Mayors Institute

Gain practical tools that you can apply to the real-life challenges you face as mayor. Mayors Institute is a high-level learning experience, designed exclusively for Indiana mayors, that we introduced back in 2009. In 2016, we kicked off a new partnership with the Indiana Communities Institute (ICI) at Ball State University that's helped to make the program better than ever before. By participating in the Institute, mayors will gain practical tools that can be applied to the real-life challenges public officials face on a daily basis. During this day and a half program guest speakers and Aim staff will present an agenda of highly substantive sessions that will lead mayors through unique leadership and problem-solving exercises with their colleagues from across the state. Featuring many opportunities for the sharing of innovative, effective strategies to run city government, Mayors Institute sessions are timely, relevant and essential. Topics of the two-day agenda include STARTedUP, AI at the city level, practical steps for increasing Indiana's affordable housing stock, 2026 Legislative Session Outcomes and the Urgency to begin Planning for 2027 (covering LIT reforms, residential housing, municipal elections, government modernization, public notices, TIF, and rental restrictions), Leading Safely - Personal Security & Risk Awareness for Indiana Mayors, Year Two of The Goldsmith Prize for Innovation in Local Government, Strengthening Ties to Local Foundations and Philanthropic Organizations, Charlestown Civic Engagement, Transportation Developments (funding, coordination, administrative requirements), and Weighing the Pros and Cons and Holding Productive Community Discussions about Data Centers.