Transcript Good Practice in Member and Officer

Good Practice
in
Member and Officer
Development
14th October 2009
Session Outline..
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The role of the Member Development
Officer (MDO)
Prioritising Training Needs for MDO’s
Support for Members
The role of the
Member Development Officer
Sue Baxendale
North West Employers
Organisation
The role of MDO in supporting elected
members
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Critical role – whether as main role or part of
a wider role
Need to be determined…and resilient!
This role determines how effective and
successful member development is
Helps to have senior officer and member
support
Important that MDO’s are supported through
their regional employers and colleagues
What’s been happening in the North West
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Identified MDO’s had significant role with member
development – emerged from work done in
promoting modern councillor
Carried out a diagnostic exercise with the Member
Development Network to identify areas for
development and support
Identified 2 ‘types’ of MDO – Democratic Services
officers and HR/L&D officers
Democratic Services need more L&D support whereas
L&D/HR need more political support
Identified some area’s relevant to both
Member Development Network
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Embedded in the region
Meets 3 times per year
Firmly established relationships
Attended by members
Support always available across
authorities and from NWEO
Northern Member Development Officers
Conference - May 2009
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First of its kind! ‘Raising the Profile’
NW approached NE and Y&H Regions
Developed a cross-region event with support
from each regional EO, the RIEPs and the
IDeA
Approach – national > regional > local issues
Encouraged networking and sharing
The event helped to shape the support for
MDO’s in each region
MDO Person Specification
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Sub-group of volunteers!
Compared Job Descriptions to create a draft
‘blueprint’
MDO role more explicit
Recognises both the Democratic and L&D
elements of the role
Mapped against piece of work carried out by
IDeA on MDO roles and responsibilities
Linked to the new ADSO Certificate
Sharing and Learning Days
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Outcome from the MDO Conference
Topics that MDO’s want more support with:
- Conducting PDP’s/Reviews
- New Member Induction
- Approaches to member
development and engaging members
in training and development
What else are we planning…
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Action Learning for MDO’s to support them
with their work towards Charter Level 1 and
Level 2 (CharterPlus) – to help achieve
NWIEP target for the NW
Sufficient interest for 2 groups
Using Action Learning facilitators – NWIEP
funding being re-invested back into the
region
Would like to do more cross-regional
networking and sharing
Why are we doing this?...
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Develops the knowledge and skills of MDOs in the
region
Helps to raise the profile of the role
MDO conference basis for future
networking/events/sharing
Helps officers meet the requirements of the new
ADSO qualifications
Provides effective support for members in dealing
with challenging times
Increased confidence – encourages MDO’s to ‘push’
members
To improve the knowledge and skills of our elected
members!
Any Questions?
Prioritising Training Needs
Sue Crosland
South West Councils
Activity 1 - Prioritising Training Needs
against Existing Provision
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Discuss the different skills and/or knowledge
you need to carry out your jobs.
Write these skill/knowledge needs onto Postit notes
Rate them on the activity chart according to
how important you think they are in terms of
need and whether adequate provision already
exists to provide these skills.
Activity 1 – Prioritising training needs
against existing provision
Red area represents
skills/knowledge for
development – high
skill need and little
accessible provision
Little provision already
available – therefore high need
to develop training provision
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2
3
Local
Governme
nt Act
2000
4
Adequate provision already
exists, therefore low need to
develop provision
1
Low
2
3
Skill required for role
4
High
Activity 1 – Prioritising training needs
against existing provision
Red area represents
skills/knowledge for
development – high
skill need and little
accessible provision
Little provision already
available – therefore high need
to develop training provision
1
2
3
Adequate provision already
exists, therefore low need to
develop provision
Local
Governme
nt Act
2000
4
1
Low
2
3
Skill required for role
4
High
Activity 1 – Prioritising training needs
against existing provision
Effective Personal
Development Planning
Minute Writing
Negotiation Skills
Customer
Service Skills
Local Government
Act
Activity 2 – Barriers to training
Using the scale and Post-it notes
provided, identify all the barriers to
attending a learning event you can
think of and rate them according to
how significant you think each
barrier is in stopping people from
attending
10
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5
At the end, one member from each
group to feedback the outcomes.
4
3
2
1
Support for Members
Nano Hill
West Midlands Leaders
Board and Improvement &
Efficiency WM
Officers Supporting Members
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Critical role - Makes all the difference
You can determine success
Very demanding, essential that MDO’s
are supported by regional employers
and colleagues
Must know what is available for
members – local/regional/national
Member Development Charter
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IDEA National Charter & Charter Plus
NWEO Charter - Levels 1 & 2
West Midlands Charter - Primary & Full
Competency/Skills frameworks
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Syndaid (Welsh LGA) – updated 2009
IDeA Political Skills framework
Planning Advisory Service Programme
Role Descriptors
Jobs go public – TNA/Skills Analysis
Regional Support Available
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Share good practice - Officer & Member Networks
Toolkits
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RIEP Leadership Workstreams
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Member Development ‘Evaluation toolkit’ - West Midlands
‘Making a Difference’ - Impact Evaluation Toolkit - NWEO
‘Toolkit of Ideas’ – West Midlands
Member Gateway - NWEO
West Midlands Community Leaders’ Support Programme
IDeA – Leadership Academy, Peer Mentoring
Leadership Centre
Flexible Learning Resources
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E-learning - Learningpool’s Modern Councillor
programme
Learndirect on line courses
Audio CDs – Calderdale MBC
Web access to IDeA Local Leadership
Academy Member workbooks
CIPFA DVD – Local Government Finance
Ashridge Virtual Learning Library
Whole host of resources on the internet
Qualifications and/or Accreditation
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Level 3 Award in Democratic Services (Members
complete & are tested on 7 ‘knowledge’ modules in
new ADSO qualification)
SW Councils BTEC in Corporate Governance
BTEC Level 3 – Member Champions
NCFE Level 2 – Working in Neighbourhoods
NWEO Developing Level 4 – Effective Neighbourhood
Working
SEE’s Post Graduate Certificate in Local Governance for
Councillors – London South Bank University
Liverpool CC & JM Councillor Development Programme
ILM endorsement for in house programmes
Contact Details
Sue Baxendale
North West Employers
6th Floor, Delphian House,
Riverside
New Bailey Street
Manchester M3 5AP
Tel: 0161 834 7112
Email: [email protected]
Nano Hill
West Midlands Leaders Board
&
Improvement & Efficiency WM
Regional Partnership Centre,
Albert House, Quay Place,
Edward Street,
Birmingham, B1 2RA
Tel: 0121 678 1021
e:[email protected]
Sue Crosland
South West Councils
Dennett House,
11 Middle Street
Taunton
Somerset TA1 1SH
01823 270101
Sue Keogh
South East Employers
Newfrith House,
21 Hyde Street, Winchester,
Hampshire, SO23 7DR
T 01962 840664
M 0777 4954036
W www.seemp.co.uk >
Any Questions or Comments?