 Community Government
Management
A program designed for Senior Managers and aspiring
managerial staff to manage and administer community government operations. There are three
streams offered in the Community Management Program which provide specific training for:
Senior Administrative Officers, Band Managers and Housing Managers in the Northwest
Territories.
Who can take the courses?
These programs are open to both existing senior managers
or aspiring managerial staff who wish to enhance their present skills, and knowledge or
gain new skills and information.
What will I learn?
Learners participate in such courses as community
financial management, community and municipal law, human resource management as well as
office organization and business.
Partners:
This Program is offered in partnership with Indian and
Northern Affairs Canada, NWT Housing Corporation, NWT Association of Communities, Local
Government Administrators of the NWT, and Municipal and Community Affairs.
Program
Outline:
The
Community Management Program has been designed to facilitate the
work of leadership development by exploring ideas and practices
that create shared vision, sustainable government and human
services of the highest quality.
This
program consists of three streams:
Senior Administrative Officer, Housing Manager and Band
Manager. There are 26
courses in the program. Students
are required to complete 8 core courses, 6 specialized courses and
2 electives, for a total of 16 courses to be eligible to receive a
“Certificate in Management” from the School of Community
Government. Each
course is 45 hours.
Core
Courses:
Specialized
Courses:
Band Manager
Housing Manager
Senior Administrative Officer
Elective
Courses:
The
two required elective courses must be taken from one of the other
two streams.
Course
Descriptions:
Aboriginal Commercial Law- This course will explore the legal context
for First Nations government and the implications of the Indian
Act and commercial law for contemporary Band management.
Topics include partnerships with government, working with
contracts and commercial law, and Aboriginal business.
Communications-
This course prepares leaders to
communicate effectively in writing and speech.
At the end of this course the participant will be well
prepared for any communications task required in his or her work
as a Northern community leader. Participants will also have
developed an appreciation of the value of excellence in personal
communication. Topics
include communication theory, the written word, oral communication
and the media.
Community
& Cultural Values, Ethics and Diversity – This
course will focus on values: their source, meaning, and use
by individuals and in communities.
Topics include Northern communities and cultural values,
ethics and diversity, Northern issues and communication and
community government and tolerance.
Community
Based Planning and Implementation - This course assists
community leaders in improving the condition or their community.
Topics include understanding change, understanding your
community, the tools of participation, understanding the human
component and ensuring a successful progression.
First
Nations Business Development- This course is designed to
provide participants with the overall understanding, knowledge and
skill that is required to develop and operate a small business.
Participants will explore the importance of small business
and describe the characteristics and skill requirements that are
needed by an entrepreneur to start and develop a small business.
The course will
take the participant through the process of organizing a small
business to the eventual turning over or closing down of the
business. The
preparation of a Business Plan is also a major part of this
course. Topics
include the decision to go into business, organizing a small
business, operating a small business and the growth process.
First
Nation Programs, Planning and Implementation- This
course will introduce program planning ideas and methods that will
allow participants to work effectively as community leaders with
Northern First Nations. Topics
include the Indian Act and beyond, program planning, needs,
proposals and partners, practicing strategic management and
program evaluation and change management.
First
Nations Strategic Management
- This course is based on general principles of
strategic management that apply to any organization aimed at
community service and community government. The strategic
management of community government will be the focus in this
course. Community
senior managers, their staff, and decision makers will be able to
bring their experience and concerns to the learning activities for
this course. Topics
include goals before strategy, developing a strategic management
system, practicing strategic management and learning, and
strategic management.
General
Financial Practices at the Community Level – This course
provides information on the roles, responsibilities and skill sets
of a financial manager. Topics
include the role of the financial manager, accounting and
financial concepts, internal control, cash management, tax
administration and other government reporting.
Governance
with Your Councils and Boards – This course is about how
Councils and Boards work when Council members are: committed to
the future of the community; have a clear, written understanding
of their roles and responsibilities; and, are actively
‘listening’ to the residents they serve. Topics include characteristics of a well functioning board,
the roles and responsibilities of a council or board, basic
principles followed by boards and monitoring and evaluating of
boards and councils.
Housing
Finances – This course is designed to provide Housing
Managers with a comprehensive understanding of their financial
responsibilities. Topics include:
Financial responsibilities of the Housing Manager, Legal
liabilities within the Financial area of responsibility,
establishing the budget and conducting variance analysis,
reporting to the Local Housing Authority/Association and reporting
to the NWT Housing Corporation.
Housing
Programs, Planning & Implementation - This course is
designed to provide ideas and methods that will make the
opportunities connected to the current challenges more accessible.
The focus will be on strategic program planning in the area
of Northern social housing.
Topics include strategic program planning in Northern
communities, Northern social housing programs, designing a housing
program, and program planning and implementation.
Human
Resources, Planning and Development – This course
introduces you, as a leader and a manager, to the field of human
resources management from a community government perspective.
Topics include human resource planning and job design,
recruitment and development, employee relations and personnel
administration.
