David Barr outlines how the IS can help you can make a difference to the quality of people’s lives and to the communities in which they live.
Congratulations on becoming an elected member!
Whether you are a newly-elected councillor, or found yourself re-elected in May, Local Government is a rewarding form of public service that puts you in a privileged position to serve local communities. As an elected member you can make a difference to the quality of people’s lives and to the communities in which they live.
This is a role which requires commitment and hard work, and every day you will have to balance the needs and interests of voters, the broader community, public interest groups and the council to which you were elected.
As the national improvement organisation for Local Government in Scotland, the Improvement Service (IS) has a key role in helping to develop political skills and leadership in Scottish Local Government. We do this by delivering learning and development resources directly to elected members, and by building capacity within the system for better elected member development support.
There are three strands to this part of our work:
- Support for candidates through our localcouncillor.scot website, which includes resources for those who are thinking of standing for election for the first time, as well as useful information for elected members
- Induction support for councils, which includes supporting network of council officers to prepare for induction within their own organisations, political mentoring support, and the development of our own set of induction resources
- Ongoing development support, which includes our elected members briefing series, webinars, coaching offer, and a Political Skills Assessment, which provides councils with an effective process to help members identify their own development needs. We can also provide bespoke training to councils for a small charge.
We also use our expertise to support partner organisations, such as COSLA, the Standards Commission, Accounts Commission and Public Health Scotland, to develop learning resources for elected members on areas where they have expertise and experience.
We will shortly be announcing a series of online events for elected members which are kicking-off in August so please keep an eye out for these. We would love to see newly-elected members at these events, as well as re-elected councillors who are looking to develop their existing skills and knowledge.
We’ll keep you up to date on our work through our elected member newsletter and mailing list, and you can also follow us on Twitter @localcllrIS or contact us at electedmembers@improvementservice.org.uk
We wish you the best of luck for your term of office and hope we will see you at one of our events soon.