Advancing Citizen Leadership with The Citizens Campaign
The School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) at Rutgers University–Newark and The Citizens Campaign established a partnership designed to train students and members of the community in no-blame, pragmatic problem-solving skills and provide opportunities for them to put their training to use as “citizen leaders” working to better their communities and our country.
The three core components of the partnership bring a greater understanding of “No-Blame Problem Solving” to citizen leaders and provide them with opportunities to put these skills to use:
- “Leadership and No-Blame Problem Solving” training incorporated into undergraduate courses: Both as stand-alone courses and as a course component, training in “Leadership and No-Blame Problem Solving” will be incorporated into undergraduate course offerings at Rutgers-Newark. The curriculum introduces students to the power levers of local government, a proven “No-Blame Problem Solving” method developed by successful practitioners in local and state government, and accessible opportunities for students to put this knowledge to work as non-partisan Civic Trustees and in other accessible leadership posts.
- “Leadership and No-Blame Problem Solving” training added to continuing education offerings: To provide the broader community with the opportunity to learn how to become effective leaders improving their own hometowns and the nation, the School of Public Affairs and Administration supports a free non-credit certificate in “Leadership and No-Blame Problem-Solving” as a continuing education offering.
- Hosting of the Newark Civic Trust: The School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) at Rutgers University–Newark serves as the host of the Newark Civic Trust, a society comprised of 24 civic trustees who come together in monthly no-blame problem solving sessions, searching the nation to identify successful solutions to better Newark. Trustees commit to at least one year of service and pledge to work to “leave their city better than they found it.”