An Alliance for Innovation white paper on citizen engagement and community connections written in collaboration by ASU Professors Dr. James Svara and Dr. Janet Denhardt.

Essays on the Value of Public Service essays.

Winning awards lends distinction and prestige to recipients. While the award submittal process can be long and arduous, the payoff for receiving the recognition for your efforts is oftentimes immeasurable. Winning an award provides a feel good effect on the submitters that boosts morale as well as the reputation of the organization.

Identifying the right awards to submit for is an exercise that combines your organization's interest areas along with your areas of expertise and success. It is important to find awards that are a good fit for your organization in that you meet the criteria, the program is well established and the submittal process will not drain your organization’s resources to complete. With that said, submitting awards takes time and crafting a good submittal is the only way to ensure you will stand out when it comes time for the reviewers to evaluate your application.

At the Alliance for Innovation we have had an active awards program since 2007. In that time we have seen thousands of award applications and have experience understanding what makes an award stand out. This toolkit captures the Alliance’s best ideas and advice for applying for awards in the local government arena.

The concept of shared services is not new but the recent fiscal crisis has inspired many local government professionals to seek creative ways to engage their neighboring communities in hope of discovering more efficient and cost-reducing strategies.  This Innovation Bundle contains some of the best examples today of local governments coming together to work for the common good of their region and respective communities.  It includes lessons learned - some the hard way - challenges and obstacles and the positive results that have emerged.  Also included are sample agreements, reports, articles, guides, shared perspectives, and even a full-length webinar that offers the views and lessons learned by 4 professionals experienced in the difficult but often very rewarding work of shared services.

Local government is learning to operate leaner and smarter, while still providing competitive benefits in a challenging economy. Offering flexibility in how to configure the workplace is a next/best practice that local governments are exploring and having success with. This report provides examples of policies in place in local governments that provide new solutions to address employee morale, energy savings, improved customer service and more efficient use of transportation corridors.

This Information Bundle represents a collection of material that looks at service comparison in several local government areas including Parks, Vehicle Maintenance, Engineering, Economic Development, Neighborhood Services, Capital Improvement and more. Included in this collection is 13 documents as well as a report outlining links to additional resources found on the internet.

Use this collection to review internal communication policies in other local governments. TheInformation Bundle  includes a report outlining Alliance for Innovation Research findings on communication practices in local government including use of intranets and other web 2.0 features, instant messaging, meetings, newsletters and other correspondence. This packet includes a report along with a collection of 13 local government documents.

The Alliance for Innovation has been assembling information on local stimulus planning. This Information Bundle includes a report along with a collection of documents that are available on the topic.

Plastic bags are responsible for significant negative environmental impacts and preferable alternatives are readily available and currently in use. The most effective way to reduce the environmental impacts related to plastic bags (including biodegradable plastic) is to ban their use and promote the use of reusable carryout bags. In this collection of programs and procedures, you will view examples that were successfully executed by cities such as Vancouver, Canada and Santa Monica, California. This collection contains 15 government documents.

Public/private partnerships (PPP) have become a common feature widely used by all levels of government. Its utilization is used in projects and programs ranging from child care, education, and health to infrastructure and retail development. Though it is a widely used tool for financing such projects and programs, limited detailed research is readily available on the most effective means to maximize and leverage funds from the private sector. This Information Bundle includes a report on the findings done while researching the topic and a collection of 10 local government documents.

The Alliance for Innovation has prepared information for the on the topic of School Partnerships with Local Government. This material was gathered using contacts within the Alliance Knowledge Network and research performed by Alliance staff. The Knowledge Network provided a range of information on school partnerships including advice for building positive relationships between school districts and local governments, as well as innovative programs in use today. The Information Bundle includes the consolidated report as well as a collection of 21 local government documents.

What will the new local government look like in the future?  Will there be more partnering among regional entities?  Can local governments band together to deliver services across community lines?  The answer is yes.

There are a number of considerations relating to the need for shared service delivery including public perception of duplicative efforts in local government, political pressure for government efficiency and legislative mandates to name a few.  Tight budgets are requiring service re-evaluation and re-engineering to meet today’s reality.   And through partnering with other local government entities, local government leaders are seeing opportunities for make government service delivery more efficient and better for the customer.

During this webinar, panel members from Nevada, Wisconsin and California discuss how a regional approach is being successfully utilized to share service delivery to citizens.  In effect, these governments have been able to cut costs, reduce redundancy and leverage the strengths of their neighboring governments.

View the kick off webinar for the Alliance 2011-2012 Ambassador Innovation series.  We have an in-depth discussion on the six qualities associated with innovation based on research by Dr. James Svara, Director, Center for Urban Innovation at Arizona State University and Karen Thoreson, President of the Alliance for Innovation.  

The six qualities we discuss are:
1. Leadership
2. Creativity
3. Internal Collaboration
4. External Partnerships
5. Community Connections
6. Results Focused

This webinar focuses on an overview of all six qualities presented by Karen Thoreson with time for your questions and answers.

"The social fabric of community is formed from an expanding sense of belonging.  It is shaped by the idea that only when we are connected and care for the well-being of the whole that a civil and democratic society is created."— Peter Block, Community The Structure of Belonging

We live in a changing world.  There is a growing sense of disconnectedness and strife that is fracturing our communities.  In government this results in citizens at two ends of the spectrum, those that mistrust and are skeptical of government and those that are looking to government to find the solutions and fix the problems.  With shrinking resources and internal pressures, this can seem like an overwhelming task.

So where do the answers lie for a future distinct from the past?  The truth is it will take all of the resources within a community to make for a thriving future.  It will involve citizens and businesses, educational institutions, and our religious organizations.  It will require people to come together, understand the issues and develop a shared reality for the future.  One not dominated by special interest or the naysayers in our communities, but rather by the heart of a connected community.

View the Alliance for Innovation as we welcome Peter Block to the webinar on Building Connected Communities.  Peter will share his insights on Community and the Sense of Belonging during a guest spot on this webinar.  We continue the program with several local government case studies which provide stellar examples of how citizen engagement is making a difference in their communities.

Case studies will also be presented by:

·         Carlsbad, CA - Using citizen engagement tactics to lay out the vision for the city

·         Lynchburg, VA - Citizen engagement in the form of study circles to deal with race relations

·         Tamarac, FL - Harnessing the power of citizen academies to set priorities and further engage citizens  

Join the Alliance for Innovation for a Manager's Forum, featurning Dr. Benoy Jacob, Assistant Professor, School of Public Administration, University of Colorado, Denver, who discusses the Changing Conversation in Local Government.

Dr. Jacob discusses his studies, observations, and the work of the National League of Cities relative to the current context of fiscal distress.  Cities are reconsidering the types, and ways in which, public goods and services can be offered.  Conversations around these potential changes provide an opportunity to think about the role and function of local governments more generally.  This presentation will discuss some important ways that the traditional conversations about the functions of local government can be re-directed to guide current and future decisions.

Dr. Jacob's work has been featured in Urban Affairs Review, Public Organization Review and the Canadian Journal of Public Administration.  Prior to joining the School of Public Affairs at University of Colorado, Denver, he was an Assistant Professor of Politics and Policy at Claremont Graduate University’s School of Politics and Economics. Benoy earned his PhD in Public Administration in 2008 from the University of Illinois – Chicago. While completing his PhD, Benoy worked as a Summer Associate at RAND and was also awarded a Lincoln Institute of Land Policy dissertation fellowship. Benoy has also worked as a land-use planner for Rockland County (New York), and as a development consultant in the New York Metropolitan Are.

Communities across America are today struggling to develop meaningful and fiscally prudent budgets under financial pressures unknown in modern times. Local governments have experienced the severe challenges wrought by weakened economic health, within an environment where citizens seek programs to be sustained and taxes to remain unchanged.

During this webinar, you'll see how other local governments have successfully involved citizens in the budget process to help determine “what they want to keep” – in other words, what objectives are most important to them. We will explore a creative and unique process - Priority Based Budgeting - and learn how it has been implemented in over 18 communities just like yours to better determine how to align the resources allocated in the budget process with the results communities wish to achieve. You’ll hear how other stakeholders (residents, business community, etc.) have been engaged to help define “why their government exists” and influence how decision-makers decide how to allocate scarce resources to the services that are of the highest priority to these stakeholders.

Join us as Chris Fabian and Jon Johnson from the non-profit Center for Priority Based Budgeting (www.pbbcenter.org) demonstrate how this proven approach can be applied in your government.  Chris and Jon are joined by a panel of local government case studies who will share their stories relating to involving citizens in the process of budget decision making.

Communicating effectively in a world that is connected in new and dramatic ways provides both opportunity and challenge to local governments.  Techniques like the public hearing and citizen newsletter are techniques that serve a purpose, but do they truly establish a conversation among community stakeholders?

Today’s times call for meaningful interchanges that can help, inform while guiding future actions.  This webinar focuses on the emerging tactics being used by communication professionals in local government to reach the intended audience.  Whether it be effective visioning or branding campaigns, collaborative decision making or budget processes, or even the newly emerging eTownHall, these communication techniques can be used successfully to engage the community.

Local Governments as Partners in Citizen Engagement and Community Building

Spearheaded by thought provoking conversation among Alliance members, the Alliance for Innovation partnered with Arizona State University to take an in depth look at engagement with citizens that goes beyond exchange of information and calls for a higher level of qualitatively different interaction.  This type of interaction provides the opportunity for citizens to contribute and participate in the decision making process.  It allows citizens and officials to listen to and learn from each other and work together over time to address issues or problems that they feel are important. 

During the Connected Communities webinar, Dr. James Svara, Professor at ASU and Karen Thoreson, President of the Alliance for Innovation explore the concepts researched in the recently released Connected Communities White Paper.   The white paper identifies steps local governments can take to achieve a higher level of citizen engagement.  Through identification of model case studies, alternative strategies and method, the white paper reveals answers to four questions:

• What are the alternative goals of citizen participation and engagement?

• What is citizen engagement and what forms does it take?

• Who is responsible for citizen engagement efforts?

• How does citizen engagement contribute to community building?

These questions are investigated in greater detail during this webinar.  The panel provides insight into the strategies and methods that achieve the intended outcome of engagement efforts.

View this webinar with City Manager Cheryl Hilvert and hear about the philosophy used to build a High Performance Organization in Montgomery, OH.  This webinar is an Alliance for Innovation Manager's Forum which is offered FREE to Alliance members.

Reports that grade the quality of health care are issued on a regular basis, but have you ever seen a report that actually evaluates the HEALTH of your community?  The County Health Rankings, Robert Wood Johnson-funded reports released in all 50 states in February, 2010 fill this void by describing the many different factors that create health in your community.  This presentation discusses the Rankings report which highlights how local government professionals can use their county’s report to respond to the health needs of their community, and provide examples of action from communities around the nation. 

Are you aware of the talent you have, the talent you need, and how to engage and reward the talent in pursuit of organizational goals?

