Apply for Membership

Applications for membership are accepted at any time of the year, and should be sent to the Accreditation Director (email: accreditation@capc-acrp.ca). All applications are kept strictly confidential. Applications can be submitted electronically by way of a DVD or a file-sharing site such as Dropbox.

Application Process

Formal application requires that a candidate submit the following:

1. A completed Application Form
2. Supporting documents. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide supporting documents for all the information contained within the Application Form. The Membership Committee shall verify that the application contains all the information required. The Board of Examiners shall decide on the adequacy of the documentation. With regard to training, this should include letters of confirmation of work experience from, for example, institutions, employers, clients, or other individuals in the field of conservation.
3. An application fee must be remitted prior to holding the Examination, and should generally be sent along with the application form and the supporting documents. This application fee is currently $50.00 per specialty. Upon successful completion of the Examination, a registration fee must be remitted.
4. A portfolio of treatments or projects completed by the applicant.

Contents of Portfolio

As a guide, applicants for CAPC accreditation could include the following types of conservation documentation listed below in the portfolio. These recommendations provide only general suggestions. Any information that is considered sensitive and/or confidential can be redacted or omitted.

In general, candidates are encouraged to present portfolios demonstrate the breadth and depth of the candidate's practice. Illustrating a range and variety of treatments is encouraged.

Portfolios may include:

• Conservation assessments or condition reports
• Treatment reports
• Preventive Conservation Reports
• Collections Surveys with Evaluations and Recommendations

The Board of Examination

The Accreditation Director will set up a Board of Examination (BoE) for the applicant. A BoE consists of a minimum of four members of CAPC: two Standing Members and two Ad Hoc Members. There may be more than four members of the Board, and some examiners may not be members of CAPC. One Standing Member acts as the Chair of the Board, and one Standing Member acts as Recording Secretary. The other examiners are usually CAPC members who are accredited in the same speciality as the applicant. For some specializations, CAPC may invite non-members to act as examiner to provide the relevant expertise.

In order to preserve the confidentiality of the application, the members of the BoE will not learn the identity of the applicant until the applicant has approved the makeup of the BoE.

Once the applicant has approved the members of the BoE, the application materials and portfolio are sent to the BoE, and the BoE is given adequate time to examine the application. The Accreditation Director sets up a time for the applicant's interview at a time mutually convenient to all. Interviews may be in person or may be via video conferencing software, such as Skype. All interviews are recorded.

The examination is directed at establishing the applicant's professional competence and ability to take responsibility for the initiation and execution of conservation projects of a practical, scientific or managerial nature. It is designed to assess the applicant's knowledge, abilities and ethical principles. It has two main sections. The first concerns general knowledge and principles common to all professionals in the field of conservation. The second concerns the knowledge, ability and standards of practice specific to the applicant's area(s) of specialization. More details on the examination can be found in the Rules and Regulations Governing Membership in the CAPC Bylaws.

After the Board of Examination

Once the examination is completed, the BoE members discuss the application and come to a decision to accept or not accept the candidate. A BoE report is written and approved by all BoE members, and sent to the Accreditation Director, who them reports to the Board of Directors of CAPC. The result is communicated to the candidate in a letter from the CAPC President. If a BoE decides that a candidate should not be accepted, the identity of the candidate is withheld from the CAPC Board of Directors.

Applicants who are accepted become Professional Members of CAPC once they have paid a registration fee (currently $100.00). If registering between January 1st and June 30th, an annual membership fee is due the following year. If registering between July 1st and December 31st, the following year’s membership fee is included with the registration fee. Thereafter, the annual CAPC membership renewal fee is currently $100.00.