In two free upcoming webinars, Results That Matter authors Paul Epstein and Lyle Wray will outline the "Community Balanced Scorecard," which unites the strategy-alignment power of the balanced scorecard with the citizen-driven, results-based power of Effective Community Governance for stronger, more strategic ways to improve communities.

The webinars will feature a framework for a Community Balanced Scorecard with perspectives derived from the Effective Community Governance Model, as well as sample strategy maps and indicators based on strategies of successful community development and improvement collaborations in the U.S. and abroad.

The Community Balanced Scorecard webinars will take place on January 18 and February 1, 2007, both at 2 PM U.S. Eastern Time, at the Strategy Aligned Management-Local Government website and will run 45-60 minutes. Free registration on the site is required.

Charlotte, North Carolina, long a pioneer in managing for results and using balanced scorecards, also involves citizens in improving the quality of life in their neighborhood. The City uses a bi-annual study to determine neighborhoods that most need improvement, then engages citizens to take the lead in making their neighborhoods better.

Santa Monica, California, helps citizens reach for sustainable results by involving them in the planning and implementation of their Sustainable City Plan. The City also uses a two-pronged grading system to measure not only their progress toward sustainability goals, but also the efforts made towards the goals by the city government.

The presentation "Citizen Roles for Effective Community Governance" provides a clear and concise walk-through of engagement roles citizens can play to improve their communities. A careful examination of these roles can serve as a foundation for designing governance practices that optimize citizen participation and make the most of volunteer assets. Practitioners will find "toolkits" -- practices, references, and online resources -- with descriptions of each citizen role, for those interested in a deeper examination of how governments can embed these roles in current practice. The presentation also provides current examples of governments in England, Canada, India, Australia, and throughout the U.S., who have developed creative strategies to strengthen citizen engagement in a way that has led to concrete improvements in the quality of life.