HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 12-03-2007-7dORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Dater December 3, 2007
Action Agenda
Item No. 7
SUBJECT: Contract and Proposal Review: Leading and Governing Associates Training
and Facilitation Services
DEPARTMENT: Purchasing and Central PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No
Services
ATTACHMENT(S):
Proposal
Draft Agreement
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Pam Jones (919) 245-2652
PURPOSE: To receive information regarding a contract with Leading and Governing Associates
for training and facilitation services associated with the County Commissioner retreat and
Department Director training.
BACKGROUND: Phillip Boyle has previously facilitated amini-retreat for the County
Commissioners on September 28, 2007. The County Manager and Mr. Boyle have
collaborated to develop a series of sessions that would:
(1) Enhance the County's capacity to identify strategic directions, goals and priorities; and
(2) Use these skills to develop the best possible balance among multiple county needs and
interests.
As articulated in the attached proposal, the proposed scope of services includes 2'/2 days of
facilitation with the Board members and Department Directors, as well as the associated
preparation time. (Note: Step 7 was accomplished in the September 28 session. The overall
cost of the proposed contract has been reduced to exclude this already completed work.)
The next session to be facilitated by Mr. Boyle has been scheduled for December 7, 2007.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The estimated cost for the remaining sessions is $10,000--$13,000.
Funding for this training is included in the 2007-2008 Non-Departmental budget.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board receive this information a
contract with Leading and Governing Associates in an amount not to exceed $13,000 for
training and facilitation services as identified in the attached scope of services; and provide any
feedback to staff in preparation for approval of the contract at the December 11, 2007 BOCC
meeting.
a
`Liberty
~ ~ Equality
Aros~aerity
Strategic Direction and Policy Navigation for Orange County
Purpose
1. Enhance the county's capacity to identify strategic directions, goals, and priorities.
2. Use these to help the board and staff navigate the best possible balance among
multiple county needs and interests.
Goals and Outcomes
1. Engage board and staff members in a collaborative, planning process to create a
greater shared understanding of the issues and challenges facing the county and
county government today and a shared sense of direction about tomorrow.
2. Refine the mission, vision, core values, and guiding principles of county government
to help focus on core county functions and help distinguish between what the county
must do, should do, and could do.
3. Jointly chart a strategic direction for the county by identifying countywide goals,
integrating board and staff goals, and connecting departmental goals to broader
county goals.
4. Strengthen communication, relationships, and the governing partnership between
board members and staff.
5. Create a living document that can serve as a strategic guide for planning, focusing,
organizing, and communicating the work of county government.
Proposed Process and Tasks
Step 1-Navigating Political Interests and Policy Choices (% day session + % day
preparation)
• Define the board's vision.of the "good life" in Orange County
• Identify driving forces and challenges to the board's vision of the good life.
• Practice using board tools and processes for navigating policy issues, balancing
choices, and making collective decisions.
Step 2 - Sfrategic Conversations (1/2 day session + 1 day preparation)
Purpose
Follow-up on the board's discussion about public values and the good life in Orange County
to develop a greater shared vision and understanding of county government.
J
Process
1. What does Orange County government do?
2. Why does Orange County government exist -what is it's purpose, its mission, its reason
for being?
3. What does Orange County government stand for, believe in, what are its beliefs?
4. How should Orange County government carry out its mission, how should it behave,
what core values should guide the actions of county government?
5. What is your vision for Orange County government, what should it aspire to, what legacy
do you wish to leave as a board for those who will follow you?
What We Value about Orange County What Value County Government
Should Add
• A beautiful place -natural, physical Create and articulate a common
• Active citizens vision
• Arts and enfertainment • Enhance quality of life
• Broader economic and housing opportunities, Ensure and enhance opportunity
more shopping Help those who cannot help
• Clean air and water themselves
• Commitment to education and learning • Promote democracy
• Cultural diversity -different cultures, faiths Protect, provide, and promote health,
• Different philosophical poles, broad political safety, and welfare
spectrum • Provide necessary structure
• Different types of jobs, economic and Provide points of access
employment opportunities Resolve differences
• Different types of neighborhoods
• Intellectually challenging
• People are friendly, care about their neighbors
• Strang local economy, people buy local
• Sustainable%nvironmentally friendly
protective
• Tolerance, acceptance, and openness
regarding diversity and difference
• Urban and suburban, rural and urban
communities are cooperative
2
4
Forces Sustaining the Orange County We
Value Forces Restraining the Orange County
We Value
• A progressive attitude -people are Difficulty in maintaining heterogeneity and
responsible for themselves and others, affordability of our communities
government can help, people care • Finite financial resources and limited
• Citizens believe they matter, can make a revenue options
difference • Finite natural resources
• Collaborative decision making Impact ofanti-government discourse
• Our commitment to these values Impact of markets
• Our quality of life • Population growth
• People live here/move here because of • State and federal policy
this vision • Tendency to elevate the individual above
the community
Develop a shared understanding of county government and its challenges.
