CHAPTER 8 ________________________________
Fostering Professional Development through Certified Public Manager Programs

The American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) advocates greater efficiency and effectiveness in all levels of government and encourages the spread of good public administration practices through its local chapters and national sections. A strong code of ethics and a variety of publications also promote the spread of best practices in public service. Through its collaboration with the National Certified Public Manager (CPM) Consortium and the ASPA Section on Certified Public Management (which now has more than 500 members across the country), the organization is in a position to promote even greater professional development in the field. The best example of ASPA and CPM collaboration is occurring in Texas, which is quickly becoming the cooperative model for such programs across the United States.

The CPM Program

The CPM program has been operating in the United States for about 30 years. It began in Georgia in 1979 as a certification program for public managers in state government. Initially, it spread throughout the southern states (i.e., Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas) and eventually to all regions in the United States. By 1995, the CPM program had expanded to other states, including New Jersey, Texas, Arizona, and Washington, D.C., and local, federal, and nonprofit employees were participating. By 1996, the Graduate School of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was delivering a CPM program to federal employees, and the Texas CPM program was training significant numbers of local government employees in addition to serving state, federal, and nonprofit employees. By 2009, about 40 CPM programs were in operation. CPM had also spread to California and New York.

The CPM program’s primary goal is to improve the performance of public-sector managers and the organizational performance of state, local, and federal government employees. It is a comprehensive course of study by which public managers can acquire and apply best practices and theory to their management behaviors and strategies, all the while using prescribed sets of professional standards often called competencies. Those who complete the program earn the national trademarked designation of Certified Public Manager.

National Certified Public Manager Consortium

CPM programs in the United States operate under the umbrella of the National Certified Public Manager® Consortium, which establishes and preserves standards for the CPM designation. The consortium also monitors and accredits all CPM programs in the United States. Only accredited CPM programs are authorized to award the designation, which is trademarked to the consortium and its member programs. As is the case with other certification systems, accredited CPM programs are reviewed every five years for continued compliance with national CPM standards and reaccredited.

ASPA’s Section on Certified Public Management

In early 2007, ASPA created the Section on Certified Public Management (SCPM; http://www.aspaonline.org/scpm). The Section is open to CPM alumni, students, and faculty and to all ASPA members who are interested in the concepts, principles, and practices of certified public management. The goal of this ASPA section is to promote the professional development and training of public and nonprofit managers in the ethical values and technical competencies associated with outstanding public service. The section also encourages cooperation and linkages with and between local ASPA chapters and CPM programs throughout the country. Another of its goals is to promote the growth and establishment of CPM programs in states that are not currently members of the National CPM Consortium.

Emphasis on Public-Sector Ethics and Integrity

One of the major contributions of the CPM program has been its emphasis on building strong ethical values into public-sector workplaces. For example, the CPM program in Texas has adopted the ethical values and competencies advocated by both the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the Texas City Management Association (TCMA). These competencies are designed to be applicable in a diverse, multi-sector workforce composed of people ranging from entry-level employees and contractors to senior executives reporting to elected and appointed officials.

Integrity

According to ICMA and TCMA, there are three distinct types of integrity:

• Personal integrity. Demonstrating accountability for personal actions; conducting personal relationships and activities fairly and honestly.

• Professional integrity. Conducting professional relationships and activities fairly, honestly, legally, and in conformance with the ICMA Code of Ethics (which requires knowledge of administrative ethics, specifically the ICMA Code of Ethics).

• Organizational integrity. Fostering ethical behavior throughout the organization through personal example, management practices, and training (requires knowledge of administrative ethics, ability to instill accountability in operations, and ability to communicate ethical standards and guidelines to others).

CPM programs focus on the importance of ethical behavior by introducing participants to the ethical codes of conduct of several organizations, such as ASPA, the ICMA, and the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). A variety of case studies also are taught in the classroom to illustrate the importance and complexity of ensuring ethical behavior in governmental organizations and among governmental contractors and subcontractors. Many case studies come from ASPA publications, such as the Public Administration (PA) Times, which features “The Ethics Corner.” ASPA’s journal, Public Integrity, also features articles and discussions involving ethical dilemmas and situations facing public managers.

In Texas, CPM programs are often conducted for a public-sector organization’s entire management team, which reinforces the ethical culture for the entire local government community. The cities of Laredo, San Angelo, Abilene, and Waco have all sent employees to CPM training.

Technical Competencies

Let’s look at some of the more important technical competencies public managers need to be successful. Again, the CPM program competencies mirror and build on competencies that have been adopted and advocated by the ICMA and TCMA. Required competencies identified by CPM, ASPA, ICMA, and TCMA that are relevant for local, state, and federal employees include:

• Staff effectiveness. Promotes the development and performance of staff and employees throughout the organization. It requires a knowledge of interpersonal relations, skill in motivation techniques, and the ability to identify others’ strengths and weaknesses. Practices that contribute to this competency are coaching and mentoring, team leadership, empowerment, and delegation.

