In July, participants from the DCID’s PFD executive education program visited three local government offices to add context to the classroom.
The 15 participants from the PFD program included officials, elected politicians, and development researchers from Kenya, Zambia, India, Nepal and Myanmar.
In Hillsborough, the group met with Mayor Pro Tem Jenn Weaver, Town Manager Eric Peterson, and Assistant to the Town Manager Jen Della Valle.
Peterson explained Hillsborough’s “Council-Manager” form of government and the types of services provided by the town. Della Valle continued by digging into the strategy map and the Balanced Scorecard (a strategy performance management tool used by both business and government), and how strategy ties into the budget to deliver results for the citizens of the town. Weaver focused on examples of how citizens interact with and provide input to the town government- including the town website, community survey, advisory boards, and public hearings and meetings.
Pictured: Two elected officials from opposite sides of the globe. Jenn Weaver, Mayor Pro Tem, with PFD participant Henry Kimiti. Kimiti is the Chairman of the Budget Committee, Kajiado County, Kenya.
In addition to the visit to Hillsborough, the group also met with officials from the Town of Cary and from Wake County. In Cary, they met with Finance Director Karen Mills and Public Information Director Susan Moran.
In Wake County, they met with Wake County Board of Commissioners Chair Jessica Holmes, County Manager David Ellis and Chief Operating Office Johnna Rogers.
The PFD program is one of six popular open enrollment executive programs operated by DCID. The three-week PFD program, directed by Professor Roy Kelly, is designed to enable professionals to develop and implement decentralization policy reforms to improve local public financial management and stimulate efficient and accountable economic and social development.