Define the county's mission, vision, and core values.
Address how the board and staff can best respond to these challenges and fulfill the
county's mission and vision.
Mission and core values - developing a shared understanding of county government:
• What does the county do -how does it behave?
• Based on what the county does, what does the county believe in, what are the
county's core beliefs?
• Based on what the county does and believes in, what does it stand for, what
does it value?
• Why does Orange County government exist -what is county government's
purpose?
• How should Orange County government carry out its mission?
Crafting a shared vision for Orange county government:
• What do you value about Orange County, what makes Orange "Orange?"
• What major issues and challenges does county government face in creating and
sustaining the Orange you described?
• How would you like to see county government respond to these issues and
challenges in order to preserve what you value about Orange County?
• What is your vision for Orange County, what difference do you want county
government to make, what should Orange County government aspire to, what
legacy do you wish to leave as a board for those who will follow you?
Guiding principles and best practices for board and staff:
• What key themes emerged from your conversations about what you value about
Orange County, the issues and challenges you face, and how Orange county
government should respond to these issues and challenges?
3
S
• How can the board and staff best respond to these challenges, carry out the
county's mission, and achieve its goals and vision in terms of organization,
structure, role, best practices, and operating principles?
Step 3 -Strategic Directions (1 day session + 1 day preparation time) (joint meeting
with staff)
• Identify issues and needs, challenges and choices facing the county, and priorities
and actions that should be addressed.
• Identify common themes and group themes into categories that can serve as
platforms for countywide goals.
• Reframe categories as affirmative countywide goal statements.
• Assign all individual issues, actions, and challenges to county goals.
• Reframe issues, actions, and challenges into a set of specific initiatives or objectives
to achieve each county goal.
Step 4 -Connecting Policy Navigation and Strategic Directions (% day + % day
preparation time)
• Organize current programs, services, priorities, commitments, and investments
according to the countywide goals and initiatives.
® Use the countywide goals and initiatives to identify core programs, services, functions
and priorities
• Adopt a county platform and integrate goals into the budget.
Based on mission, vision, core values, goals and initiatives, and budget, identify
priority goals, objectives, and actions.
• Adjust budget and investments accordingly.
Estimated Time, Cost, and Scheduling
Based on the total proposed design, I estimate about 8 days of time, broken out as follows:
Session and facilitation time - 3 days
• Consultation, planning, preparation, design and reporting/feedback - 5 days
In terms of cost, Leading & Governing charges per day or per unit of work, depending upon
the specific client and project. For ongoing work where the time is easier to identify than the
specific tasks, I often use a per day fee. My current daily rate is $1650 per day, which
covers all consultation, planning, and facilitation, and includes all administrative and
operating costs. Alternatively, for work that is more finite or intermittent, such as conference
sessions or a stand-alone board workshop, I usually charge per session. My half-day
session fees range from $1000 - $3000, and my full-day sessions range from $2500 -
$5000. We can discuss the scope of work and cost at your convenience, and I am happy to
work with any specific administrative requirements you may have.
In terms of scheduling, I prefer to try to schedule whatever we think seems feasible upfront,
so I can reserve the time and guarantee my availability.
