How the Accreditation Portal works
Assessment Types
There are five different levels within the Welcoming Cities accreditation, each requiring different levels of evidence and assessment. A council may apply for the accreditation level they deem themselves to have the policies and programs to achieve. For a more detailed understanding of the accreditation process, please see the (link) Welcoming Cities Accreditation Manual.
There are six categories in the Welcoming Cities Standard and each one is comprised of a set of indicators. When undertaking an application councils must upload evidence of compliance with these indicators, there must be evidence provided that the indicator is represented in: policy, internally within the council and externally. If desired a comment may be added for any piece of evidence.
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Committed
A Committed council has submitted a letter of commitment to the Welcoming Cities network signed by the Mayor or CEO of the council. -
Established
An Established council has completed a self-assessment addressing the Leadership category of the Welcoming Cities Standard. This application reviewed and approved by Welcoming Cities. -
Advanced
An Advanced council has completed the first three categories of the Welcoming Cities Standard. The application is reviewed by an external assessor. -
Excelling
An Excelling council has completed all six categories from the Welcoming Cities Standard. This application is reviewed and scored by an external assessor. -
Mentoring
A Mentoring council has first completed the Excelling accreditation, completing all categories of the Welcoming Cities Standard. A Mentoring council has then applied to and been approved by the Welcoming Cities Standard Advisory Committee to be a Mentoring council.
There are six categories in the Welcoming Cities Standard and each one is comprised of a set of indicators. When undertaking an application councils must upload evidence of compliance with these indicators, there must be evidence provided that the indicator is represented in: policy, internally within the council and externally. If desired a comment may be added for any piece of evidence.
Category | Committed Signed Letter of Commitment | Established Council Self Assessment | Advanced Council Peer Assessment | Excelling Council External Assessment | Mentoring Signed Letter of Intent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Leadership category assessment | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
2. Social and cultural inclusion category assessment | Y | Y | Y | ||
3. Economic development category assessment | Y | Y | Y | ||
4. Learning and skills development category assessment | Y | Y | |||
5. Civic participation category assessment | Y | Y | |||
6. Places and spaces category assessment | Y | Y |
Assessment Criteria
A council will become accredited if they score a minimum 80% compliance across all indicators in the required categories for their level. Compliance is measured with a score of 1-5 as follows:
- No compliance
- Low compliance
- Partial compliance
- High compliance
- Full compliance
A council’s score is calculated in the following manner:
- Each indicator in each category will have score of 1-5, based on the compliance level of that indicator
- The average score across indicators will create the score for the category
- The average score across all categories will be the final score for the assessment