Human Capital Planning is a disciplined effort to ensure your people processes are aligned and integrated.  A Human Capital Plan provides the organization with a roadmap to better select, develop, reward and retain the most important knowledge, skills and competencies that will drive your organization’s desired outcomes.

View this webinar as we look at Human Capital Planning with Lou O’Boyle and Tim Griles of Zelos, Inc. 

"The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas."  Dr. Linus Pauling

How do you obtain the fresh and thoughtful ideas that are needed to do the business of government in tough times?  Think Imagination Banks – the effective use of suggestion programs and methods to harness the creative ideas of your organizations.

Suggestion programs can offer government organizations significant benefits including cost savings, productivity increases, decreased waste, improved quality, safety, customer service, improved culture, employee motivation and employee satisfaction. Employee suggestion systems have been in existence for over one hundred years in one form or another ranging from the proverbial employee suggestion box to fully-developed employee suggestion systems overseen by administrators, evaluators and idea specialists.  Now governments are not only tapping the creativity of their employees, but also looking to citizens for the idea generation that can lead to a more effective, efficient and transformed organization.

During this Alliance for Innovation Webinar, we  take a look at the elements of a quality suggestion program and we will hear from local governments that have successfully implemented suggestion programs and used it to create positive change for their organizations.

Why do your constituents want and need online public comment forums, and how can you provide online forums that are civil, legal, insightful and cost-effective?  During this webinar – brought to you by the Alliance for Innovation and its Corporate Partner, Peak Democracy – participants explore best practices for implementing online forums as well as suggestions for how to leverage your social media strategy and decision making processes.

Panelists Michael Cohen and Robert Vogel of Peak Democracy will discuss how to increase the quality and quantity of online feedback, easily map your feedback across your neighborhoods and city, as well as avoid the "Referendum Effect."

This webinar features numerous online examples of how Alliance members are using online public comment forums powered by Peak Democracy’s Open City Hall service.

The Internet forever changed the way people communicated across distances and connected with one another.  Today, there is compelling evidence that web 2.0 and the use of social media tools is the next evolution of communication and human interaction using the web.  This has created a significant and somewhat complex development in the connections that can be built between people, and it can be particularly complex for government officials.

Government 2.0 has moved beyond the “what is it” to the “how to do we do it” stage.  There is a strong interest in the government community to understand the structure, procedures, policies and drawbacks of all these new web 2.0 tools that have been latched on to with such excitement and expectation.  

The Alliance for Innovation hosted a webinar series dedicated to the topic of social media.  These events featured Bill Greeves, Director of Communications and Information Technology from Roanoke County, VA as our facilitator.  Joining Billare local government case studies that include representatives from a diversity of roles, levels of government and involvement in 2.0

Policy Issues and Risk Management of Social Media focused on the policy side – what do effective policies look like, how do you develop them, and how often are they revisited.  On the risk management side the impact of social media on employees (and their spouses or friends), recruitment, and elected officials.   The rise of social media provides us with a great opportunity to engage others in new ways, but it is not without its pitfalls.  During this webinar we will look at the impact of personal involvement in social media of public employees and the legal considerations.

This is Part II of a two part webinar series.  Part I is Strategy and Implementation of Social Media.

Art is important. We tend to think it is a luxury, but it gives people deep pleasure because beauty is the personification of hope that something grander is at work. Gil Dellinger

View the Alliance for Innovation webinar featuring  the City of Hayward, CA during our learning café webinar on the city’s Public Art Mural Program.  The city works in partnership with various communities, local jurisdictions, commissions, youth and “local” artists to create mural throughout the city.  This program supports multiple blight elimination efforts, beautification, job creation, promotes business to business opportunities and civic pride.

City operated public art mural program benefits the community by:

• Creating job Opportunities for artists and enhanced business to business opportunities

• Created  $800,000 in saving’s to the City

• Significant reduction in graffiti tagging

• Beautification and Education for youth in the community

Have you thought about how your government can harness the power of social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and SecondLife to engage your citizens?  News agencies are doing it, celebrities are doing it, and so are your colleagues.  The Alliance for Innovation webinar on Using Social Media for Citizen Engagement takes a strategic look at how social media can help government meet communication and engagement strategies.  This is a conscious choice that requires care and feeding.  How do you organize it, maintain it, and have it achieve the intended outcome?  Ultimately you should be completely aware of what your desired outcome is before starting down the path.

Today’s times call for actively engaged and knowledgeable citizens.  By leveraging the power of the Internet, the reach of government has been extended to connect with citizens who were previously not engaged.  While the social media world is seen by many as “fun,” it has the potential to serve for meaningful dialogue on issues that are impacting our communities.  Just consider using Facebook to educate and get citizen feedback on financial management issues, transportation alternatives, or energy efficiency opportunities.  The problems of today can be addressed using social media to reach out and get a new voice into the conversation.

The Alliance for Innovation provides viewers of this webinar with a thought provoking conversation on the strategic use of social media tools to engage citizens. 

In today's tough economic environment, local governments have been faced with the challenge of exploring alternative service delivery methods in unprecedented ways. This webinar will explore innovative approaches governments have used partnerships in redefining service delivery methods and financing structures.

During this webinar we will explore the use of partnerships for service delivery including public-public, public-private, as well as public-non-profit. Utilization of these types of partnerships is becoming increasingly more common in projects and programs ranging from child care, education, and healthcare to infrastructure and economic development. Local governments are exploring the most effective means to leverage public dollars and are reevaluating how the approach the distribution of risk as it relates to financing of such projects.

This webinar is a panel discussion that covers how service delivery has been redesigned with use of partnership, as well as the lessons learned along the way.

The Internet forever changed the way people communicated across distances and connected with one another.  Today, there is compelling evidence that web 2.0 and the use of social media tools is the next evolution of communication and human interaction using the web.  This has created a significant and somewhat complex development in the connections that can be built between people, and it can be particularly complex for government officials.

Government 2.0 has moved beyond the “what is it” to the “how to do we do it” stage.  There is a strong interest in the government community to understand the structure, procedures, policies and drawbacks of all these new web 2.0 tools that have been latched on to with such excitement and expectation.  

The Strategy and Implementation of Social Media webinar looks at creating an effective  social media strategy which is flexible and adaptable due to the frequent changes within the social media landscape.  Consideration also must be placed to the resources necessary to keep any social media vehicles thriving.

Once an organizations social media vehicle is launched, there is an expectation by users that it will be useful and serve a purpose.  In government we have to keep in mind that bad social media is much worse than no social media.  Case studies represented on this panel will present on how their social media program ties to the strategic initiatives of the government for communication, employee development (recruitment) and citizen engagement.  This webinar will also include real world examples that achieved measurable results or are heading in that direction.

This is Part I of a two part webinar series.  Part II is Policy Issues and Risk Management of Social Media.

With a spiraling economy, local government faces the same challenges as private industry in keeping employees motivated in tough times.  Both the reality and the anticipation of layoffs can be debilitating to an organization. Layoffs are traumatic for everyone involved, those let go, those left behind and the manager’s who have to deliver the news. 

Keeping employees motivated and working toward common goals can be done, however it requires effort and honesty and leadership at many levels.  Providing challenging work experiences, staying connected and engaged, emphasizing team work and joint accountability are ways to keep the workforce motivated.

The Alliance for Innovation Survivor’s Guilt: Motivating Employees in Tough Times webinar focuses on the positive measures organizations can take to keep staff engaged and working together.  This roundtable discussion will focus on strategies used to combat the paralyzing result of layoffs while inspiring employees to perform at their best.

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. Theodore Roosevelt

There are many changes transpiring to alter the local government workplace.  On the minds of employees are topics like retirement, reduction in force, technological changes, benefits concerns, and training demands with minimal funding.   Coupled with economic pressures, we are seeing local government organizations undergoing a shift in order to deal with workplace challenges.

How do we create a sense of “job stickiness” so that local government can be seen as a relevant and realistic career path?  What does it take to prepare the next generation of local government leaders?  How do we retain the knowledge of those retiring so that the work continues successfully?  What changes are needed in the public workplace to meet the desires of today’s workforce?

During The Changing Public Workplace Webinar, a panel of local government experts looks at these questions and more.  We openly discuss the importance of succession planning to the process of promoting individual development; being prepared for attrition throughout the organization, providing promotional opportunities, sharing institutional knowledge; and enhancing organizational performance.

As a responsible and driven City Manager, Tom Muehlenbeck of Plano, TX has been a force committed to the succession and development of the future leaders within his organization.  By enlisting the help of LaShon Ross, Deputy City Manager the duo have aggressively worked on a succession model for nearly a decade to prepare and lead Plano into the future.  During this Manager's Forum both Muehlenbeck and Ross will share their insights on succession planning and specifics about the Plano program. 

The Managers’ Forum will demonstrate the importance of succession planning to the process of promoting individual development; being prepared for attrition throughout the organization; providing promotional opportunities; sharing institutional knowledge; and enhancing organizational performance.

Tom Muehlenbeck has been a long-time friend and leader at the Alliance for Innovation.  Mr. Muehlenbeck was chair of The Innovation Groups Board of Directors for ten years and led the organization through many changes including its succession from the company's president and founder Bob Havlick.  His leadership is honored with our annual innovation award, the Thomas Muehlenbeck Award for Innovation.

At the 2009 Transforming Local Government Conference in Corpus Christi, TX we asked conference attendees to vote for their favorite case studies to be turned into presentations delivered via webinar.   First up in the TLG Learning Café is the City of Clearwater’s case study presentation Tired of Singing Solo? Add VOICES!  Volunteerism, Outreach, Innovation, Communication, Engagement, Success.

Presentation Description

How do you get residents involved? The City of Clearwater’s program takes neighborhood leaders from solo acts to conducting community symphonies. Neighborhoods get excited, roll up their sleeves, think outside the box, and have fun coming up with the most creative ways to reach out, solve problems, engage one another and serve their communities. Don’t miss this tune that is climbing the charts!

Many Clearwater communities are experiencing a new sense of pride, unity, and connectedness thanks to the city’s award-winning CAN! Program. Two years ago, the Neighborhood Services Division redesigned the city’s Matching Grants program and created a visionary new awards program based on the great events and activities that neighborhoods were doing to engage their neighbors. But with a twist. The program encourages neighborhoods to think outside the box and unleash their creativity.

BREAKING THE PARADIGMS - The CAN! Program

·         Engages residents in playing an active role in achieving Clearwater’s vision to make Clearwater a great place to live, learn, work and play

·         Gets neighborhoods excited about getting involved in their neighborhoods and with the city

·         Cultivates community and family values

·         Fosters a feeling of “Neighborly connectedness”

·         Encourages neighborhoods to reach out to all age groups within the neighborhood

·         Awards neighborhoods for the great things they are already doing

·         Offers a tool for inactive and challenging neighborhoods to get engaged

·         Offers a tool that helps start and strengthen neighborhood associations

Clearwater designed a program that would unite, bond, strengthen and award neighborhoods based on their achievements.  The opportunity this program fosters for the neighborhoods is boundless and their creativity is energizing and contagious to the entire city.

