The foundation of the Knowledge Network is the content it acquires and makes accessible for local government professionals.  The best place to access this content is the document section in the Knowledge Network.   It is very easy to search for documents by their publication date, document type, topic, rating, and badge. 

These documents are collected from a multitude of resources, and everyone on the Knowledge Network can add documents to this section.  I recently uploaded a presentation on E-Government that I compiled while in graduate school.  If you have documents that could provide insight to other professionals working within or studying local government, please upload them to the document section.

The top 5 docs of 2014 provide a great overview of the type of content available in the document section of the Knowledge Network. I used Google Analytics to analyze the number of page views in 2014 in the document section of the Knowledge Network.  I then made an assumption that the number of page views is based on interest and quality of the document.  Here is the list:

1.)   The city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, provided this sample employee self-appraisal form to help employees provide input regarding their performance prior to their more comprehensive performance assessment.  

2.)   This is an example of an agreement between the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority and a commercial property developer.  The commercial developer in the document is granted rights to purchase and develop land within the city, but must follow the financial obligation outlined in the master plan.

3.)   For insight about a policy that provides a cell phone allowance for city employees who use personal cell phones to complete city business, take a look at this document.

4.)   This document describes the five forms of local government in the U.S. -- council manager, mayor-council, commission, town meeting, and representative town meeting.

5.)   The ICMA Recommended document “Putting Smart Growth to Work in Rural Communities” provides strategies on how to guide growth in rural areas while protecting and preserving many aspects of the rural communities.

What interesting documents from the Knowledge Network have you utilized?  Did you use any of these documents in your community? Please post comments below.

Douglas Shontz

Knowledge Network Intern