Workshop and Training Offerings

Our facilitation services are strengthened when there is mutual understanding of the purpose and best practices for public participation. Alongside our broader consulting services, we offer tailored presentations and workshops on key aspects of engagement planning, drawing from our extensive experience and thought leadership in the field.

Ranging from short presentations to hands-on workshops, these offerings can be integrated into organizational professional development programs, leadership retreats and conferences.

Contact us or use the form at the end of this page to to explore your idea further. We look forward to working with you and your team to strengthen engagement skills, knowledge and practice.

Available Workshops

Embedding Equity in Public Participation

Too often, those voices most impacted by a decision are underheard in鈥痯ublic鈥痗onsultations, which can be dominated instead by 鈥渢he same ten people鈥�.鈥疍rawing from the Centre for Dialogue鈥檚鈥痑ward-winning鈥痝uide,鈥�Beyond Inclusion: Equity in Public Engagement, this workshop鈥痙efines inclusion,鈥痑ccessibility鈥痑nd equity in the context of public engagement and introduces eight principles for鈥痚quitable鈥痚ngagement that meaningfully involves diverse members of our communities.鈥疨ractical exercises and accompanying resources help participants apply the principles to their engagement practice across sectors.鈥€�

In this workshop, participants will:鈥�

Deepen their understanding of鈥痟ow鈥痚quity,鈥痠nclusion and accessibility鈥痑re defined鈥痠n鈥痳elation to鈥痯ublic participation;鈥�

Learn鈥痚ight鈥痗ore鈥痯rinciples of鈥痚quitable鈥痚ngagement, illustrated by real-world case studies;鈥�

Hear鈥痚xamples of specific strategies to address common barriers to accessibility;鈥�

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.

Catching the Deliberative Wave

In Canada and around the world,鈥痝overnments and organizations鈥痑re increasingly using鈥€渄eliberative鈥� models for public participation, such as Citizens鈥� Assemblies, to engage communities around complex issues.鈥疶hese鈥痯rocesses鈥痟elp decision-makers鈥痚ngage鈥痸oices that are broadly representative of the community rather than just the 鈥渦sual suspects鈥�,鈥痠ncrease awareness of real-world鈥痗onstraints and trade-offs, model empathy to resolve tensions between different interest groups and enhance trust by鈥痙irectly responding鈥痶o鈥痯ublic鈥痳ecommendations.鈥疶his workshop offers an鈥痮utline of common鈥痬odels of deliberative engagement, illustrated with real-world鈥痗ase鈥痵tudies, and introduces key planning considerations for effective鈥痠mplementation.鈥�

In this workshop, participants will:鈥�

Deepen their understanding of the role of鈥€渄eliberation鈥濃€痠n鈥痙ecision-making鈥痑nd explore when engaging the public through deliberation is most鈥痑ppropriate;鈥€�

Learn about鈥痗ommon models for deliberation at different scales and price points (e.g.鈥痮ne-day deliberative dialogues, community assemblies, task forces, etc.) illustrated with case study examples;鈥�

Understand鈥痟ow deliberative models can complement broader engagement tools;鈥�

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

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.

Five Types of Engagement to Accelerate Climate Action

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

Enhancing Public Participation for Decision-Making

According to the OECD鈥檚 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鈥痗ore鈥痯rinciples of鈥痯ublic participation:鈥痑ccountability, transparency, informed participation,鈥痚quitable鈥痠nclusion鈥痑nd responsive design;鈥�

Present鈥痚merging industry standards for quality public participation and鈥痟ow to鈥痑dapt these to鈥痶heir鈥痮rganizational context;鈥痑nd鈥�

Share鈥痵trategies for evaluation and organizational learning,鈥痠ncluding鈥痚valuating past projects,鈥痜ostering continuous鈥痠mprovement鈥痮r setting goals for upcoming鈥痯rojects.鈥�

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鈥痳esults鈥痑nd develop an action plan for 1-2 key priorities.鈥�

Building Organizational Capacity for Public Participation

Governments and organizations are increasingly recognizing the value of public participation to support evidence-based,鈥痵ustainable鈥痑nd inclusive鈥痵olutions to complex challenges. However,鈥痠t takes time to develop the organizational capacity鈥痑nd culture鈥痳equired鈥痶o deliver consistent and high-quality public participation鈥痯rocesses.鈥疊uilding upon鈥痶he Centre for Dialogue鈥檚鈥�Maturity Model for Public Participation,鈥痶his workshop will introduce four stages of organizational maturity and explore different strategies鈥痜or鈥痠ncreasing organizational capacity, drawing upon good practices introduced by the鈥疌entre for Dialogue and leading organizations鈥痠nternationally鈥痵uch as鈥痶he鈥疧pen Government Partnership and鈥疨eople Powered.鈥�

This workshop will

Present an鈥痮verview of鈥痙ifferent stages鈥痠n organizational maturity, from鈥痠nitial鈥痚xperimentation鈥痶o more established approaches that鈥痮ffer consistent quality, adapt鈥痓ased on鈥痗ircumstances,鈥痑nd鈥痜oster an ongoing鈥痗ulture of participation.鈥�

Explore ways to 鈥渕ainstream鈥� participation within government鈥痓y implementing鈥痜rameworks, standards,鈥痵ystems鈥痑nd tools,鈥痚stablishing鈥痵pecialized teams鈥痶o share good practices,鈥痜ostering ongoing learning and evaluation,鈥痑llocating鈥痙edicated鈥痓udgets鈥痑nd resources,鈥痠nvesting in鈥痮rganizational鈥痗ulture, integrating participation with governance and policy-development,鈥痑nd removing structural barriers to participation.鈥�

Identify鈥痮pportunities for both incremental improvement and transformative change that are realistic and supported by鈥痶angible action plans.鈥�

Strategic Sponsorship for Public Participation

Maintaining鈥痯ublic鈥痩egitimacy requires governments to solve problems quickly, diffuse sources of鈥痗onflict, 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鈥痯roceed鈥痙isconnected from the real-world needs of decision-makers, produce useless feedback,鈥痑nd 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.鈥€�

This workshop will:

Define鈥痑nd provide鈥痶he business case for public participation, both in relation to financial return on investment and鈥痓roader鈥痚ngagement鈥痮bjectives鈥痵uch as鈥痳esolving conflicts or fostering trust;鈥�

Outline strategies to ensure鈥痶hat participation answers useful questions by leading with鈥痗uriosity鈥痑nd鈥痠dentifying鈥痟ow the public鈥檚 values, interests and lived experiences will contribute to decision-making alongside鈥痶he technical knowledge of experts and the accountability of elected officials;鈥�

Situate鈥痯ublic participation in relation to other similar tools (e.g.鈥痵urvey, opinion poll, etc.);鈥�

Introduce鈥痵tructured methods to鈥痠ncrease鈥痗larity on鈥痶opic, purpose,鈥痺ho needs to be involved,鈥痶he鈥痙egree of involvement and鈥痠nfluence鈥痮ffered to the public, timelines,鈥痓udget鈥痑nd鈥痜ollow-through.鈥�

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Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue

Workshop and Training Offerings

Available Workshops

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