Application for the Fall 2017

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Leadership STAR CommunityProgram

Overview

STAR Communities is pleased to announce the opportunity for U.S. cities, towns, and counties to participate in the Fall 2017 Leadership STAR Community Program.TheLeadership Program provides STAR Communities’ highest level of training and technical assistance to a cohort of city and county governments as they pursue their first certification under the STAR Community Rating System.

The STAR Community Rating System(STAR) is the nation’s leading framework and certification program for evaluating the sustainability of U.S. communities.STAR provides a clear, data-driven approach to assessing social, economic, and environmental conditions; the STAR certification process can identify gaps and prioritize investment.The certification process can also serve as a catalyst for local action, transforming the way that communities come together to address sustainability.

Purpose

The one-year, all-inclusive Leadership STAR Community Program is designed to help communities to baseline their current sustainability status by achieving STAR certification. The program brings together a diverse cohort of cities and counties to learn from and support each other over the course of a year. It begins with an in-person orientation on sustainability performance management, and then provides extensive technical assistance to help local leaders get organized and report data for certification.

STAR certification allows communities to credibly and transparently track progress toward comprehensivesustainability goals. It requires that a community measure the social, economic, and environmental performance of the local governmentas well asthe broader community-at-large. The certification process helps local leaders to gain a deep understanding of their community’s strengths and needs and has provided a springboard for civic engagement, cross-agency coordination, integrated budgeting and performance management, and partnerships with philanthropy.

While any community can pursue certification on their own timeline, Leadership Communities report that the structured program,shared milestones, intensive orientation and training, and continued technical assistance throughout the year helped them to achieve certification on an accelerated timeline. The Fall 2017 Leadership Program will be the eighth iteration of the program. Over the past four years, 83 communities have participated in the Leadership Program. As of May 2017, 60 have achieved STAR certification, with ~10 more expected to certify by the end of the year.

Program Details & Timeline

The Fall 2017 Leadership Programwill commence on October 1, 2017 and conclude on September 30, 2018. It is expected that communities will apply for STAR certification by the end of the program year. Communities with high enough scores will receive a certified STAR Community Rating.

The Leadership Program will kick off with a two-day, in-person orientation and training for two representatives from each community in late October or early November 2017 (location and dates TBD). STAR staff will walk the new communities through the rating system framework and evaluation measures, and lead them through a numberof hands-on exercises to calculate a preliminary score and develop an action plan for the year. Mentors from STAR-certified communities will share best practices and tips for managing data collection, working with partners, and implementation planning.

After the training, communities will start to align their existing programs, policies, and plans with the rating system using project management tools and resources provided by STAR. Then they will gather data on the evaluation measures of their choice from the rating system and enter the data into STAR’s application tool. Because the rating system measures community-wide sustainability, data and information on programs will need to be provided by a variety of different governmental departments and agencies, as well as from community stakeholders and civic partners.

The Leadership cohort will meetregularly throughout the year to report progress and share best practices. Each Leadership Community will receive a dedicated STAR coordinator who will check-in monthly via conference call and help to resolve issues and provide feedback and support.

The community is responsible for gathering the data necessary for STAR certification. When the community has completed the application to their specification, they will submit for verification. STAR Communities’ Technical Team will perform a robust, third party review and then return an initial score and verification results. The community will have one month to amend or edit the application before submitting for a final score.STAR will provide basic PR support and resources to help announce and celebrate the community’s STAR Community Rating.

Fall 2017 Leadership Program Timeline
October 2017 / Get organized, hold intro call with STAR coordinator, receive access to resources
October/November 2017 / In-person orientation & kickoff training (location & date TBD)
December 2017 / Complete crosswalk, obtain support from leadership
January-May 2018 / Gather data and complete application for certification
June-July 2018 / Perform QA/QC, submit finished application for verification
July-September 2018 / Receive initial verification results, edit or amend application, submit final verification, achieve certification, celebrate!

Program Cost & Benefits

The cost of the one-year program is $7,500. This one-time program fee includes access to the full suite of STAR tools and resources, an in-person orientation and training event, extensive technical assistance throughout the year, and all fees associated with verification.

Key benefits of the Leadership Program include:

One year subscription to STAR Communities’ Full Access member package;
A 2-day, in-person orientation workshop with other Leadership Communities for 2 local government staff or community representatives;
Monthly check-in calls with a dedicated STAR coordinator;
Ongoing educational programs and networking opportunities with other communities;
A hard copy of the Technical Guide to the STAR Community Rating System;
Access to the full suite of STAR certification tools and resources, including data collection worksheets, GIS and mapping guidance, crosswalk spreadsheets, and the application tool;
Access to the Leading Indicators program for annual reporting;
Verification of the community’s submission to receive an official STAR certification;
Access to STAR’s on-call content experts and advisers;
Basic STAR PR media services to assist in local storytelling; and
Recognition as a national sustainability leader.

