Citizens Leadership Academy
What if you had 200 residents who had an accurate, in-depth understanding of how your city operates? What if this group truly understood the challenges and opportunities in your organization and could act as advocates and leaders to promote solutions in their own neighborhoods and networks? What if you needed a group of concerned citizens who understand better than most the inner-workings of your city?
The Citizens Leadership Academy is a customized community engagement program that brings together a cohort of 10 – 30 residents for a series of interactive, educational presentations with City management. The academy meets once weekly for 5 – 8 weeks. It can be held with a new cohort once or twice per year.
These programs are growing in popularity, with well-established programs already offered in cities such as Carlsbad, Murrieta, Placentia, San Luis Obispo, and South Lake Tahoe. While many cities are interested in starting their own programs, they often find that the level of time and energy required is too much for staff who already have full workloads. That’s where Madaffer Enterprises comes in.
BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAM:
- Grow the number of informed, engaged residents in your community
- Improve participation rates in future community outreach efforts
- Increase the number of qualified applicants for City boards and commissions
- Counteract false information and misleading narratives in your community
- Promote the positive image of your city government
- Build new relationships with residents in underserved neighborhoods
- Build support for needed resources and program changes
- The program is scalable and highly adaptable to local needs
SAMPLE PROGRAM – SIX WEEK TOPICS:
- Who Decides? Leadership Under the Council-Manager Form of Government
- Work Hard, Play Hard: Public Works, Traffic, and Recreation
- Building the Future: Planning / Community Development / Development Services
- A Well-Oiled Machine: Finance and Human Resources
- Keeping Residents Safe, Part 1: Police (held on-site at Police Department)
- Keeping Residents Safe, Part 2: Fire (held on-site at Fire Department)
- Graduation Ceremony and recognition at City Council Meeting
WHAT MADAFFER ENTERPRISES DOES:
- Develop all marketing and communications materials in consultation with city staff
- Recruit, screen, and recommend participants for selection
- Assist City staff in developing program content and presentations
- Ensure curriculum meets high standards for consistency, value, and interest
- Prepare class worksheets, handouts, and post-meeting notes
- Communicate with participants weekly, including meeting reminders and follow-up
- Maintain an online portal for students with back-up materials, notes, etc.
- Manage logistics, including booking meeting locations, scheduling guest speakers, coordinating meals, ensuring A/V needs are met, etc.
- Prepare and present a final report and presentation to City Council
- Conduct follow-up surveys with participants and perform a program evaluation
WHY MADAFFER ENTERPRISES:
- Led by Jim Madaffer, former San Diego City Councilmember, former member of the California Transportation Commission, former Chair of the San Diego County Water Authority
- Deep experience organizing community engagement programs, project design charrettes, large-scale conferences, small community meetings, facilitating policy task forces, and more
- Small, energetic team with comprehensive capabilities, including graphic design, meeting management, public relations, copywriting, and developing compelling presentations
- Responsive, flexible, and customized service
COST RANGES (depending on program size and scope):
- Madaffer Enterprises Facilitation Fee: $35,000 – $60,000 per cohort
- Food and beverage: $2,000 – $3,000
- Supplies and materials (printing, notebooks, certificates, etc.): $1,000 – $2,000
DOWNLOAD OUR CITIZENS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY PACKAGE TO LEARN MORE
contact@madaffer.com
San Diego, CA 92101
(858) 627-0727
Palm Desert, CA 92260
(760) 345-4515
