15616 Community Leadership Project
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a
particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2022 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): 15618 Leadership for Public Good
Description
Local government and community organisations have pivotal roles in shaping places and communities, and there is an increasing requirement for professionals in these sectors to develop the skills and capabilities to lead for "the common good" (Crosby and Bryson, 2005) and benefit projects that enhance "public value" (Moore, 2008).
This subject builds professional skills, capability and knowledge in the area of community leadership. It is a flexible, project-based subject that provides students with the opportunity to undertake a community leadership project that can make a real impact on their council and community. Being able to plan for and demonstrate community leadership is important for a range of areas including spatial planning, strategic planning, asset management, governance, community, service delivery, human resources, management and customer relations and the subject content is tailored to suit a variety of roles, whether externally or organisationally focused.
The conceptual foundations of the subject are in community and leadership theory and action research principles, as applied to the practice of a real-world community leadership project. As part of the subject, students are assisted to identify and work on a community-related project or initiative that is relevant to their role and organisation. Student learning is supported throughout the project with mentoring, online learning and guided action research.
The subject can be taken as a standalone subject, or as a core subject within the Graduate Certificate in Local Government Leadership (C11215) alongside 15618 Contemporary Local Government Leadership and 15610 Leading in Local Government subjects. Completion of the graduate certificate can also offer a pathway to further studies at UTS with the Graduate Diploma in Local Government Management (C06033), and the Master of Local Government (C04257).
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
| 1. | Identify and assess unique issues relating to leadership in the public sector and local government through new knowledge and experience. |
|---|---|
| 2. | Plan, undertake and report on a community leadership project. |
| 3. | Build and apply personal and professional leadership capabilities and strategies including the ability to analyse individual leadership strengths and that of other key stakeholders. |
| 4. | Demonstrate understanding of local government’s role in leading with the community, including how individual professional roles contribute to community outcomes |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes to the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes:
- Consider issues with an attitude that is open, ethical and fosters cultural competence across diversity. (A.1)
- Synthesise and deliver well-informed, engaging and effective written and oral presentations, including the use of online platforms. (C.2)
- Develop innovative approaches to local governance, management and/or leadership practices. (I.2)
- Apply understandings of contemporary theories of governance, management and/or leadership to local government and adjacent organisations, including Indigenous perspectives and organisations. (P.1)
- Undertake applied research to inform governance, management and/or leadership practice. (R.1)
- Develop innovative approaches to local governance, management and/or leadership practices. (R.2)
Teaching and learning strategies
The subject incorporates a range of teaching and learning strategies. A self-directed online learning module is supported by a one-day workshop with distance supervision provided over the project period. Supervision aims to provide guidance and feedback on project plans and draft written work.
ONLINE COURSEWORK
There are a number of online resources used to support the learning objectives of this subject. These are accessed via the Canvas portal. The subject learning module incorporates structured questions related to the subject content and theoretical concepts. Completion of reflection questions associated with subject progress are also accessible through Canvas . A detailed overview of the pedagogy and associated tasks and assessment items are included in the subject documents. To further assist learning in this subject, essential and recommended readings as well as online supervision will be available. Independent student reading is essential for a successful outcome.
ACTION RESEARCH
The online module contains the appropriate action research project template enabling students to accurately research, prepare the report, and present their projects to a panel. Coaching and supervision on the development of a work-related community leadership program is provided through online and telephone guidance. The written report aims to relate conceptual foundations from module 1 and readings to the project, as well as recommendations and actual and/or anticipated outcomes for the project.
PANEL PRESENTATION
Students will present their projects to a panel and be provided with the opportunity to respond to panel questions in the moment. Such presentations align with industry practice and aim to prepare students for confident, well-informed and structured delivery of required information.
