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Location, Accessibility
Location Our office is Suite 405, on the Fourth Floor at 401 Richmond St. W. Originally, this was a factory that made decorative pressed-tin boxes for consumer items and the neighbourhood used to be home to textile, fashion, and clothing manufacturers. Now, this heritage building near the heart of downtown Toronto is filled with artists, charities, galleries, a couple of interesting shops, a café, and even a rooftop garden for tenants. For those visiting Toronto from out of town, this is one of the fun neighbourhoods with plenty of shops, cafes and restaurants nearby. Chinatown is a few blocks north on Spadina. Funky Queen Street West is a block away. Even funkier, Kensington Market is a little further north. The Entertainment District along King Street is two blocks south. The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), Rogers Centre (AKA “Skydome”), CN Tower, City Hall, Canadian Opera Company, theatres, and the Eaton Centre are all within walking distance. Accessibility There is only one passenger elevator in this old factory. It is located near the main entrance at the west end of the building (towards Spadina Ave.) If you enter from the east end, the door and ramp are newer and more wheelchair friendly, but finding the elevator requires winding your way through the basement level. When you see the bikes hanging on the wall you are really close.
Parking, Cycling, Hotels
Parking Driving should be easy but it is not. We are only one kilometer north of the Gardiner Expressway's Spadina exit. However, that one kilometer might take an hour at 5:00pm! This is central Toronto and traffic is not forgiving especially during rush hours. There are parking lots within walking distance, but these locations keep changing as the old empty lots have been developed into more condos (sigh). Expect to pay at least $16 per day. Whatever you do, do NOT park behind 401 Richmond St. W. Taxis and ride sharing In Toronto we have all the big taxi and ridesharing companies like Uber, and Lyft. There are quite a few car sharing companies too, like Communauto and Zipcar. Cycling Richmond and Adelaide Streets have busy bicycle lanes running east and west, as do most adjacent roads. There is a bike rack behind the building, near an entrance on the south side of the building. There is also a bike rack in the basement right beside the elevator, if you enter from the south or east end of the building (not the west end). We do not have shower facilities, so please pace yourself. The streets are not as bicycle friendly as in Holland, so be careful out there. If you want more information about the cycling options, click here. There are bikes you can borrow too, for a modest fee. Hotels There are quite a few hotels in and around the entertainment district. The closest is only one block away at the corner of Adelaide and Peter St. In general, you will find the prices are quite high, especially during peak tourism season and events like the Jazz Festival, TIFF, and Pride. The abundance of condos in the area means that Air BnB and similar services compete with hotels and may be the more affordable alternative. ICA Associates Inc. does not recommend or book accommodations for visitors.
Transit
Transit 401 Richmond St. West is very close to Spadina Ave. and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) operates busses, streetcars, and subways throughout the city. It is actually a good way to get around town. Recently the TTC made it possible to pay your fare at the turnstile by tapping your credit card or phone instead of buying passes or tokens. If you are travelling east or west, you can take either the King or Queen Streetcars. The Queen Street car stops at Spadina Ave, and you walk one block south. The King Street car also stops at Spadina, and you walk two blocks north. If you are travelling north or south, you also have two options. Take either the Spadina Streetcar or the University Avenue side of the #1 subway line to Osgoode Station. The Spadina Avenue streetcar stops at Queen (southbound) or Richmond (northbound). If you are arriving from Union Station on the GO Train or VIA Rail, the 510 Spadina Streetcar originates right underneath Union Station. However, if you are fit, not carrying a suitcase, and the weather is ok, then consider walking because it takes the same amount of time. If you take the subway, exit at Osgoode Station (University and Queen) and walk 10 minutes to our office. Osgoode is only two stops north of Union Station. You can easily walk from Union Station in 20 minutes on a nice day. Take a zig-zag route to make it interesting. (During the Toronto International Film Festival the walk is especially interesting).
Frequently Asked Questions
IAF Certification can take up to 6 months from application to IAF to final assessment. The IAF assessment for certification has its own timeline and can be done whenever the International Association of Facilitators schedules assessments. The Professional Facilitator Program which prepares you for assessment, can be taken during two weeks of July, or spread out over a year or more. Similarly, the ToP Facilitation Essentials Program can be taken in 10 days or spread over a year or more. ICAs ToP Certification recognizes a level of methodology that IAF certification does not.
The courses of the FLP can be taken over a six month period, or stretched out over a year or more. Take Group Facilitation Methods first.
When we do facilitation or consulting with a client, we use the ToP body to knowledge to ensure that the consulting is effective and sustainable. Our courses teach that same body of knowledge, so ICA or ToP trained facilitators can use that same body of knowledge in their consulting.
At the very least it will take 8 months. But you can take as long as you like, up to several years. You can join at any time, even after you have taken some of the required courses.
The International Association of Facilitation has a facilitator certification that is standard within the profession. You become a Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF) after you pass this assessment. The Institute of Cultural Affairs has a body of knowledge called the Technology of Participation (ToP™) that is common around the world. This is an advanced level of facilitation and after assessment you become a Certified ToP Facilitator (CTF). CTF contains almost all of the competencies of the CPF, and adds a level of specialized methods and processes applicable to any field of endeavour.
Group Facilitation Methods, Meetings That Work, Facilitating Client Collaboration, Diversity Learning Circles, Cultural Transformation and the Community Development Intensive have no prerequisites. All other courses build on the foundation of GFM, so all other courses require Group Facilitation Methods or GFM online as a prerequisite.
Yes. ToP training courses are available in many countries. They may have different names. If you would like further information, please contact one of our trainers.
The Technology of Participation (ToP™) is a body of knowledge developed by the Institute of Cultural Affairs over forty years. ToP links tools, processes and methods, to a seamless set of values and philosophy that is transferrable across many fields of endeavour. It is a very powerful suite of facilitation methods that are used by practitioners worldwide. There are many books on the Technology of Participation.