Toolbox Tuesdays Training

Build your skill set and further your city's planning projects

SCAG now offers professional, free training to local government staff and others in the Compass Blueprint Suite of Services. Toolbox Tuesdays provides a range of practical skills and knowledge for local planners including training in the use of computer-based tools and education in practical approaches to timely planning issues. All classes are FREE for staff of SCAG-member local governments and other SCAG partners in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura Counties.

Most sessions provide AICP Certification Maintenance credits.

Click here to download materials from some past Toolbox Tuesdays events

This Fall, the Southern California Association of Governments’ Compass Blueprint program will continue to provide free monthly training events for local government planners and SCAG stakeholders.

Toolbox Tuesdays provides a range of practical skills and knowledge for local planners including training in the use of computer-based tools and education in practical approaches to timely planning issues. All classes are FREE for staff of SCAG-member local governments and other SCAG partners in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura Counties.

Toolbox Tuesdays Schedule for Fall 2010:

September 28 (10:00 am – 12:00 pm)

Grants: Beyond Writing the Application

In today’s turbulent economic climate applying for grants has become more important for municipal agencies of all sizes. At the same time, the application process for many grants has become more competitive and complicated than ever before. Many planners have expressed a desire to learn more about grant application writing that takes into account the unique needs of our region. This session will address that need by focusing on a holistic approach to applying for grants. Many grant applications ask to see proof of experience managing similar grants, and many funding agencies will give extra points to agencies which can show leveraged resources.

So how are busy planners supposed to keep track of all this data? Today’s session will bring together presentations by grants managers from SCAG, Caltrans, and a professional grant writer with years of experience working for cities. They will discuss what sort of leveraged resources funders are looking for, how to keep track of existing projects in order to take credit for them in the future, and how to network in the grant funding community in order to be aware of opportunities as they arise.

October 19 (10:00 am – 1:00 pm)

On the Map: Local Employment and Labor Statistics

On The Map is a powerful (and free) online tool that a jurisdiction can use to obtain and analyze employment data for their region/county, city, and even individual projects. The US Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics developed On The Map for disseminating, understanding, and displaying employment data for small user-defined areas.

The session will begin with a brief introduction to the types of available data and its relevance for local planning. The second part of the session will be a hands-on tutorial in using the On The Map program to obtain data for each participant’s jurisdiction. The final part of the session will walk participants through the process of analyzing data from the program for a variety of local planning projects, covering topics such as jobs-housing balance, environmental clearance, and strengths/weaknesses of the local economy.

Registration deadline for each class is ten days prior to the date of each class. After registration you will receive an email with additional details.

Sessions will be held at SCAG’s offices in downtown Los Angeles and attendance is limited. Register early by contacting Marco Anderson at SCAG via email anderson@scag.ca.gov or phone (213) 236-1879.

All sessions provide AICP Certification Maintenance credits. Winter 2010 classes on other exciting topics will be announced shortly via email and on the Compass Blueprint website.