Leadership Course: Leading in Local Government

This leadership course for local government focuses on unique aspects of leading in local government and its broader political and social context including the principles and practices in public administration. This leadership course will offer a comprehensive understanding of governance structures, management theory, contemporary leadership frameworks and strategic decision-making within a local government context and its related challenges. The course is designed to enhance your leadership capabilities and empower current and aspiring leaders with the tools and knowledge needed to excel within the local government context.

The course teachings are based on evidence and rigour, drawing on cutting edge theory and practice relating to leadership development. The program is highly interactive and encourages self-reflection in relation to your leadership development with the workshop closing with a self-reflection ‘check-out’ exercise.

Duration	One session (8 hours in total)
Dates	Class code: LLG1 (2025) Wed 21 May, 2025
Venue	UTS City Campus
Time	9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Cost	$698 (GST free)

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Course content

This leadership course will cover the following topics:

Why local government matters
Scope, scale and history of local government in Australia
Public sector and management theory
Contemporary leadership frameworks
Local government context and challenges.

Learning outcomes

As a result of this leadership course, you will:

develop an understanding of the role of local government in the broader social and political context
have a deeper appreciation of the principles and practices of local government and how it has evolved over time
deep dive into management theory, structure and practice and contemporary leadership models
be able to actively contribute to the development of collective and collaborative leadership within council
understand and grow your leadership impact.

Delivery style

The leadership course uses a blend of presentation, discussion, case in point teaching, consultation in pairs, group exercises, individual take-away tasks to put into practice learnings in the workplace. This training approach allows you to work through concepts introduced by the presenter in an application-focused teaching environment. You will challenge your understanding of the concepts and consider their application once back in your individual workplace.

Intended audience

This leadership course is designed for:

local government managers looking to build their knowledge of management and organsitional theory
managers new to the local government sector
local government practitioners embraking on or aspiring to leadership roles
public or private sector practitioners looking to build their understanding of management and leadership in local government.

About the presenter

Vanessa Chan is an Associate Professor at UTS IPPG and is a contemporary public sector leader with a reputation for innovation and driving sectoral transformation. She has over 20 years experience in strategy and operations across various NSW metropolitan Councils, including almost a decade in executive management. This includes successfully leading Ashfield Council as General Manager before being appointed to lead the Inner West Council merger.

Over the last few years Vanessa has been working in top-tier private sector consulting, including as a Director with the Public Sector Practice at Deloitte and Senior Associate at Spencer Maurice. She has recently worked with the National City District Commission in Port Moresby (PNG’s only local government authority) supporting the Governor to better align local government operations to emerging strategic priorities.

Vanessa is a member of the NSW Ministerial Advisory Group for Local Government, Chair of Head Start Homes, an innovative new social enterprise supporting First Nation families move from social housing into home ownership.

Course prerequisites

This leadership course has no prerequisites and is open to all members of the public. The course is one of five leadership courses in our Leading in Local Government series. Select the combination of courses from the list below that will meet your learning needs.