Look at what’s in store in August at the CSAC Institute for Excellence in County Government. Three popular, specialized courses are available in Sacramento: Facilitation Practices, Polish Your Writing, and Local Governance. In Santa Cruz is a rare opportunity to join former Nebraska State Senator Dave Landis for Bridging Contentious Communities. We don’t offer these classes often, so be sure and register early as seats are limited. Read on for all the August classes and a peek at what’s ahead for September. Download the July-December Institute Course Guide and Schedule for all the upcoming classes.

CSAC Institute provides county officials, senior executives and managers with consummate opportunities to expand your capacity to exercise leadership and governance in volatile and uncertain times. Classes are open to all county staff and elected officials. They are an affordable $149 each and include instruction, class materials and lunch. Register today!

August Course Highlights

Facilitation Skills: The Basics of Bringing People Together  

Thursday, Aug. 8 – 10:00 to 3:30
Sacramento

County staff can play an important facilitative role to encourage agencies, community groups, neighborhoods and others to have a conversation to problem solve and seek solutions together. Facilitation skills are a powerful leadership practice - particularly when you don’t have formal authority to work through adaptive challenges or difficult problems. Whether you facilitate teams, inter-departmental or public meetings, or any group … the skills from this class will be of value. This workshop introduces the basics of facilitation and provides participants with a wide range of hands-on practices and techniques.

Instructor is Bill Chiat, Dean of the CSAC Institute and has facilitated hundreds of local government workshops and meetings. 

Customer Service in the Public Sector: Balancing Satisfaction with Priorities

Thursday, Aug. 8 – 10:00 to 3:30
Shasta/Tehama Campus

Strategies to create and enhance a customer service culture for their agency is the focus of this class for managers and executives. Participants explore how to balance great customer service with county and state regulations and requirements. It focuses on what defines good customer service and a service culture. Lively small and large group conversations provide tools to assess the current environment, gaps to be more service oriented, and how to get there. The structure and process to support and recognize effective customer service are examined – even in difficult regulatory situations. Barriers to good customer service are discussed along with service and performance measurements.

Instructor is Angela Antenore, M.Ed., an experienced strategic facilitator, agency board member and university instructor. 

Polish Your Writing: Professional Practices in Communication

Thursday, Aug. 15 - 10:00 to 3:30
Sacramento

An advanced class designed for anyone who wants to improve their ability to communicate important issues in writing … to Boards, employees, media, the community. County officials often communicate through written documents. This course will discuss different types of written work (including policy memos, decision memos, and informational writing), tips for communicating clearly in writing, and approaches to making complex topics digestible for lay audiences. We will also discuss when and how to use visuals to enhance the understanding of your written work. Writing is a process of creating a record for someone else and this course will assist you in identifying your audience(s) and writing with them in mind. The course will include samples of writing, opportunities to assess your own writing, and experience editing the work of others.

Instructor is Dr. Mary Kirlin, consultant with local governments and a former public policy professor at Sacramento State University.  

Bridging Contentious Communities

Thursday, Aug. 15 - 10:00 to 3:30
Santa Cruz County Campus

Join former Nebraska State Senator Dave Landis for this engaging and entertaining discussion of how to work with others to address and bridge community problems, particularly in this era of divisiveness. This course examines a variety of problem solving and decision-making practices which will improve the likelihood of achieving your desired objectives. Case examples demonstrate application of ideas and challenge participants to consider alternative approaches in dealing with divisive community problems and opportunities.

Participants gain hands-on experience with using the tools and exploring application to real world situations. Instructor is David Landis, former long-time Nebraska state senator, university instructor and economic development director for Lincoln, Neb.  

Optimize IT Change Management 

Thursday, Aug. 29 - 10:00 to 3:30
Sacramento

NEW!  Implementing changes is a constant activity for information technology departments, but doing so in a managed way has remained challenging. During this session we will define the key goals of change management, and work through the design, implementation and improvement of your change approach so that it best suits the needs and velocity of your organization. Discussion will focus on tactics to engage clients in the change efforts and how to overcome resistance to change.

Instructor is Valence Howden, Research Director in the CIO Advisory Group at Info-Tech Research Group.

Local Governance in California

Friday, Aug. 30 - 10:00 to 3:30
Sacramento

California has a complex system of providing services through local governments. This provides an overview of local government structure and responsibilities in California. You’ll learn the basics of all the local agencies and how they interrelate with counties. A brief history of California governance is followed by a review of the roles and responsibilities of the state, cities, counties, special districts and an alphabet soup of other local agencies. Discussion highlights the authority and responsibilities of the county as it relates to other agencies.

Instructor is Bill Chiat, CSAC Institute Dean, former executive director of the California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions and experienced executive in county, district and city governments.

To register for these courses, click here!