MMANH-UNH-LGC
Local Government Management
Fellowship Program
(Town/City Application)

Overview

The purpose of the MMANH-UNH-LGC Fellowship program is to create mutually beneficial partnerships between graduate-level students pursuing a career in local government administration and the New Hampshire towns/cities that can benefit from their services. This program will be targeted toward students specializing in public administration, public policy, political science and related disciplines. Students interested in pursuing a career in local government management, but specializing in other relevant fields such as business administration, management, human resources, public relations, etc., are also encouraged to apply.

  Successful Students

Alison Rendinaro (Fellow 2009)
Interim Town Administrator,
New Durham

Matt Henry (Fellow 2009)
Planning Administrator, Lincoln

The Fellowship program is a competitive-selection process with merit-based selection for both the prospective fellows and the hosting community. The Fellowship will allow the student to experience and participate in a broad range of municipal operations under the supervision of the Town/City Manager or Administrator. Where practical, the Fellowship should utilize the ICMA Model Internship Guidelines in order to enhance the educational aspect of the Fellowship. The town/city hosting the Fellowship is expected to provide meaningful and educational work to the student, not merely routine administrative assignments. The Fellowship should be between a semester and one half year in length.

Application from Municipalities

Towns and cities wishing to host a Fellowship must apply through a competitive selection process for each Fellowship. The application will consist of a cover sheet (attached) and written answers to the following questions:

  1. Describe the resources that will be available to the student over the course of the Fellowship. This can include resources such as office space, computer equipment, internet access, informational resources, staff support, among other resources.
  2. Describe the supervision the student will receive. Who will be the supervisor? How frequently will work be reviewed? How much time does the supervisor have to dedicate to the student? List any supervisory duties that the student will be tasked with. Are these responsibilities at the appropriate level for a graduate student or young professional?
  3. Describe any projects that you intend the student to work on during the tenure of the Fellowship. Ideally there will be several minor projects so the student can gain broad experience and one major project for specialization in a topic relevant to local govt. management. If you have one, please attach a job description or position description including duties and daily responsibilities that the Fellowship will entail.
  4. Please describe any mentoring the student will receive from the manager/administrator. This can include discussing career options in the local government management field, inviting the student to observe otherwise closed meetings and debriefing with the manager afterwards, attending after-work meetings or social events with the manager, and other activities.

Application from students

Students wishing to apply for a Fellowship must apply through a competitive selection process. The application will consist of a cover/instruction sheet and the following:

  1. Standard application form (see attached)
  2. Resume
  3. Transcript (unofficial transcript satisfactory)
  4. Recommendation from faculty member
  5. Open ended answer between one and two pages, typewritten, to the following: “Please describe your career goals and how your participation in the Local Government Management Fellowship Program can ultimately help advance these goals.” 

Procedure for selection of towns & cities

The selection process will be the responsibility of a Fellowship Selection Committee, as determined by the MMANH Executive Board. The Committee will set a deadline for submission of applications and a meeting date for consideration of applications in advance of the start of the intended school semester for the Fellowship. Based on the available funding (outlined in section VI), the Board will determine the maximum number of Fellowships that can be granted for the upcoming semester. 

The Selection Committee will rank the written applications from the municipalities in the order of the overall educational benefit that a student could receive from each Fellowship. The participating towns and cities will be selected starting at the top of the list, contingent on the total number of funded Fellowships available for that year/semester.

Procedure for selection of students

  1. Review of applications: The Selection Committee (MMANH designees plus UNH staff) should review all of the submitted applications in order to separate “qualified” from “unqualified” students. The individual components of the application listed in section III above should be evaluated as follows:
    1. Standard application form: Completed correctly? Is the student enrolled in a graduate program relevant to local government management?
    2. Resume: Does the student market himself or herself effectively? Is there any relevant background experience that might indicate success in the Fellowship?
    3. Transcript: Preference should be given to students with higher grades and classes relevant to local government management (ideally the successful candidate has both).
    4. Faculty recommendation: subjective evaluation.
    5. Open ended statement: subjective evaluation.
  2. Qualified candidates will be ranked according to the strengths of their applications. The Selection Committee may desire to hold formal or informal interviews. Depending on the number of Fellowships to be funded, the students shall be selected beginning at the top of the list and working downwards.
  3. After selection of the students, the Committee should assign each student a specific Fellowship. This could either be done randomly, or by taking into account the geographic location and specific circumstances of individual students and the Fellowship locations.

Financial details

Each student receiving a Fellowship will be paid $5500. The cost of the Fellowships will be split in thirds between each municipality awarded a Fellowship, MMANH, and NHLGC. The number of Fellowships actually occurring at one time will be dependent upon funding and success of the program.

The Fellowship is intended to be 400 hours with a suggested work schedule of 20 hours per week for 20 weeks (approximately 5 months). The student and the municipality may negotiate the work schedule and must then complete and sign the required form outlining the nature of the agreement. When calculated over 400-hours, the Fellowship equates to approximately $12.50 per hour. 

LGC staff will perform the payroll function for the Fellowship. The MMANH and municipal shares of each Fellowship shall be deposited at the direction of LGC staff within a reasonable amount of time preceding the Fellowship. It shall be the responsibility of the manager supervising the Fellowship in conjunction with the Fellowship Selection Committee to communicate with LGC staff to determine satisfactory payroll supervision procedures and scheduling of payroll disbursements.  

If you are interested in the program contact:

Carlos P. Baia
Deputy City Manager-Development
City of Concord
41 Green Street
Concord, NH 03301
cbaia@concordnh.gov
603.225.8595
603.228.2701 (Fax)

New Hampshire Municipal Management Association’s Local Government Management Fellowship Program, Affiliate Link – Summer 2009

Local Government Fellowship Program Prepares the Leaders of Tomorrow, City Views - Fall 2009

 

Last Updated 11/21/2011    PO Box 617, Concord, NH 03302-0617 Copyright © 2011MMANH
Local Government Center