About the Institute
Who We Are
The Cordillera Institute is an independent research and public policy organization dedicated to excellence in local government. Our Members are individuals and organizations involved with local government, in both the public and private sectors. They include:
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municipal mayors, supervisors, reeves, wardens, and chairpersons,
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councilmembers, aldermen, controllers, councillors, and trustees;
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municipal managers, administrators, legislative officers, and clerks;
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municipal finance officers, treasurers, comptrollers, and auditors;
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municipal associations;
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senior government agencies and officials;
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accountants, auditors, and management consultants;
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lawyers, planners, engineers, and surveyors;
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economic developers, community builders and developers;
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business and community leaders;
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academics; and
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concerned citizens.
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Meeting a Critical Need
Our mission is to be a catalyst -- to empower municipalities, public utilities, school boards, hospital boards, and other local public agencies to achieve excellence. This is a 2-step process.
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The 1st is to be a resource.
Being a resource involves identifying effective solutions to the challenges confronting local government and communicating those solutions as widely as possible. As important as that activity is, it's only the 1st step. It's not enough to make the tools available. To achieve excellence, we have to pick up those tools and use them.
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The 2nd is to be a scorekeeper.
Being a scorekeeper means measuring the results our local-government agencies are obtaining and comparing those results in a meaningful way with their peers. In this way, you will be able to see just how accountable and productive your organization is. We expect that good performance will receive the appropriate recognition and that those wishing to improve will find success stories to apply.
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In these challenging times, knowledge is the key that will enable those seeking innovative solutions and striving to improve our quality of life to be at their most effective. Membership in the Cordillera Institute is an excellent investment in keeping fully informed and in being part of an important network of innovators in local government.
Achieving Excellence
For each local-government agency, excellence has 2 key components:
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accountability
in the political role -- that is to define your mandate and respond to ever-changing conditions in the most responsible manner; and
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productivity
in the administrative role -- that is to design and implement the best programs to carry out your mandate effectively and efficiently.
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Excellence in any field is best achieved by building quality organizations. Quality organizations, in turn, are built by developing cultures of continuous improvement. Continuous-improvement cultures are developed by empowering everyone involved to realize their potential, in line with the objectives of their organizations. People are empowered by learning to integrate the success elements into every aspect of their work. So, achieving excellence starts with gaining an awareness of the success elements and the possibilities they offer.
Making It Happen
Many local public agencies are already on the road to building quality organizations. Others are just starting on that exciting journey. Any time we decide to travel a new road, it is very valuable to know what others encountered on that road, what they did along the way that worked well, and what they would avoid in future. Having that information can save us invaluable time and conserve our resources. It can also inspire confidence in our people to know that such a journey can be successfully completed. Our role is to bring you that information.
What We Do
The Institute is wholly supported by the contributions of our Members and by the proceeds of our activities. We devote our resources to helping those working for or with local public agencies to achieve excellence by enhancing the productivity and accountability of those organizations. To accomplish our mission, we have created a number of programs specifically designed to support you on your journey to excellence. These include research, publication, information exchange, and performance improvement. The current focus is on our Publication Program. Our publications are read by individuals and organizations (from the public, non-profit, and private sectors) who share the goal of making local government the best it can be.
For information on Institute programs, click on the Programs button below. Or, choose any other option.