A year-long effort from various stakeholders in the region culminated in creating The COG Institute for Regional Excellence. These included partnerships between with The George Washington University's Center for Excellence in Public Leadership, Chief Administrative Officers and Personnel Directors from member jurisdictions, and the COG Board of Directors.
COG's had developed a strategic plan focusing on leadership training as an important element of regional development. Thus, COG and George Washington University staff worked together to a year-long Regional Executive Development program credentialing participants as Certified Public Managers® upon their successfully completing the program.
The COG Board of Directors unanimously approved this program on July 12, 2000. The first cohort completed the program in August 2002.
The Regional Executive Development program assists local government managers in the metropolitan Washington area in dealing with the challenges of providing services and meeting the needs of residents in a growing metropolitan area.
It is targeted at mid- to senior-level managers in metropolitan Washington area local governments.
It aims to develop leadership, enhance management skills, increase exposure to innovation in local government, and develop an understanding of regional issues and approaches.
The main objectives of the program are to:
Provide the theoretical and intellectual foundations of leadership and management in the public sector and expose participants to "state-of-the-art" practices in public administration;
Examine - and help participants prepare for - the special challenges and responsibilities that come with leading large, complex public organizations;
Increase understanding of metropolitan-wide issues as well as interdependencies among area local governments and develop a common language and set of concepts area managers can use when discussing issues; and
Provide an opportunity to share problems, develop joint solutions, and establish networks among area jurisdiction managers.
Participants go through the program as a single cohort, attending classes together. The cohort format creates group cohesiveness and maximizes the opportunity for managers from different area jurisdictions to network and learn from each other.
The IRE offers the Regional Executive Development Program, a year long program leading to a Certified Public Manager's® designation. This program is accredited by the National Certified Public Manager's® Consortium. As part of its requirement, the REDP must offer courses in line with the required CPM® Core Competencies.
IMPORTANT MILESTONES |
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| 2000 | Established partnership with the George Washington University. Gained full support of Personnel Officers Technical Committee, Chief Administrative Officers Committee and the COG Board of Directors. |
| July 2000 | COG Board of Directors authorized creation of the Institute for Regional Excellence in partnership with the George Washington University, Resolution #R32-00. |
| March 2001 | IRE gained funding support from the Fannie Mae Foundation for a period of three years. |
| July 2001 | First IRE Cohort started class with 23 participants from 8 member governments and COG. |
| August 2002 | Second Cohort started class with 21 participants from 6 member governments and COG. |
| September 2002 | IRE held the First Cohort graduation with 23 participants successfully completing the one-year program. |
| April 2003 | IRE was fully accredited by the National Certified Public Managers® Consortium making COG the first regional council in the nation to receive such accreditation. |
| August 2003 September 2004 |
Third Cohort started with 31 participants from 9 jurisdictions and COG. Third Cohort graduation—30 participants from 9 member jurisdictions and COG. |
| August 2005 September 2005 |
Fifth Cohort start class with 22 participants from 8 jurisdictions and COG. Fourth Cohort graduation—23 participants from 6 member jurisdictions and COG. |
| September 2006 | Fifth Cohort graduation—22 participants from 8 member jurisdictions |
| January 2008 | Sixth Cohort graduation—23 participants from 10 member jurisdictions |
| October 2010 | Eighth Cohort—19 participants graduate |
| October 2011 | Ninth Cohort—20 participants graduate |
| October 2012 | Tenth Cohort– 24 participants graduate |
232 GRADUATES |
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| Cohort 1-10, 2002-2012 Graduates | ||
| Male | 113 | 49% |
| Female | 119 | 51% |
SUMMARY OF PARTICIPANTS (Cohort 1– 10) |
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| Jurisdiction/COG | COHORT 1 2001-2002 |
COHORT 2 2002-2003 |
COHORT 3 2003-2004 |
COHORT 4 2004-2005 |
COHORT 5 2005-2006 |
COHORT 6 2007 |
Cohort 7 2008-2009 |
Cohort 8 2009-2010 |
Cohort 9 2010-2011 |
Cohort 10 2011-2012 |
Total |
| District of Columbia | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Bowie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| College Park | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frederick County | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gaithersburg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Greenbelt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Montgomery County | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 28 |
| Prince George's County | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 17 |
| Rockville | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Takoma Park | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Alexandria | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 14 |
| Arlington County | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 30 |
| Fairfax City | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Fairfax County | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 62 |
| Falls Church | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Loudoun County | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Manassas City | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Manassas Park | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prince William County | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 |
| MWCOG | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 22 |
| WMATA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| TOTAL | 23 | 20 | 30 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 28 | 19 | 20 | 24 | 232 |