Catalogue

Elected Member Training

Introduction

As part of our role to facilitate the development of Political Leadership in Scottish Local Government, we have developed a catalogue of training which we are well placed to deliver to a council. The training could be delivered for committees, political groups or a mix of elected members within the council. We will work with officers and members to agree the best approach that will have an impact on elected members roles, responsibilities and working relationships. The training will be delivered by IS staff or Associates. Please get in touch with david.barr@improvementservice.org.uk to discuss your requirements.

External Partner Training

As part of our role to signpost interesting development opportunities to councils, for 2022/23 we have identified two training offers from partner organisations which may be of interest to you. Please get in touch with those organisations directly to discuss your requirements.

Scrutiny foundations

This workshop is to support elected members in understanding the foundations necessary for carrying out effective scrutiny.

The workshop will cover:

The power of scrutiny

Developing a scrutiny mindset

Scrutiny myths

Critical success factors for effective scrutiny

The workshop will support elected members to understand whether the foundations for effective scrutiny are in place in the council and what changes they need to make to ensure scrutiny supports continuous improvement in the council.

It will help members to develop a scrutiny mindset by reflecting on the choices they have in how they carry out their scrutiny role and the different ways they can affect change.

Details

2.5 hour workshop

Delivery via MS Teams

Pre-reading required

Maximum 20 participants

This session will be delivered by David O’Neill, IS Associate

Cost

Scrutinising business cases

This workshop will support elected members to more effectively scrutinise business cases presented by officers. It will highlight the type of information members should look and ask for from officers, to ensure they can make informed decisions.

The workshop will provide members with a greater understanding of good business case practice, including knowledge to scrutinise whether appropriate project governance is in place and the relevant information is being presented to elected members for scrutiny.

Details

2 hour workshop

Delivery via MS Teams

Pre-reading required

Maximum 20 participants

VAT

The use of evidence for effective scrutiny

This workshop explores how effective scrutiny requires appropriate evidence if it is to fulfil its purpose.

It provides an overview on the different types of evidence elected members can use for scrutiny and how evidence will be imperfect due to the complex nature of public services.

Details

2 hour workshop

Delivery via MS Teams

Pre-reading required

Maximum 20 participants

Cost £300 + VAT

Developing effective working relationships with officers

This workshop will help you to understand the context of your relationship with officers and how important it is to develop effective working relationships between members and officers.

The workshop will also explore which officers are most important for you to work closely with and identify ways you can build effective working relationships that are crucial to a well-performing council.

You will leave the session with a short action plan with key steps for you to take to develop effective working relationships with officers.

Details

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2 hour workshop

Delivery via MS Teams

Pre-reading required

Maximum 20 participants

This session will be delivered by David O’Neill, IS Associate

Cost £500 + VAT

Developing effective working relationships with other elected members

This workshop will help you to understand the context of your relationship with other elected members and how important it is to develop effective working relationships with fellow members.

The workshop will explore the main factors that will influence working relationships between and amongst elected members and reflect on the environment you are operating in.

You will leave the session with a short action plan with key steps for you to take to develop effective working relationships with other elected members.

Details

2 hour workshop

Delivery via MS Teams

Pre-reading required

Maximum 20 participants

This session will be delivered by David O’Neill, IS Associate

Cost £500 + VAT

Developing your skills as an effective Board member

This workshop will support elected members to shape and develop the specific skills required to contribute effectively in their role as a Board Chair or Board member across public, private or third sector organisations.

The workshop will cover:

1 What good Board Governance looks like and the value add of the Board Chair/Member includes:

Defining the role and responsibilities of Board Chair/Member

Working within the parameters of Board Governance structures and processes

Managing conflicts of interest, consideration of Board Code(s) of Conduct

2 How to become an effective and high performing Board Chair/Member includes:

Exploring Boardroom culture, relationships and dynamics

Developing your leadership and communication style for today’s boardroom

The importance of equality, diversity and inclusion for Board effectiveness and enhanced decision making

Developing skills in boardroom delegation, stakeholder engagement and risk management

Details

2 hour workshop

Delivery via MS Teams

Pre-reading required

Maximum 20 participants Cost £500 + VAT

Spending your time well

The pressures and demands on elected members time and energy can be severe and cause burnout if not properly managed. This workshop will support elected members to:

Reflect on their motivations for being an elected member

Identify systemic issues that create pressures on elected members time

Map where they are spending their time as an elected member

Take a holistic approach to reprioritising how they spend their time

This workshop is aimed at any elected member who would like help to prioritise how they spend their time and energy.

External Partner Training

As part of our role in supporting councils with elected member development, we have identified additional training offers for elected members from organisations that operate on a not-for-profit basis and whose work is aligned with key national outcomes that we support. If you are interested in accessing these training offers, please contact the organisations via the details provided.

Please note that the training has not been quality assured by the Improvement Service (IS) and it is your responsibility to work with the organisations to ensure the training fits your requirements.

Scottish Women’s Budget Group

The Scottish Women’s Budget Group would like to offer a package of training for newly elected members from August 2022.

This training will support new members to develop:

an awareness of the Public Sector Equality Duty

the role of local budgets in tackling inequality

an understanding of Gender Budgeting Analysis

how to use data for good decision making

SWBG can provide free access to pre-reading materials and online or in-person training sessions.

Designing neighbourhoods: The value of good design

Research has long shown that well-designed places have positive impacts on health and wellbeing, the economy and environmental sustainability. As a result, the value of design is foregrounded in planning policy across the UK. Yet, the quality of new-build housing remains poor and design is consistently undervalued – we call this the housing design quality conundrum.

Our workshop aims to help build the capacity and confidence of elected members and local authority officers involved both in strategic plan-making and the granting or refusal of planning permission for new homes and neighbourhoods. The objective of the workshop is thus to support the delivery of better designed places and to help join the dots between the value of design and some of the wider policy objectives from in the Scottish Government’s emerging NPF4, such as the need to deliver more new homes and the urgent need to reduce Scotland’s carbon emissions.

This workshop is delivered in-person and delivered by Dr. Gareth James and Dr. James White, University of Glasgow and is part of the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) research outputs.