Professional Certificate in Public Engagement For Local Government

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Through this program, mid-career professionals are prepared to lead a publicly-engaged organization by gaining a deep understanding of the context, purpose, and best practices for engaging residents in the decisions that affect their lives and communities—positioning themselves as civic leaders committed to strengthening local democracy.

We have two separate cohorts, capping at 28 participants each.

The 6-week virtual offering will consist of a series of six two-and-a-half-hour modules held over the course of six afternoons.

The dates for our Fall 2025 programs are as follows:

October 7 - November 11, 2025, Tuesdays 2:30 PM - 5:00 PM (PST)

Cost

The Davenport Institute periodically assesses the pricing of its certificates to ensure a reasonable alignment with the needs of participants, trainers, and the marketplace, and may make changes in response to that assessment and feedback.

The price of the Virtual Public Engagement Certificate Program is $1,195. A group discount is available for agencies that send multiple participants.

Who Should Attend?

The Professional Certificate in Public Engagement benefits all local government practitioners including: professionals from cities, counties, and special districts, private sector employees who serve local governments, and graduate students focused on local government.

Job titles of past attendees have included:

City Manager/Town Manager
Assistant City Manager
Intergovernmental & Council Services Manager
Senior Management Analyst/ Management Analyst
Public Information Officer
Executive Director of CBO
Community Relations Coordinator
Public Engagement Consultant/Director
Public Works Manager
Program Manager
Administrative Services Manager
Police Chief
Community Services Manager
Council Member/Elected Official
Public Affairs, Marketing, & Communications Analyst/Director
Finance Director
City Clerk
Planner/Environmental Planner

What is Covered in the Program

Prior to the start of the program, participants identify a public engagement project they are currently working on, or one they are thinking about undertaking. In addition to the sessions below, participants have the opportunity for one-on-one work developing a personal public engagement strategy. The program will be highly interactive with participants attending each session live to facilitate open dialogue, peer-learning, and networking, and concluding with a Public Engagement Summit that allows each participant to workshop an applicable engagement action plan. Participants will leave the program better informed and prepared to implement substantive public engagement.

Public Engagement: What? When? Why? And How?

This introductory session sets the context for a deep dive into public engagement by offering an overview of the current state of public engagement factoring in current events and providing a shared understanding and framework. It also invites participants to consider what level of engagement is appropriate to the issue at hand and consider pitfalls to effective engagement.

Key concepts:

Why Public Engagement? Why Now?
Roles (customer v. partner)
Shared definitions & matching process to purpose
Government as Decider v. Convener
Five questions to answer before emabarking on planning a public engagement process

Public Engagement Technology: Finding the Balance between Community Input and Data

As data-driven decision-making continues to grow as an approach in local government, we must ensure that sensors and AI do not entirely replace community engagement. Technology can be a great asset to enhancing a local government's ability to be efficient and effective, but when it comes to public engagement, we must be careful about how technology is applied and how we derive conclusions from the data. As we incorporate more and more technology in our local government work, how are we seeking to strike a balance between community input and data?

Key Concepts:

How Governments Use Data & Technology
Can Data & Technology Improve Community Input/Engagement?
Barriers/Risks in Adopting These New Approaches

Engaging Marginalized Communities

This workshop invites participants to explore public engagement beyond the usual suspects or "STP"s (Same Twenty People) and develop strategies for engaging communities that are currently marginalized based on factors such as race, wealth, immigration status, orientation, etc. In addition to the role perspective plays in perception, participants will explore how traditional processes tend to reinforce racial inequity factors, and will receive practical tips for both outreach and process design that can help to build equity and inclusion within their community. The session will also look at the challenges in facilitating constructive engagement on sensitive issues, including appropriate responses to disruption and emotion. Participants will leave with a foundation in how to think about the impact that differences in culture have on public engagement and how to look for ways to better understand demographics other than our own.

Key Concepts:

Best Practices in effective outreach to marginalized communities
Creating inclusive space for diversity and identifying reasons some groups are marginalized.
Understand who is in your community, identify who you may not be hearing from and issues that matter to communities facing equity issues of access, service, treatment, voice, influence
Recognize the need for cultural competency across a variety of factors (race, country of origin, socio-economic, political, gender, age) and learn how to develop these.

How to Have Difficult Conversations

This session takes a look at preparing for and having difficult conversations between communities and local governments through the lens of emotional intelligence. Participants learn strategies for preparing themselves and their teams, managing emotions and the emotions of others and practital tips on facilitating when things are tough or uncertain.

Key Concepts:

Defining Emotional Intelligence
Information vs Emotion Connection
Handling your emotions
Preparing your team
Best practices for managing emotion and outrage

Innovation and Leadership

This session brings together the previous sessions and connects them with innovative ways that local government leaders become true public engagement leaders within their organizations. Using case studies and real life examples, participants also learn about tools and technology for becoming public engagement champions in their communities whatever their job title.

Key Concepts:

Why leadership matters
Qualities of a public engagement leader
Innovation in public engagement - tools & technology
How to apply public engagement concepts and theories to real-time use-cases

Follow Up: Personal Public Engagement Summit

Participants will be placed in small groups and matched with a Davenport Institute Advisory Council Member or Certificate Alumni to talk through the engagement action plan they have developed. This will be informal and scheduled at the group's convenience.

Looking for More Information?

Contact Davenport Institute via email or by phone at 310.506.6803.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I apply?

The application process is very straightforward. Applicants provide a brief bio and headshot, and a brief description of a) their experiences with public engagement in the past and b) an issue or project they have identified that could benefit from public engagement and that they hope to workshop throughout the certificate offering. The application can be found here.

What is the cost of the program?

The cost of the virtual offering is $1,195.

Many participants secure funds for training from their employer to support their participation in this program. Limited financial aid may be available.

I can't make these dates - when will the certificate be offered again?

The certificate program is typically offered multiple times a year virtually. If you are unable to make our upcoming dates, we invite you to subscribe to our newsletter for the latest information on future programs.