England & Wales, Global, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa Democracy, devolution and governance, Personal and organisational development

Community engagement

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This course is part of the LGIU Build your own curriculum programme. Buy 2 courses in the programme and get the third for free (plus earn an LGIU certificate of completion). Purchase your 3-pack here

Overview

So, you have some of the basics of being a councillor under your belt. You know how to resolve a piece of casework and you understand your council’s decision-making processes. What now? How do you start to tackle some of the big issues that you got elected to fix?

Councillors are unique in having the democratic mandate for ‘leadership of place’. You can use your powers of collaboration and convening to help your communities to thrive. You can hear the silent majority and influence behavioural change. You can bring their big issues to the council as well as get their backing for your big plans for the area.

Key outcomes

  • What do we mean by “Leadership of Place”?
  • Understanding your communities and its people in the wider context
  • Tools to identify and influence your ‘movers and shakers’ in your communities
  • Using your power to collaborate and convene to work with others
  • Models for behaviour change and levels of participation
  • Representing your residents in the town hall
  • Holding onto the bigger picture to achieve your goals.

At the end of the course, delegates will have a greater understanding of their ward or division and the variety of communities that co-exist and to achieve change you need to influence the right key people. They will learn models and tools that can be used to achieve this and understand how to hear the silent majority and accept that ‘you can’t please all the people all the time’!

Who should attend

Councillors who want to go beyond the basics, with a burning issue they want to resolve or just learn more about how to achieve the goals for their residents. Officers who support councillors in their leadership of place role.

Your LGIU Trainer

Liz Green has been a London borough councillor for over 20 years and has worked as a trainer, facilitator, coach and mentor for elected members for the past decade. Passionate about improving local government, she works with members and officers to help them to 'be their best' so they can deliver for their communities, both on the big projects like climate action or localised engagement work. Outside of council, Liz is a volunteer and chair of a local charity working with young people with social, emotional and mental health issues.

What others are saying about LGIU training

“The breakout sessions with my colleagues were especially helpful as well as the handouts on the situational leadership model.”

– Bethan, from Cardiff




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