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The regulation of professions involves a myriad of relationships from both in and outside the organization.
CNAR’s 2025 Winter Workshop Series aims to support regulators with elevating relationship practices in specific areas related to:
Governance & Leadership
Cross-Jurisdiction & Inter-regulatory Collaboration
Public Engagement
Pricing is per person, per workshop.
Members, partners, and suppliers: $220
Non-members: $260
Sessions to be hosted on a virtual platform.
Effective relationships between boards and staff are essential for an organization’s success, shaping its leadership and culture. Building and maintaining these constructive relationships requires ongoing effort, especially with the changes brought by annual board elections, appointments, and shifts in executive management. While each has distinct roles, collaboration is key to achieving shared goals.
How can boards and staff work together effectively in regulatory leadership that serves and protects the public interest? What are best and promising practices?
Shona McGlashan of McGlashan Consulting Inc. will open this workshop with an interactive session 'Aligning the Stars: Effective Board and Management Dynamics'. This session will benefit anyone who serves on, or works with, boards of directors. We’ll discuss how to create a joint leadership culture that advances your organization’s goals, what boards want from management, and what management wants from their boards. We’ll consider strategies and actions for effective decision-making, what builds trust in the boardroom, and what can disrupt it. Attendees will leave the session with an appreciation of how board culture, information flows, and governance processes impact decision-making. Attendees will also take away pragmatic suggestions for board and management actions and behaviours that build a strong and collaborative governance culture.
Following the opening session, a panel of members from the regulatory community will
engage in discussion about effective board and staff relationships. Drawing from their work and experience in different roles and different sizes of regulatory organizations, the panelists will share insights, strategies, and actions for what makes for effective board and staff relations in the regulatory context. Panelists will draw on circumstances that have gone well and when challenges have arisen. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with the panelists in a Q & A. The discussion will be moderated by Sam Lanctin, Principal, Sam Lanctin Consultant and CNAR Board Director, with panelists:
Brian Munday, Executive Director, Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association (ALSA)
Claudette Marie Warren, Chair, College of Massage Therapists of Newfoundland and Labrador (CMTNL)
Lara Thacker, Governance Specialist, Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO), and
Ruth McHugh, Chair, College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents (CPATA) and Chair, CPA Alberta.
Date: Thursday, February 6, 2025
Time: 12:00 – 3:00 pm EST
Venue: Virtual (link to be provided to registrants closer to the event date)
Who should attend? This workshop is open to anyone from the regulatory community. It will be of particular interest to chairs, vice chairs, and members of regulatory boards and committees, executive directors, registrars and others in management roles, and staff whose work supports boards and committees, as well as anyone interested in regulatory governance and leadership practices.
Regulators across professions and jurisdictions are facing many shared and complex issues, including pressures to address access to services and labour shortages, expectations to carry out processes faster without undermining public protection safeguards, and grappling with the unknown of rapid advancements in artificial intelligence. The opportunities and options for taking action are influenced in part by differing views of what a regulator’s role and mandate includes, and the parameters or constraints they operate within.
To address common issues, regulators are building relationships and collaborating with each other and other stakeholder groups. This workshop aims to support regulators in elevating their practices in collaborative problem solving.
Dr. Jennifer Walinga, Professor, School of Communication and Culture, Royal Roads University will open with an engaging, interactive session 'From Barriers to Breakthroughs'. Through this practical, action-oriented session, regulators will learn techniques and strategies for collaborative approaches to address complex issues. We will learn about:
The importance and how to properly define a problem. Working together to find solutions relies on being able to define and agree on what the problem actually is!
Shifting perspectives from barriers to realities. There are aspects of regulation that can’t be changed and can feel like barriers to addressing issues and achieving solutions. Shifting mindsets can open opportunities not previously seen!
A toolbox of strategies and methods for collaborative dialogue and problem-solving. Expand the tools you can use to work together and tackle complex issues!
This session will include an interactive presentation, small group discussion (optional), and
Q & A.
In the second part of the workshop, a panel from the regulatory community will engage in discussion about regulatory collaboration to address complex issues. Panelists will share insights, and practical strategies and solutions, from collaborative initiatives they have been involved in to tackle common issues facing regulators on complex matters. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with the panelists during the closing Q & A. The discussion will be moderated by Stephanie Price, Executive Director, Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FMRAC), with panelists:
Barb Temmerman, Executive Director and Registrar, Manitoba College of Social Workers (MCSW), and Chair, Canadian Council of Social Work Regulators (CCSWR)
Christine Houghton, Executive Director, College of Applied Biologists of British Columbia
Marcie Smigorowsky, Director, Regulatory Initiatives, College of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CRNA)
Mya Warken, Manager Accreditation and CEAB Secretary, Engineers Canada
Date: Thursday, February 27, 2025
Time: 12:00 – 3:00 pm EST
Venue: Virtual (link to be provided to registrants closer to the event date)
Who should attend? This workshop is open to anyone from the regulatory community. It will be of particular interest to:Â
Individuals in any role – senior leaders, managers, and staff – involved in, or preparing for, collaborative regulatory projects, whether with other regulatory bodies, other stakeholder groups, or across teams within the same organization.Â
Individuals from any sized regulator, but especially small to medium sized regulators, who are facing resource constraints and are looking for practical strategies and ways to maximize the resources they have through collaboration for meaningful impact.
Individuals from national federations/associations of provincial and territorial regulatory bodies who bring those regulators together for a profession to address common issues.
Anyone who is working on addressing complex issues with others, whether internal or external to the organization, and is looking for fresh ideas and strategies to solve problems and move forward in the work.
Regulatory bodies have mandates to regulate professions in a manner that serves and protects diverse public interests. Regulators have faced challenges in how to both reach and meaningfully engage the public.
How can regulators engage the public? How can they build and sustain relations with the public that are meaningful and grounded in trust and credibility?
Engagement is not about checklists, templates, and surveys! Engagement can build relationships, trust, and credibility IF a relational approach is used. Tannis Topolnisky, Principal, Topent Ltd., a Certified Public Participation Professional (CP3), and International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Licensed Trainer, will open the workshop with an interactive session ‘Moving from Transactional to Relational Engagement’.Â
We will learn and deepen our understanding about:Â
What engagement is and is not. We’ll demystify the term and clarify what it is and how it differs from other concepts.
The characteristics of, and differences between, transactional and relational engagement. We’ll explore the features of each, as well as supports and barriers to practicing each.
The skills, knowledge, and strategies needed for successful relational engagement practice. We’ll learn about best practices in relational engagement and reflect on values, mindsets, and behaviours needed for success.
This session will include an interactive presentation, small group discussions (optional), and
Q & A.Â
The workshop will close with a panel discussion by members of the regulatory community engaging in discussion about public engagement efforts in the regulatory context. Panelists will share insights, and practical approaches and strategies, from public engagement efforts they have been involved in. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with the panelists during the Q & A. Panel information will be forthcoming.
Date: March 19, 2025
Time: 12:00 – 3:00 pm EST
Venue: Virtual (link to be provided to registrants closer to the event date)
Who should attend? This workshop is open to anyone from the regulatory community. It will be of particular interest to:Â
Individuals in any role – senior leaders, managers, and staff – involved in, preparing for, or contemplating, engagement efforts.
Anyone who is looking to better understand engagement and learn about principles, tools, and strategies for engagement.
Be sure to renew your CNAR membership today to receive discounted access to this event!
Access professional development opportunities, cost-savings, and an extensive library of learning resources - all designed to support your journey in achieving regulatory excellence!
