Alumni Advising
Matching alumni mayors with design experts for in-depth follow-up.
Overview
MICD Alumni Advising helps alumni mayors continue addressing the complex challenges facing today’s cities, beyond the traditional MICD Institute Session model.
“The MICD Alumni Advising process was helpful in providing outside perspective and expertise to our project. The advisors did their research, asked the right questions, and brought to the table relevant examples from around the nation.”
Terry Brunner | Director, Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency, Albuquerque, NM
“The consultation support saved us months of meetings and exploration and gave shape to next steps for our project.”
Mayor Abdullah Hammoud | Dearborn, MI
Details
This program matches mayors and two of their staff members with two design experts (the “Resource Team”) with niche expertise relevant to the project at hand. Together, they provide up to 3 hours of focused consultation to offer concrete strategies for moving forward.
During this program, the group convenes for two virtual consultation meetings, with a strong focus on immediate next-step recommendations and implementation strategies. MICD provides the Resource Team with a modest honorarium for their time. Despite the limited time together, participants have found this program immensely valuable for exploring immediate next steps and keeping up the momentum on their MICD projects.
“It is so rewarding to be able to brainstorm implementation strategies with mayors and their staff despite the short amount of time we had together. The MICD team sets up an environment that makes it comfortable for everyone to be candid right off the bat, which is so critical for these projects.”
Connie Chung | Managing Partner, HR&A Advisors
Time Commitment
The expected time commitment for mayors is minimal:
+ Meet with MICD staff for a short orientation call, honing in on a key question or issue that will benefit most from follow-up assistance
+ Select two staff members to join the virtual meetings
+ Participate in two 60-minute virtual meetings to explore solutions and next steps
+ (Optional) Meet or correspond with the Resource Team informally for up to 1 hour of additional consultation
Eligibility
This program is offered to recent participants of in-person MICD programs. A limited number of additional slots may be available throughout the year; past alumni mayors are invited to contact MICD staff to express interest in participating.
How It Works
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01 —
Attend MICD programs
Attend an Institute Session or other MICD program.
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02 —
Identify a Challenge
Meet virtually with MICD staff to select a follow-up question and identify the expertise needed.
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03 —
Get Prepared
Select two city staff to join you, and share background documents and plans.
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04 —
Begin Collaborating
At the first virtual meeting, get acquainted with the Resource Team and start exploring their recommendations.
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Final Meeting
In the second virtual meeting, dive further into the Resource Team's recommendations.
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06 —
Stay in Touch
Receive a summary report, use an optional hour of additional consultation, and stay tuned for more MICD alumni opportunities.
FAQs
As always with MICD programs, there is no cost to participating mayors or cities. Resource Team members receive a modest honorarium for their participation from MICD.
MICD Alumni Advising offers targeted follow-up assistance for alumni of MICD sessions or other MICD programs. Each mayor is matched with two design leaders with expertise relevant to their selected project. The group works closely together, along with two key members of the mayor’s staff, over a series of two virtual meetings. This creates an informal, candid environment for sharing ideas and recommendations to move the selected project forward.
Typical MICD Institute Sessions are 2.5-day intensive technical assistance workshops where mayors engage leading design and development experts to find solutions to the most critical planning and design challenges facing their cities, through the exploration of specific projects.
MICD Alumni Advising builds on a mayor’s experience at other MICD programs to offer in-depth follow-up assistance. With a dedicated team of two design leaders and two invited city staff, the group dives into engagement strategies, funding ideas, or other key questions identified by the mayor. This format allows for a greater level of detail of follow-up recommendations and a greater understanding of the design process.
This program is offered to recent participants of in-person MICD programs. A limited number of additional slots may be available throughout the year; past alumni mayors are invited to fill out an expression of interest form or contact MICD staff directly to express interest in participating.
Each mayor includes two (2) key staff members in the two project meetings.
We aim to match you with two Resource Team alumni whose expertise is particularly well-suited for your project. You are welcome to request specific types of expertise and/or specific Resource Team members you’ve worked with in the past, though matches cannot be guaranteed.
Past MICD projects are eligible for Alumni Advising. Projects in very early stages may result in big-picture, visionary discussions, while projects in later stages entail more fine-grained implementation advice.
Past MICD Resource Team alumni are eligible to serve on Alumni Advising teams. While this program is by invitation only, we encourage you to contact us with interest or sign up for our email list to learn about upcoming opportunities.
For design leaders who have not previously served as MICD Resource Team members, click here to learn more about getting involved in MICD.
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