PROGRAMS
Civics Boot Camp
Registration for the 2025 Civics Boot Camp is open now!
Click Here to apply to the 2025 Civics Boot Camp!
Want to change the world—but start with your own community?
Synapcity Civics Boot Camp is a program designed to equip you with the tools, confidence, and connections to take meaningful action where you live. Whether you’re an aspiring city-builder, community organizer, or someone ready to step up, this program offers a space to learn, collaborate, and grow.
Applications close August 24, 2025.
About Civics Boot Camp
Civics Boot Camp is an interactive and experiential eight-week learning opportunity (two hours weekly, September 24 to November 19, with a break during Fall Reading Week, October 20-25) for citizens of all walks of life.
Participants will come together at Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre to explore crucial issues with a municipal lens, working to understand where the City spends money, how cities and communities are built, and how to engage others in city-making actions.
Boot Camp students gain important skills such as city making, civic navigation, city building, budgeting, governance and more.
Organized by Synapcity, in partnership with StudioDH at Carleton University, and funded by the Ottawa Community Foundation.
8 week learning opportunity
engage in city-making actions
Peer Sharing & Networking
Boot Camp Feedback
There are things I feel should be changed, and I want to have my voice heard. I figure if I can learn the system, I can make changes within the system. In these sessions I was shown that you can make a difference, no matter where you live, or how much you have. If you have the passion and the drive, and find the knowledge you need, you can really make that change. It was very inspiring!
Kelsey Boggis Da Silva
Synapcity is an organization of people builders. They ensure that all the voices of our city are heard. They push a group to a place that they didn’t think that they could go, and are masters of finding the way through. They were essential in helping us figure out what we wanted to do with the Wevolution and changed the outcome of our strategic vision profoundly!
Nathalie Carrier
I now know where and when to access information and/or people at City Hall. Plus, I now have access to a rich and varied network of friends upon whom I can call for various questions. It's the whole 'connectedness' piece that is so very invaluable.It’s like a spark that keeps our motivation high.
Boot Camp Graduate
It is with Citizens Academy that I was inspired to start an initiative, Y2Y! where the youth help one another find jobs.
Gowoon Lee
Before Synapcity, I’d never imagined reaching out to a politician. Throughout Boot Camp, we realized ‘wow, we can speak to these people’ – and more than that, Synapcity gave us the tools to use when we do speak to them.
Caroline W.
Synapcity came into our city and transformed it. They have changed how we can inform our communities, how we can be a positive change and how we can exchange the knowledge and involve our community members in urban and rural areas.
Mathieu Fleury
Citizens Academy provided me with additional motivation to run for City Council. Seeing and meeting so many engaged citizens gave me further inspiration to take a bold step myself. I also appreciated the direct advice we received from sitting and former councillors who came in as guest contributors.
Jevone Nicholas
Synapcity’s mission to enable citizens to improve their city is a lofty goal, but an achievable one. If I were to try and describe it in venture capital terms, it acts as both an incubator and an accelerator. It lets new growth and ideas develop, while it amplifies existing initiatives across the city. I’d go so far as to argue, Synapcity is a damn good investment opportunity.
Civics Boot Camp
The most important thing I learned from the Boot Camp is there are a lot of really smart, energetic, dedicated people across the city that are looking to make their communities a better place to live for everyone.
Yancy Craig
I learned about the issues that Ottawa faces as a city, and how I can better engage as a citizen to solve them. This boot camp is a chance for anyone who wants to learn about the City of Ottawa, how municipal government works and how citizens can effectively make a difference in the city.
Efrem Berhe
Whether you are authoring a handwritten letter to your local councillor or starting a new social media campaign with like-minded advocates, the Citizens Academy's diverse and whole-of-community approach to collaborative engagement has brought city and citizen closer than ever before.
Mitchell E. Kutney
Synapcity’s Civics Boot Camp previously ran from 2015 to 2020. Over 10 boot camps have been completed, with over 400 CityMaker alumni; these CityMakers have gone on to launch local initiatives, run and win municipal elections, work at community associations and BIAs, and more.
Get to contribute for real
A central part of Civics Boot Camp is the opportunity to work deeply on your own projects as well as support the projects of your fellow boot campers. Rather than traditional case studies tied to external organizations, we focus on grassroots collaboration—getting back to basics by helping one another refine ideas and build meaningful initiatives from the ground up. This peer-driven approach fosters a community of mutual support where everyone benefits from shared experiences and diverse perspectives.
By centering the work on projects generated within the group, we ensure that participants are actively invested in creating change that matters to them and their communities. This method cultivates practical skills and strengthens local connections, empowering participants to transform their civic ideas into tangible outcomes that contribute to a more vibrant and inclusive Ottawa.
Over 400 Civics Boot Camp Alumni
%
feel more confident and empowered *
%
of participants plan to start a new initiative *
*Civics Boot Camp Participant Survey
Community Impact Report
2014-2015
Community Impact Report
2016-2017
Case Studies
We’re seeking individuals from all backgrounds—whether you already have a project idea you’re passionate about or you’re simply eager to explore how you can make a difference but haven’t yet defined your focus. Participants will engage with real-world, scenario-based civic challenges designed to help you build, refine, and sharpen your ideas while developing practical skills.
Throughout the program, you’ll have meaningful opportunities to share your concepts, receive feedback, and collaborate with fellow Boot Campers, creating a dynamic environment of mutual support and inspiration. By turning learning into action, you’ll be empowered to transform your ideas into tangible outcomes that positively impact your community.
Apply For Boot Camp
1. Apply
Submit your name by filling the form below
2. Acceptance
Wait for our response – spots are limited!
3. Take Part
If accepted, take part in the eight 2-hour evening sessions and participate actively!