03
Commission Staff Advisory
Practical support for the staff person who was handed a commission and now has to make it work.
When this service may help
A clear response to a specific need.
Staffing a public commission can quickly become much more than scheduling meetings. The role may involve governance, Open Meetings compliance-readiness, recruitment, onboarding, strategic planning, community relationships, conflict, reporting, subcommittees, documentation, and managing the boundary between supporting the commission and directing it.
If you inherited the responsibility without a playbook, Mare Regina can help you build one.
The process
What working together looks like.
Initial assessment
Review the commission's mandate, existing documents, current problems, and what is falling on the staff liaison.
Set goals and cadence
Agree on the priorities for the advisory relationship, how often we will meet, what success looks like, and what needs immediate attention.
Build the tools
Create or refine bylaws, SOPs, onboarding materials, meeting structures, annual calendars, reporting tools, and other practical systems.
Prepare for difficult moments
Talk through contentious meetings, public criticism, commissioner conflict, constituent concerns, and how to respond without escalating the situation.
Support the work
Help with priorities, subcommittees, stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, metrics, and implementation.
Troubleshoot as reality changes
Use scheduled check-ins and agreed advisory time to work through new problems without starting from scratch each time.
The goal is to make the staff role more manageable and the commission more self-sustaining — not to make the staff liaison responsible for carrying the entire institution alone.
Get in touchNot ready for an engagement? Start with the workbook.