IFVP Institute Visual practitioner competency model™

    This robust compendium of Visual Practitioner Competencies represents years of work. In 1995, when the IFVP was born, several people gave a lot of thought to what might be included in a guide for aspiring practitioners, but those thoughts never took off or materialized. Many attempts were made along the way after that to define what we do and what it takes, but each time, it was beyond our ability to undertake what was required to carry that out. Our field is complex and rich and grows with each experience and we realized, it was going to take a real concentrated effort to focus in on what we actually had.

   Fast forward to around 2017 when the effort was picked up in earnest. This time, the traction was there. Many people contributed over the next 4 years to this bottom up, grassroots project, including studying 17 documented models. To define the IFVP’s competencies for a visual practitioner, we didn’t begin with a blank canvas.

   We kicked off with an Open Space discussion in New Jersey at IFVP 2019. Then, a handful of interested volunteers formed a working group*. The working group was a diverse group of individuals that represented the many roles and backgrounds of our industry, from academia and business, independent contractors, small firms, and large companies, and graphic recorders and visual facilitators.

   The working group followed a method of developing competencies originally designed by Bob Eichinger and Michael Lombardo at the Center for Creative Leadership. Their method has been used to create thousands of competency models for businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. 

   We looked carefully at the work of many leaders and thinkers in our industry who defined what it takes to be a visual practitioner in their own way, including David Sibbet, Brandy Agerbeck, Kelvy Bird, Ole Sorensen, Susan Kelly and the competencies used by a few visual practitioners agencies in the U.S. This gave us a library of about 300 competencies. 

   We narrowed down the list by identifying synonymous and near-synonymous competencies (like “listening” and “hearing”) and keeping the word that appeared most often (in this case, “listening”), and the tools, abilities, skills, practices and uniqueness of this field. Then, as individuals, we asked ourselves: which of these are the most important competencies for a visual practitioner to have? We each defined “important” in our own way to maintain a diversity of perspectives. We ranked them in order of importance, and were surprised to find how much we agreed with each other, despite our different views and interests. The compilation of our individual results became the final list of 12 and then distilled to 7 core competencies encompassing common elements that define the work of a professional visual practitioner.

   We shared the list with both IFVP and IFVP Institute’s board of directors and with a few leaders in our industry for their initial feedback. They had some great questions and great ideas, and they all agreed with the final list.

   We’re happy to share the IFVP Institute competencies with you now!

  FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Visual Practitioner Certification™. Why is this important?

• Thousands of visual practitioners worldwide depend on individual approaches to obtain their skills, resulting in inconsistent terminology, expertise levels, and potential client outcomes.

• There is an urgent need for a consistent standard and guidance from an accredited source to evaluate the knowledge and expertise of practitioners in this unique and rapidly growing industry. The IFVP Institute, a partner of the IFVP, provides such a source. 

• Having a standard can alleviate guesswork from clientele hiring from the visual practice industry and helps create best practices that can be disseminated.

• Earning a certificate carries much weight and proof of accomplishment and expertise, as determined by seasoned practitioners in their chosen fields.

• Competency models can be used to inform, develop, mentor, and certify individuals based on various skill sets traditionally found in the industry.

Wait, are IFVP and IFVP Institute different?!

Yes! They are separate entities with separate goals, governance, bylaws, and boards.

The IFVP Institute is a United States 501c3 nonprofit charged with visual practice's educational, scientific, and charitable development. It does not have a membership or any income other than donations or grants, and it advocates globally for the entire field of visual practitioners. The IFVP Institute also works to promote an academic and scientific base for our practice and actively encourages social applications of the field through shared projects.

The IFVP, for International Forum of Visual Practitioners, is a United States 501c6 nonprofit that promotes its members’ business interests, holds an annual conference, and maintains a website. Its sources of income consist of membership fees due yearly to be part of the organization and annual conference profit. 

What is INIFAC?

The INIFAC, the International Institute for Facilitation, is the world leader in professional facilitation certification, with the highest standards and competencies. Through our certifications, partnerships, and sponsorships, we advance mastery in facilitation, helping individuals, groups, and organizations worldwide achieve collaborative results.

Is the IFVP Institute in collaboration with INIFAC? Why?

The IFVP Institute has negotiated a proprietary assessment structure with INIFAC that allows for awarding an internationally recognized certification based on the IFVP Institute Visual Practitioner Competency Model TM. INIFAC is lending the IFVP Institute its expertise regarding best practices for managing the certification process.

This collaborative effort takes advantage of our symbiotic relationship with INIFAC. We are close fields that often overlap. Visual practitioners frequently incorporate process design and facilitation into their work, and more and more facilitators include graphics. Each retains its identity and value(s), while the symbiosis benefits both fields.

What is a Visual Practitioner?

Visual practitioners are a diverse group of professionals who employ various tools and methods, including custom visuals, diagrams, illustrations, storyboards, visual agendas, mapping systems, images, icons, drawings, multimedia, and more, to capture information, communicate ideas, stimulate creative thinking, and accelerate decision-making. 

What is a Graphic Recorder?

Graphic recording is the real-time translation of conversations or presentations into text and pictures. Graphic recorders do three things simultaneously: listen for critical ideas, synthesize them, and document them visually. They are usually called scribes, visual note-takers, graphic artists, etc. They use large format paper or foam boards for analog work and iPads® and tablets for digital work.

What is a Graphic Facilitator?

Graphic facilitation combines group facilitation and graphic recording. The graphic facilitator leads groups and individuals toward a goal, usually using visual aids like templates, flip charts, posters, or graphic recordings to support the process of leading the group.

Why do I need a certification?

It is important to note that a certification is not required to be a professional visual practitioner. However, earning the distinction of a certificate could provide credibility, enhance your visibility, and provide evidence of accomplishment and expertise, as determined by seasoned practitioners in their chosen field. Having a Visual Practitioner Certification assessed and issued by an international professional certification body is valuable in countries requiring certification to hire government contractors.

Isn’t the certification going to box people in?

We believe that certification is a personal choice that only affects the practice of those in need. There is no judgment; it is one of the pathways a professional chooses to follow. How many great facilitators or coaches do you know that practice with no IAF, INIFAC, or ICF certification? The fact they don’t have a certification doesn’t hold them back, and they deliver great work and grow and develop as professionals without that. The same rationale applies to visual practitioners. Certification is not mandatory to be a visual practitioner.

Why do we need standards in the visual practice field?

Over the years, we have repeatedly heard that people have been calling for standards and a process or program to achieve certification. We have discovered that many people worldwide either require a certificate before getting hired or would benefit significantly from being certified by being first in line to get hired, being paid more, or continuing to enrich their credentials.

In the global spirit, we want all our colleagues to be able to utilize their gifts in this unique and rapidly growing industry.