News for local government professionals every fortnight.

New engagement guide, events and Summit speaker line-up

Hi :Person_firstname:, 

In this SOLGM eNews, check out some of the 2019 SOLGM Annual Summit speaker line-up. If you want to be in to receive two tickets to the Summit thanks to BERL, check if you are eligible to enter and make sure you get your application in by Friday.

Community well-being is back and those involved in the direction setting and community planning of the LTPs won’t want to miss the upcoming Community Plan Forum where Dr Ganesh Nana of BERL will be presenting on ‘The Well-beings are back – what do we do with them?’

Have a look at the new engagement guide on how central government can effectively engage with local government which was released last Thursday by The Policy Project within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.  


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Speaker line-up for the 2019 SOLGM Annual Summit 

We have some excellent speakers lined up for our 2019 Annual Summit. Our first keynote, Dame Anne Salmond, will discuss the idea of communities as living systems including people, land, forests, waterways and the ocean, and how this might influence decision making.

We're also excited to welcome Jo Miller back to New Zealand. Jo is the incoming CE of Hutt City, and the former CE of Doncaster Council, an area that has seen huge economic gains and advancement under her leadership. Jo will discuss the role of collaborative leadership and the importance of community cohesion, a key issue for local authorities in the UK. 


Register today

BERL 2019 Summit Awards

BERL will award SOLGM 2019 Summit registrations to two lucky members to attend the 2019 Summit in Napier on 26-27 September. To find out if you meet the criteria, please visit www.solgm.org.nz/Summit19. Applications close on 28 June.

Infocouncil  – LG Hub SOLGM Governance Professionals & Committee Advisors Forum 2019

29 – 30 July
Christchurch

This year’s Forum focuses on assisting newly elected members with the decision-making process post-elections, including what Governance Professionals can do to support a new CEO, inductions, and how to support a new Mayor/Chair. With a host of workshop options to choose from, you can tailor your Forum to suit your needs and interests.

Topics on the agenda this year include:

  • What Governance Professionals can do to support a new CEO
  • What should I be telling a new Mayor/Chair?
  • Post-election inductions
  • Resolving issues under the Members Interests Act
  • Running inaugural meetings – different approaches
  • The Public Records Act update
  • How can we promote council to the community?
  • New remuneration and allowance rates
  • A case study on going digital at Taranaki Councils
  • and (of course) the latest on LGOIMA, and Members Interests Act.

Register


Webinar: The Funding Inquiry Report – the Journey Begins  

10 July

The Productivity Commission will release its draft report on its inquiry into Local Government Funding and Financing on 4 July.

Our discussions with the Commission suggest that is has done its usual thorough and wide-ranging job. If it’s anything like the Shand Report the draft will run to 250 plus pages and make close to 100 recommendations.

This webinar is an early opportunity to hear one of the sector experts discuss what the report means for the sector as a whole, the key things SOLGM will focus on in its submission, and some things to look out for in your own consideration of the report.

Register

Community Plan

12 – 13 August
Christchurch

With community well-being officially returned to the purpose of local government, those involved in the direction setting, community planning and engagement processes of the LTPs won’t want to miss the upcoming Community Plan Forum where Dr Ganesh Nana of BERL will present on ‘The Well-beings are back – what do we do with them?’ along with a host of other fantastic speakers and topics.

Register

Executive Leaders Programme

Applications are now open for the highly regarded Executive Leaders Programme, designed to develop the next generation of Local Government senior leaders and Chief Executives. The programme brings together the latest thinking in brain-based science which focuses on leadership, self-awareness and tailored learning. It is designed to produce leaders who can adeptly balance people leadership with tasks and outcomes and who understand the demands of the strategic and operational context of the Local Government sector.

Find out more about the programme and how to apply.

Guide for central and local government engagement

The Policy Project within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet released a new engagement guide last Thursday on how central government can effectively engage with local government. You can view the guide on our website 

Ethical Leadership in a Changing World   

3 July 2019
Duration – 6 weeks

Leaders today face pressing demands to address a multitude of global problems and achieve greater sustainability for people, the planet and future generations. This requires a more collaborative, ethical leadership approach. But what does ethical leadership really mean?

Explore the theories of ethical leadership and learn how to become an ethical business leader yourself in New Zealand’s first-ever ethical leadership MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), offered by Victoria University of Wellington.

Ethical Leadership in a Changing World is a free six-week course on the prestigious edX MOOC platform that will introduce you to the theories and practices of ethical leadership, with a focus on organisations.

Through the voices of recognised leaders from New Zealand’s private, public and NGO sectors, you will also hear about the main issues ethical leadership should address.

Individuals, organisations and society all benefit from ethical leadership. Find out how and why this value-based leadership matters to us all.

 

Enrol in the course now

Climate change research invitation: How can local government show progressive outcomes with incomplete information?

Too often science offers climate change information that just doesn’t make sense ‘on the ground’ to people in everyday work.  Without diminishing the value of science, information that ‘makes sense’ to people is crucial for local government to gain buy-in from their communities.Local government is expected to ‘get organised’ and show outcomes with a planned approach to climate change adaptation, which includes managing public awareness, flood risk and anticipatory action suited to their location in general.  Yet Councils must engage with communities having incomplete technical information on climate change, especially on a local scale that is meaningful to a farm or a local business. 

Dan Tisch, a researcher with the University of Auckland, is an expert in resilience and sensemaking.  Resilience is the ability to resist, absorb and recover from shock events.  Sensemaking is how people make sense of their situations.  Dan's research aims at ways to provide practitioners with climate change resilience outcomes that make sense.   Currently, Dan is looking for local government professionals and consultants to interview (not survey) in his project ‘Resilience in Practice for New Zealand Rural Communities’.  

Please email Dan at d.tisch@auckland.ac.nz or call 09 923 6636 if you would like to participate and receive updates on his research.