IAP2 USA July/August 2022 Newsletter

From the Executive Manager - Erin Zimmermann

Sometimes it feels like change is the only constant. IAP2 USA is in the midst of a lot of change. As someone who oddly loves change, I have to remind myself to pause, slow, down and take a breath sometimes. 

Recently one of the organization’s founders shared some photos of the original flip charts where the Core Values were developed. This happened at a conference in an Open Space session. 

He included the note: 25 years ago, IAP2 was engaged in developing Core Values and a Code of Ethics as a foundation for the practice of public participation. Originally, I drafted a Code of Ethics and offered it for consideration to the membership at an IAP2 conference during an Open Space session. The rest is history, as they say, as a large contingent of members coalesced around the initiative to develop the Core Values for the Practice of Public Participation. Those original core values came from the open space session as a collaborative effort to define the public's expectations of public participation processes. Recently I found squirreled away in a closet many of the flip charts on which I recorded the dialogue that took place. They are a bit faded, and you have to excuse my sloppy writing, but the ideas were coming fast and furious and I was doing my best to keep up.”

          

These pictures remind me of a few things. First, change is messy. We scribble things out, we rework them, we cross things out and we add newness. Through that process, though, we can come away with something meaningful and beautiful. Secondly, I am reminded that when facing big change, how important it is to fall back on our Core Values, our mission, and the aspects that define us.

While our programs will continue to grow and change, we remain steadfast in our core values and mission. They remain our compass.

Erin Zimmermann, 

Executive Manager

IAP2 USA

Chapter Update - IAP2 USA Northeast Chapter

Our newest Chapter is hosting IAP2's flagship course, Foundations in Public Participation, November 14 - 18 in Portland, Maine. 

The Northeast Chapter serves Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York. If you are in this region and have been meaning to complete the Foundations in Public Participation Certificate Program please consider joining your local Northeast Chapter community here this fall. 

More Details

IAP2 at ICMA!

IAP2 at ICMA! Heading to Columbus for the International Association of City Managers Conference?

Members of IAP2 USA's DEI Committee will be sharing case studies and best practices for equitably connecting with community in a panel discussion on Wednesday, September 21 at 8:30 am.

Join us – we'd love to meet you in person!

Become a Certified Public Participation Professional (CP3) 

Certification as a Public Participation professional acknowledges your adherence to a strict set of standards recognized around the world for delivering quality, meaningful public participation. It is the premier credential for public participation professionals. 

An Assessment Center is now scheduled for February 24 & 25, 2023 with an application deadline of October 28, 2022.

To join a select number of colleagues a three-step process is used to assess candidates’ knowledge and skills:

  • Step One – Submit your Application and Professional Portfolio to to info@iap2usa.org.
  • Step Two – Preparation and submission of a Public Participation Plan in response to a case study

  • Step Three – Preparation for and participation in an Assessment Center.

Prepare your CP3 application form and email to info@iap2usa.org

Apply by October 28
2022 IAP2 North American Conference - Join us in Banff Sep 14-16


Together again, at last! After more than two years of online events, the 2022 IAP2 North American Conference Sept. 14 - 16 in Banff, Alberta, September 14 - 16, 2022 at the Banff Centre for Arts & CreativityWe can’t wait to see you and bring our conference theme, Connecting with purpose, to life! 

Being together again gives this year’s Conference theme even more meaning: “Connecting with Purpose” is about connecting with the P2 community to achieve diverse representation.

    Two social champions, Shalini Sinha and Steve Mesler, who take to heart connecting with different communities and audiences, will inspire you at the 2022 IAP2 North American Conference, September 14 - 16 in Banff, AB.

    Check out our schedule-at-a-glance or find out more details about:

    • Our Keynotes!
    • Workshop and field trip descriptions for September 14 
    • Session (60 & 90 minutes) and poster-presentation descriptions for September 15 
    • Session (60 & 90 minutes) and poster-presentation descriptions for September 16 

    If you have any questions, please contact info@iap2canada.ca

    Register In-Person


    Register Virtual Lite

    Featured Course: Particpation Across Differences

    Trainer: Anne Carroll

    September 29, 2022

    11:00 am - 3:30 pm Eastern

    This course introduces a powerful, transparent process to identify and analyze key stakeholders for any engagement project – a critical step in an ethical and equity-centered engagement design. After understanding the theory and purpose, participants use short cases to practice stakeholder mapping. They learn how to identify and analyze the full spectrum of stakeholders, with special emphasis on underrepresented stakeholders who need additional outreach/support to ensure inclusive engagement. For each case, the group learns how to “clean” and finalize the map, and then discusses implementation challenges and how to overcome them.

    Learning outcomes:

    • Challenge: Design and implement equity-centered engagement processes for increasingly diverse communities 
    • Critical to success: Robust and comprehensive stakeholder identification and analysis (“stakeholder mapping”)
    • Course combines theory, practice, instructions, templates
    • Participants leave ready to conduct thorough, defensible stakeholder mapping that identifies underrepresented stakeholders, and use the results to plan and successfully implement inclusive engagement 

      Participants receive:

      • Detailed stakeholder mapping instructions 
      • Stakeholder mapping templates and examples 
      • Complete course content and notetaking document
            Register

            Webinar Recordings -  Available free to Members On-Demand

            All of our past webinars are available to members who are logged into iap2usa.org. Just click here and you will be prompted to login to the Webinar Archives.

            July 12 (Learning Webinar) NAC Encore - Innovations In Climate Community Engagement

            What would it take to build the public support required to transform the global economy and reach net-zero emissions by mid-century? How can governments move past the polarization, misinformation and unrealistic public expectations that prevent them from accelerating climate action?

            From Denmark to the United Kingdom, countries are opting for co-creating solutions with citizens’ assemblies and building consensus, rather than continuing polarizing debate. Other communities around the world are experimenting with green participatory budgeting, co-creating climate resilience programming and increasing public confidence in climate action by putting residents at the center of decision-making.

            July 19 (Bonus Webinar) NAC Encore - Civic Engagement 3.0: Making Public Participation Powerful and Sexy

            Public meetings reinforce existing power structures where white men tend to dominate. In Western culture, men are the authoritative voice because when they speak, people listen. A 2018 Boston University study confirmed that those who engage in public meetings are older, male, whiter and wealthier than the rest of the community. Why does this matter? Because whole groups of people can feel marginalized from the process, leaving decision makers to cater to 'stakeholders' who are much narrower and homogenous in their views and interests. This can lead to further disenfranchisement because those groups continue to feel invisible or unrepresented. This vicious cycle can be turned into a virtuous circle by transforming the traditional public meeting. But first, we'll take a deep dive into the history of the public meeting, and how it was never meant be equitable or democratic.

            August 9 (Learning Webinar) NAC Encore - Is Equitable Engagement Possible in a Virtual World

            We've seen a variety of innovative virtual tools rise to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's allowed important civic projects and public engagement to move forward despite the shuttering of all in-person gatherings across the US and the world. These tools have made engagement more accessible, but is it enough? Is equitable engagement possible in an increasingly virtual world? This session will reflect on the challenges and inequities that the pandemic has more acutely exposed in public participation practice, share ideas for reframing equitable engagement towards long-term resiliency, and lessons learned from public projects that put partnerships and relationship-building at its core.

            More Webinar Recordings

            If our current courses don't meet your needs please fill out this quick survey so we can help you become the P2 practitioner your community needs.

            Member Spotlight

            If your organization has had any recent P2 successes or thought of creative solutions we want to hear about it! Please contact info@iap2usa.org to be featured on our website or newsletter.


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