Decisions that impact the public should not be made in isolation. Public participation is about engaging with the public during the decision-making process, benefiting from their diverse range of ideas, views, and concerns, and using that information to make better decisions.

Here are 6 reasons to enroll in IAP2 Canada’s Certificate in Public Participation.

1. Broaden your spectrum of understanding and provide current and practical tools for meaningful and effective public participation.

2. Enhance your professional credibility and open up new career opportunities in the field of public participation. 

3. Bringing a new level of expertise to your organization and improving the quality of your public engagement initiatives.

4. Learn how to increase engagement and inclusion for all people including racialized groups, Indigenous peoples, and other groups who are more likely to be overlooked, identifying a wide range of ideas, views and concerns.

5. Engage in better decision-making that reflects public interests and values making it easier to communicate, implement, and understand the process, decisions, and impact.

6. Build capacity for collaborative decision-making over the long-term by improving relationships and increasing trust between decision-makers and the public.

What’s different about IAP2 Canada’s NEW Certificate in Public Participation? 

IAP2 Canada’s Certificate in Public Participation builds on the foundations of public participation training and best practices from around the globe to provide participants with approximately 30 hours of specialized training in public participation and engagement.

We’ve taken the best of stakeholder and engagement training from around the globe to create the new certificate program. The training explores best practices, how to design meaningful public participation and engagement, and how to apply this knowledge in your work.

Who should participate?

P2 practitioners are a diverse community of professionals, citizens, academics, and decision-makers who are committed to involving the public in decisions that affect them. 

The IAP2 Hosted Certificate in Public Participation course bundle is recommended for:

• New and emerging practitioners beginning their journey in public participation and engagement

• Experienced P2 professionals, as a way to demonstrate your commitment to best practices and ethical standards in public engagement.

• Anyone involved in engagement projects in all levels of government, private industry, utilities, environmental agencies, community organizations, not-for-profit and education providers who would like to understand and deliver meaningful engagement in a Canadian context.

Find out more!