Good Practicein Member and Officer Development

14th October 2009

Session Outline..

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 BaxendaleNorth West Employers

Organisation

The role of MDO in supporting elected members

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

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

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

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

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

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…

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?...

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 CroslandSouth West Councils

Activity 1 - Prioritising Training Needs against Existing Provision

Discuss the different skills and/or knowledge you need to carry out your jobs.

Write these skill/knowledge needs onto Post-it 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

Adequate provision already

exists, therefore low need to

develop provision

1

2

3

4

1 2 3 4

Little provision already

available – therefore high need

to develop training provision

Conflict

ManagementLocal Government Act 2000

Red area represents skills/knowledge for development – high skill need and little

accessible provision

Member/

Officer

relations

Low Skill required for role High

Activity 1 – Prioritising training needs against existing provision

Adequate provision already

exists, therefore low need to

develop provision

1

2

3

4

1 2 3 4

Little provision already

available – therefore high need

to develop training provision

Conflict

ManagementLocal Government Act 2000

Red area represents skills/knowledge for development – high skill need and little

accessible provision

Member/

Officer

relations

Low Skill required for role High

Activity 1 – Prioritising training needs against existing provision

Effective Personal Development Planning

Conflict

Management

Mediation Skills for the workplace Speed Reading

Customer Service Skills

Minute Writing

Scrutiny

Processes and

Techniques

Councillor Call for Action

Member/Offic

er

relationships

Negotiation Skills

Problem Solving

Problem Solving Techniques

Techniques

Local Government Act

White Papers

Developing Self

and Others

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

At the end, one member from each group to feedback the outcomes.

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Budg

et

Time

Support for Members

Nano HillWest Midlands Leaders

Board and Improvement & Efficiency WM

Officers Supporting Members

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

IDEA National Charter & Charter Plus

NWEO Charter - Levels 1 & 2 West Midlands Charter - Primary &

Full

Competency/Skills frameworks

Syndaid (Welsh LGA) – updated 2009 IDeA Political Skills framework Planning Advisory Service

Programme Role Descriptors Jobs go public – TNA/Skills Analysis

Regional Support Available

Share good practice - Officer & Member Networks Toolkits

Member Development ‘Evaluation toolkit’  - West Midlands

‘Making a Difference’ - Impact Evaluation Toolkit - NWEO ‘Toolkit of Ideas’ – West Midlands

RIEP Leadership Workstreams Member Gateway - NWEO West Midlands Community Leaders’ Support Programme

IDeA – Leadership Academy, Peer Mentoring Leadership Centre

Flexible Learning Resources

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

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 DetailsSue Baxendale

North West Employers6th Floor, Delphian House,

RiversideNew Bailey Street

Manchester M3 5APTel: 0161 834 7112

Email: sueb@nweo.org.uk

Sue CroslandSouth West Councils

Dennett House, 11 Middle Street

TauntonSomerset TA1 1SH

01823 270101

Nano HillWest Midlands Leaders Board

&Improvement & Efficiency WM

Regional Partnership Centre, Albert House, Quay Place,

Edward Street,Birmingham, B1 2RA

Tel: 0121 678 1021 e:n.hill@wmleadersboard.gov.uk

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?