ICMA Membership

  1. Your ICMA membership is complementary during your time as an LGMF.
  2. If you are already an ICMA member, your ICMA membership will be renewed for you. If you ever receive a renewal notice or your membership expires while you are a fellow, please notify us.
  3. If you are not already an ICMA member, a membership will be set up for you. Please create a basic ICMA account and notify ICMA when you've done so. You won't be able to register for the ICMA Annual Conference at the complimentary rate without membership setup.
  4. You will receive complimentary membership for two years, even if your fellowship is only one year.
    1. This helps Fellows in one-year positions maintain connections to ICMA and is a benefit for your next employer.
    2. You may attend the ICMA Annual Conference at no cost for two years.
    3. You may also attend one of the ICMA Regional Conferences at no cost.
    4. Fellows are granted complimentary access to ICMA's Management Assessment (see below).
    5. You will also begin receiving a print copy of PM Magazine. Be sure we have an address in your profile!

Getting to Know Each Other

  1. We recommend setting up a profile on LinkedIn if you don't already have one. The LGMF has a LinkedIn group that serves as a way to connect with past Fellows and stay in touch with your cohort (even if you leave local government or drop ICMA membership). All fellow email addresses have been pre-approved to join. The ICMA members group is there as well; this is different than following the company page.
  2. We also encourage you to join ICMA Connect, ICMA's online member community. 
  3. At our first cohort call, we'll discuss other ways that the cohort wants to stay connected.

ICMA Annual Conference

  1. This year's ICMA Annual Conference will take place in Columbus/Franklin County, Ohio. All LGMFs should plan to attend the conference and ICMA will cover your conference registration fee, as well as some expenses for LGMF related activities. 
  2. Visit the ICMA Annual Conference webpage for information about the conference as it becomes available.  
  3. When it's time to register, the registration system should automatically waive the main fee. Other ticketed events aren't covered, though your organization should pick up the cost. 
  4. The LGMF Orientation will take place on the Saturday before the Annual Conference begins. More information about Orientation will come out over the summer. 

Staying Connected During Your Fellowship, and After

  1. The Fellows directory is online. The roster will be updated as new LGMFs join ICMA. New Fellows will be added. 
  2. Please keep your ICMA profile up-to-date with your preferred address.
    • To update your contact information, go to "My ICMA" and click on the little paintbrush icon below your profile picture.
  3. Cohort calls: You will receive a schedule of cohort calls for the year. 
    • If necessary, explain to your mentor/supervisor the importance of not having schedule conflicts with these (whenever possible). 
    • The calls will be about every four to six weeks. The calls will serve as a touch-base to see how you all are doing. There will also be calls with ICMA facilitators or other experts to do a few mini-trainings, or alumni Fellows to chat about their experiences. Some of you will be enlisted to manage calls. Feel free to work with other Fellows as well.
    • We'll use Microsoft Teams for our cohort calls. 
  4. Remember to access the peer network of your other nationally-placed Fellows and ICMA members. ICMA’s member resources, career resources, and Who's Who are there to help you engage with your peers, and ask questions of other members and non-members.

Your Development

  1. One of the key aspects of this program is mentorship by senior government leaders and managers. Be sure this is happening to your satisfaction. If you have not been assigned a mentor, let ICMA know as soon as you can.
  2. Talk to your mentor about professional development opportunities provided by the host community, including additional field and management-related training. You are also encouraged to attend conferences, ICMA state association meetings, online learning sessions, peer learning sessions, staff book club meetings, etc.
  3. Competencies: 
    • ICMA has developed a simple evaluation tool that helps ensure that LGMFs learn practical application of identified skills/experiences as part of their fellowships.
    • Why? To help add some cohesion to the experiences you all are having in different communities across the U.S. 
    • Hosts have been sent these competencies and will be using them to help guide development. Most hosts/fellows use the competencies as a guide, not a rule.
    • Work with your mentor/manger on implementation and tracking.
    • Provide any feedback on the process as it will help make it better for future LGMFs.
  4. Management Assessment: Fellows have complimentary access to the Management Assessment which ICMA Credentialed Managers use as part of their credentialing program. If you'd like to take the assessment, please review the directions in the LGMF Dropbox. 
  5. ICMA Regional Conferences: All LGMFs may attend one ICMA Regional Conferences for free. This is not required and your organization would have to cover travel expenses. These events occur between March and May, and are another great way to meet members in the region/state who may not go to the annual conference. In the past, some LGMFs have attended conferences in different regions to lay the groundwork for a move to a new state post-fellowship.

 Welcome to the Local Government Management Fellowship!