“No matter how big and powerful government gets, and the many services it provides, it can never take the place of volunteers.” Ronald Reagan

The trend of volunteerism is gaining interest with local governments’ with diminishing budgets.  Studies show people will volunteer with the cities and counties they live in if they feel needed, valued and believe they can impact positive change/support.  

Within local communities, government is an ideal opportunity for volunteer participation.  Volunteerism in local government is where direct impact on community can be most tangible for a volunteer. 

Providing volunteers with meaningful work that connects them to real world results can drive motivation and a positive contribution to the community live in.   What is occurring in today’s successful volunteer service programs is the ability to harness the right people for the right jobs for volunteers who have the skills and desire to participate and make a difference in their community.

During this webinar a panel of local government experts discuss best practices for creating a volunteer progran, ways to recruit and attract volunteers with specific skills and expertise needed and how to maintain and set standards for volunteers.  Panel members talk about volunteerism outreachso that the message is understood and people will look to your organization as a place to give time and expertise.

Learn more about the Alliance for Innovation and take a tour of the new Knowledge Network developed in partnership with the ICMA (icma.org).  The network features a host of Web 2.0 tools that will provide Alliance members with access to:

• Exclusive content delivery regarding innovative and emerging topics of interest specifically for local Government  
• Specialized training and communication resources focused on using the new Knowledge Network
• Cross-fertilization of ideas with learning and networking opportunities

Electronic Community Building Options Include:

• Topic tagging, question and answer features
• Members can access Networking Groups by department, title, etc
• Target your inquiries to specific categories such as state, title, population and/or region
• Create your own groups

Take an indepth look at the boo the 10 Faces of Innovation by Tom Kelley of IDEO.

During this webinar Alliance Ambassadors explore nine strategies to awaken motivation.  This webinar is Part I in looking at the book DRIVE by Daniel Pink.  This webinar is offered FREE to Alliance members as part of the Alliance for Innovation member program.

During this webinar Alliance Ambassadors explore nine strategies to awaken motivation.  This webinar is Part I in looking at the book DRIVE by Daniel Pink.  This webinar is offered FREE to Alliance members as part of the Alliance for Innovation member progra,

Greatness is not a function of circumstance.  Greatness is larger a matter of conscious choice, and discipline
- Jim Collins, Author

Join Alliance for Innovation Ambassadors as they learn how the City of Arvada, CO implemented Jim Collins' book Good to Great.  Arvada has invested in a citywide initiative to implement Collins' Level 5 Leadership concepts:

1.  First Who...Then What
2.  The Stockdale Paradox
3.  The Hedgehog Concept
4.  A Culture of Discipline
5. Technology Accelerators
6. The Flywheel and the Doom Loop

This webinar is part of a 12-month series looking at the Six Qualities Linked to Innovation. Vicky Reier, Assistant City Manager for Arvada, will lead discuss their efforts, lessons learned and answer your questions.

This webinar features a presentation by Patrick Ibara of the Mejorando Group on how to innovate in less than 1 hour.  Includes discussion on spurring creativity, wasy to overcome bureaucractic gracity and foster an innovative workplace culture.  This webinar is part of the Alliance for Innovation Ambassador program and is offered FREE to Alliance members.

Get acquanted with the Alliance for Innovation Ambassador Program.  This is a FREE service to Alliance members.

View the kick off webinar for the Alliance 2011-2012 Ambassador Innovation series.  We have an in-depth discussion on the six qualities associated with innovation based on research by Dr. James Svara, Director, Center for Urban Innovation at Arizona State University and Karen Thoreson, President of the Alliance for Innovation.  

The six qualities we discuss are:
1. Leadership
2. Creativity
3. Internal Collaboration
4. External Partnerships
5. Community Connections
6. Results Focused

This webinar focuses on an overview of all six qualities presented by Karen Thoreson with time for your questions and answers.

Kathy Leidich, Assistant to the Town Manager in Leesburg, VA presents on the main concepts of the book Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin.  This webinar is part of the Alliance for Innovation Ambassador program and is offered FREE to Alliance members.

Join the Alliance for Innovation for a Manager's Forum, featurning Dr. Benoy Jacob, Assistant Professor, School of Public Administration, University of Colorado, Denver, who discusses the Changing Conversation in Local Government.

Dr. Jacob discusses his studies, observations, and the work of the National League of Cities relative to the current context of fiscal distress.  Cities are reconsidering the types, and ways in which, public goods and services can be offered.  Conversations around these potential changes provide an opportunity to think about the role and function of local governments more generally.  This presentation will discuss some important ways that the traditional conversations about the functions of local government can be re-directed to guide current and future decisions.

Dr. Jacob's work has been featured in Urban Affairs Review, Public Organization Review and the Canadian Journal of Public Administration.  Prior to joining the School of Public Affairs at University of Colorado, Denver, he was an Assistant Professor of Politics and Policy at Claremont Graduate University’s School of Politics and Economics. Benoy earned his PhD in Public Administration in 2008 from the University of Illinois – Chicago. While completing his PhD, Benoy worked as a Summer Associate at RAND and was also awarded a Lincoln Institute of Land Policy dissertation fellowship. Benoy has also worked as a land-use planner for Rockland County (New York), and as a development consultant in the New York Metropolitan Are.

An Alliance for Innovation white paper on citizen engagement and community connections written in collaboration by ASU Professors Dr. James Svara and Dr. Janet Denhardt.

View the Alliance for Innovation Member Managers’ Forum featuring Dr. Robert B. (Bob) Denhardt, Director, School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University, Author and Alliance Board Member who will discuss the art of leading in government and society.

Most successful leaders know that leadership is an art, not a science. They recognize that beyond all the sophisticated systems and theories, the strategies and tactics, leadership is ultimately about intangible things such as timing, intuition, and passion. This 1-hour webinar will focus on how successful leaders can master the artistic aspects of their work.

During the webinar, Bob discusses how he and his co-author, Dr. Janet V Denhardt, explored the art of leadership by examining the perspectives, training, and insights of artists and will share ways to adapt the lessons they learned from the arts to the experiences of successful leaders.  

View this webinar with City Manager Cheryl Hilvert and hear about the philosophy used to build a High Performance Organization in Montgomery, OH.  This webinar is an Alliance for Innovation Manager's Forum which is offered FREE to Alliance members.

Are you aware of the talent you have, the talent you need, and how to engage and reward the talent in pursuit of organizational goals?

Human Capital Planning is a disciplined effort to ensure your people processes are aligned and integrated.  A Human Capital Plan provides the organization with a roadmap to better select, develop, reward and retain the most important knowledge, skills and competencies that will drive your organization’s desired outcomes.

View this webinar as we look at Human Capital Planning with Lou O’Boyle and Tim Griles of Zelos, Inc. 

Katy Simon, County Manager of Washoe County, NV takes an in depth look at the foundational elements of innovation that she has fostered within the Washoe organization.  This is an outstanding session offered FREE to Alliance members and is part of the Alliance Manager's Forums.

I can assure you, public service is a stimulating, proud and lively enterprise. It is not just a way of life, it is a way to live fully.  - Lee H. Hamilton 

We find ourselves today working in an era of dynamic global economics, stormy political discourse and facing yet another crisis in confidence in our public institutions. Memories of 9-11 sacrifices of public servants have faded as we debate the causes of our national afflictions, diminished financial security and face the current rhetoric frequently condemning the public sector.

That said, many of our communities have a brighter economic future and are kinder and gentler places because of the personal investment and labor of public employees.  Many of our public employees start every day with the well-being of the entire community in mind.   

We cannot forget that what you do as public employees is essential to the functioning of our communities and the well fare of our citizenry.  Working hard, treating elected officials, peers and citizens with respect and civility, allows our trusted local leaders to find answers to any question and respond to any challenge our communities face.  You bring honor to the profession and can help attract a new generation to public service. 

View this webinar  as we say thank you to our local public servants during the Value of Public Service in a Manager’s Forum webinar.  Led by Randall Reid, County Manager, Alachua County, FL we interview local government professionals as we take an in depth look at:

• A Leader’s Response to Tough Times for Public Servants
• How Military Service Translates to Local Government
• Reshaping the Local Government Organization
• The Future of Public Service: A Look Through the Milennials Looking Glass 

This is an opportunity for us to celebrate those who stay, because what you do is noble work…work with dignity…work with integrity. What other job can one name that provides the chance to impact thousands of people’s lives for the good on a daily basis?  Only in public service do you get to show up every single day, challenged to be our best for other people in every single decision, every single action, every single hour.

As a responsible and driven City Manager, Tom Muehlenbeck of Plano, TX has been a force committed to the succession and development of the future leaders within his organization.  By enlisting the help of LaShon Ross, Deputy City Manager the duo have aggressively worked on a succession model for nearly a decade to prepare and lead Plano into the future.  During this Manager's Forum both Muehlenbeck and Ross will share their insights on succession planning and specifics about the Plano program. 

The Managers’ Forum will demonstrate the importance of succession planning to the process of promoting individual development; being prepared for attrition throughout the organization; providing promotional opportunities; sharing institutional knowledge; and enhancing organizational performance.

Tom Muehlenbeck has been a long-time friend and leader at the Alliance for Innovation.  Mr. Muehlenbeck was chair of The Innovation Groups Board of Directors for ten years and led the organization through many changes including its succession from the company's president and founder Bob Havlick.  His leadership is honored with our annual innovation award, the Thomas Muehlenbeck Award for Innovation.

Essays on the Value of Public Service essays.

Greatness is not a function of circumstance.  Greatness is larger a matter of conscious choice, and discipline
- Jim Collins, Author

Join Alliance for Innovation Ambassadors as they learn how the City of Arvada, CO implemented Jim Collins' book Good to Great.  Arvada has invested in a citywide initiative to implement Collins' Level 5 Leadership concepts:

1.  First Who...Then What
2.  The Stockdale Paradox
3.  The Hedgehog Concept
4.  A Culture of Discipline
5. Technology Accelerators
6. The Flywheel and the Doom Loop

This webinar is part of a 12-month series looking at the Six Qualities Linked to Innovation. Vicky Reier, Assistant City Manager for Arvada, will lead discuss their efforts, lessons learned and answer your questions.

Kathy Leidich, Assistant to the Town Manager in Leesburg, VA presents on the main concepts of the book Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin.  This webinar is part of the Alliance for Innovation Ambassador program and is offered FREE to Alliance members.

Join the Alliance for Innovation for a Manager's Forum, featurning Dr. Benoy Jacob, Assistant Professor, School of Public Administration, University of Colorado, Denver, who discusses the Changing Conversation in Local Government.

Dr. Jacob discusses his studies, observations, and the work of the National League of Cities relative to the current context of fiscal distress.  Cities are reconsidering the types, and ways in which, public goods and services can be offered.  Conversations around these potential changes provide an opportunity to think about the role and function of local governments more generally.  This presentation will discuss some important ways that the traditional conversations about the functions of local government can be re-directed to guide current and future decisions.