Program Eligibility

The STAR Community Rating System was designed for use by local (town, city, or county) governments. While partnerships are encouraged, the governmental entity must be the primary applicant for STAR certification.

Additionally, the Leadership Program is designed to support communities who have not previously achieved STAR Certification. Other community partners, organizations, universities, consultants, and federal agencies can become STAR Affiliates to support STAR Communities' mission and local sustainability. See for more information.

STAR Communities • PO Box 11226 • Portland, OR97211

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Selection Criteria

STAR Communities reserves the right to select communities for the Leadership STAR Community Program based on the following criteria:

Diverse representation including factors such as geography,population size and local government type (city/town/county);
A community’s interest in and experience with measuring sustainability;
A community’s vision for using certification results to further community-wide sustainability;
Willingness to explore the complete system of STAR goals and objectives;
Sufficient staff resources to complete the data collection necessary for certification; and
Ability to submit participation fee or make payment arrangements by September 29, 2017.

The selection committee will be comprised of STAR Communities staff and representatives from our formal stakeholder groups.

Pre-Application Informal Conversation with STAR

STAR Communities encourages local governments that are considering applying for the Leadership Program to schedule an informal conversation to discusseligibility for the program, assess staffing and resource needs, and answerany questions about the program. Please contact:

Lacey Shaver, Manager, Community Engagement

Email:

Phone: (855) 890-7827 x 105

Application Instructions

Please complete the following application with as much information as necessary to demonstrate your community’s interest and commitment to participating in the Leadership STAR Community Program. In general, we are looking for no more than 4 pages total in Sections 1-3. Section 4 is required for all applicants.

Applications should be submitted via email to . You may include letters of support from elected officials or community partners if desired, but they are not required. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through August 4th, 2017. Selected communities will be notified by August 15, 2017. Payment arrangements must be made by September 29, 2017.

STAR Communities • PO Box 11226 • Portland, OR97211

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Section 1: Background Information

Please provide the following background information on the applicant community:

Name and population of jurisdiction:
Highest ranking elected official (name and title):
Primary contact for application:
Name and title:
Email address:
Phone number:
Mailing address:
Jurisdiction’s website and any relevant social media pages:

Section 2: Community Vision & Commitment to Sustainability

Please answer the following questions in a paragraph or two per question.

Why does your community want to be a part of the Leadership STAR Community Program?

Describe your jurisdiction’s experience with or interest in public reporting on sustainability metrics.

How will STAR certification support other ongoing initiatives within your community?

Certification is only the beginning of a community’s STAR journey. Local leaders use their certification results to guide planning processes, update performance management systems, and engage with community partners. How do you plan touse your STAR certification results to improve your community?

List up to three STAR objectives in which you expect to score well at this point. Describe why.

List up to three STAR objectives that you believe will be a challenge for your community. Describe why.

Section 3: Project Management & Team Building

Please answer the following questions in a paragraph or two per question.

There are over 500 individual measures that can be reported on within the STAR Community Rating System. Who will be the core members of your project team and how much time do they have available for the project?

Your application for certification requires collecting data from a range of government agencies and departments and from the broader community.Please list the agencies, departments, community organizations and/or external stakeholders that will support the certification effort.

How will the team work together to collect, report, and submit the sustainability data required for STAR certification?

Do you have buy-in for STAR certification from:elected and appointed officials, senior management, community based organizations, and/or civic leaders? Please describe.

The Leadership Program fee covers admission and some travel costs for two community members to the orientation and kickoff training.STAR Communities recommends bringing the primary project manager and a supporting team member who will contribute to the success of the project – a member of senior management, a planner, an intern, or a community partner, such as the director of a local community foundation or sustainability organization. Please provide a one-paragraph bio for the two representatives that you plan tosend to the orientation.

Describe any additionallocal resources (e.g. staff, funding, partners, leadership) available to support your community’s participation in the Leadership STAR Community program.

Please provide any other relevant information that supportsyour application.

STAR Communities • PO Box 11226 • Portland, OR97211

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Section 4: Signature

[To be completed by the primary contact for the application]

By my electronic signature below, I hereby attest to the best of my knowledge that the information submitted in this application is correct and that my community is committed to participate in the Fall 2017 Leadership STAR Community Program, if selected, and will pay the full program fee by September 30, 2017 or make payment arrangements with STAR Communities.

Electronic Signature:

Date:

STAR Communities • PO Box 11226 • Portland, OR97211