NGICP Update (Fall 2019)

ASAE Power of A Award: On Oct. 2, representatives from the Water Environment Federation, DC Water and the University of the District of Columbia received a coveted Power of A Summit Award from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE; Washington, D.C.). The award recognizes the success of the National Green Infrastructure Certification Program (NGICP). Since the program’s inception, NGICP has provided more than 500 technicians around the U.S. with credentials that indicate their skills in the design, maintenance, and management of green stormwater infrastructure to prospective employers. The Power of A Awards are divided into three categories—Silver, Gold, and Summit, which is the highest level. At ASAE’s 20th Annual Power of A Summit Awards Dinner held at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., NGICP partners received one of six Power of A Summit awards. In all, ASAE conferred 41 Power of A awards recognizing transformational association programs and initiatives. More than 1,000 association professionals attended the reception.

ANSI Accreditation: The NGICP team submitted their application to ANSI in July 2019 and went through the auditing process in October 2019. NGICP hopes to become accredited by the end of 2019. ANSI is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. NGICP hopes accreditation will help distinguish this program from all other certification programs in this field.
Stormwater and GI Symposium 2020: The 2020 National Stormwater Symposium will be held from March 15-17, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The symposium brings together stormwater management experts, innovators, and professionals for powerful education aimed at deepening technical knowledge and providing a forum to discuss today’s most important stormwater issues. For more information about the Symposium, please click here.
Train-the-Trainer Workshops: NGICP is offering workshops to individuals interested in becoming an NGICP trainer. Two train-the-trainer workshops will be held in 2020 – Milwaukee, WI (March 23-25) and Bethesda, MD (in conjunction with the LID Conference) in July. Registration will be available on the NGICP website as soon as details are finalized.

NGICP is working on the following pilot programs to expand the program to reach a broader audience.

NGICP Blended Learning Pilot: NGICP is developing an alternative to the current 35-hour in-person training requirement. This new blended learning method (combination of online learning plus an in-person training) gives students access to the curriculum online, six-weeks before attending the condensed 2 day in-person training (which would otherwise be 5 days). NGICP will hold four pilots to assess the effectiveness of this alternate method of providing the training. The first pilot was held in partnerships with the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) during May 14-16, 2019. NGICP held its second blended learning pilot in Saint Paul, Minnesota during October 28-30, 2019. 10 participants attended the in-person training and took the paper-and-pencil exam administered at the end of the training.

Certified Individuals: 551 (as of November 30, 2019). Visit the NGICP website to find out who they are.
Licensees: NGICP now has 14 licensees who are all holding trainings in their regions; these regions include the southeastern US, New England, the mid-West, Hawaii, and New Zealand.
Partners: NGICP has a total of 11 partners.
Volunteers: With more than 100 volunteers involved in different aspects of the program, NGICP has structured itself to adapt and grow with a Strategic Advisory Council (SAC) to administer governance, a Certification Committee to maintain the certification scheme and a Technical Advisory Group to oversee development of technical components.
Trainers: NGICP now has 69 approved trainers
Trainings: Just in 2019, there have been 27 trainings ranging from ones held at community colleges to utilities to those provided by licensed trainers.