Professional Development Plan

Make a copy of the PDP template and save it in your personal Google Drive. Bookmark or star it so you can easily return to throughout the year.

Part 1: Complete Self-Assessment

Whether you are just starting out in your career or if you already have more professional experience, participating in CivicSpark is a great opportunity for skill-building in a supportive environment.

The first part of the PDP asks you to evaluate your skills in the following three areas:

• Professional skills are used to effectively complete project tasks with the guidance of a supervisor or project manager. Fellows grow these skills by navigating the physical or virtual office environment and building their professional reputation.

• Problem solving skills are used to effectively identify issues, develop recommendations, and implement solutions. While Fellows are not expected to make executive-level decisions for their capacity building projects, Fellows grow their problem solving skills over the service year by taking an active role in project design, implementation, and evaluation.

• Leadership skills are used to improve individual or team outcomes through persistence, working well with others, and leading on tasks. Fellows build leadership skills through taking initiative and being accountable for their service projects and volunteer engagement projects, as well as participating in CivicSpark leadership projects.

You should have room to grow in most, if not all of the skill areas at the start of the service year. Avoid measuring yourself relative to others at your project site, your peers, or other Fellows. Focus instead on where you are now and where you want to be by the end of the service year.

In your final month of service, you will complete this self-assessment again to reflect on your progress and identify which skills you have grown throughout the year.

Part 2: Professional Goals & Action Plan

The second half of the PDP is a series of three concrete goals and action plans related to your personal and professional objectives during the fellowship. These goals can be related to your service projects, future career aspirations, or anything else you deem important to focus on during the service year. The action plans are a tool for you to define and track your progress toward achieving your goals through smaller tasks and activities. You are also asked to think through resources, obstacles, and accountability measures to help keep you working toward your goals. You may update and revise your goals later in the year, but we highly encourage you to take some time now to be thoughtful about your initial goals. Feel free to review resources from the CivicSpark goal setting training.

Set only three goals at the beginning of the year. Additionally, make sure those goals can be worked on for several months. In other words, the goal shouldn’t be so easy you can complete it in one or two steps. Limiting yourself to three goals will allow you to practice of working toward a handful of concrete goals over time without taking on too much right away.

At the mid-point of the service year, you will review your progress with your RC and Site Supervisor. You may revise and/or add new goals at that time.

Feeling stuck? Here are two examples you can use for inspiration from previous CivicSpark Fellows! Fellow Example 1 and Fellow Example 2

Submitting your PDP 

After completing the self-assessment and your goals, submit your PDP through the form at the bottom of this page. 

First, you’ll be asked to report your self-assessment results. We ask you to submit them through the form so we can look at all Fellows results in aggregate to help inform our performance as a program. 

Then, provide a shareable link to your PDP Google Doc so your Regional Coordinator can review your professional development goals. To create a shareable link, select the blue “Share” button in the top right of the Google Doc page. Edit the “General access” settings so that anyone with the link can edit the document. Then click “copy link” and paste the link into the appropriate box in the PDP form. 

Your access settings should look like this: 

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Finally, don’t forget to click “submit” to send in your PDP. If you need any assistance at any stage of the process, contact your Regional Coordinator. 

Prepare to discuss at your Site Visit

Your RC will facilitate a group discussion about your PDP goals with your Site Supervisor. Be prepared to share more about your goals, why you picked them, what activities you hope to complete, and any support/resources you hope to receive during the service year. Additionally, your Site Supervisor will share about skills they see as essential for your capacity building projects.

Update your PDP and action plan.

After your site visit, you may need to spend some time updating your PDP goals based on what came out of the meeting. Once your goals are updated, make sure to send them to your RC and Site Supervisor for their review. Keep working on your goals throughout the year and bring them up in your check-ins with your RC/Site Supervisor regularly.

To preview the full list of questions in the form below, download this PDF:

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Review your PDP and Gap Assessment Goals.

Reflect on the following questions for both your PDP and gap assessment goals:

• What progress has been made toward my goals?

• Do any of my goals need to be modified?

• What actions do I need to take to achieve my remaining goals?

• What support do I need to make further progress?

Submit written responses and prepare to discuss at your Site Visit.

Complete the Mid-Year Review form below at least 24 hours prior to your Mid-Year Site Visit, and be prepared to walk your Regional Coordinator and Site Supervisor through your answers during the site visit.

Update your PDP and Gap Assessment goals, as needed.