Dr. Jacob's work has been featured in Urban Affairs Review, Public Organization Review and the Canadian Journal of Public Administration.  Prior to joining the School of Public Affairs at University of Colorado, Denver, he was an Assistant Professor of Politics and Policy at Claremont Graduate University’s School of Politics and Economics. Benoy earned his PhD in Public Administration in 2008 from the University of Illinois – Chicago. While completing his PhD, Benoy worked as a Summer Associate at RAND and was also awarded a Lincoln Institute of Land Policy dissertation fellowship. Benoy has also worked as a land-use planner for Rockland County (New York), and as a development consultant in the New York Metropolitan Are.

Local Governments as Partners in Citizen Engagement and Community Building

Spearheaded by thought provoking conversation among Alliance members, the Alliance for Innovation partnered with Arizona State University to take an in depth look at engagement with citizens that goes beyond exchange of information and calls for a higher level of qualitatively different interaction.  This type of interaction provides the opportunity for citizens to contribute and participate in the decision making process.  It allows citizens and officials to listen to and learn from each other and work together over time to address issues or problems that they feel are important. 

During the Connected Communities webinar, Dr. James Svara, Professor at ASU and Karen Thoreson, President of the Alliance for Innovation explore the concepts researched in the recently released Connected Communities White Paper.   The white paper identifies steps local governments can take to achieve a higher level of citizen engagement.  Through identification of model case studies, alternative strategies and method, the white paper reveals answers to four questions:

• What are the alternative goals of citizen participation and engagement?

• What is citizen engagement and what forms does it take?

• Who is responsible for citizen engagement efforts?

• How does citizen engagement contribute to community building?

These questions are investigated in greater detail during this webinar.  The panel provides insight into the strategies and methods that achieve the intended outcome of engagement efforts.

View the Alliance for Innovation Member Managers’ Forum featuring Dr. Robert B. (Bob) Denhardt, Director, School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University, Author and Alliance Board Member who will discuss the art of leading in government and society.

Most successful leaders know that leadership is an art, not a science. They recognize that beyond all the sophisticated systems and theories, the strategies and tactics, leadership is ultimately about intangible things such as timing, intuition, and passion. This 1-hour webinar will focus on how successful leaders can master the artistic aspects of their work.

During the webinar, Bob discusses how he and his co-author, Dr. Janet V Denhardt, explored the art of leadership by examining the perspectives, training, and insights of artists and will share ways to adapt the lessons they learned from the arts to the experiences of successful leaders.  

How many times have you been part of a strategic planning process that produces an interesting document that sits on the shelf?  Local governments are faced with challenging times that require precise meaningful action.  Strategic Planning, done well is a disciplined process that defines the future of an organization, identifies the changes required to achieve that future and aligns the proper allocation of resources with the desired outcome.

Few management tools are better suited to help address the staggering array of challenges brought about by a changing environment. For a strategic planning process to be successful it must help the organization anticipate and respond to change by clarifying mission and goals, targeting resources and reshaping programs and services.

During this webinar panel members will discuss the construction of strategic plans that can act as roadmaps for the future that define actions and align those actions with holistic goals and objectives.

The culture of an organization is defined as a set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group.  Culture provides the basis for the way an organization interacts and performs.  To have an innovative culture, an organization has to foster qualities that allow for adaption including risk tolerance, exploration, creativity and teamwork.

Elements of a strong culture include:

• Alignment to vision, mission and goals
• Employee motivation and loyalty
• Team cohesiveness
• Consistent, efficient and coordinated delivery of service

Join J. Michael Wilkes, City Manager, Olathe, KS  during this Alliance Webinar, Elements of an Innovative Culture held on October 6, 2011.  Michael hosts a roundtable conversation among several local governments who discuss team dynamics, employee involvement, alignment strategies, communication and more.  Panel includes presenting teams from Rock Hill, SC, Greenwood Village, CO and Downers Grove, IL.

View this webinar with City Manager Cheryl Hilvert and hear about the philosophy used to build a High Performance Organization in Montgomery, OH.  This webinar is an Alliance for Innovation Manager's Forum which is offered FREE to Alliance members.

The U.S. housing foreclosure crisis is impacting localities across the nation.  Declining property assessments and reduced property tax collections are coupled with rising demand for social services, police, fire and code enforcement.  View this webinar as we look at how localities are turning liabilities into assets for their communities.  

Are you aware of the talent you have, the talent you need, and how to engage and reward the talent in pursuit of organizational goals?

Human Capital Planning is a disciplined effort to ensure your people processes are aligned and integrated.  A Human Capital Plan provides the organization with a roadmap to better select, develop, reward and retain the most important knowledge, skills and competencies that will drive your organization’s desired outcomes.

View this webinar as we look at Human Capital Planning with Lou O’Boyle and Tim Griles of Zelos, Inc. 

Many local governments have unionized employee groups or associations.  Navigating the negotiation process with these groups can be difficult in the best of times.  But today’s economic reality has placed a serious strain on collective bargaining and finding the middle ground.

So what happens when you arrive at an impasse with a labor union?  How do you maintain a positive work environment while going through a lengthy legal battle?  What is the impact on employees who are not unionized or part of these labor associations, and what happens post settlement?

This is a difficult reality for today’s local government leaders. View this webinar where panelists speak candidly about how to maintain a positive environment during these trying times.  Panelists discuss their experiences and methods for staying optimistic, maintaining employee morale, and managing elected official involvement.  We close those webinar by answering your questions during a roundtable conversation.

How do you drive cost savings while improving and enhancing service delivery to your citizens?  This seems like an unrealistic goal, but in today’s times government is called to find ways to do just that.  The concept of lean government is a method used to identify the most efficient, streamlined, and value-added way to provide government services. 

Utilizing lean government practices, organizations are able to transform operations and drive efficiency while identifying needed infrastructure like technology, assessing the required skill sets of employees, and reviewing required policy changes.  Lean Government adopts waste-reducing concepts typically used in a manufacturing environment and applies the principles to procedures in government. 

Involving the workforce is a crucial element to providing quality services in a lean environment.  It includes top management commitment, employees who are encouraged to think out of the box, and an incentive system that rewards employees for meeting customer needs.

During this webinar we explore three government case studies from organizations who have successfully used lean strategies to drive waste out of their processes while increasing the benefits to customers.

Featured government organizations:

·         Cape Coral, FL

·         Pitkin County, CO

·         Palm Bay, FL

Do we have the tools and vision to manage in the brave new world; or is a hammer the only tool we have when we think about managing our organizations?  Jim Ley, County Manager, Sarasota County, FL

Today’s “New Normal” isn’t normal in any sense of the word.  It is complex and unpredictable.  The traditional strategies of cost cutting, downsizing and freezing positions are not enough to meet financial constraints.

But from a crisis of this magnitude, opportunity is born.  In government it means the opportunity to construct new governmental organizations that are more fluid and less linear.  It provides a chance to redefine service delivery, and create a shared sense of ownership among staff as well as citizens.  The thrust of these new organizational models is not so much the model but the entire change to supra systems inside the organization.  It includes a change to a shared service model as a response to the change in the nature of work. 

In this webinar, a panel of local government with experience in organizational change explore new models for local government to meet today’s demands.  The discussion is led by our facilitator Jim Ley, County Manager from Sarasota County and will include two additional local government case studies.

Katy Simon, County Manager of Washoe County, NV takes an in depth look at the foundational elements of innovation that she has fostered within the Washoe organization.  This is an outstanding session offered FREE to Alliance members and is part of the Alliance Manager's Forums.

“Economic Stimulus” is the buzzword of the day.  At the local level, economic drivers are crucial elements to a thriving community.   Proactive planning and prediction of economic changes puts astute local governments in the position to drive innovation and improve the quality of life within their communities.  During the Alliance for Innovation Webinar, Stimulating the Local Economy you will hear from three local governments that have deployed economic strategies to combat changes and secure the vitality of their community.

Sarasota County, FL

In the case of Sarasota County, FL work began in January 2008 through a detailed economic stimulus program.  The County quickly realized the unfolding impact of housing deflation and construction related unemployment, and restructured its capital improvements program to rapidly deliver jobs and business activity. The Sarasota community, through its own resolve and capabilities, moved to independently build an economic stimulus platform for the benefit of its citizens.   At the time, there was no Federal or State economic stimulus funds available to accelerate capital construction projects. Because Sarasota County has already organized a multi-pronged strategy for economic stimulus, community infrastructure is being built, and the opportunity to benefit from federal stimulus dollars is maximized.

Fort Collins, CO

In Fort Collins, CO the development of an economic plan ties Council objectives to an economic vision which is, “A healthy economy reflecting the values of our unique community in a changing world.” In deploying Fort Collins economic plan, the city took an aggressive approach to regional partnerships with neighboring governments, as well as partnering with businesses to build technology incubators and set the stage for a strong economy.

Virginia Beach, VA

Faced with the potential for a large scale military installation closure at the Oceana Naval Air Station, the City of Virginia Beach acted quickly to address six key mandates placed by the BRAC commission.  Virginia Beach demonstrated its commitment to keeping Oceana and preserving the quality of life for all residents in the city. By working quickly, Virginia Beach was able to save countless jobs and keep a major economic engine for the community.

With a spiraling economy, local government faces the same challenges as private industry in keeping employees motivated in tough times.  Both the reality and the anticipation of layoffs can be debilitating to an organization. Layoffs are traumatic for everyone involved, those let go, those left behind and the manager’s who have to deliver the news. 

Keeping employees motivated and working toward common goals can be done, however it requires effort and honesty and leadership at many levels.  Providing challenging work experiences, staying connected and engaged, emphasizing team work and joint accountability are ways to keep the workforce motivated.

The Alliance for Innovation Survivor’s Guilt: Motivating Employees in Tough Times webinar focuses on the positive measures organizations can take to keep staff engaged and working together.  This roundtable discussion will focus on strategies used to combat the paralyzing result of layoffs while inspiring employees to perform at their best.

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. Theodore Roosevelt

There are many changes transpiring to alter the local government workplace.  On the minds of employees are topics like retirement, reduction in force, technological changes, benefits concerns, and training demands with minimal funding.   Coupled with economic pressures, we are seeing local government organizations undergoing a shift in order to deal with workplace challenges.

How do we create a sense of “job stickiness” so that local government can be seen as a relevant and realistic career path?  What does it take to prepare the next generation of local government leaders?  How do we retain the knowledge of those retiring so that the work continues successfully?  What changes are needed in the public workplace to meet the desires of today’s workforce?

During The Changing Public Workplace Webinar, a panel of local government experts looks at these questions and more.  We openly discuss the importance of succession planning to the process of promoting individual development; being prepared for attrition throughout the organization, providing promotional opportunities, sharing institutional knowledge; and enhancing organizational performance.

I can assure you, public service is a stimulating, proud and lively enterprise. It is not just a way of life, it is a way to live fully.  - Lee H. Hamilton 

We find ourselves today working in an era of dynamic global economics, stormy political discourse and facing yet another crisis in confidence in our public institutions. Memories of 9-11 sacrifices of public servants have faded as we debate the causes of our national afflictions, diminished financial security and face the current rhetoric frequently condemning the public sector.

