Attendee, International Association for Public Participation’s (IAP2) North American Conference in Victoria, BC.

The International Association for Public Participation’s (IAP2) North American Conference will welcome participants from across North America on September 5 – 7, in Victoria, BC. This is an opportunity for three patient partners to attend breakout sessions, workshops and more while learning from and listening to the many exciting speakers. Learnings from the conference will further enhance patient partners’ knowledge and skills for future engagement opportunities.

Open to: Patient partners across BC

Lead Organization or Department

BC Patient Safety & Quality Council’s Patient and Public Engagement Team

Aim

IAP2’s North American Conference 2018, Growing a Culture of P2 (public participation), aims to bring together people who are passionate about public participation and engagement. The conference will provide a venue for interested people to learn from many different speakers in the field of public participation and to understand some of the largest issues facing engagement in 2018. Our hope in sponsoring patient partners to attend the conference is to expand the perspectives represented and shared at the event. To this end, patient volunteers are encouraged to participate in discussions – seeking out new ideas and sharing their own knowledge, perspectives and experiences as relevant – and use their voice for improvement.  Secondly, through attending the seminars, patient partners will further develop their own skills and knowledge in the areas of public participation strengthening their abilities to participate in future engagement opportunities.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of inform on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that you will be provided with balanced and objective information to assist in understanding alternatives and solutions.

Eligibility

• Open to current patient partners from across BC, representing a diverse range of regions and communities
• Preference will be given to patient partners who have not received a sponsorship from the BCPSQC to attend another learning opportunity (such as the Quality Forum or one of our workshops) or another conference.
• Patient partners should be comfortable speaking with a diverse range of health care providers, leaders, and other stakeholders
• Successful candidates should be willing to share their experience and learnings with other patient partners
• Patients should have previously attended a PVN orientation session. If you have not attended an orientation but are interested please contact Teresa (tbissenden@bcpsqc.ca)  directly to see if accommodations may be possible.

Logistics

• Number of Vacancies: 3
• Date/Time: September 5 - 7 2018. Should be available Sept 4-8 as you may need to travel the day before or after depending on schedules (*Labour day is September 3)
• Location: Victoria Conference Centre, Victoria BC
• Commitment:
  • Barring extenuating circumstances, it is expected that participants attend all 3 days of the conference
  • Successful candidates will be asked to share their experience and learnings with other patient partners

Reimbursement

• Registration and all travel costs incurred to attend these events will be covered or reimbursed in accordance with the provincial Travel Policy guidelines.
• As much as possible, we will pre-pay travel expenses directly (e.g., booking flights and accommodation). For those expenses we cannot pay in advance (e.g., transit tickets, meals), we are able to provide expedited payment within a couple of weeks via cheque mailed to the address provided once an expense reimbursement form is received to our Vancouver office.
• If required, assistance may be provided upon request to ensure hotel deposits and incidental expenses are looked after in advance to reduce or eliminate the need for post-event reimbursement. If you believe this applies to you, please contact Teresa Bissenden (tbissenden@bcpsqc.ca) to discuss this in more detail.

Background

IAP2 Canada is an association of professionals who work in, or are interested in the field of public participation. The association works to promote and improve the practice of public participation through working with and supporting many different groups and organizations. For more information on IAP2 please visit their website http://iap2canada.ca. IAP2 North American Conference is an annual conference that features multiple days of presentations and interactive workshops on a variety of topics related to public participation and engagement. The main programming and pre-conference events present a great opportunity to learn new skills, discuss opportunities and challenges, and network with others interested in improving engagement.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Teresa Bissenden
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Provincial
W 604.668.8253 | C 604.307.1342
tbissenden@bcpsqc.ca