Local Governance Summer Institute

Local Governments are the new hotbeds of policy innovation and governance most affecting people's day-to-day lives in the United States. They are the epicenters of societal transformation occurring in the global rush towards smart, zero emissions and carbon neutral futures.  Local governments are providing policy leadership on issues of national and global significance to improve the quality of life for their communities. These new roles require strong, innovative, and inclusive leadership from local government executives.

LGSI@Stanford offers city managers, county executives, regional directors, and other senior local government officials the opportunity to exchange and acquire tools for improving local government performance and enhancing prospective analytical capacity to innovate and anticipate societal change. This program will strengthen individual capacities in public finance, negotiating and strategic planning skills, while exposing participants to innovative solutions and technological advance supporting the emergence of smarter, more resilient, sustainable, and equitable communities in California and around the world.

Stanford University faculty, Silicon Valley visionaries, and highly experienced leaders in the local government management profession challenge participants to consider long-view policy considerations and issues, such as technological advances and the transition to a low carbon economy in local government decision-making, while at the same time addressing current challenges facing our communities. Themes covered have included strategic thinking in problem solving, smart financial management practices, community engagement, ethical practice and negotiations skills, regional energy transition and water management policy challenges, smart transport and urban infrastructure upgrading to enhance economic competitiveness at the local and regional level, and many others.

Each year the program selects a set of salient and pressing challenges for local government and brings together Stanford, industry, and local governance experts to help participants innovate appropriate solutions for their communities.

LGSI@Stanford fosters active participation and provokes insightful discussion and debate on public management issues.  The program encourages networking and collaborative exchange of participants among each other, with instructors, and with dedicated coaches.  Participants work through salient group projects which allow them to merge their own professional experience with the training and guidance being provided through the program.  At the onset of the program, participants are paired with a senior executive coach with whom they meet at select intervals throughout the seminar, focusing on goals, professional development, and the application of lessons learned in the program to the specific context of the participants’ careers. The program is held in the stimulating environment of Stanford University, Silicon Valley, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Applications for the 2027 institute are now open and will be reviewed monthly on a rolling basis until the program reaches capacity.