That said, many of our communities have a brighter economic future and are kinder and gentler places because of the personal investment and labor of public employees.  Many of our public employees start every day with the well-being of the entire community in mind.   

We cannot forget that what you do as public employees is essential to the functioning of our communities and the well fare of our citizenry.  Working hard, treating elected officials, peers and citizens with respect and civility, allows our trusted local leaders to find answers to any question and respond to any challenge our communities face.  You bring honor to the profession and can help attract a new generation to public service. 

View this webinar  as we say thank you to our local public servants during the Value of Public Service in a Manager’s Forum webinar.  Led by Randall Reid, County Manager, Alachua County, FL we interview local government professionals as we take an in depth look at:

• A Leader’s Response to Tough Times for Public Servants
• How Military Service Translates to Local Government
• Reshaping the Local Government Organization
• The Future of Public Service: A Look Through the Milennials Looking Glass 

This is an opportunity for us to celebrate those who stay, because what you do is noble work…work with dignity…work with integrity. What other job can one name that provides the chance to impact thousands of people’s lives for the good on a daily basis?  Only in public service do you get to show up every single day, challenged to be our best for other people in every single decision, every single action, every single hour.

As a responsible and driven City Manager, Tom Muehlenbeck of Plano, TX has been a force committed to the succession and development of the future leaders within his organization.  By enlisting the help of LaShon Ross, Deputy City Manager the duo have aggressively worked on a succession model for nearly a decade to prepare and lead Plano into the future.  During this Manager's Forum both Muehlenbeck and Ross will share their insights on succession planning and specifics about the Plano program. 

The Managers’ Forum will demonstrate the importance of succession planning to the process of promoting individual development; being prepared for attrition throughout the organization; providing promotional opportunities; sharing institutional knowledge; and enhancing organizational performance.

Tom Muehlenbeck has been a long-time friend and leader at the Alliance for Innovation.  Mr. Muehlenbeck was chair of The Innovation Groups Board of Directors for ten years and led the organization through many changes including its succession from the company's president and founder Bob Havlick.  His leadership is honored with our annual innovation award, the Thomas Muehlenbeck Award for Innovation.

More than ever before, citizens are demanding immediate access to information about how their local government functions.   Technology is changing the way we communicate and interact with not only our communities, but the world. It has also become increasingly important to encourage citizens to play a more active role and stay connected with their cities/counties in ways that are more convenient and accessible.

Open Government transparency initiatives have grown from a desire to create a more accessible and citizen-centric government that fosters communication, accountability and trust. By taking advantage of technology, government leaders have another opportunity for government and citizens to work together in shaping the future of their community.

Transparency allows citizens to be informed about the priorities of their government officials, and to see how their tax dollars are being spent.  Transparency provides for, and encourages, two-way participation and communication between the city/county and residents, businesses and those interested in the operations of local government.   

The Alliance for Innovation webinar Transparency: Fulfilling the Promise of Open Government will take an in depth look at the concepts and decision-making involved in providing a transparent and open local government.  We will look at some of the tools used for financial transparency and will hear from Alliance members who will provide case studies regarding their response to transparency in their communities.

This webinar features the following case studies from the following local governments:

-          Fort Collins, CO

-          Palm Bay, FL

-          Rock Hill, SC

-          Surprise, AZ

Learn more about the Alliance for Innovation and take a tour of the new Knowledge Network developed in partnership with the ICMA (icma.org).  The network features a host of Web 2.0 tools that will provide Alliance members with access to:

• Exclusive content delivery regarding innovative and emerging topics of interest specifically for local Government  
• Specialized training and communication resources focused on using the new Knowledge Network
• Cross-fertilization of ideas with learning and networking opportunities

Electronic Community Building Options Include:

• Topic tagging, question and answer features
• Members can access Networking Groups by department, title, etc
• Target your inquiries to specific categories such as state, title, population and/or region
• Create your own groups

Take an indepth look at the boo the 10 Faces of Innovation by Tom Kelley of IDEO.

During this webinar Alliance Ambassadors explore nine strategies to awaken motivation.  This webinar is Part I in looking at the book DRIVE by Daniel Pink.  This webinar is offered FREE to Alliance members as part of the Alliance for Innovation member program.

During this webinar Alliance Ambassadors explore nine strategies to awaken motivation.  This webinar is Part I in looking at the book DRIVE by Daniel Pink.  This webinar is offered FREE to Alliance members as part of the Alliance for Innovation member progra,

Greatness is not a function of circumstance.  Greatness is larger a matter of conscious choice, and discipline
- Jim Collins, Author

Join Alliance for Innovation Ambassadors as they learn how the City of Arvada, CO implemented Jim Collins' book Good to Great.  Arvada has invested in a citywide initiative to implement Collins' Level 5 Leadership concepts:

1.  First Who...Then What
2.  The Stockdale Paradox
3.  The Hedgehog Concept
4.  A Culture of Discipline
5. Technology Accelerators
6. The Flywheel and the Doom Loop

This webinar is part of a 12-month series looking at the Six Qualities Linked to Innovation. Vicky Reier, Assistant City Manager for Arvada, will lead discuss their efforts, lessons learned and answer your questions.

This webinar features a presentation by Patrick Ibara of the Mejorando Group on how to innovate in less than 1 hour.  Includes discussion on spurring creativity, wasy to overcome bureaucractic gracity and foster an innovative workplace culture.  This webinar is part of the Alliance for Innovation Ambassador program and is offered FREE to Alliance members.

Get acquanted with the Alliance for Innovation Ambassador Program.  This is a FREE service to Alliance members.

View the kick off webinar for the Alliance 2011-2012 Ambassador Innovation series.  We have an in-depth discussion on the six qualities associated with innovation based on research by Dr. James Svara, Director, Center for Urban Innovation at Arizona State University and Karen Thoreson, President of the Alliance for Innovation.  

The six qualities we discuss are:
1. Leadership
2. Creativity
3. Internal Collaboration
4. External Partnerships
5. Community Connections
6. Results Focused

This webinar focuses on an overview of all six qualities presented by Karen Thoreson with time for your questions and answers.

The Alliance for Innovation brings you the TLG Learning Café, highlights of the Transforming Local Government conference brought home to your organization.

View this webinar with the 2009 Havlick Award winner, North Richland Hills, TX and learn about their Cardiac Cath Lab Field Activation (CCLFA) program.  The objective of the CCFLA program is the definite treatment for victims of a heart attack.  This program allows for EMS personnel to bypass the emergency room, and go straight to the cath lab to speed treatment in the unit.  A call from EMS personnel in the field with an official diagnosis of a heart attack, jump starts the cath lab into action and saves precious time in saving lives. The American Heart Association gold standard for time to balloon for a heart attack victim is 90 minutes, in North Richland Hills the average is 45 minutes to balloon time.

Can local governments live in the clouds... the Internet Cloud that is?

Internet-based computing also known as Cloud Computing is the practice in which large groups of remote servers are networked so as to allow sharing of data-processing tasks, centralized data storage, and online access to computer services or resources. A great example of this is how Google hosts Google Mail and Google Docs.  The users files are stored remotely using technology run on Google’s hardware and software.  Even Facebook and YouTube could be considered cloud computing as large storage facilities for media sources and social interaction.

In government, cloud computing has emerged as an answer to major information technology challenges, such as infrastructure sprawl, strained budgets and a flat IT workforce. No longer does a local government need to have all of the internal resources both from a personnel and a hardware perspective to operate its technology. 

According Governing magazine, “Unlike many technological advancements, cloud computing can provide a quick, dramatic return with limited investment.”  Cloud computing demonstrates the potential to reinvent the business of government as usual.  One example is the Federal governments Cloud First policy which requires federal agencies to default to cloud-based solutions whenever a secure, reliable, cost –effective option exists.

This webinar focuses on the viability of cloud computing for local governments.  We will look at what systems can be moved to the cloud, the decision process to move a system to the cloud, assessing the return on investment, picking the right platforms, the impacts on the workforce, what should remain inhouse, and what are the security risks.

Open source technology development is an affordable design approach for delivering technological solutions to meet the growing needs of local government and the communities we serve.   The principles of open source technology are based on the "peer production" of software that is made available for public collaboration.  The theory behind it being that the thoughts of many will improve a technology product substantially while keeping it relevant.

While the collaborative creation of technology is a huge benefit of open source, the big advantage comes from government not being beholden to the costs and regulations of proprietary vendors.   By sharing in the technological deployment of such things as GIS, planning and permitting solutions, and budgeting solutions to name a few, local government can leverage technology of other’s at enormous cost savings.

Watch this webinar where will explore the open source movement.  We will spend time defining how government can best use open source software to meet technology objectives, discuss the possibilities of collaborative technology development into the future as well as review systems built using open source technology.  Panel members will emphasize the tangible results and costs savings that open source technology has produced within their organizations.

The culture of an organization is defined as a set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group.  Culture provides the basis for the way an organization interacts and performs.  To have an innovative culture, an organization has to foster qualities that allow for adaption including risk tolerance, exploration, creativity and teamwork.

Elements of a strong culture include:

• Alignment to vision, mission and goals
• Employee motivation and loyalty
• Team cohesiveness
• Consistent, efficient and coordinated delivery of service

Join J. Michael Wilkes, City Manager, Olathe, KS  during this Alliance Webinar, Elements of an Innovative Culture held on October 6, 2011.  Michael hosts a roundtable conversation among several local governments who discuss team dynamics, employee involvement, alignment strategies, communication and more.  Panel includes presenting teams from Rock Hill, SC, Greenwood Village, CO and Downers Grove, IL.

"The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas."  Dr. Linus Pauling

How do you obtain the fresh and thoughtful ideas that are needed to do the business of government in tough times?  Think Imagination Banks – the effective use of suggestion programs and methods to harness the creative ideas of your organizations.

Suggestion programs can offer government organizations significant benefits including cost savings, productivity increases, decreased waste, improved quality, safety, customer service, improved culture, employee motivation and employee satisfaction. Employee suggestion systems have been in existence for over one hundred years in one form or another ranging from the proverbial employee suggestion box to fully-developed employee suggestion systems overseen by administrators, evaluators and idea specialists.  Now governments are not only tapping the creativity of their employees, but also looking to citizens for the idea generation that can lead to a more effective, efficient and transformed organization.

During this Alliance for Innovation Webinar, we  take a look at the elements of a quality suggestion program and we will hear from local governments that have successfully implemented suggestion programs and used it to create positive change for their organizations.

Google apps, wiki’s, mobile apps, gotomeeting – did you know local governments are using them all to improve internal technology delivery? Who knew such current technology could be affordable to deploy and potentially save a local government organization considerable time and money. 

During this webinar, participants hear how local governments are leveraging the latest technology to improve internal operations.

Technologies to be covered:

Google Apps and analytics - Google Apps offers simple communication and collaboration tools for any size organization – all hosted by Google to streamline setup, minimize maintenance, and reduce IT costs.  Includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Analytics.

