Celebrating Success
North West Charter for
Elected Member Development At the heart of any local authority dedicated to meeting the needs of its community there should be a visible commitment to the continuous learning and development of its Elected Members as well as its employees. All Elected Members should be supported to perform their vital, individual and joint roles to an excellent standard in the democratic processes of a modern local government.
The North West Charter for Elected Member Development was launched in 2000 as part of the regional strategy to raise the profile of Elected Member learning and development. It was designed as a standard framework for good practice for councils to measure themselves against.
The Charter itself has undergone further development during the last two years and now offers two levels of attainment. Level 1 sets out six practice points which an authority has to put into place before the Charter can be awarded. These are the basic building blocks for Member development:
- Is the authority committed to Member development?
- Are opportunities available to all Members?
- Are the individual needs of all Members taken into consideration?
- Is there Officer support and resources available for this?
- Is there an overall strategy for Member development in the authority which is linked to corporate aims and objectives?
- Has the strategy been implemented and the Member development activity evaluated?
Level 2 takes Member development a stage further. This is all about evaluation and impact. Has the Member development activity achieved all the authority wanted to achieve? Has it had an impact on the Members themselves, the authority and the community – and, the difficult bit, can the authority prove this?
Those councils that achieve the Charter receive public recognition of their success and are able to share their ‘Member Development Journeys’ at an annual Celebration Event.
Click the link below for everything you need to know about the Charter.
Member Charter