Research at IAP2 Canada

Strengthening public participation through reflection, evidence, and practitioner insight

The IAP2 Canada Research Committee leads national research initiatives to explore emerging trends, document practitioner experience, and support the evolution of public participation practice across Canada.

Research at IAP2 Canada

The IAP2 Canada Research Committee is a volunteer group of practitioners from across sectors who are committed to advancing public participation practice through research and inquiry.

We identify emerging trends, conduct member surveys, explore evolving tools and methodologies, and help translate insights into learning opportunities and professional development offerings.

Our goal is simple: to strengthen the practice of public participation in Canada by grounding it in reflection, evidence, and lived practitioner experience.

Our Approach to Research

Our work is practitioner-informed and field-focused. We:

Conduct national surveys and environmental scans
Explore emerging issues affecting engagement professionals
Document “what we’re hearing” across the country
Identify implications for training, certification, and professional development
Share findings openly with members and the broader field

We believe research should be practical, accessible, and useful – helping practitioners navigate complexity with confidence.

Anchored in IAP2’s Core Values and the Spectrum of Public Participation, our research initiatives reinforce the ethical and practical foundations of public participation while exploring how the field continues to evolve.

IAP2 Canada Research & Reports

Under Pressure & Evolving: A 2025 Snapshot of Engagement Practice in Canada

Published: March 2026

A national summary of practitioner insights exploring key trends, challenges, and opportunities currently shaping public participation practice in Canada.

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Research Archive

Our research is focused on identifying trends, best practices and areas of innovation, as well as evaluating current research and publications for the purpose of identifying opportunities for partnership and collaboration. The Committee has commissioned and published the following reports:

Meet the Research Committee

The IAP2 Canada Research Committee is composed of volunteer practitioners from across Canada representing municipal government, consulting, non-profits, academia, and industry.

Our members bring experience in facilitation, engagement strategy, evaluation, communications, systems change, and community leadership.

Sherry Campbell

Lindsay Humber, CP3, CTF, CPF
Principal, Tilia Consulting (Edmonton, Alberta)

Lindsay is a community engagement practitioner with over 15 years of experience designing and leading public participation processes in municipal, environmental, and community development contexts. She specializes in creating inclusive, dialogue-based engagement that strengthens relationships, surfaces diverse perspectives, and supports thoughtful decision-making in complex systems. Her work focuses on building relational capacity so communities and institutions can navigate change with greater trust, clarity, and shared understanding.

Valerie Lehmann, MBA, PhD, CP2, LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator
UQAM (Montréal, Québec), Sciences Po Lyon (France)

Valérie Lehmann is full professor at UQAM and has been teaching at Sciences Po Lyon since 2017. Valérie has been a board member of AGECSO, La Fabrique du Futur, a member of the ESSEC Change Chair, and of the IAP2 Canada Research Committee. Her roles in organisations, her training activities, researches and publications focus on participatory project management, 4P projects, stakeholder & knowledge management, change management, and open innovation initiatives such as Living Labs. Valérie has authored numerous academic articles. She co-edited several books, including Change and Major Projects (2015), Participatory Democracy (2019), Collective Innovation (2020), Towards Engaged Stakeholders in Projects (2022) and Traditional Knowledge Facing the Challenges of the 21st Century (2025).

Rebecca Melenka, BA Arky, BA Linguistics, MA Museum Studies
Engage Planner, City of Calgary

With eight years in outreach and engagement and over two decades in the museum community, she brings a strong arts and culture lens to her work. Her engagement practice is people‑centric and inclusive, grounded in conversation and relationship‑building. She also volunteers with the CNIB, supporting accessibility-focused outreach. Rebecca has been a member of the IAP2 Research Committee since 2022.

Joseph Thornley

CEO, 76engage

Joseph brings to the research committee the perspective gained from a forty-year career spanning government, marketing, research and online engagement. While he has seen the power of online channels to extend the reach of P2, he also understands that advertising-motivated, algorithm-driven social networks undermine civil discourse by pushing people into silos. He therefore has dedicated himself to designing and creating tools that engagement managers can use to invite and sustain meaningful public input grounded in relevant information, along with experiences that will support listening and understanding rather than polarization and alienation.