Wikis – wiki technology allows for users to collaborate using web pages.  Governments are using them for idea generation, document creation and more.

Mobile Apps – while the wave of mobile apps for citizen service delivery is growing, mobile application are also being designed for internal purposes and improving time management and efficiency of resources.

GoToMeeting – governments are now using GoToMeeting to replace that morning face-to-face meeting saving the planet as well as employee time.  GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar are being used for training and collaborating over dispersed locations and changing the speed at which employees work.

With the rise of the smart phone and increasingly mobile society, governments are tapping into technology and developing mobile applications to ratchet up communication with the public.  Creating civic-centered mobile software is a new emphasis for local government. 

For example the Town of Fishers, IN is now offering residents one of the first comprehensive municipal iPhone applications in the country. With this free and easy-to-use app residents can report problems, get news and event information, access social media sites, see videos and photos and more right from an iPhone.   Fishers eGov Mobile application makes it easy for residents to stay connected with their local government 24/7.

During this webinar hear from several governments including Fishers, IN, Phoenix, AZ and Hayward, CA while we explore the journey to mobile apps:

• The selection process

• App development

• Platform decisions

• And the early results…

Why do your constituents want and need online public comment forums, and how can you provide online forums that are civil, legal, insightful and cost-effective?  During this webinar – brought to you by the Alliance for Innovation and its Corporate Partner, Peak Democracy – participants explore best practices for implementing online forums as well as suggestions for how to leverage your social media strategy and decision making processes.

Panelists Michael Cohen and Robert Vogel of Peak Democracy will discuss how to increase the quality and quantity of online feedback, easily map your feedback across your neighborhoods and city, as well as avoid the "Referendum Effect."

This webinar features numerous online examples of how Alliance members are using online public comment forums powered by Peak Democracy’s Open City Hall service.

The Internet forever changed the way people communicated across distances and connected with one another.  Today, there is compelling evidence that web 2.0 and the use of social media tools is the next evolution of communication and human interaction using the web.  This has created a significant and somewhat complex development in the connections that can be built between people, and it can be particularly complex for government officials.

Government 2.0 has moved beyond the “what is it” to the “how to do we do it” stage.  There is a strong interest in the government community to understand the structure, procedures, policies and drawbacks of all these new web 2.0 tools that have been latched on to with such excitement and expectation.  

The Alliance for Innovation hosted a webinar series dedicated to the topic of social media.  These events featured Bill Greeves, Director of Communications and Information Technology from Roanoke County, VA as our facilitator.  Joining Billare local government case studies that include representatives from a diversity of roles, levels of government and involvement in 2.0

Policy Issues and Risk Management of Social Media focused on the policy side – what do effective policies look like, how do you develop them, and how often are they revisited.  On the risk management side the impact of social media on employees (and their spouses or friends), recruitment, and elected officials.   The rise of social media provides us with a great opportunity to engage others in new ways, but it is not without its pitfalls.  During this webinar we will look at the impact of personal involvement in social media of public employees and the legal considerations.

This is Part II of a two part webinar series.  Part I is Strategy and Implementation of Social Media.

Have you thought about how your government can harness the power of social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and SecondLife to engage your citizens?  News agencies are doing it, celebrities are doing it, and so are your colleagues.  The Alliance for Innovation webinar on Using Social Media for Citizen Engagement takes a strategic look at how social media can help government meet communication and engagement strategies.  This is a conscious choice that requires care and feeding.  How do you organize it, maintain it, and have it achieve the intended outcome?  Ultimately you should be completely aware of what your desired outcome is before starting down the path.

Today’s times call for actively engaged and knowledgeable citizens.  By leveraging the power of the Internet, the reach of government has been extended to connect with citizens who were previously not engaged.  While the social media world is seen by many as “fun,” it has the potential to serve for meaningful dialogue on issues that are impacting our communities.  Just consider using Facebook to educate and get citizen feedback on financial management issues, transportation alternatives, or energy efficiency opportunities.  The problems of today can be addressed using social media to reach out and get a new voice into the conversation.

The Alliance for Innovation provides viewers of this webinar with a thought provoking conversation on the strategic use of social media tools to engage citizens. 

Katy Simon, County Manager of Washoe County, NV takes an in depth look at the foundational elements of innovation that she has fostered within the Washoe organization.  This is an outstanding session offered FREE to Alliance members and is part of the Alliance Manager's Forums.

Do you have the skills necessary to assess the current conditions and create a roadmap for the future?  Does your staff?  Do you review different scenarios as part of your planning process?  Consider growing the innovation capacity of your organization using the practices of successful.

This is Part II of a three part series.  Part I is SWOT Analysis and Part II is Scenario Planning. Participants of these webinars receive a general understanding of what each of these practices involve and their uses, how they are applicable to local government, and how to carry out each of the processes.  A handout for each session is supplied to participants as a key takeaway and basis to begin using the skill in your local government operation.

Based on developing an understanding of trends and uncertainties, a Roadmapping exercise helps an organization chart the future of program and service delivery.  It is a collaborative tool that produces a broad base of options and strategies to reach future goals.  Roadmaps typical look at extended time horizons from 5 to 15 years. 

The term roadmap is used to analyze the future in four distinct planning domains:

1. Market trends and drivers including social, technological, economic, and educational
2. Products and Services that might surface.
3. Technology and Research that could occur.
4. Resources that will be necessary.

Do you have the skills necessary to assess the current conditions and create a roadmap for the future?  Does your staff?  Do you review different scenarios as part of your planning process?  Consider growing the innovation capacity of your organization using the practices of successful.

This is Part III of a three part series.  Part I is SWOT Analysis and Part II is Roadmapping. Participants of these webinars receive a general understanding of what each of these practices involve and their uses, how they are applicable to local government, and how to carry out each of the processes.  A handout for each session is supplied to participants as a key takeaway and basis to begin using the skill in your local government operation.

Predicting the future is no easy task.  There is a growing trend in local government to employ scenario planning tactics in the strategic planning process so that different situations can be taken into consideration.  Scenario planning allows for development of flexible long-term plans.  Strategic plans often only consider the "official future," which is usually a straight-line of current trends carried into the future. But as we have seen with today’s very changing environment these trend lines oftentimes lack such considerations as changing demographics, or qualitative differences in social and economic conditions.  These simplistic guesses are surprisingly good most of the time, but fail to consider qualitative social changes that can affect government. As reported on Wikipedia, “Scenarios focus on the joint effect of many factors. Scenario planning helps us understand how the various strands of a complex tapestry move if one or more threads are pulled.”

There is concrete evidence that social media is becoming a tool in the public safety arsenal as a grassroots community relations vehicle for fighting crime.  Take for instance the recent riots in Vancouver after the loss of game seven of the Stanley Cup.  Concerned Canadians used social media to out rioters and bring to justice criminal activity.  Whether it be the traditional notification possibilities that social media provide or the more creative social media stakeout, anonymous e-tipsters or digital wanted posters, social media is a tool for crime prevention. 

View this groundbreaking webinar on the topic of Social Media as a Tool for Law Enforcement.  This event appeals to those responsible for safety initiatives within your organizations from the police chief, to the manager to elected officials looking to ratchet up Public Safety 2.0 efforts.

 This webinar was facilitated by Bill Greeves, Director of Information Technology and Communications from Roanoke County and a social media expert within the local government industry.  Joining Bill for a roundtable discussion is a panel of skilled professionals who have experience using social media for crime prevention.

The Internet forever changed the way people communicated across distances and connected with one another.  Today, there is compelling evidence that web 2.0 and the use of social media tools is the next evolution of communication and human interaction using the web.  This has created a significant and somewhat complex development in the connections that can be built between people, and it can be particularly complex for government officials.

Government 2.0 has moved beyond the “what is it” to the “how to do we do it” stage.  There is a strong interest in the government community to understand the structure, procedures, policies and drawbacks of all these new web 2.0 tools that have been latched on to with such excitement and expectation.  

The Strategy and Implementation of Social Media webinar looks at creating an effective  social media strategy which is flexible and adaptable due to the frequent changes within the social media landscape.  Consideration also must be placed to the resources necessary to keep any social media vehicles thriving.

Once an organizations social media vehicle is launched, there is an expectation by users that it will be useful and serve a purpose.  In government we have to keep in mind that bad social media is much worse than no social media.  Case studies represented on this panel will present on how their social media program ties to the strategic initiatives of the government for communication, employee development (recruitment) and citizen engagement.  This webinar will also include real world examples that achieved measurable results or are heading in that direction.

This is Part I of a two part webinar series.  Part II is Policy Issues and Risk Management of Social Media.

Do you have the skills necessary to assess the current conditions and create a roadmap for the future?  Does your staff?  Do you review different scenarios as part of your planning process?  Consider growing the innovation capacity of your organization using the practices of successful businesses. 

This is Part I of a three part series.  Part II is Roadmapping and Part II is Scenario Planning. Participants of these webinars receive a general understanding of what each of these practices involve and their uses, how they are applicable to local government, and how to carry out each of the processes.  A handout for each session is supplied to participants as a key takeaway and basis to begin using the skill in your local government operation.

SWOT exercises are used to generate information that can help match an organization or group’s goals, programs, and capacities to the social environment in which it operates. SWOT has been commonly used in the private sector to derive competitive advantage.  A SWOT exercise will provide a snapshot in time of where an organization is on the topic in question.

SWOT is used in local government to do two things:

• Assess how government can learn to do things better

•  Improve the quality of life which is a competitive advantage as governments compete for citizens and economic drivers

Today’s young workforce craves flexibility.  Research suggests that X and Y generations are likely to select where they want to live prior to selecting a job.  Unlike previous generations, work does not define these individuals, but rather they place significant value on the quality of their daily lives.

For government to compete for talented individuals in this new reality, organizations have to challenge traditionalism, take advantage of new technology and create policy that embraces work-life balance.   It means embracing leading edge approaches and tools for alternative work programs.

Done right, alternative workplace solutions can be an effective way of getting work done while providing increased employee retention and recruiting, increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, reduced overhead costs and an overall improved culture while motivating employees.

During this webinar panel of experts explore the trends in government including:

•     Telework Programs
•     Compressed Workweek
•     Alternate-schedule Programs

At the 2009 Transforming Local Government Conference in Corpus Christi, TX conference attendees voted for their favorite case studies which have be turned into presentations delivered via webinar.   Featured in September during the TLG Learning Café is the City of Las Vegas case study presentation Using GIS & the Web to Effectively Enable Government Services.

Presentation Description

This session describes how the city of Las Vegas employed an innovative approach combining scenario-based design, GIS and the web to develop usable online services that are being enthusiastically adopted by citizens.  The results: more citizen requests being handled "online rather than in line," reduced costs for the city, increased exposure for the role of GIS in the organization, and selection as the best city government web site in the nation for 2008. 

View the kick off webinar for the Alliance 2011-2012 Ambassador Innovation series.  We have an in-depth discussion on the six qualities associated with innovation based on research by Dr. James Svara, Director, Center for Urban Innovation at Arizona State University and Karen Thoreson, President of the Alliance for Innovation.  

