Manual for District Centre Managers - the ATCM

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A DCM initiative
can be led by the
public, private or
‘informal’ (third)
sector
Source:
Institute of Place
Management
4.5 Managing District Centres – a New Job Profile
A questionnaire relating to the role of the District
Centre Manager (DCM) was administered
to the MANDIE partners. The questionnaire related
to the legal structure of the orgainisation
that employed the DCM, its turnover, the aims
of the DCM initiative, the day-to-day activities
the DCM was involved in, their staff, their stakeholders
and their professional and educational
background. The results of the questionnaire
have been published in the Working Paper
“ATCM/IPM Global Survey Report: 2010 Review”.
Key findings from the survey included:
MANDIE Partners (MPs) manage a small
number of centres with the overwhelming
majority focusing on one area (Antwerp,
with 9 centres, is the exception). This is a
common international trend with an average
of 62%.
MPs legal formats are mostly associated
with local authorities or councils. Despite
some MPs forming companies, or ‘independent’
entities, control is evidently still very
much with the funding agents e.g. local authorities
(or government equivalent) and
private investors.
The main focus of MPs initiatives is to influence
strategy and decisions, and deliver
products & services to the local area. MPs
also develop a wide range of plans to deliver
their initiative (business, strategic and
action plans).
As mentioned previously the scope of the DCM
job may range from the operational to the
strategic, and may be more or less interdisciplinary.
Unfortunately, there was a marked difference
between DCM’s actual job descriptions
and the level and scope of work that they actually
did. A more accurate profiling of the DCM
role will ensure:
DCMS have clear job descriptions to ensure
they will deliver the place improvements
relevant to the location that they operate in
Help the funders of District Centre Management
recruit appropriate personnel and
help identify professional development requirements
Ensure District Centre Managers are remunerated
appropriately
Ensure all District Centre Managers work to
the same professional standards
The activities associated with the role of DCM
are shown at the Figure. These can be operational
or strategic. In other words, the DCM
may have responsibility for visioning and planning
– strategic – or may be required to carry
out specific operational tasks, such as community
consultation. A DCM job profile should
identify what responsibilities at what level a
DCM has within each of these areas. In addition,
it should also identify what resources a
DCM has this includes a defined budget; Influence
over other budgets; staff; volunteers;
premises; other ‘owned’ assets (equipment)
and other ‘in-kind’ assets (e.g. the use of other
premises for meetings etc.).
The technical knowledge/background of the
DCM refers to existing discipline areas, such
as urban planning and design, political science,
criminology etc. The MANDIE survey and