Apply for Membership

The CAPC accreditation process involves:

• Completing and sending the application package (see below)
• Sharing a portfolio of work for peer-review (see below for content requirements)
• An interview with an approved Board of Examiners to discuss your portfolio and practice

Membership applications are accepted anytime and should be sent to the Accreditation Director (accreditation@capc-acrp.ca). All applications are kept strictly confidential, and should be submitted using a file-sharing site such as Google Drive, or a USB storage device. Portfolio submissions are discarded after the completion of the examination.

Application Package

The application package requires:

• A completed Application Form.
• Supporting documents mentioned in the Application Form, where needed (your complete CV will likely contain much of the information needed). The Accreditation Director will confirm the application contains all the information required, and the Board of Examiners will then decide on the adequacy of the documentation and, as needed, request additional documents such as confirmation letters of work placements or contract templates.
• An application fee of $100.00 per specialty sent by e-transfer to treasurer@capc-acrp.c

Candidate can add a personal statement letter to the application to introduce themselves and clarify certain aspects of their application, as needed.

Contents of Portfolio

All candidates must present a portfolio containing at least five (5) dossiers demonstrating involvement in a variety of projects completed after their studies, where they have played a leading role.

Portfolio dossiers may include:

• Treatment reports*, including preliminary assessments and treatment proposals;

• Expertise and consultation reports;

• Research and technical analysis projects;

• Preventive conservation reports including risk assessments, and guidelines (monitoring and control) for one or more of the agents of deterioration, IPM plans, etc ;

• Collections surveys with evaluations and recommendations;

• Institutional policies for collection management and preservation;

• Emergency preparedness and heritage rescue;

• Training curricula, workshops developed, reports on advocacy;

• Source community engagement, including artist interviews;

• Other documented activities showing leadership and expertise in heritage conservation.

Documents submitted should follow CAPC's Conservation Documentation Guidelines. Information considered sensitive and confidential can be removed. All portfolio documents are discarded after the examination.

*Candidates applying in a material treatment specialty need at least two reports of complex treatments they have performed or supervised. Those working in private practice should include their contract template.

The candidates applying in the following specialty do not have to submit treatment reports:

• Preventive Conservation;

• Conservation Education;

• Conservation Management;

• Conservation Science.

The Interview

The Accreditation Director will work with the candidate to form a Board of Examiners (BoE) with a minimum of four members. One CAPC member will act as the Chair of the Board, and another as Recording Secretary. The other examiners are members with expertise in the same specialty as the applicant, or non-member specialists, based on the specialization sought and the language of the interview. The steps leading to the interview are:

1. The applicant reviews and approves proposed BoE members. The applicant may confidentially veto members without having to provide justification.
2. The BoE signs a confidentiality agreement, learns the identity of the candidate, and receives their application materials.
3. The BoE examines the application to prepare the interview and requests clarification and/or additional documentation as needed
4. The interview is scheduled and carried out. Interviews may be in person or via video conferencing and 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. It is designed to assess the applicant's knowledge, abilities, and ethical principles. It has three main sections, with questions asked to establish competency in each:

1. Professional Practice: General.
   1. Will cover topics including ethics, autonomy, health & safety, and foundations of preventive conservation
2. Professional Practice: Specialized
   1. Based on area of practice and portfolio. Evaluation of specialized knowledge related to assessment of objects and their conditions, conservation treatment materials/processes and their potential effects, and organization of a workspace.
3. Professional Development and Contributions to the Profession.
   1. Discussions on continuing professional development, involvement in associations, mentoring, advocacy, etc.
      

Competency is assessed using the table below developed by the Institute of Conservation (Icon). The level of Competent is expected from candidates.

More details on the examination can be found in the Rules and Regulations Governing Membership in the CAPC Bylaws.

After the Interview

Once the examination is completed, the BoE discusses the application and writes a recommendation letter with feedback to the Board of Directors, who then vote to accept the member. If a BoE decides that a candidate should not currently be accepted, the identity of the candidate is withheld from the CAPC Board of Directors.

Membership of successful applicants becomes official once they pay the $125 registration fee, which covers the cost of a certificate and membership dues for the current year. If registering after July 1st, the following year’s membership fee is included with the registration fee. Thereafter, the annual CAPC membership renewal fee is currently $125.00.

Members must follow all of the association's rules and regulations, and they are responsible for volunteering on the Board of Directors and the Boards of Examiners when they are available.