The six qualities we discuss are:
1. Leadership
2. Creativity
3. Internal Collaboration
4. External Partnerships
5. Community Connections
6. Results Focused

This webinar focuses on an overview of all six qualities presented by Karen Thoreson with time for your questions and answers.

Communities across America are today struggling to develop meaningful and fiscally prudent budgets under financial pressures unknown in modern times. Local governments have experienced the severe challenges wrought by weakened economic health, within an environment where citizens seek programs to be sustained and taxes to remain unchanged.

During this webinar, you'll see how other local governments have successfully involved citizens in the budget process to help determine “what they want to keep” – in other words, what objectives are most important to them. We will explore a creative and unique process - Priority Based Budgeting - and learn how it has been implemented in over 18 communities just like yours to better determine how to align the resources allocated in the budget process with the results communities wish to achieve. You’ll hear how other stakeholders (residents, business community, etc.) have been engaged to help define “why their government exists” and influence how decision-makers decide how to allocate scarce resources to the services that are of the highest priority to these stakeholders.

Join us as Chris Fabian and Jon Johnson from the non-profit Center for Priority Based Budgeting (www.pbbcenter.org) demonstrate how this proven approach can be applied in your government.  Chris and Jon are joined by a panel of local government case studies who will share their stories relating to involving citizens in the process of budget decision making.

How many times have you been part of a strategic planning process that produces an interesting document that sits on the shelf?  Local governments are faced with challenging times that require precise meaningful action.  Strategic Planning, done well is a disciplined process that defines the future of an organization, identifies the changes required to achieve that future and aligns the proper allocation of resources with the desired outcome.

Few management tools are better suited to help address the staggering array of challenges brought about by a changing environment. For a strategic planning process to be successful it must help the organization anticipate and respond to change by clarifying mission and goals, targeting resources and reshaping programs and services.

During this webinar panel members will discuss the construction of strategic plans that can act as roadmaps for the future that define actions and align those actions with holistic goals and objectives.

Health and wellness allows people to enable and maintain a high quality of life and is the heartbeat of the next generation.  At every stage of life, preventive health services hold the promise of improving lives; making them longer, healthier, and more productive.  No person is an island, and just keeping oneself healthy is not enough. We all live in society, but most of us still neglect the importance of ensuring healthy surroundings. Ultimately, every locality needs to take action to keep its environment healthy for its residents, businesses, customers and employees. 

The Alliance for Innovation is pleased to present a Webinar Series dedicated to the topics of health and wellness.  This is Part II of the Series. During Healthy Employees – The Best Return on Investment we take an in depth look at balancing health and wellness benefits with budgets to make local government employees more productive and healthier.  

Part I is In Take Action – Community Wellness Case Studies.

The U.S. housing foreclosure crisis is impacting localities across the nation.  Declining property assessments and reduced property tax collections are coupled with rising demand for social services, police, fire and code enforcement.  View this webinar as we look at how localities are turning liabilities into assets for their communities.  

Many local governments have unionized employee groups or associations.  Navigating the negotiation process with these groups can be difficult in the best of times.  But today’s economic reality has placed a serious strain on collective bargaining and finding the middle ground.

So what happens when you arrive at an impasse with a labor union?  How do you maintain a positive work environment while going through a lengthy legal battle?  What is the impact on employees who are not unionized or part of these labor associations, and what happens post settlement?

This is a difficult reality for today’s local government leaders. View this webinar where panelists speak candidly about how to maintain a positive environment during these trying times.  Panelists discuss their experiences and methods for staying optimistic, maintaining employee morale, and managing elected official involvement.  We close those webinar by answering your questions during a roundtable conversation.

How do you drive cost savings while improving and enhancing service delivery to your citizens?  This seems like an unrealistic goal, but in today’s times government is called to find ways to do just that.  The concept of lean government is a method used to identify the most efficient, streamlined, and value-added way to provide government services. 

Utilizing lean government practices, organizations are able to transform operations and drive efficiency while identifying needed infrastructure like technology, assessing the required skill sets of employees, and reviewing required policy changes.  Lean Government adopts waste-reducing concepts typically used in a manufacturing environment and applies the principles to procedures in government. 

Involving the workforce is a crucial element to providing quality services in a lean environment.  It includes top management commitment, employees who are encouraged to think out of the box, and an incentive system that rewards employees for meeting customer needs.

During this webinar we explore three government case studies from organizations who have successfully used lean strategies to drive waste out of their processes while increasing the benefits to customers.

Featured government organizations:

·         Cape Coral, FL

·         Pitkin County, CO

·         Palm Bay, FL

Do we have the tools and vision to manage in the brave new world; or is a hammer the only tool we have when we think about managing our organizations?  Jim Ley, County Manager, Sarasota County, FL

Today’s “New Normal” isn’t normal in any sense of the word.  It is complex and unpredictable.  The traditional strategies of cost cutting, downsizing and freezing positions are not enough to meet financial constraints.

But from a crisis of this magnitude, opportunity is born.  In government it means the opportunity to construct new governmental organizations that are more fluid and less linear.  It provides a chance to redefine service delivery, and create a shared sense of ownership among staff as well as citizens.  The thrust of these new organizational models is not so much the model but the entire change to supra systems inside the organization.  It includes a change to a shared service model as a response to the change in the nature of work. 

In this webinar, a panel of local government with experience in organizational change explore new models for local government to meet today’s demands.  The discussion is led by our facilitator Jim Ley, County Manager from Sarasota County and will include two additional local government case studies.

More than ever before, citizens are demanding immediate access to information about how their local government functions.   Technology is changing the way we communicate and interact with not only our communities, but the world. It has also become increasingly important to encourage citizens to play a more active role and stay connected with their cities/counties in ways that are more convenient and accessible.

Open Government transparency initiatives have grown from a desire to create a more accessible and citizen-centric government that fosters communication, accountability and trust. By taking advantage of technology, government leaders have another opportunity for government and citizens to work together in shaping the future of their community.

Transparency allows citizens to be informed about the priorities of their government officials, and to see how their tax dollars are being spent.  Transparency provides for, and encourages, two-way participation and communication between the city/county and residents, businesses and those interested in the operations of local government.   

The Alliance for Innovation webinar Transparency: Fulfilling the Promise of Open Government will take an in depth look at the concepts and decision-making involved in providing a transparent and open local government.  We will look at some of the tools used for financial transparency and will hear from Alliance members who will provide case studies regarding their response to transparency in their communities.

This webinar features the following case studies from the following local governments:

-          Fort Collins, CO

-          Palm Bay, FL

-          Rock Hill, SC

-          Surprise, AZ

What will the new local government look like in the future?  Will there be more partnering among regional entities?  Can local governments band together to deliver services across community lines?  The answer is yes.

There are a number of considerations relating to the need for shared service delivery including public perception of duplicative efforts in local government, political pressure for government efficiency and legislative mandates to name a few.  Tight budgets are requiring service re-evaluation and re-engineering to meet today’s reality.   And through partnering with other local government entities, local government leaders are seeing opportunities for make government service delivery more efficient and better for the customer.

During this webinar, panel members from Nevada, Wisconsin and California discuss how a regional approach is being successfully utilized to share service delivery to citizens.  In effect, these governments have been able to cut costs, reduce redundancy and leverage the strengths of their neighboring governments.

View the kick off webinar for the Alliance 2011-2012 Ambassador Innovation series.  We have an in-depth discussion on the six qualities associated with innovation based on research by Dr. James Svara, Director, Center for Urban Innovation at Arizona State University and Karen Thoreson, President of the Alliance for Innovation.  

The six qualities we discuss are:
1. Leadership
2. Creativity
3. Internal Collaboration
4. External Partnerships
5. Community Connections
6. Results Focused

This webinar focuses on an overview of all six qualities presented by Karen Thoreson with time for your questions and answers.

The Alliance for Innovation brings you the TLG Learning Café, highlights of the Transforming Local Government conference brought home to your organization.

View this webinar with the 2009 Havlick Award winner, North Richland Hills, TX and learn about their Cardiac Cath Lab Field Activation (CCLFA) program.  The objective of the CCFLA program is the definite treatment for victims of a heart attack.  This program allows for EMS personnel to bypass the emergency room, and go straight to the cath lab to speed treatment in the unit.  A call from EMS personnel in the field with an official diagnosis of a heart attack, jump starts the cath lab into action and saves precious time in saving lives. The American Heart Association gold standard for time to balloon for a heart attack victim is 90 minutes, in North Richland Hills the average is 45 minutes to balloon time.

"The social fabric of community is formed from an expanding sense of belonging.  It is shaped by the idea that only when we are connected and care for the well-being of the whole that a civil and democratic society is created."— Peter Block, Community The Structure of Belonging

We live in a changing world.  There is a growing sense of disconnectedness and strife that is fracturing our communities.  In government this results in citizens at two ends of the spectrum, those that mistrust and are skeptical of government and those that are looking to government to find the solutions and fix the problems.  With shrinking resources and internal pressures, this can seem like an overwhelming task.

So where do the answers lie for a future distinct from the past?  The truth is it will take all of the resources within a community to make for a thriving future.  It will involve citizens and businesses, educational institutions, and our religious organizations.  It will require people to come together, understand the issues and develop a shared reality for the future.  One not dominated by special interest or the naysayers in our communities, but rather by the heart of a connected community.

View the Alliance for Innovation as we welcome Peter Block to the webinar on Building Connected Communities.  Peter will share his insights on Community and the Sense of Belonging during a guest spot on this webinar.  We continue the program with several local government case studies which provide stellar examples of how citizen engagement is making a difference in their communities.

Case studies will also be presented by:

·         Carlsbad, CA - Using citizen engagement tactics to lay out the vision for the city

·         Lynchburg, VA - Citizen engagement in the form of study circles to deal with race relations

·         Tamarac, FL - Harnessing the power of citizen academies to set priorities and further engage citizens  

Communicating effectively in a world that is connected in new and dramatic ways provides both opportunity and challenge to local governments.  Techniques like the public hearing and citizen newsletter are techniques that serve a purpose, but do they truly establish a conversation among community stakeholders?

Today’s times call for meaningful interchanges that can help, inform while guiding future actions.  This webinar focuses on the emerging tactics being used by communication professionals in local government to reach the intended audience.  Whether it be effective visioning or branding campaigns, collaborative decision making or budget processes, or even the newly emerging eTownHall, these communication techniques can be used successfully to engage the community.

Reports that grade the quality of health care are issued on a regular basis, but have you ever seen a report that actually evaluates the HEALTH of your community?  The County Health Rankings, Robert Wood Johnson-funded reports released in all 50 states in February, 2010 fill this void by describing the many different factors that create health in your community.  This presentation discusses the Rankings report which highlights how local government professionals can use their county’s report to respond to the health needs of their community, and provide examples of action from communities around the nation. 

