Workshop Guides

If you are looking for activities to start thinking with colleagues and teammates, then you have come to the right place. 

Each "guide" tells you what kind of time, facilitation skill, materials and supports you will need to host an in-person version of the activity yourself. Shifting to a virtual experience will take a bit of thinking but you can find lots of tips to try here.  

Workshops from 2020

Behavioural Insights - The Behavioural Insights Team

This foundational session provides an introduction to the field of behavioural insights (BI) and an overview of the key principles that drive human behaviour. Participants will get exposure to a range of examples where BI have been applied to improve policy outcomes, focusing on case studies that align to current Government of Canada policy priorities. Participants will be walked through exercises to think through how BI might be relevant to their own work. Show less
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Integrating Indigenous Perspectives in Policy - Canada School of Public Service

Join this circle discussion on integrating Indigenous perspectives in policy! To set the stage for this, we will review the history of Indigenous policy making in Canada and the federal government’s agenda for advancing reconciliation and renewed Nation-to-Nation, Inuit-Crown, government-to-government relationships based on the recognition of rights, respect, cooperation and partnerships. We will also review the drivers that influence Indigenous policy making in this new context and the need to develop a holistic process for policy development that is rooted in relationships in a co-development and partnership environment. Show less
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Workshops from 2019

Developing a Problem Statement - NouLAB

75 minutes
This workshop will give an overview of the techniques NouLAB uses to build policy prototypes and test them with affected populations ('end users' in human centred design lingo). Anecdotes about current prototypes will be shared to inform how NouLAB's process has resulted in implementation. The active portion of the workshop will go into some of the techniques and mindsets NouLAB has used for collaborative problem framing. This is always the first step in developing a shared understanding and surfacing potential intervention points. Show less
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Storytelling - Apolitical

60 to 90 minutes
Once there was a public servant who decided her department should talk more to citizens. She started publishing monthly data updates, reams of numbers that would allow people to work out how policies were going, and endless blogs about the policy design process. At the end of it all, she found that nobody cared. Sound familiar? This interactive, practical session, packed with tips provides an opportunity to practice, helping you think about your work from a communications perspective. Show less
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Reflective Practice: 10-Year-Old You

15 to 30 minutes
Harnessing the curiosity and wonder of 10-year-old you, this exercise invites participants to see themselves and their work from a slightly different perspective. Grounding this in a reflection of self helps to remind participants of the importance of bringing their whole self to their work and the focus on the perspective of a child aims to reinvigorate senses of curiosity and wonder. Show less
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Reflective Practice: River of Life

15 to 30 minutes
Everyone has a rich life story with hard places and great celebrations. Taking the time to hear those stories increases the appreciation for what people have gone through and how their experiences have shaped their responses to different situations. As a group is forming, it is also important for each individual to feel seen and be heard. Creating time for the group to do this will increase the ability of the group to trust each other and to understand the gifts and talents that everyone brings. Show less
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The Public Impact Fundamentals Self-assessment Tool - CPI

60 to 90 minutes
Come learn about a tried and tested approach to assessing and improving the impact of government initiatives.You will apply the nine drivers of policy success - the Public Impact Fundamentals - to a government policy or initiative you're working on (or familiar with) and explore ways to improve its impact. You will leave the session with a simple and practical tool to take into your everyday work to help you achieve better outcomes for people. Show less
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Workshops from 2018

How Might We Co-Create Policy?

60 minutes

Explore a case study of co-creation, followed by an interactive conversation on how to apply co-creation in your own policy development.

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How Might We Design Public Engagement Experiences?

60 to 90 minutes

Learn to design your engagement approach based on your unique context, stakeholders, and objectives.

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How Might We Rethink the Policy Cycle?

45 to 60 minutes
Help articulate new ways of doing policy development by documenting practices in use across the public service. Outline what adaptations would be needed in our leadership, org structures, culture, and day to day practices to stay excellent in a modern context. Show less
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TRIZ Exercise

40 minutes
TRIZ, typically translated into English as “theory of inventive problem solving”, was created by a Russian inventor/author. The question “What must we stop doing to make progress on our deepest purpose?” induces seriously fun yet very courageous conversations. Since laughter often erupts, issues that are otherwise taboo get a chance to be aired and confronted. With creative destruction come opportunities for renewal as local action and innovation rush in to fill the vacuum. Show less
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Parallel Thinking Workshop

120 minutes
Six Thinking Hats is a system designed by Edward de Bono which describes a tool for group discussion and individual thinking involving six colored hats. "Six Thinking Hats" and the associated idea parallel thinking provide a means for groups to plan thinking processes in a detailed and cohesive way, and in doing so to think together more effectively. Show less
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