Natick 101 Sessions is a meeting series (in-person + streaming video) to learn about Town departments & services, as well as local government & community organizations.  All sessions will be led by Town Department Heads (or other Town leaders).

In basic terms, Town staff is seeking to develop engaging content that gives a high-level introduction into each Town department (as well as related boards, committees, and NGOs).  The content will include: [1] introductions, [2] organizational structure, [3] key responsibilities, [4] budget, [5] challenges, & [6] engagement opportunities.

A Brief History:

Town staff previously hosted a “Citizen’s Leadership Academy” (CLA) for a 6-year period, 2015-2020.  Like many MA communities, this CLA program was an application-only process that established a cohort of residents to learn about Town departments/topics over a ~10-wk period.  This program was well-received; that said, Town staff believes that there is an opportunity for change (please read below).

Goal of Natick 101 Sessions:

More informed residents

More engaged residents More Town-wide volunteers

Primary Changes (v. prior program)

Open invitation for all sessions (ie. no application or registration required)

Readily-available content (all presentation materials & video library to be archived & readily available)

Streamlined content (not overly dense materials)

Clear direction of how residents can engage / get involved!

Increased volume of community input / feedback (both pre-meeting & post-meeting) 

This program will exist in perpetuity...  upon establishing the Natick 101 Sessions in September 2024, the plan is to host a monthly meeting until 2025-ish (or until we pivot to something better aimed at a similar goal)