Our Expanding Mission
The Center for State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE) at ICMA-RC has expanded its mission. Since we were founded in 2007 by ICMA-RC, our work has been focused on helping local and state governments become knowledgeable and competitive employers so they can attract and retain a talented and committed workforce.
We are pleased to announce that in addition to continuing our current work around
- Workforce,
- Retirement, and
- Health and Wellness topics
for state and local governments, our expanded efforts also include the mission-adjacent non-profit sector, community health care organizations, K-12 and higher education institutions. This allows our work to have an even greater impact, reaching more sectors and covering more key issues.
As part of this expansion, SLGE is now housed as a research center within ICMA-RC, which has always served as a valued strategic partner and funder of SLGE. Together, we look forward to continuing to deliver the highest quality research that helps inform organizations that serve the public. As our plans take shape, we will share additional details on our expanded research agenda. In the meantime, you can expect “business as usual” from the full SLGE team.
New Research and Upcoming Webinar: Impact of COVID-19 on Public Employee Views on Employment and Finances
The COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis are taking a heavy toll on the state and local workforce. Since the early days of the pandemic, negative job sentiment is on the rise. In an October national survey, 52% reported feeling stressed, 47% said they are burnt out and fatigued, and 44% were anxious at work. Also, 54% of state and local employees said they have been negatively impacted financially by the pandemic.
These findings are contained in a new report, Update on Public Sector Employee Views on Finances and Employment Outlook Due to COVID-19: May vs. October 2020 and related infographics.
Click here to view a related webinar recording.
Trends to Watch for the New Year
See what our researchers are focused on in the new year. The big picture state and local government workforce outlook for the new year is summarized in a new release, Trends to Watch in 2021.
Stakeholder Summits
The Center has convened a series of in-person and virtual summits around key issues in public service, including an autumn 2020 gathering of associations interested in collaborations around the workforce of the future. In February, a similar summit will take place to discuss partnerships around financial wellness. Is your organization interested in attending? Email us at [email protected].
Key Resources – Financial Literacy and Retirement Plan Data
Among the projects SLGE has focused on are our research efforts and grant support around state and local employee financial literacy programs and support for the Public Plans Database (PPD) – a collection of retirement plan data from 200 state and local pension plans representing 95% of public pension assets nationwide. In addition to case studies, and issue briefs, those efforts have yielded a quick reference guide, an inventory of state financial literacy programs, interactive retirement data and graphing tools, and a pending update to the PPD to include defined contribution plans.
SLGE in the News
Forbes published an article discussing the Center’s new report on COVID-19 survey data. SLGE at ICMA-RC’s Managing Director Joshua Franzel, PhD, participated in a webinar on COVID-19 Impacts, Trends and Solutions. Click here to view a recording.
Federal News Network recorded a podcast interview with Gerald Young, the Center’s Senior Research Analyst, discussing how the pandemic has impacted state and local employees.
Trends to watch for 2021 was covered by Arizona Business (AZBigMedia), while StateTech cited the Center’s telework data.
