Welcome to the Center for Equity, Effectiveness, and Efficiency in Local Government.

Learning to Operationalize and Realize Equity (LORE)

An 8-month learning program for public leaders building the case and capacity for systems change.

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LORE OVERVIEW
LORE Across Illinois

Where Our LORE Program Works

From suburban municipalities to county governments, LORE has supported local government leaders across Illinois.

58

Municipal Leaders

20

Pilot Projects

7

Illinois Counties

What is LORE?

LORE is an 8-month learning academy focused on supporting executive leaders in public institutions to build and articulate the business and governance case for implementing equity centered systems change. Here, we guide public leaders in understanding the core components of equity-driven institutional change and practice those competencies through building and planning pilot projects catered customized to the needs of your institution. Through in-person sessions, virtual coaching sessions, innovation labs and case simulations, you will walk away with a better understanding of the value of strategic learning and development as well as tools to advocate for equity implementation in your organization.

What to Expect

  • Two Semesters, Guided Learning: The program is split into a fall semester focused on communication and decision-making and a spring semester focused on project implementation and process change.
  • Applied Learning through Pilot Projects: Apply course concepts to real-world challenges within your organization through a core pilot project, providing hands-on experience in process change analysis.
  • Comprehensive Curriculum: Learn how organizational structures and day-to-day processes influence outcomes, where misalignment creates barriers, and how small changes within existing systems can improve effectiveness, efficiency, and equity over time.
  • Cohort-Based Community: Join a supportive peer network through monthly in-person workshops at the NIU Naperville campus and online interactive materials

Learning Objectives

LORE is designed to build participants’ capacity to understand and adapt public institutions built for another era. Rather than offering prescriptive solutions, the program strengthens participants’ ability to diagnose organizational dynamics, navigate complexity, and lead change responsibly over time.

By the end of the program, you and your organization will be able to:

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  • Explain how inherited organizational structures shape present-day constraints
  • Recognize why well-intentioned change efforts stall or fragment
  • Distinguish between effort gaps and structural capacity gaps

  • Identify how authority, roles, decision-making processes, and norms influence outcomes
  • Analyze where power operates in practice, not just on formal charts
  • Reframe persistent challenges as organizational design issues rather than performance or culture problems alone

  • Use organizational concepts to interpret challenges you are actively facing
  • Identify small, strategic changes that can be tested within existing constraints
  • Design a pilot project that works with institutional realities rather than around them

  • Understand how organizational structures produce inequitable outcomes over time
  • Identify how decision-making norms affect access, voice, and accountability
  • Integrate equity considerations into how change is designed, not added after the fact

  • Build shared language across functional and hierarchical boundaries
  • Anticipate sources of resistance rooted in structure rather than attitude
  • Work productively within ambiguous authority and competing expectations

  • Carry organizational insights into future initiatives and leadership roles
  • Support colleagues in making sense of complexity and tradeoffs
  • Approach change as a continuous practice rather than a one-time project
More on the LORE curriculum

Who Should Apply?

LORE is particularly valuable for practitioners who:

  • Are navigating complex change without clear precedents
  • Want stronger tools for navigating complexity and tradeoffs
  • Want to strengthen internal leadership capacity to manage external outcomes
  • Feel the tension between equity values and institutional realities
  • Are managing systems that feel increasingly misaligned with community expectations

Participants do not need any prior training in organizational theory. LORE provides a practical foundation grounded in lived experience.

We advise organizations to send a minimum of two participants. One of these individuals should be an executive- or senior-level leader (e.g., City Manager, County Administrator, Assistant City Manager, Department Head, etc). One or two additional staff members of any level who will be directly involved in pilot project implementation may join.

Structure & Commitment

Participants are expected to commit approximately 6 hours per month to LORE activities, including attending all in-person sessions (3 hours from 9am to 12pm) at the NIU Naperville campus and completing 2-3 hours of interactive online course materials, readings, and homework connected to their pilot projects. The in-person session dates and locations for the 2026-2027 program are listed below:

Fall Semester (12 credits)

September 2, 2026
October 7, 2026
November 4, 2026
December 2, 2026

Spring Semester (12 credits)

February 3, 2027
March 3, 2027
April 7, 2027
May 5, 2027

A light breakfast and coffee will be served at all in-person learning sessions. 

Program Cost & Eligibility

LORE is designed as a team experience. Our research has shown that organizational change is most effective when leaders work and learn alongside colleagues who share their context. For this reason, participating organizations are required to send a minimum of two participants and may optionally send up to four participants.

At least one participant must hold an executive- or senior-level position in their organization (e.g., City Manager, County Administrator, Assistant City Manager, Department Head, etc). Additional participants may be staff at any level who will be directly involved in pilot project implementation.

The base cost for participation is $840 per semester for the first two participants, and $720 for each additional participant. The cost covers 12 hours of in-person instruction per semester, access to an online learning platform for coursework, peer learning, and coaching between sessions, and a certificate upon completion of the program.

Organizations receive a reduced rate of approximately 10% off if they pay in full by September 1.

Per Semester CostFull Program CostFull Program with ~10% Discount
(if paid in full by Sept 1)
Participant 1 (required)$840$1680$1500
Participant 2 (required)$840$1680$1500
Participant 3 (optional)$720$1440$1300
Participant 4 (optional)$720$1440$1300

C3E is committed to making this training accessible to professionals across organizations of all sizes. A limited number of scholarships and reduced rates are available for individuals or organizations where cost may be a barrier to participation. If you would like to request a scholarship or discuss alternative arrangements, please contact Katie Friedman at kfriedman@c3elocalgov.org.

The applications for the 2026 Cohort is now closed.

Learn more about LORE

Apply Now
Check out LORE office hours!
LORE Booklet

Center for Equity, Effectiveness and Efficiency in Local Government (C3E)

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