Weekly message from Susan Biddle, Director of Training

There are a number of things to bring to your attention this week.  So,  apart from hoping you are all riding out the latest COVID storm from wherever you are situated, I am going to plunge right in so you don’t have too much to read.

ADSO AGM and AWARDS CEREMONY- Zoom Thursday 26th November
Please look out for invitations to attend the ADSO AGM and Awards Ceremony on the afternoon and evening of 26th November.  This will be our first virtual AGM and Awards Ceremony, they usually take place at our annual conference but we unfortunately can’t offer this to you this year.  The AGM is at 5pm so please attend as we must be quorate as a membership organisation and we need to vote in the Board for 2021.  The Awards Ceremony starts at 5.30 with three categories, Rookie, Learner and Team of the Year – our Director of Communications, Joanna Boaler, has been working with nominees to create short videos for the evening and we are delighted that CIVICA are our sponsors.

ADSO Certificate
Applications are now open for the next cohort of ADSO Certificate learners starting in March 2021. This qualification is aimed at those who already work in the Democratic Services area –  they may be newly appointed or want to get some recognition for their skills and knowledge learnt ‘on the job’.  Learners will study remotely to carry out guided research and complete seven assignments which will be signed off by an allocated Assessor. Learners must complete their assignments to set deadlines with the aim of completing within an agreed timescale (about 20 months). The qualification is recognised by Local Authorities and provides excellent career development. For further information about the Certificate, costs and how to apply, please see the ADSO website: https://www.adso.co.uk/adso-training/certificate-in-democratic-services-practice/

International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC)-  Roundtables
We have a close relationship with the IIMC and are pleased to be able to offer the opportunity for our members to attend their programme of virtual roundtables/panel discussions.  These offer the opportunity for you to engage with colleagues in other countries around topics of mutual interest.  We have decided that we do not want to decide who goes but rather flag up the offer, date and topic in our newsletters leaving you to express interest and register with the IIMC directly.  Places are very limited (20 per roundtable)  – ADSO has been allocated only two as the IIMC wants to keep them small and participative.  The first one is on 29th October at 5pm and will cover “The Challenges of Working Remotely”

To register please send an email to Tom van der Hoven, IIMC International Development Consultant, at imeet@iimc.com with the following detail:

  • In the subject heading, insert the words “Zoom Registration” together with the words ‘ADSO’
  • In the body of the email include your name, your local authority and your position/post.

Due to the large number of applications that could potentially be received only those who are successful in being allocated a seat will be contacted. Hence, if you have not heard back from Tom by Monday 26 October 2020 you should assume that you have been unsuccessful this time.

Members Forum – Training for newly appointed DSO’s
Purely selfishly, if you haven’t already contributed, do please give us your views on a thread about training for newly appointed DSOs that I started.  I’m hoping to have something developed in the new year and have started the thread to seek your views on what you would want a short online course for newly appointed DSOs to cover.  But that is not all that’s happening in the forum.  There are lively discussions on how to make full council voting less cumbersome and a member seeking some quick feedback of experiences of meetings being abandoned or delayed because of technical hitches.

Lawyers in Local Government – Online Conference report
There is no legal bulletin as such this week but you may be interested in the report of the LLG Monitoring Officers’ Conference held virtually on 9 October. Our chair, John Austin, participated in the Q&A session at the end of the conference. You can access the conference report in the introduction section of this newsletter.

Susan Biddle, ADSO Director of Training

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