International Association for Public Participation - USA
We hope you have had a great start to the Fall season! We are excited to present to you the Special Conference Edition of our newsletter series. Please take a moment to read up on all the exciting news coming directly from the conference! Also, feel free to sign up for upcoming opportunities to support our goals to create more effective p2. Remember: Don't wait, Participate!
Thank you to everyone that responded to the Membership Survey we received a 20% response rate (double the average)! We have been listening. This newsletter is just one of the ways we hope to meet some of your expectations. Information on theCore Values Award winnersand our learning webinarswill provide you with insight into some of the USA’s best P2 practices– take the time to read about the winners’ projects and plan to join the webinars (please note that past webinars are available online). An update on the 2014 North American Conference, an invitation to Portland 2015 and the conference videos remind you about the value ofnetworkingand learning from others. The request for your thoughts on IAP2 USA’s draft Strategic Plan and to apply for the IAP2 Board reminds us that we are all in this together. “We” can all be part of IAP2 USA and together we will and can make a difference.
Core Values Award Winners announced at the IAP2 North American Conference:
Congratulations!
...to all of the winners of the 2014 Core Values Awards, which were presented at the IAP2 North American Conference last month in Winnipeg. For the complete list and to read more about the recipients and their projects please visit the Core Values webpage.
To entice you to click that link read what the judges have to say about the winners:
>> National Institute for Civil Discoursefor the Creating Community Solutions Alliance: “… an excellent effort to draw in the population with mental health issues themselves - not just experts. ‘Text. Talk. Act.’ is an innovative texting platform that combines text messaging, social media and face-to-face dialogue to get young people talking about mental health and taking action to help their friends. To date, the initiative has engaged thousands of millennials in a conversation to help end the silence on mental health.”
>> St Vrain Valley School Districtfor “Leadership St Vrain– Empowering Parents through P2” “Leadership “St.Vrainrepresents the kind of original research the public participation field needs to demonstrate its value and impact moving forward. This research project … marks an important contribution to our empirical knowledge of the value of P2, not only within a school system, but to the field as a whole.”
>>Oregon Department of Transportationfor the OTIA 3 Bridge Delivery Project “The jury was impressed with the depth of ODOT's efforts to engage residents and stakeholders … to ensure that the community's values were reflected at every key decision point in the process … overcame previous community skepticism … [involved] an inclusive representation of stakeholders … The result is a bridge project that not only serves as an important piece of community infrastructure, but a significant landmark of community identity and pride.”
The 2014 IAP2 North American Conference
Close to 200 people participated in the recent IAP2 North American Conference in Winnipeg, Canada. Note – IAP2 USA and IAP2 Canada take turns hosting the annual conference.
Conference attendees tell us they came away re-charged and with a few “ah ha” moments thrown in.
The following are some of their reflections from the conference:
“’Reflecting Forward,’ the event provided me with hopeful signs for the future of our field. There were many young professional participants who are not only hungry to grow in P2 work, but are already demonstrating new leadership – the future of our profession was well-represented. We also found inspiration in the Core Value Award winners, whose innovation and ability to open doors to new voices should provide us all with energy and direction in our future work. We found solidarity in the stories, the shared experiences of the conference, and in the host city – Winnipeg. For all the talk of the city’s cold climate, its residents exhibited a genuine warmth. Their generosity and hospitality will leave us with fond memories for years to come." -Joel Mills
At last, you can justify a trip to Portlandia and rub shoulders with hundreds of P2 rock stars and peers as IAP2 USA, IAP2 Canada and the Cascade Chapter co-host the 2015 North American conference next September. The theme “What’s Brewing in P2” follows the Pacific Northwest’s reputation for coffee and brewpubs. And because IAP2 was born here in the early 1990s, we hope to see record runs of P2 practitioners returning like salmon to spawn. We promise a terrific conference that will deepen your P2 practice like no other. The Doubletree by Hilton at Lloyd Center in the heart of Portland is the conference hotel, just steps from the MAX light rail that connects to PDX airport to make it real easy for out-of-towners to get here and get around. If you’re not already jazzed about coming to Portland, which was #1 on the 2013 list of America’s 10 Best Cities, #1 for movie lovers, #2 nerdiest, #4 funniest, most steampunk and food lovers meccas (take that SLC!), take a peek at the videos. We’ll see you in Portland!
Volunteers Wanted- If you’d like to help with the conference, especially snagging great presenters and sponsors, please contact Jeanna Hall atjeannamhall@gmail.com or Tim Hall at tim.hall@portlandoregon.gov. Look for the Call for Presenters after the first of the year.
