AMO's Local Leadership Foundations
AMO’s Local Leadership Foundations is a new learning program for Ontario's municipal elected officials.
You’ve won your election—congrats! Now comes the hard work of governing. Ontario’s elected officials quickly face complex challenges, big decisions, public scrutiny, and a steep learning curve. AMO’s Local Leadership Foundations is here to help. It’s a practical introduction to the role of leading on council from AMO, the expert voice of municipalities, and Institute on Governance, public sector education experts, designed to give municipal elected officials the best possible start to the new term.
The Program
Local Leadership Foundations is offered in six modules (five for all officials, and one for heads of council), each on a key theme of local leadership:
- Governing in Practice — understanding the real work of council, in the context of Ontario today
- Making Decisions — navigating the decision-making process and the complex scope of municipal services
- Finance & Budgeting — financial decisions, municipal budgeting, and trade-offs
- Civility & Integrity — council dynamics, council-staff relations, ethics and trust
- Engaging Community — public engagement and approaches to public service
- Plus a sixth module, Leading Council, for heads of council.
Each module is delivered live online, where you’ll work through real case studies with peers, and is accompanied by video/podcast content featuring the voices and experiences of elected officials and governance experts from across Ontario and beyond.
Who’s Leading It
Local Leadership Foundations is developed and facilitated by Dr. Kate Graham: award-winning professor of local governance, consultant to municipal governments across Canada, former municipal public servant, and host of the popular No Second Chances podcast about women in senior political roles. Dr. Graham brings deep expertise in local government and a talent for turning complex material into learning that sticks.
She will be joined throughout development and delivery of the program by experienced Ontario elected officials to be announced soon, so each module reflects the municipal political perspective and gives you the opportunity to put theory directly into real-time practice.