After your site visit, you may need to spend some time updating your PDP and gap assessment goals. Once they are updated, make sure to send them to your RC and Site Supervisor for their review. For gap assessment changes, please ensure you get SS and RC approval on changes before resubmitting in the reporting hub.

To preview the full list of questions in the form below, download this PDF:

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Revisit the Self-Assessment.

During your final month of service, you will complete the same self-assessment you conducted at the beginning of the year in your PDP Google Doc. Use the far right column to report your end-of-year responses.

Review your PDP and reflect on your progress.

Reflect on the following questions:

• Thinking of where I started at the beginning of the year, what overall progress has been made toward my goals?

• How has the process of reviewing my skills and developing a PDP affected my professional growth this year?

• What kinds of support did my RC and/or Site Supervisor provide that made an impact on my growth?

• How will I use what I’ve learned this year in future professional opportunities?

• Is there anything specific my RC and/or Site Supervisor can do to help me transition out of the Fellowship?

Submit written responses and prepare to discuss at your Site Visit.

Complete the End-of-Year Review form below at least 24 hours prior to your final Site Visit, and be prepared to walk your Regional Coordinator and Site Supervisor through your answers during the site visit.

To preview the full list of questions in the form below, download this PDF:

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Reflect on opportunities available to your Fellow.

The Site Supervisor role in the PDP process is to support the Fellow in the development of their goals, provide resources, and suggest opportunities for the Fellow to pursue. Reflect on the following questions:

• Are there any essential professional skills your Fellow will need to achieve their Gap Assessment goals? List the top 2-3 critical skills that come to mind.

  • For example, communication, tact, and collaboration skills may be essential for community outreach & engagement projects.

• What opportunities will the Fellow have to practice these skills? Describe short-term and longer-term opportunities.

  • For example, the Fellow can practice their communication skills at our biweekly division meetings by presenting a 2-3 minute update on their projects. The Fellow will also be the lead presenter at an Earth Day event in April.

• Are there any other resources you/your organization can provide to help the Fellow build these skills?

  • For example, you may connect your Fellow with the local Toastmasters group your co-workers attend. Another idea may be scheduling run-through meetings before the presentations to provide your Fellow with support and feedback.

• Is there anything else you’d like to share at this point as it relates to your Fellow’s professional development?

Submit written responses and prepare to discuss at your Site Visit.

Complete the Start-Up form below at least 24 hours prior to your Start-Up Site Visit, and be prepared to discuss your responses with your Fellow and Regional Coordinator during the site visit.

Participate in Site Visit and provide ongoing support.

At the Site Visit, the Fellow will share their PDP goals. Your role is to offer resources and ideas that support the Fellow’s goals and help them see the bigger picture of their capacity building projects. Support the Fellow in connecting project tasks to their professional goals whenever possible. To help keep the Fellow accountable after the Site Visit, make sure you are regularly checking in with the Fellow about their progress toward their PDP goals.

To preview the full list of questions in the form below, download this PDF:

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Reflect on opportunities available to your Fellow and Fellow support.

Reflect on the following questions:

• Fellow Professional Development

  • Are there any professional skills your Fellow is particularly excelling in demonstrating so far? Provide any stories or examples supporting your response.

  • Are there any professional skills your Fellow should focus on building more throughout the remainder of their term?

  • Are there additional opportunities/resources you can connect your Fellow with to help them continue to grow this year?

• Capacity Building Projects

  • Has the project scope changed at all?

• Fellow Wellbeing

  • Is there any additional support or resources that can be offered to support the Fellow? The Fellow will be sharing feedback on their experience so far and there will be an opportunity to engage in dialogue and share feedback with the Fellow.

• Is there anything else you’d like to share at this point as it relates to your Fellow’s professional development?

Submit written responses and prepare to discuss at your Site Visit.

Complete the Mid-Year Review form below at least 24 hours prior to your Mid-Year Site Visit, and be prepared to discuss your responses with your Fellow and Regional Coordinator during the site visit.

Participate in Site Visit and provide ongoing support.

At the Site Visit, the Fellow will share about the progress they’ve made on their professional goals and capacity building project goals, and about their Fellowship experience. Your role is to offer further resources and ideas that support the Fellow’s goals and help them see the bigger picture of their capacity building projects. To help keep the Fellow accountable after the Site Visit, make sure you are regularly checking in with the Fellow about their progress toward their PDP goals and their Fellow experience. The progress reports the Fellow submit are another vehicle to hear feedback from the Fellow.

To preview the full list of questions in the form below, download this PDF:

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