Learning at Coady
Coady Institute offers educational programming for emerging and established community leaders with a passion for social change. Coady’s approach to adult education is practice-focused and participatory, informed by learner-centered and asset-based methods that hold the potential for both personal growth and societal transformation. Courses are hosted on-campus at St. Francis Xavier University in Canada, off-campus in communities around the globe, and online using various communications platforms.
Education Programs for 2023
Applications for the following programs are now open!
Building on Abundance in Indigenous Communities
By the end of the course, you will identify changes you want to see in your community or organization and create an engagement plan to begin putting your plan into practice.
Feminist Leadership for capabilities, ecology and transformation
This course aims to inspire and empower people of all genders across the world to engage in purposeful and justice-oriented leadership, and to design ways to inculcate processes, systems, and structures in the communities you are engaged with.
Future of Work and Workers
This course is designed for anyone who is interested in work and workers including, government staff at the local, provincial and national levels who have responsibilities regarding labour, employment, skills, entrepreneurship, or women and gender; employment services providers; labour unions and workers’ organizations; and private sector, community-based organizations, NGOs and academic institutions, and think tanks.
Application deadlines for the following program offerings are now closed, however may be opening again soon. Check back for updates.
Livelihoods and Markets
This two-week certificate course will explore approaches that involve understanding the complexity of people’s livelihoods and the ‘market systems’ as well as solutions ranging from creating a more conducive and enabling environment, to an emphasis on trade and market access, small and micro-enterprise development, and innovations in climate smart/green technologies, and the application of various financial instruments.
Feminist Advocacy for Agency, Equity, and Justice
With pillars on feminism and advocacy, this two-week Certificate course will help participants deepen their understanding of feminism(s) and address issues of power, gender, and intersecting inequalities to plan and implement effective advocacy that strengthens community agency, participation, and voice.
Asset-Based and Citizen-Led Development
This course is a global space for sharing and learning about the principles, practices and tools that put local assets and action at the centre any development initiative. It offers a “time-out” for you to question conventional community development practices and beliefs and to re-evaluate the role of institutions in stimulating and supporting genuine asset-based and citizen-led development (ABCD).
Leadership for Young Professionals
This course is intended to support young professionals in the early stages of their careers as they explore what leadership means to them in the context of their work and future goals. It will offer participants the chance to grow their understanding of what leadership means, explore their own personal strengths as leaders, learn new skills, and begin to think through how they can apply their leadership in the workplace.
Diploma in Development Leadership
The program goal is to strengthen individuals and organizations involved in sustainable, asset-based, and equitable development by providing leadership development opportunities for emergent and established leaders.
Redevabilité sociale Stratégies et pratiques
Ce cours est conçu pour les praticiens provenant d’organisations de la société civile et de mouvements sociaux, ainsi que le personnel de gouvernements, des agences de développement ou du secteur privé, qui sont engagés dans les enjeux de gouvernance, de services publics, des droits de l’homme, de plaidoyer et/ou de la redevabilité.
Community led solutions for climate change
This course begins with a basic understanding of the scientific grounding of climate change including global warming, greenhouse gases and its consequences. The connection between climate change and community development will be discussed by exploring how climate change impacts our development efforts and the differential impacts it has across in various socio-economic variables including gender, age, and geographic location.
Indigenous Women in Leadership
This seven-week course will provide you with opportunities to learn and explore the abundance of strengths and gifts that live within you and your community. This course reflects Indigenous teachings, relational leadership models, and approaches. Principles and tools are also shared.
Action Research for Citizen-led Change
This course will accompany you in identifying and undertaking research that engages citizens more fully from the outset in a spirit of co-learning.
Indigenous Women in Community Leadership
This program is grounded in relational practices and mentorship opportunities that will build upon your already trusted leadership capacities for community-led, community-driven development.
Global Change Leaders program
This program enables participants identifying as women from developing countries to strengthen their leadership capacities in order to contribute towards a feminist and just world. Program participants engage in at the conceptual, policy level and praxis of understanding development, justice and feminism.
Adult Education and Learning for Community Development
You will have opportunities to reflect on your role and practice as an educator, explore theories and practices of adult learning, consider gender, power and learning for social change, and develop skills for designing adult education, including online learning.
Developmental Evaluation for Social Impact
Developmental Evaluation is an exciting approach to evaluation that enables social innovators, policy and program managers, and community leaders to design, monitor, and adapt social change initiatives in complex and uncertain environments.
Introduction to Social Enterprise
This course is ideal for development leaders and change makers who are grappling with questions of how to balance the social mission with the issue of sustainability of their organizations and are seeking creative solutions.
Women’s Leadership for Community Development
This program will focus on recognizing and celebrating women’s strengths and gifts, assessing leadership models and approaches, exploring feminist movement building in solidarity with others, and include the sharing of tools and frameworks that prioritize justice, equity and inclusion.
Citizen-Led Accountability: Strategies and Practices
This course helps equip you to understand the underlying principles of citizen-led accountability, and craft context-appropriate proposals to build accountability into your work.
Research Methods for Social Impact
Research Methods for Social Impact is designed to enhance participants’ capacity in developing the data gathering and analysis tools for research and evaluation for social impact.
Advancing Women’s Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding for Community Development
This course is ideal for women who want to work collaboratively to transform conflicts and create an enabling environment for peace and development.
Resources and Tools for Working with Young Women Leaders
This seven-week course is designed for community workers and program implementers working with young women to enhance their active citizenship.
Please Note
Please note that Coady Institute does not accept third party applications. Individuals need to submit their application via Coady’s website and should use caution when approached by those offering services to complete the application and admissions process.