4
l.~
About Leading & Governing
Established in 2004, we are an education and consulting practice dedicated to strengthening
democratic governance and representative government. We work with elected and appointed
officials to engage their constituents, communities and each other in problem solving, decision
making, policy design, and strategic navigation. Our clients include state and local government,
universities, public schools, school boards, and state and national associations. Below are some
recent and current clients and projects related to the work we have discussed for Orange County:
• Blue Ribbon Commission on the Future of Wake County
• Cabarrus County Board-Staff and Countywide Planning
• Catawba County Board of Commissioners Retreat
• Durham County Board-Staff Planning Retreat
• Moore County Strategic Visioning and Directions Initiative
• N.C. Association of County Commissioners Strategic Planning Initiative
• N. C. League of Municipalities' Strategic Directions Initiative
• Special Transit Advisory Commission for North Carolina's Triangle Region
• Town of Boone/Watauga County/Appalachian State University Joint Retreat
• Town of Chapel Hill Management Team Retreat and Organizational Realignment
• UNC-CH School of Government's Advanced Education Initiative for Local Elected Officials
• Wake County Board of Education Policy Design
106 Weathervane Drive
Carrboro, North Carolina 27510
Office: 919.918.7067 Mobile: 919.260.4084
Email: pboyle(c~i leadingandgoverning.com Web: www.leadingandgoverninQ.com
TIN: 20-1443348
5
DRAFT - SEP, 17, 2007
Memorandum of Agreement between Leading and Governing Associates,
Inc.. and Orange County
To: Laura Blackmon, County Manager
200 South Cameron Street
P.O. Box 8'I$1
Hillsborough, NC .27278
From: ('hillip Boyle, Leading and Governing Associates, Inc.
Re: Strategic Direction and. Navigation for Orange County
Date: September 17, 2007
Leading and Governing Associates, Inc. agrees to assist Grange County in addressing.
strategic directions and priorities. Based on our planning discussions, Leading and
Governing would work with the county board and,staff,to:
1. Enhance the county's capacity to identify strategic directions, goals, and priorities to
help the board and staff navigate the,best,possible balance among multiple county
needs and interests.
2. Engage board and staff members in a collaborative planning process to create a
greater shared understanding of the issues and challenges facing'the county:and
county government today and a shared sense of direction about tomorrow.
3. Refine the mission, vision, core values, :anal guiding principles of county government
to help focus on core county functions and help distinguish .between what the' county
must do, should do, and could do.
4. Jointly chart a strategic direction for the county by identifying countywide goals,
integrating board and staff goats, and connecting departmental goals fio broader.
county goals and create a living document that can serve as a strategic guide for..
planning, focusing, organizing, and communicating the work of county government.
`5. Strengthen the governing partnership among board .members and between board
members and staff.
The,praposed process and tasks include:
• Step 1 -.Address the board's strategic leadership role'in addressing policy issues and
choices on behalf of the public good.
• Step 2 - Develop a shared understanding. of county government-and its mission,
vision, care values,. and challenges.
• Step 3 -Engage the board and'staff in identifying issues and needs, challenges and
choices facing the county,, and priorities and actions that can then serve as platforms
for jointly developing countywide goals.
8
v Step 4 -Organize current programs, services, commitments, and investments
according to countywide goals and initiatives; identify priorities; and integrate into the
budget.
I estimate about 8-10 days of time for board and staff engagement, session facilitation,
consultation, planning, design; and preparation. For this type of work Leading & Governing
charges $1650 per day, which includes. all administrative and operating costs. The
estimated not-to-.exceed total cost for the tasks outlined in this agreement is between
$13,200. and $16,'500. Leading & Governing will invoice Orange County only for work
requested and performed.
Leading & Governing typically invoices clients in months following completion of work.
Payment should be made to Leading and Governing Associates, lnc. Our tax identification
number is 20-1443348. Questions about the administration af'this.agreement should be
addressed to Scottie Seawall, managing .partner, at 919,978.7067 or
fseawell(a~leadingandgoverning.corn.
For Leading & Governing Associates:
Name
Title.
Date
For Orange County:
Name
Title
Date
About Leading & Governing
Established in 20D4, we are an education and consulting practice dedicated to
strengthening democratic governance and representative government. We work with
elected :and appointed officials to engage their constituents, communities and each other in
public problem solving, decision making, policy design, and strategic navigation. Our clients
include state. and local government, universities, public schools, and state and national
assaciaticrns.
106 Weathervane Drive
Carrboro, North Carolina 27510
Office: 919.918.7067 Mobile:919.260.4084
Email: pboyle leadingandgoverning.com Web: www.leadingandgoverninq.com
2