Workshop and Training Offerings

Too often, those voices most impacted by a decision are underheard in public consultations, which can be dominated instead by “the same ten people”. Drawing from the Centre for Dialogue’s award-winning guide, Beyond Inclusion: Equity in Public Engagement, this workshop defines inclusion, accessibility and equity in the context of public engagement and introduces eight principles for equitable engagement that meaningfully involves diverse members of our communities. Practical exercises and accompanying resources help participants apply the principles to their engagement practice across sectors.   

In this workshop, participants will:  

• Deepen their understanding of how equity, inclusion and accessibility are defined in relation to public participation; 

• Learn eight core principles of equitable engagement, illustrated by real-world case studies;  

• Hear examples of specific strategies to address common barriers to accessibility; 

In a workshop format, participants engage in practical exercises to apply the principles of equitable engagement in their own context, such as mapping impacted communities and designing accessibility strategies for real-world barriers.  

In Canada and around the world, governments and organizations are increasingly using “deliberative” models for public participation, such as Citizens’ Assemblies, to engage communities around complex issues. These processes help decision-makers engage voices that are broadly representative of the community rather than just the “usual suspects”, increase awareness of real-world constraints and trade-offs, model empathy to resolve tensions between different interest groups and enhance trust by directly responding to public recommendations. This workshop offers an outline of common models of deliberative engagement, illustrated with real-world case studies, and introduces key planning considerations for effective implementation. 

In this workshop, participants will: 

• Deepen their understanding of the role of “deliberation” in decision-making and explore when engaging the public through deliberation is most appropriate;  

• Learn about common models for deliberation at different scales and price points (e.g. one-day deliberative dialogues, community assemblies, task forces, etc.) illustrated with case study examples;  

• Understand how deliberative models can complement broader engagement tools; 

• Learn about key planning considerations (such as governance, question framing, budget and scale, approaches to recruitment, equity considerations, exploring trade-offs and good practices for follow-up). 

In a workshop format, participants are invited to engage in experiential exercises, such as framing policy challenges they are tackling in a way that lends itself to informed deliberation. 

Successful climate action requires a sustained whole-of-society response, yet the engagement tools we use are often transactional and time-limited. Using real-world examples, this workshop will explore ways that governments and organizations are reimagining climate engagement to increase public awareness, overcome barriers, improve public policy and foster the trust and social cohesion necessary to meet the challenges ahead.  

In this workshop, participants will:

• Deepen their understanding of the business case for climate engagement, contexts where engagement can add value, and common reasons for/against engaging; 

• Learn about five types of climate engagement and how these can be combined to advance systems change, including deliberative, relationship-based, place-based, large-scale and systems-oriented engagement; and

• Hear real-world case studies that illustrate planning considerations for climate engagement 

According to the OECD’s 2024 Trust Survey, a sense of political agency is often more highly correlated with trust in government than factors such as education, income, gender, age or even partisan affiliation. Yet many government departments and institutions have wildly different understandings of what quality public participation looks like in practice. This workshop introduces the Maturity Model for Public Participation, which builds on established principles in the field of public participation to propose common standards for high-quality public participation, helping to ensure that the time and resources invested in engagement deliver processes and outcomes that are meaningful for participants and decision-makers.

This workshop will: 

• Define five core principles of public participation: accountability, transparency, informed participation, equitable inclusion and responsive design; 

• Present emerging industry standards for quality public participation and how to adapt these to their organizational context; and  

• Share strategies for evaluation and organizational learning, including evaluating past projects, fostering continuous improvement or setting goals for upcoming projects. 

In a workshop format with a specific team,  participants can also engage in a facilitated process to assess their public participation practices with the Maturity Model, discuss the results and develop an action plan for 1-2 key priorities.  

Governments and organizations are increasingly recognizing the value of public participation to support evidence-based, sustainable and inclusive solutions to complex challenges. However, it takes time to develop the organizational capacity and culture required to deliver consistent and high-quality public participation processes. Building upon the Centre for Dialogue’s Maturity Model for Public Participation, this workshop will introduce four stages of organizational maturity and explore different strategies for increasing organizational capacity, drawing upon good practices introduced by the Centre for Dialogue and leading organizations internationally such as the Open Government Partnership and People Powered. 

This workshop will

• Present an overview of different stages in organizational maturity, from initial experimentation to more established approaches that offer consistent quality, adapt based on circumstances, and foster an ongoing culture of participation. 

• Explore ways to “mainstream” participation within government by implementing frameworks, standards, systems and tools, establishing specialized teams to share good practices, fostering ongoing learning and evaluation, allocating dedicated budgets and resources, investing in organizational culture, integrating participation with governance and policy-development, and removing structural barriers to participation.  

• Identify opportunities for both incremental improvement and transformative change that are realistic and supported by tangible action plans. 

In a workshop format with a specific team,  participants can also engage in a facilitated process to assess their public participation practices with the Maturity Model, discuss the results and develop an action plan for 1-2 key priorities. 

Maintaining public legitimacy requires governments to solve problems quickly, diffuse sources of conflict, manage the expectations of interest groups, and justify decisions using evidence-based information. Within this crowded space, making room for public input can sometimes feel impossible. Worse, public consultation may proceed disconnected from the real-world needs of decision-makers, produce useless feedback, and damage relationships instead of fostering trust. This workshop will help senior government officials and their organizations sponsor public participation processes in ways that add real value to decision-making and interface effectively with governance and policy-development cycles.  

This workshop will: 

• Define and provide the business case for public participation, both in relation to financial return on investment and broader engagement objectives such as resolving conflicts or fostering trust; 

• Outline strategies to ensure that participation answers useful questions by leading with curiosity and identifying how the public’s values, interests and lived experiences will contribute to decision-making alongside the technical knowledge of experts and the accountability of elected officials;  

• Situate public participation in relation to other similar tools (e.g. survey, opinion poll, etc.); 

• Introduce structured methods to increase clarity on topic, purpose, who needs to be involved, the degree of involvement and influence offered to the public, timelines, budget and follow-through.