FEEDBACK
Students will have several opportunities to receive feedback during the subject. The feedback provided will vary in form, purpose and in its degree of formality:
Formative feedback will be provided during the learning process via online guidance and supervision. It will address the content of work and a student's approach to learning, both in general and more specific ‘assessment orientated’ terms. It is designed to help students improve their performance in time for the submission of an assessment item. For this to occur students need to respond constructively to the feedback provided. This involves critically reflecting on advice given and in response altering the approach taken to a given assessment. It is the student’s responsibility to record any feedback given during supervision meetings.
Summative feedback is provided in written form with all assessed work. It is published along with indicative grades online at UTS REVIEW. Summative feedback focuses on assessment outcomes. It is used to indicate how successfully a student has performed in terms of specific assessment criteria.
Content (topics)
This subject is delivered over a 10 week period with milestone dates agreed between the student and course co-ordinator. During the course of the learning experience, students address the following themes and issues that relate to community leadership over three modules:
Module 1: supervisor session and online learning
This module is comprised of a Canvas online learning unit and coaching session with the course supervisor. It provides the conceptual foundations for the subject and and introduction to action research skills. Students will develop their project plan and learning goals with support from the course supervisor.
Contents
- Understanding community and community leadership: An introduction to the definitions and ideas of community and the theoretical evolution of community governance and leadership through lenses including civil societies, democracy and participation, place based leadership and social inclusion. It addresses questions such as; What is community? What is community leadership? What is Local Governments’s role in community leadership?
- Community leaders in practice: An exploration of the skills and capabilities required for community leaders, including collaborative mindsets, engagement and co-design skills, communication and facilitative leadership.
- Action research strategies: An introduction to action-learning and research strategies that can be applied to the identified project.
- Project scoping: The scope of the community leadership project as relevant to the student’s role is agreed and refined with the specialist supervisor.
Module 2: action research and reporting
This is a distance-supervised module where the student works on their chosen project. With guidance from the course supervisor and reading and resources available through Canvas, students complete a written report.
Contents
- Action learning: During this phase students undertake the project and receive distance guidance and mentoring from the course supervisor on project progression and reflections. The project can be undertaken in variety of ways, for example conducting new research; leading on a particular initiative; working collaboratively on a shared community leadership project; identifying and engaging with new stakeholders.
- Completing a written report: The conceptual foundations learned in module 1 and the learning from the action-research period will provide the basis for a written report that connects the foundations of local government’s community leadership role to their work-related project, an overview of the project scope as well as recommendations and actual and/or anticipated outcomes from the project.
Module 3: Presentation and Feedback
This is the preparation and delivery of a 15-20 minute presentation (either on-campus or remotely via video-conferencing) of the community leadership project. This is followed by a 10-15 minute Q&A session with a hypothetical council panel on the overall project including responding to their initial feedback on the project.
Contents
- Presenting project outcomes and recommendations: The student will complete the subject with a presentation of the project as a community leadership case study for council including initial project outcomes, insights on the skills and capabilities of community leadership, and recommendations for council. The presentation will include real-time feedback from a panel acting as hypothetical council audience on the outcomes of the project. The assignment and action research period will provide the basis for the presentation.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Assessment Task 1 - Completion of online learning questions and tasks
| Intent: | Completion of online module and questions. Submission of project proposal. | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1 and 2 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): A.1 and R.2 | ||||||||||||
| Type: | Reflection | ||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 20% | ||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 2: Assessment Task 2 - Report
| Intent: | Completion of a written report on the community leadership project period | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2 and 4 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): I.2, P.1 and R.1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Report | ||||||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 40% | ||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 3: Assessment Task 3 - Presentation
| Intent: | Presentation of Community Leadership Project and engaging with real-time feedback. | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 3 and 4 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): C.2 and I.2 | ||||||||||||
| Type: | Presentation | ||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 40% | ||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Minimum requirements
Students must meet attendance requirements and overall must obtain at least 50% of the total marks.
Required texts
There are no required textbooks for this subject. Students are directed to key readings within the learning modules and guide to readings.
Key articles will be made available through Canvas.