December 2020 Focus on the Future

By Craig Meadows

Focus on the Future – A Look at VLGMA’s Strategic Plan

By Craig Meadows, VLGMA President-Elect

As we enter into the last month of 2020 (and, I think I speak for nearly all of us when I say that we are SO ready to say goodbye to this year…), we are all looking forward to the brighter days ahead that await us in 2021.  As your professional support and development organization, VLGMA is looking forward to the future as well, and how we can utilize our strategic plan to guide us to greater service in the new year.

The VLGMA Strategic Plan contains six strategic focus areas; I reviewed the first two (Communications & Networking, and Next Generation of the Profession) in my previous articles.  The third strategic focus area – Civic Engagement – is included in the plan to guide us in developing a civic engagement program or resources.  In facilitating this goal, the VLGMA plan outlines seven action steps that our leadership should follow -

1. Review and update best practices of civic engagement (request support and assistance from ICMA and the Alliance for Innovation);

2. Review existing materials and identify partners to update existing materials as needed, create new materials, and develop strategies for distribution and support;

3. Evaluate the use of the VLGMA website and make recommendations to better utilize technology for civic engagement;

4. Explore opportunities with VML and VACo for sessions/presentations;

5. Develop an educational teaching strategy for Local Government Education Week during the first week of April each year as it relates to the public-school system;

6. Survey the VLGMA membership at least once every three years to collect and share ideas regarding effective civic engagement activities that are taking place in the Commonwealth; and

7. Determine engagement strategies with public, private, and home school-related networks in providing a curriculum that enriches the student’s awareness of local government practices and citizen engagement strategies with their local government community.

So … how are we doing?   While the primary responsibility of implementing these action steps resides with the Civic Engagement Committee, what are you doing to help facilitate some of these activities?  Many local governments actively participate in Local Government Education Week – this is a great opportunity to share what we do in our localities with our school children, and our communities in general.  Also, many communities utilize social media and technology to engage their citizens during the annual budgeting process; it is amazing that many of our citizens have very little knowledge of what their local governments are actually responsible for, and the budget season provides an excellent opportunity to share our efforts with them each year.

If you are interested in taking a more active role with civic engagement, please reach out to me and I will be glad to put you in touch with a member of the Civic Engagement Committee!  Our committees need your support to carry out the activities of your organization – I hope you find an area that piques your interest, and that you will consider volunteering for one of these worthwhile committees.  Serving on a committee is a great way to learn more about VLGMA, and to meet other members who share similar interests.

I hope that you and your loved ones have a safe and joyous holiday season, and I look forward to great things for our organization in 2021!

All the best - Craig