Health and wellness allows people to enable and maintain a high quality of life and is the heartbeat of the next generation.  At every stage of life, preventive health services hold the promise of improving lives; making them longer, healthier, and more productive.  No person is an island, and just keeping oneself healthy is not enough. We all live in society, but most of us still neglect the importance of ensuring healthy surroundings. Ultimately, every locality needs to take action to keep its environment healthy for its residents, businesses, customers and employees. 

The Alliance for Innovation is pleased to present a Webinar Series dedicated to the topics of health and wellness.  This is Part II of the Series. During Healthy Employees – The Best Return on Investment we take an in depth look at balancing health and wellness benefits with budgets to make local government employees more productive and healthier.  

Part I is In Take Action – Community Wellness Case Studies.

Google apps, wiki’s, mobile apps, gotomeeting – did you know local governments are using them all to improve internal technology delivery? Who knew such current technology could be affordable to deploy and potentially save a local government organization considerable time and money. 

During this webinar, participants hear how local governments are leveraging the latest technology to improve internal operations.

Technologies to be covered:

Google Apps and analytics - Google Apps offers simple communication and collaboration tools for any size organization – all hosted by Google to streamline setup, minimize maintenance, and reduce IT costs.  Includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Analytics.

Wikis – wiki technology allows for users to collaborate using web pages.  Governments are using them for idea generation, document creation and more.

Mobile Apps – while the wave of mobile apps for citizen service delivery is growing, mobile application are also being designed for internal purposes and improving time management and efficiency of resources.

GoToMeeting – governments are now using GoToMeeting to replace that morning face-to-face meeting saving the planet as well as employee time.  GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar are being used for training and collaborating over dispersed locations and changing the speed at which employees work.

With the rise of the smart phone and increasingly mobile society, governments are tapping into technology and developing mobile applications to ratchet up communication with the public.  Creating civic-centered mobile software is a new emphasis for local government. 

For example the Town of Fishers, IN is now offering residents one of the first comprehensive municipal iPhone applications in the country. With this free and easy-to-use app residents can report problems, get news and event information, access social media sites, see videos and photos and more right from an iPhone.   Fishers eGov Mobile application makes it easy for residents to stay connected with their local government 24/7.

During this webinar hear from several governments including Fishers, IN, Phoenix, AZ and Hayward, CA while we explore the journey to mobile apps:

• The selection process

• App development

• Platform decisions

• And the early results…

Art is important. We tend to think it is a luxury, but it gives people deep pleasure because beauty is the personification of hope that something grander is at work. Gil Dellinger

View the Alliance for Innovation webinar featuring  the City of Hayward, CA during our learning café webinar on the city’s Public Art Mural Program.  The city works in partnership with various communities, local jurisdictions, commissions, youth and “local” artists to create mural throughout the city.  This program supports multiple blight elimination efforts, beautification, job creation, promotes business to business opportunities and civic pride.

City operated public art mural program benefits the community by:

• Creating job Opportunities for artists and enhanced business to business opportunities

• Created  $800,000 in saving’s to the City

• Significant reduction in graffiti tagging

• Beautification and Education for youth in the community

In today's tough economic environment, local governments have been faced with the challenge of exploring alternative service delivery methods in unprecedented ways. This webinar will explore innovative approaches governments have used partnerships in redefining service delivery methods and financing structures.

During this webinar we will explore the use of partnerships for service delivery including public-public, public-private, as well as public-non-profit. Utilization of these types of partnerships is becoming increasingly more common in projects and programs ranging from child care, education, and healthcare to infrastructure and economic development. Local governments are exploring the most effective means to leverage public dollars and are reevaluating how the approach the distribution of risk as it relates to financing of such projects.

This webinar is a panel discussion that covers how service delivery has been redesigned with use of partnership, as well as the lessons learned along the way.

There is concrete evidence that social media is becoming a tool in the public safety arsenal as a grassroots community relations vehicle for fighting crime.  Take for instance the recent riots in Vancouver after the loss of game seven of the Stanley Cup.  Concerned Canadians used social media to out rioters and bring to justice criminal activity.  Whether it be the traditional notification possibilities that social media provide or the more creative social media stakeout, anonymous e-tipsters or digital wanted posters, social media is a tool for crime prevention. 

View this groundbreaking webinar on the topic of Social Media as a Tool for Law Enforcement.  This event appeals to those responsible for safety initiatives within your organizations from the police chief, to the manager to elected officials looking to ratchet up Public Safety 2.0 efforts.

 This webinar was facilitated by Bill Greeves, Director of Information Technology and Communications from Roanoke County and a social media expert within the local government industry.  Joining Bill for a roundtable discussion is a panel of skilled professionals who have experience using social media for crime prevention.

Today’s young workforce craves flexibility.  Research suggests that X and Y generations are likely to select where they want to live prior to selecting a job.  Unlike previous generations, work does not define these individuals, but rather they place significant value on the quality of their daily lives.

For government to compete for talented individuals in this new reality, organizations have to challenge traditionalism, take advantage of new technology and create policy that embraces work-life balance.   It means embracing leading edge approaches and tools for alternative work programs.

Done right, alternative workplace solutions can be an effective way of getting work done while providing increased employee retention and recruiting, increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, reduced overhead costs and an overall improved culture while motivating employees.

During this webinar panel of experts explore the trends in government including:

•     Telework Programs
•     Compressed Workweek
•     Alternate-schedule Programs

I can assure you, public service is a stimulating, proud and lively enterprise. It is not just a way of life, it is a way to live fully.  - Lee H. Hamilton 

We find ourselves today working in an era of dynamic global economics, stormy political discourse and facing yet another crisis in confidence in our public institutions. Memories of 9-11 sacrifices of public servants have faded as we debate the causes of our national afflictions, diminished financial security and face the current rhetoric frequently condemning the public sector.

That said, many of our communities have a brighter economic future and are kinder and gentler places because of the personal investment and labor of public employees.  Many of our public employees start every day with the well-being of the entire community in mind.   

We cannot forget that what you do as public employees is essential to the functioning of our communities and the well fare of our citizenry.  Working hard, treating elected officials, peers and citizens with respect and civility, allows our trusted local leaders to find answers to any question and respond to any challenge our communities face.  You bring honor to the profession and can help attract a new generation to public service. 

View this webinar  as we say thank you to our local public servants during the Value of Public Service in a Manager’s Forum webinar.  Led by Randall Reid, County Manager, Alachua County, FL we interview local government professionals as we take an in depth look at:

• A Leader’s Response to Tough Times for Public Servants
• How Military Service Translates to Local Government
• Reshaping the Local Government Organization
• The Future of Public Service: A Look Through the Milennials Looking Glass 

This is an opportunity for us to celebrate those who stay, because what you do is noble work…work with dignity…work with integrity. What other job can one name that provides the chance to impact thousands of people’s lives for the good on a daily basis?  Only in public service do you get to show up every single day, challenged to be our best for other people in every single decision, every single action, every single hour.

At the 2009 Transforming Local Government Conference in Corpus Christi, TX conference attendees voted for their favorite case studies which have be turned into presentations delivered via webinar.   Featured in September during the TLG Learning Café is the City of Las Vegas case study presentation Using GIS & the Web to Effectively Enable Government Services.

Presentation Description

This session describes how the city of Las Vegas employed an innovative approach combining scenario-based design, GIS and the web to develop usable online services that are being enthusiastically adopted by citizens.  The results: more citizen requests being handled "online rather than in line," reduced costs for the city, increased exposure for the role of GIS in the organization, and selection as the best city government web site in the nation for 2008. 

“No matter how big and powerful government gets, and the many services it provides, it can never take the place of volunteers.” Ronald Reagan

The trend of volunteerism is gaining interest with local governments’ with diminishing budgets.  Studies show people will volunteer with the cities and counties they live in if they feel needed, valued and believe they can impact positive change/support.  

Within local communities, government is an ideal opportunity for volunteer participation.  Volunteerism in local government is where direct impact on community can be most tangible for a volunteer. 

Providing volunteers with meaningful work that connects them to real world results can drive motivation and a positive contribution to the community live in.   What is occurring in today’s successful volunteer service programs is the ability to harness the right people for the right jobs for volunteers who have the skills and desire to participate and make a difference in their community.

During this webinar a panel of local government experts discuss best practices for creating a volunteer progran, ways to recruit and attract volunteers with specific skills and expertise needed and how to maintain and set standards for volunteers.  Panel members talk about volunteerism outreachso that the message is understood and people will look to your organization as a place to give time and expertise.

Government in the 21^st century is being called upon to lead our communities toward a sustainable future.  It requires local ingenuity, creativity and innovation that is needed to foster a new green economy.  Building sustainable communities is a massive effort that requires government to lead by example. 

Green Initiatives: What Works in Local Government looks at the internal operations in government that produce real long-term energy savings in effect, aiding sustainability efforts.  Panel members will focus on how their governments have saved energy dollars from operational efficiency improvements.  We will discuss what nationally recognized leaders in government are doing, what has worked and produced savings, what hasn’t worked, as well as what the plans are for the future.

This roundtable discussion speaks to the creative solutions explored and results from such initiatives as:

·         Retrofitting fleet

·         Smart growth in transit

·         Effective Traffic Signalization

·         Building LEED Certified Government Facilities

·         Waste to Energy Facilities

·         Energy Efficiency Measures in Water and Wastewater

·         Recycling Efforts

·         Use of Solar and Wind Power

 Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. John F. Kennedy

“Economic Stimulus” is the buzzword of the day.  At the local level, economic drivers are crucial elements to a thriving community.   Proactive planning and prediction of economic changes puts astute local governments in the position to drive innovation and improve the quality of life within their communities.  During the Alliance for Innovation Webinar, Stimulating the Local Economy you will hear from three local governments that have deployed economic strategies to combat changes and secure the vitality of their community.

Sarasota County, FL

In the case of Sarasota County, FL work began in January 2008 through a detailed economic stimulus program.  The County quickly realized the unfolding impact of housing deflation and construction related unemployment, and restructured its capital improvements program to rapidly deliver jobs and business activity. The Sarasota community, through its own resolve and capabilities, moved to independently build an economic stimulus platform for the benefit of its citizens.   At the time, there was no Federal or State economic stimulus funds available to accelerate capital construction projects. Because Sarasota County has already organized a multi-pronged strategy for economic stimulus, community infrastructure is being built, and the opportunity to benefit from federal stimulus dollars is maximized.

Fort Collins, CO

In Fort Collins, CO the development of an economic plan ties Council objectives to an economic vision which is, “A healthy economy reflecting the values of our unique community in a changing world.” In deploying Fort Collins economic plan, the city took an aggressive approach to regional partnerships with neighboring governments, as well as partnering with businesses to build technology incubators and set the stage for a strong economy.

Virginia Beach, VA

Faced with the potential for a large scale military installation closure at the Oceana Naval Air Station, the City of Virginia Beach acted quickly to address six key mandates placed by the BRAC commission.  Virginia Beach demonstrated its commitment to keeping Oceana and preserving the quality of life for all residents in the city. By working quickly, Virginia Beach was able to save countless jobs and keep a major economic engine for the community.