Online Course
Whose voice counts? Ethical participation for decision making
8-week course starting in March 2026
SFG Certification upon completion
Move past the traditional “design–implement–evaluate” cycle toward sustainable, ongoing forms of engagement. This course offers a space for experimentation and reflection—where stakeholders become active partners rather than subjects, and where participants explore the depth, diversity, and inclusivity that make engagement truly ethical and transformative.
Course fee – $150
Course running on Thurday afternoons (UK time)
Course Description
Too often, participation is treated as a one-off step in a project cycle—design, implement, evaluate. This course offers something different: a space to explore how engagement can be continuous, inclusive, and transformative. Instead of treating stakeholders as subjects of research or consultation, we invite you to practice ways of working where they become genuine partners in shaping outcomes.
Our focus is on the thickness of engagement—the depth, diversity, and inclusivity that make participation ethical and impactful. Over four interactive online sessions, you will experiment with multiple forms of engagement, test out new ideas in a safe and supportive environment, and reflect on what works best in your own context. Together we will combine learning, application, and reflection, culminating in participant-led presentations where you will activate this knowledge and plan how to embed it in your own institutions or programs.
By the end of the course, you will walk away with practical tools, fresh insights, and the confidence to put ethical participation into action—moving beyond checkboxes toward meaningful change.
Is this course for you?
This training is designed for policymakers and policy influencers—government officials, advisors, and programme leads—interested in new forms of stakeholder engagement; a community or organisational leader aiming to support participatory development; or a student interested in the principles and practices behind ethical decision making.
This course is designed to help you establish the understanding and practical tools that you need.
Learning Goals
Through this course, participants will:
- Explore concepts central to participation;
- Learn from experts from different contexts ans sectors;
- Experiment with practices that can transform engagement, partnerships, and outcomes in deliberative processes;
- Learn as a community of practice, through discussions, activities, reflections and evaluation.
- Walk away with practical tools, fresh insights, and the confidence to put ethical participation into action – moving beyond checkboxes toward meaningful change.
Teaching Team
Dr. Juliette Alenda-Demoutiez
Dr. Amos Ochieng
Prof Mathijs van Leeuwen
Prof Charles Masembe
Dr Lothar Smith
Guest Speakers
Priscilla Achakpa
Stewart Paul
The team of co-facilitators and speakers combines academicians and practitioners. This allows us to offer a programme that bridges the academic and the applied, offering a spectrum of approaches to explore, practice, and reflect on.
Your commitment
Online - Zoom
Download Zoom ahead of course
8 weeks
Commit time to engage throughout the course
3-hour sessions
Attend sessions and engage with facilitators and peers
Presentation
Present how you'll apply learned practice in context
Curriculum
Learning Objectives
- Welcomes and introductions; establishing a common ground and beginning the community of practice;
- Understanding the complexity of the term participation across languages and context;
- Recognizing the different purposes that participation can have and the implications on practice and outcome;
- Connecting practice with purpose.
Core Concepts
- Purpose
- Participation
- Ethics
- Sustainability
Activities
- Presentation
- Discussion
- Playful strategies
- Assessment/reflection
- “Two-minute papers”
- Resources
Learning Objectives
- Understanding the role of power dynamics and how to mitigate the barriers to participation that come with them;
- Recognising the personal, cultural, and infrastructural boundaries that affect participation and the methods to navigate them.
Core Concepts
- Power
- Boundaries
Activities
- Presentation
- Discussion
- Playful strategies
- Assessment/reflection
- “Two-minute papers”
- Resources
Learning Objectives
- Understanding the importance of context to any participatory initiatives and the methods to reach that understanding;
- Understanding the challenges and possibilities in culturally aware and responsive communication modes in the practice of participation.
Core Concepts
- Communication
- Language
- Contexts
- Scale
Activities
- Presentation
- Discussion
- Playful strategies
- Assessment/reflection
- “Two-minute papers”
- Resources
Learning Objectives
- Consolidating knowledge across the cohort;
- Acquiring feedback on proposed applications of the practices developed;
- Recognising and activating the network of connections.
Core Concepts
- Network
- Partnerships
- Reflexivity
Activities
- Presentation
- Discussion
- Playful strategies
- Assessment/reflection
- “Two-minute papers”
- Resources