Ashley Trimis the Research Coordinator at the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership at Pepperdine University. Her IAP2 Talks presentation at the 2013 North American conference reported on two comprehensive, statewide surveys and the implications for local officials. She focused on how governments, community leaders, and community foundations can work together to overcome these obstacles and build a greater capacity for engagement and collaboration.
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Stephani Roy McCallum, Dialogue Partners, challenges IAP2 members to consider how our traditional approaches might actually contribute to declining civility. She describes how she has come to that conclusion and urges us to adapt our thinking and advocate for civil discourse.
IAP2 USA Board Nominations
Certification Updates
Consider becoming an IAP2 USA Board member
IAP2 USA needs you. Are you interested in advancing public participation in the US? Do you want to help other passionate P2 professionals improve their work?
IAP2 USA is about helping one another, and that starts with a strong Board of Directors. Nominations are now open.
For more information on what is needed and what could be required of you please take a look at theNominations Information Package.
In particular, the following skills or experience are needed:
· Financial management
· Communications
· Strategic marketing
· Collaboration and Outreach
· Governance and administration
· International relations (IAP2 experience required)
We hope that you will consider becoming a Board member. It can be a very rewarding experience. To nominate yourself please fill in the followingnomination form and send to amelia@iap2usa.org – subject heading “Nomination Application”.
For more information contact, David Hovde, Chair, Nominations Committee or Amelia Shaw, Executive Manager, IAP2 USA at amelia@iap2usa.org.
Deadline for applications is Friday, November 7th. Elections (if required) start November 17th.
What is happening with the Certification Process?
In June, we asked for your input on what criteria define professional standards for a P2 practitioner: what knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, skills, and capabilities do you believe professionals need to design and implement quality public participation programs? We received more than 1,000 comments.
Over the summer, the IAP2 Task Force on Certification developed adraft set of core competencies, which was presented as a conversation starter at the 2014 IAP2 North American Conference in September. That conversation is still going on: click here to take part.
Now, we're coming back to you to see if we're on the right track. Please join us on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 2pm Eastern time (11am Pacific) for this live, interactive webinar with members of the Task Force to give your opinions and offer new ideas.
If your organization is interested in co-hosting the Foundations training with IAP2 USA please contact our new part time Training Coordinator, Jennifer Nelson.
IAP2 USA’s draft Strategic Plan - Did we get it right?
In our recent membership survey, IAP2 USA received more than a 100 responses to the questions about what should be included in our Strategic Plan – thank-you. During the recent face to face meeting in September the Board considered all of these comments as they worked together to complete a draft Strategic Plan for your review.
The following survey includes the draft vision, mission, goals and strategies. Please take a look and let us know if we got it right. It should only take about five minutes to complete and your response is important to us. As well, let us know if you want to be a part of turning this plan into action. Deadline for response in November 5th.
You’ve learned about Technology of Participation (ToP) methods. Now come be a part of incorporating ToP methods into the IAP2 decision making process! At the ToP Network Gathering 2015 in Colorado, ToP facilitators will begin a journey of designing customized ToP methods to support the IAP2 decision making process. The ToP Network Gathering is the perfect place for IAP2 and ToP practitioners to fuse their skills and talents. IAP2 and ToP…it’s the ideal partnership for creating an environment where people can have a meaningful say in their lives.
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Members-Only Section
Visit www.iap2usa.org, sign in and click on the "Members-Only" tab to gain access to the monthly webinar recordings, printable IAP2 materials for meetings and more!
Membership Certificate
To receive a free, printable membership certificate from IAP2 USA with your current membership information, email info@iap2usa.org
and we'll send one right over!
Job Postings
To post a job on our website, email info@iap2usa.org with the organization name, job title, closing date, brief job description/highlight and any other relevant information.
Let's build the ultimate P2 resource list!
Wouldn't it be nice if there was a list of all the best public participation resources out there?
Let us know if you have any thoughts or ideas of resources to be included on this list by emailing us at: info@iap2usa.org.
Who We Are
IAP2 USA on Social Media
IAP2 USA advances public participation in the United States by providing its affiliate members with tools and information to conduct high-quality public participation processes, by providing government, industry, non-profit organizations and participants with educational resources to increase the quality and value of their participation in such processes, and by advocating for quality public participation programs based on our Core Values and Code of Ethics. Learn more about us here.
From IAP2 USA Executive Manager, Amelia Shaw:
