Working with the public
An online course for public sector
and non-profit professionals
Five Sessions | 2023 dates listed below
Instructor: Peter MacLeod, MASS Principal
Course fee: $865 *
Working with the public is an online course for public sector and non-profit professionals. We’ve packed five 90-minute sessions with some of our best tools for rethinking how you can work more effectively with the public and stakeholders. Drawing on a decade of experience leading hundreds of collaborative, participatory and deliberative projects, we share our approach to working effectively with the public while breaking down why public processes sometimes go awry.
You should take this course if:
You are responsible for leading or overseeing public consultations
You oversee or develop policy and want to learn how to integrate public consultation into the policy-making cycle
You are already familiar with general approaches to public consultation and want a deeper understanding
You want to learn new tools and skills that can to help your organization raise its game
You are looking for energy, community and inspiration
You can expect to learn:
How to work from first principles and clarify your purpose
How to align your work with the policy cycle — and when to move it upstream
How to match ‘formats’ with function
How to spot trouble before consultations go off-the-rails
New ways of thinking about the public as a resource
If you take this course, you will:
Have an energizing and dynamic experience
Gain new insights that change how you think about the public
Start using our tools in your work right away whether online or offline
Make new friends and colleagues
Working with the public is offered each fall over a five week period. Sessions take place on Tuesdays at noon eastern for 90 minutes. Participants will also spend between 2-3 hours completing course work between each session.
What people are saying about the course
“Thank you for a wonderful course. I will be using what I have learned in my daily work and personal life.”
“This wise course should be required learning for all professionals who are involved with public consultation, democratic renewal, or policy development. Packed full of insight, principles, processes, and techniques, this course is an elegantly guided tour of all the essential elements for creating pro-social publics.”
“Great learning and sharing opportunity! Laurie and Peter are excellent guides for those who want to learn how to best work with the public and get all stakeholders on board in a transformative way.”
“‘Working with the public’ lays out a detailed roadmap towards more purposeful and constructive public engagement. It could also be described as a crash course in finding your democratic muscle and learning how to use it.”
“As an architect, planner, and educator, I found this course to be incredibly helpful in furthering my knowledge and practice of engagement. I found it really interesting to connect with other people in the course from other parts of the world. Engagement is a critical component of city-building and learning from Peter MacLeod and Laurie Drake was enjoyable and so informative. I highly recommend this course!”
“Whether you have been working with the public for years or have just started out, this course is exactly what you need!”
How the course works:
The course is taught over Zoom to up to 12 participants. You will get the most out of this if you bring a specific project, challenge or idea into the course. Maybe there’s a public process you’re in the midst of designing or a way of thinking or working that you’re trying to change. The course is designed to help you learn from your situation, challenge or case study. Between sessions, you will have short exercises to complete that you will share with other participants, both providing and receiving feedback.
The course instructors are also available to you during specific office hours to discuss the course content as well as your work.
The course sequence:
Attend the Tuesday session. Each session features a thirty minute presentation followed by a lively discussion.
Write a brief response to the prompt at the end of every session. Tag your study team so they can review what you’ve posted and comment on your ideas.
Consider the feedback you receive. Reflect and write a short response so that you can keep track of what you’re learning.
Meet your instructor
Peter MacLeod is the principal and founder of MASS LBP, and one of Canada’s leading experts in public engagement and deliberative democracy. Travelling the country to visit nearly 100 federal constituency offices inspired his work bridging the distance between citizens and governments. Since 2007, he has hosted hundreds of public meetings and chaired more than three dozen Citizens’ Assemblies and Reference Panels in communities across Canada. Today, he writes and speaks frequently about the citizen’s experience of the state, the importance of public imagination, and the future of responsible government.
Interested in taking the course and want to speak our instructor?
Book a free 15 minute conversation with Peter MacLeod to discuss the course and your interests.
WWTP is offered every fall.
Join our 2023 cohort below.
Participants must have access to a broadband internet connection and be familiar with both Zoom and Slack.
All sessions take place on Tuesdays between noon and 1pm Eastern Standard Time
Autumn: Sept. 19, 26, 28, Oct. 10, 17
Public Sector, Non-profit and Independent Professionals
Autumn 2023 session registration for one participant
Sept. 19, 26, 28, Oct. 10, 17 (Noon - 1:30 ET)
Pay-what-you-can also available by request. To request this rate, please write to learning@masslbp.com