Informatics
– This course provides the learner with tangible
managerial applications for computers in the workplace.
It features Microsoft business software products, however,
the methodology can be applied to similar integrated business
software products. Topics
include working in a computerized environment, effective use of
the Internet, office communication systems, integrated business
software, relational databases and project management.
Law,
Land Claims & Self Government – This course will
survey the latest developments as well as the foundations and
justifications for First Nations self-government.
Topics include foundations of the Canadian legal system,
the doctrine of Aboriginal title, treaties and treaty rights,
legislative authority, policy and the fiduciary relationship and
self-government and the Indian Act.
Leadership
for Community Managers – This course supports Northern
managers to lead their communities towards greater self-government
by connecting leadership skills and values with management tasks
and decisions. Topics
include determining leadership goals, the many forms of
leadership, practicing leadership skills, and leading in a
Northern community.
Maintenance
Management - This course is
designed to provide a comprehensive approach to all of the systems
that are involved in social housing maintenance.
This course is organized around the eight essential
maintenance management functions of organizing, planning,
identifying, scheduling, directing, executing, tracking and
evaluating. Topics
include an introduction to maintenance management, maintenance
contracts and administration, after-hours maintenance emergencies,
computerized maintenance management systems and energy management.
Municipal
Constitutions, Bylaws and Policies - This course will
introduce the foundations, current practices, and future
possibilities of municipal government systems in Nunavut and the
Northwest Territories. Topics
include Northern community and cultural values, bylaws, policies
and procedures and guidelines.
Municipal
Contracts, Tenders and Proposals – This course is
designed to assist Senior Administrative Officers in managing and
implementing contracts at the municipal level.
Topics include: Contracting Framework, Policy and
Regulations, The Tendering Process, The Proposal Process, Contract
Law, Contract Administration, Risk Management and Ethics.
Municipal
Finances – This
course is designed to provide Senior Administrative Officers with
a comprehensive understanding of their financial responsibilities.
Topics include Financial responsibilities of the Senior
Administrative Officer/Role of SAO, Legal responsibilities within
the financial responsibilities, reporting to council, government
reports, government accounting entities and principles,
establishing the budget and conducting variance analysis and goals
of government accounting, year end reporting and completing the
annual audit.
Municipal
Programs, Planning and Implementation - This course will
discuss ways to plan, implement and evaluate programs and
services. It will
also assist the manager to identify the sources of influence in
the community and the role of the local government manager in
addressing conflicting demands.
Topics include community dynamics and leadership, managing
programs and services, the search for solutions and doing things
differently.
Municipalities
and the Law – This course is designed to provide insight
into the law as it relates to Municipal Governments.
Topics include an Introduction to Municipal Law, Municipal
Powers and Responsibilities, Statutory Law: Acts, Planning &
Land, Employment Law, Liability Law, Administrative Law, and
Avoiding and Resolving Conflict.
Property
Management – The
course provides a broad overview of the basic elements of property
management for market housing and social housing, as well as
condominium and cooperative housing management.
It is designed to complement more specific courses dealing
with housing finances, maintenance management, housing programs
and planning and tenant relations.
Topics include
an economic perspective on Northern rental housing, types of
portfolios, managing revenue, managing expenses, and protecting
and improving asset values.
Social
& Economic Development - This course is
designed to support Band Managers and other community leaders who
want to make the most of social and economic opportunities by
working towards the goals that First Peoples have set for
themselves. Topics include understanding social development,
understanding economic development, social development strategies
and economic development strategies.
Social
Housing, Management and Administration - This course will
provide an introduction to social housing management from a
community government perspective.
Participants will focus on the community Local Housing
Organization (LHO) in order to combine a thorough understanding of
social issues related to housing with management practices that
work in Northern communities.
Topics include housing, poverty and society, social housing
in the North, the property management process and LHO’s and
legal considerations.
Tenant
Relations - This course
is designed to provide knowledge, skills and an appreciation of
values, which are essential for social housing providers in the
North. Topics include determining eligibility and priorities in
social housing allocation, the tenancy agreement, moving in, the
residential tenancy act, collection policies and termination of
the tenancy agreement.
Program Advisory Committee:
- Carol Beck, School of Community
Government, Yellowknife
- Vicki Boudreau, Housing Manager, Inuvik
- Ruby Jumbo, Band Manager, Trout Lake
- Liza McPherson, Superintendent Deh Cho Region, MACA
- Jane Haley, Manager, NWT Housing Corporation, Yellowknife
- Albert Lafferty, SAO, Ft. Providence, Deh Cho Region
- Tom Matus, SAO, Wha Ti, North Slave Region
- Veryl Gruben, Housing Manager, Tuktoyatuk, Inuvik Region
- Eleanor Young, NWT Association
of Communities, Yellowknife
- Shirley Lamalice, Band Manager,
K'atlodeechee First Nation, South Slave
Region
- Graham Baptiste, Director, DIAND, Yellowknife
The School of Community Government:
(toll free)1-877-531-9194
1-867-920-3159
(fax)1-867-873-0584
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