I have recently returned from the 77th IIMC annual conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was my first IIMC conference and I was privileged to attend as the sole representative of ADSO. The theme of the conference was BOLD Education in the BOLD North and the conference ran from 14th to 17th May 2023.
What struck me early on, even before I landed in the U.S., was the superb organisation and logistics by the IIMC conference team, led by the highly efficient Director of Member Services, Janis Daudt. Everything worked like clockwork from registration, hotel accommodation and the workshops, thanks to Janis and her excellent team.
I was pleased to see a strong contingent of colleagues from Europe, including Linda Carter and Linda Larter from the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) and many colleagues and sponsors from The Netherlands and Belgium. As it was my first, but hopefully not last, IIMC conference, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but everyone was so welcoming and helpful, I very quickly got into the swing of things.
The opening ceremony on Monday 15th May was a sight to behold. American State flags as well as the national flags of the UK, Australia, Belgium, Canada, The Netherlands and The United States of America were paraded into the main conference suite and National Anthems were played. Following an inspirational opening address from IIMC President Pamela Smith, delegates were welcomed formally by the Mayor of the City of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey. In his conference welcome to delegates, Mayor Frey said:
“Whether it be a small town or major metropolitan area such as Minneapolis, the importance of municipal clerks cannot be overstated. Your position serves as a key resource to City Halls across the globe, providing a point of contact for critical aspects of democratic institutions, including elections, public records, and access to decision-making bodies, all of which define a community. Without your service, the greatest arteries of democracies, such as accountable and transparent governance, would not exist”.
I thought about this passage of text many times during my stay in Minneapolis and it speaks volumes for all of us involved in public administration. The fact that this was said by a leading politician makes it even more powerful.
The conference itself was a fascinating combination of personal development, learning and technical workshops. I attended as many sessions as I could; these included communication skills, ethical leadership, digital government, election administration and civility. All of the workshops and plenary sessions had high quality speakers and were extremely well-attended. Plenty of time was left between conference sessions to speak to exhibitors and sponsors and it was interesting to discuss the similarities and differences between local government operations in the U.S. compared to the UK and other parts of Europe.
The social side of the conference matched the quality of the learning, with two excellent formal dinners and a range of other formal and informal social gatherings. I sadly missed out on seeing the Minnesota Twins baseball team play the Chicago Cubs (I was attending a compulsory opening ceremony rehearsal at the time), but a few of us managed to get tickets to see Crowded House play at a local theatre one evening, which was a great end to a super day at the conference. On a separate day, I walked to the George Floyd memorial about 2 miles to the south of the main city, almost three years to the day since he was tragically murdered by a police officer. This was an extremely moving experience for me and it was humbling to spend time with some local people to hear their experiences of the event itself and the aftermath and, in particular, how they are supporting their community to recover and thrive.
After the conference, a few of us rented a house in the city for two nights for an ‘after-party’. We toured the historic Mississippi river front in Minneapolis, two incredible art galleries, the Loring sculpture park, the Minnehaha regional park and the famous Mall of America – which I am told is North America’s largest shopping mall: so huge there are rollercoasters in the middle of the mall!
It was an absolute pleasure to attend this year’s IIMC conference on behalf of ADSO and to get to know many colleagues from North America and Canada. I was made to feel very welcome at the conference and I hope to see my many new colleagues and friends again soon.
ADSO Awards 2023
Nominations for the 2023 awards are now OPEN! ADSO Awards 2023 – ADSO
It would be fantastic to see every ADSO region represented in all three categories for the 2023 awards, so please get your nominations submitted. The closing date is Friday, 28th July.
Annual Conference 2023
If you haven’t already booked your conference place, the Early Bird rates are available until the end of July so you have a few more weeks to take advantage of the reduced rates: View the 2023 conference programme and book your place
Qualifications update
Sarah Paper from SWC and our wonderful Qualifications Manager, Michelle Beaumont, recently held a learner support event for the 2023 Certificate cohort of learners. The sessions take place every year just after the learners have submitted and received feedback on their first assignments and present an excellent opportunity for learners to share their experiences to date and to share ideas, tips and challenges. It is also extremely helpful for Sarah and Michelle as they are able to note any feedback or ideas the learners may have – and they always have great ideas! So a massive thank you to Sarah for her excellent organisation and to the 26 learners we had attend. It was a great session and some of key points were shared with assessors.
We also want to say a huge thanks to all of our assessors, we couldn’t run the programmes without you. I would also like to remind all current and previous learners that we are always keen to hear from potential new assessors and you can find out more online here. Lastly, for any of you considering the Certificate or Diploma programmes in future don’t let budgetary constraints stop you – ADSO operates a bursary scheme so do check it out.
Centre for Governance and Scrutiny Conference
John Austin and I attended the annual CfGS conference, which took place at the King’s Fund in central London on 14th June. We ran a workshop on career planning for scrutiny and governance officers, which appeared to be well-received. We both enjoyed some interesting conversations with both officers and Members during the day and came away buoyed by the enthusiasm in the sector for good governance, objective and evidenced-based scrutiny and good Member conduct. Many thanks to Ed Hammond, Megan Ingle and the team for such a warm welcome to their conference.
Peter Sass, ADSO Vice Chair