The Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators recently honoured the Capital Regional District for a collaboration with Royal Roads University.

The 2011 education award recognized the iLead, Leadership Development Program, a nine-day comprehensive corporate human resources course. It was presented to the CRD June 1 at the CAMA's national conference in Halifax.

Designed by the CRD and faculty of Royal Roads' leadership and training program, the course reached seventy-three of the CRD's leaders in management and supervisory positions during three sessions last year.

"One of the key initiatives that we looked at was how to make our leaders better, not just providing them skill sets that moulds them, but more focused on how people can understand themselves better, so they can use that to lead us as an organization into the future," said Chris Neilson, the CRD's senior manager of human resources.

"While we had an idea of what we wanted, (Royal Roads instructors) were really able to bring the know-how."

Following a rise in employee satisfaction since the program began, Neilson hopes to see its development continue and eventually reach corporate leaders across Vancouver Island.

nnorth@saanichnews.com