Welcome to the Collins Center
Welcome to the inaugural edition of The Collins Report, the newsletter of the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at the McCormack Graduate School of Public Policy at UMass Boston. The Center, founded in 2008, is committed to helping state and local governments work better by improving their productivity and performance. Services offered by the Center include: � Performance Management Training, Technical Assistance and Consulting � Performance Benchmarking and Information Exchange � Charter Reform Assistance � Regionalization and Collective Activities Facilitation � Executive Recruitment Services � Interim Management Services � Best Practices Research The Collins Center has provided services to scores of the Commonwealth's 351 cities and towns over the first 15 months of its existence, as well as to several state agencies. Please visit our website at www.mccormack.umb.edu/centers/cpm |
New Mayors Gather for Pre-Inaugural Forum
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The Collins
Center recently hosted a group of newly elected Mayors from across the
Commonwealth at a Conference on Mayoral Leadership at the University of Massachusetss Boston. The Mayors-elect joined with
several veteran chief executives as well as other municipal leaders to
discuss strategies for managing in a time of unprecedented fiscal
challenge. Read more |
Collins Center Named Coordinator for Federal Stimulus Grant Program
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The Massachusetts Recovery
and Reinvestment Office (MRRO), within the Executive Office of Administration
and Finance, has designated the Collins Center as the Commonwealth's coordinator
for the competitive municipal grant funding programs included in the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The Patrick-Murray Administration
recognized that many cities and towns do not have the expertise in-house to
apply for Federal stimulus money. As a consequence, the Collins Center and the
MRRO have developed a unique grant writing assistance program to assist
municipalities access this important funding. The Center, working through the
state's regional planning agencies, is helping communities with the preparation
of grant applications free of charge to the city or town.
Read more
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Collins Center's Metzenbaum Departs for White House
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The Collins Center's Director, Dr. Shelley H. Metzenbaum, has been named Associate Director for Performance Management in the White House's Office of Management and Budget. Her duties include overseeing the establishment, implementation and integration of performance management systems throughout the Federal government. "We will all miss Shelley," said Steve Crosby, Dean of the McCormack Graduate School, "but we're doubly honored by her appointment and by the President's recognition of the important work being done at the Collins Center."
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Municipal Recruitment and Interim Management Services
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What do Princeton, a town of 4,000 citizens and, Springfield, the third largest city in Massachusetts with a population of 152,000, have in common? Both municipalities, along with the towns of Winthrop and Plymouth have successfully used the Collins Center's Executive Recruitment Service. Princeton used the Center's services to hire a new Town Administrator after the untimely death of Dennis Rindone, Plymouth to find a replacement for Mark Sylvia, who was appointed to the Commonwealth's Department of Energy Resources, Winthrop to hire its second Town Manager under a new operating Charter and Springfield, after its emergence from state receivership, engaged the Center to find its first Chief Administrative and Financial Officer.
Readmore
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Contracting With the Collins Center
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Contracts for services between a municipality and the
Collins Center are exempt from the
provision of Chapter 30B, the Uniform Procurement Act. Municipalities may enter
into agreements with the Center for recruitment assistance, interim and
performance management services, as well as cost-savings, revenue maximization
and cost sharing consulting services without going through the cumbersome and
time-consuming competitive bidding process outlined in the General Laws for most
contracted services. The Commonwealth's cities and towns are free to simply
negotiate with the Collins Center under Massachusetts law, saving them time and
money. Massachusetts state agencies may contract directly with the Collins
Center as well. For further information, please contact Deputy Director Steve
McGoldrick at [email protected]
or Dick Kobayashi at [email protected].
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The Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management 100 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, MA 02125 Phone: (617) 287-4824 FAX: (617) 287-5566
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About Ed Collins
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Throughout his outstanding public career, Edward J. Collins, Jr. epitomized the spirit and goals of the Center that now bears his name. We at the Collins Center are proud to continue the work of Ed's life - helping governments work effectively and productively for the benefit of their citizens.More about Ed
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