Become an Accredited Trainer
About the SIPC Trainer Accreditation Program
ADP accredits trainers who deliver preparatory training for the Social Innovation Practitioner Certification (SIPC). The programme is designed to give trainers a recognised status they can use in their work, and to give learners some assurance about the standard of training they are receiving.
Accreditation is not a licence to teach, you do not need to be accredited to run SIPC training. What accreditation does is formally recognise trainers who are already doing good work and gives them a practical benefit:
- discounted exam vouchers
- a listing in the ADP trainer directory, and
- a tiered badge they can use in their own materials.
The 4 tiers of accreditation
The programme has four tiers. Moving up is based on evidence, not application — trainers are assessed during the annual review cycle each February based on their actual delivery record.
- Accredited Trainer (base)
You hold an active SIPC certificate, have certified at least 5 learners in the past year, and your learners’ average exam score is 70% or above. You also collect and share positive pre-exam learner reviews through the certN system.
Voucher discount: 25% - Accredited Trainer Bronze
You meet the base conditions at greater volume: 50+ certified learners per year, 70%+ average learner exam score, and at least one case study contributed to the ADP knowledge base annually.
Voucher discount: 30% - Accredited Trainer Silver
You have certified 150 or more learners in the past year — or alternatively, 50 or more learners while also mentoring at least 3 new trainers to Accredited Trainer status. Average learner score of 80%+, with three case studies contributed annually.
Voucher discount: 35% - Accredited trainer Gold
You have certified 250 or more learners in the past year — or alternatively, 150 or more learners while mentoring at least 5 new trainers to accreditation. Average learner score of 80%+, with five case studies contributed annually.
Voucher discount: 40%
The grace period when you first join
There is a practical issue with the base tier conditions: you cannot demonstrate 5 certified learners and a 70% pass rate before you have run a single cohort, but you need the economics to work to run that first cohort in the first place.
To address this, every trainer who holds an active SIPC certificate and registers for accreditation receives the base 25% voucher discount for the first three months from their registration date. This applies to every new trainer, regardless of when they join. After those three months, the standard conditions apply before the discount continues.
The annual review
ADP reviews all active accreditations every February, using data from the VDS portal and certN’s examination records.
Trainers who meet their current tier conditions are reissued their accreditation and badge for the next annual cycle. Trainers who have consistently exceeded their current tier may be upgraded at ADP’s discretion.
Trainers who do not meet their conditions at the time of the review are notified in writing and given a three-month grace period to bring their record into compliance. During the grace period, they keep their tier designation and their voucher discount — the intent is to give a real opportunity to course-correct, not to penalise. If the conditions are still not met at the end of the grace period, accreditation is revoked and the trainer is removed from the public directory. Re-application is possible once the required conditions can be demonstrated.
The adjusted exam price (see pricing section below) is also announced at the end of February each year, so the timing aligns.
The commercial structure
Accredited trainers order exam vouchers for their learners through the dedicated VDS portal at the discount applicable to their tier. Orders are placed directly through the portal — there is no manual invoicing process. Trainers can also monitor their learners’ exam progress and outcomes through the same system.
Exam vouchers are currently priced at €200 (launch price, valid through the end of year one). After the first year, the base price will return to €350 and will be adjusted annually for inflation in line with Eurozone indices published by the European Commission.