• Functional and operational expertise and planning. Includes functional/operational expertise, including understanding the basic principles of service delivery in functional areas and operational planning. It also includes skill in identifying and understanding trends and predicting the consequences of management and budgetary decisions on customer satisfaction and program service delivery.

• Technological literacy. Demonstrates an understanding of information technology and ensuring that IT is incorporated appropriately into plans and programs to improve service delivery, information sharing, organizational communication, and citizen access.

• Budgeting and financial analysis. Involves preparing and administering the budget. It requires knowledge of budgeting principles and practices, revenue sources, projection techniques, and financial control systems. Also required is skill in communicating financial information. Financial analysis involves interpreting financial information to assess the short-term and long-term fiscal condition of the community, determine the cost-effectiveness of programs, and compare alternative strategies. It requires knowledge of analytic techniques and skill in applying them.

• Advocacy and interpersonal communication. Covers facilitating the flow of ideas and information and fostering understanding between and among individuals, which are critical public management skills emphasized by ASPA, ICMA, TCMA, and CPM program courses. Advocating effectively in the public interest requires knowledge of interpersonal and group communication principles, such as skill in listening, speaking, and writing and the ability to persuade without diminishing the views of others. Advocacy involves communicating personal support for policies, programs, or ideals that serve the best interests of the local, state, or national community. Interpersonal communication involves exchanging verbal and nonverbal messages with others in a way that demonstrates respect for the individual and furthers organizational and community objectives. It requires ability to receive verbal and nonverbal cues and requires skill in selecting the most effective communication method for each interchange.

Best Practices

CPM provides the professional development and education programs, but the program relies heavily on ASPA sections (especially ASPA’s CPM Section), ASPA chapters (such as Centex, Corpus Christi, Rio Grande Valley) and good-governance publications like ASPA’s Public Administration Review (PAR), PA Times, Public Integrity, and The Public Manager, among others, to implement its training mission in Texas. To effectively implement the ethical values and technical competencies identified above requires a successful partnership with and between organizations such as CPM, ASPA, and ICMA. If each of these organizations tried a “go it alone” approach, their efforts would not be adequate to the task.

Texas

One of the best examples of such a partnership is in Texas, where ASPA, the Texas CPM program, and TCMA have combined forces to create one of the most successful professional development and education programs in the country. The CPM program is considered the premier professional development and educational service provider for public managers in the state. CPM participants receive ASPA membership at no additional cost, have access to ASPA publications, and can participate in ASPA chapters and sections.

At the local level, cities in Texas that have contracted with the Texas CPM program to promote ethics in the workplace and improve the technical skills and competencies of their managers and supervisors include Austin, San Antonio, Laredo, Waco, McAllen, Lubbock, San Angelo, and Abilene. Texas state agencies that send their managers and employees to Texas CPM programs include the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the Employee Retirement System (ERS) of Texas, and the Texas State Comptroller’s Office. Federal organizations with operations in Texas that have sent employees to CPM programs include the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and military and civilian agencies in the greater San Antonio area.

All levels of government in Texas are pleased with the success of the CPM program. It continues to have the bipartisan support of both liberal and conservative politicians as well as Texas professional public managers at all levels. Every year, two CPM graduations are held in the Texas Capitol; over the 12-year life of the CPM program, more than 900 participants have graduated. Graduation speakers have included the governor of Texas, the lieutenant governor of Texas, U.S. congress-people, and Texas state legislators.

Florida

CPM programs are providing outstanding professional development and educational services to public-sector employees in Florida, too. In Florida, the CPM program has been a major provider of professional development and education in the public sector for more 20 years, especially for employees of the state’s criminal justice system.

District of Columbia

The District of Columbia is yet another example of a CPM success story. The city has run a CPM program for Washington, D.C., employees for more than ten years. The program began with a multimillion-dollar grant from the not-for-profit sector. The purpose of the grant was to provide the city with the funds to promote an ethical culture and implement the technical skills and values associated with outstanding service to the public.

More Information

Readers are invited to find out more about how innovative programs such as the CPM program, ASPA, and the ICMA are making a positive impact on the professional development and education of public employees by visiting the organizations’ websites:

• National CPM site: www.cpmconsortium.org

• National ASPA site: www.aspanet.org

• ICMA site: www.icma.org.

For information about how CPM and ASPA are combining to make a major difference in the education and training of the public-service workforce, go to:

• The ASPA CPM Section website: http://www.aspaonline.org/scpm

• The Texas Certified Public Manager site: http://www.txstate.edu/cpm.