or third careers. Consider local government if:
- You want meaningful and challenging work.
- You want to make a difference and build and improve communities.
- You want a competitive salary and good benefits.
- You are interested in learning.
Come join us in making a difference in your own backyard!
