UGA’s Vinson Institute releases unique assessment tool for government managers

Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government launched a new tool in March to help government leaders identify their professional strengths and areas for growth, while setting professional development goals. GOV360^TM is a 360-degree assessment tool developed by the Vinson Institute in collaboration with faculty from the UGA department of psychology that specifically addresses the needs and demands of public sector leadership.

GOV360^TM provides government executives, mid-level managers and supervisors a way to understand their job performance through the perspectives of their co-workers. It combines information provided by participants through a self-assessment with input collected confidentially online from their peers, subordinates and their own managers.

Vinson Institute faculty, who provide training to thousands of government officials and staff each year, had relied on other 360-degree instruments in leadership development programs in the past. “We recognized that these tools were geared toward the business world and failed to measure many of the key elements of successful leadership in government,” said Vinson Institute Management Development Associate Catherine Bennett. “So, we decided to build our own tool.”

The GOV360^TM assessment addresses 23 competencies related to the interpersonal and management skills the Vinson Institute has identified as being important measures of performance. Participants receive a customized report detailing the results of the assessment, which becomes a roadmap for them to use in building a personalized professional development plan with the help of a Vinson Institute executive coach.

Governments and individuals can find more information about GOV360^TM and register participants at www.vinsoninstitute.org/gov360 or by contacting Bennett at bennett@cviog.uga.edu or 706/542-3512.

The Carl Vinson Institute of Government is a UGA public service unit that works closely with state and local governments and provides them with customized assistance, applied research, and training and development programs.

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