Partnerships That Make Certification Mean Something
An international credential is only as strong as the organisations behind it. IAHC is actively seeking partnerships with established training providers whose courses already meet the standard - and with the professional and healthcare bodies whose recognition makes that credential portable across institutions and borders.
The Credential Exists Because the Practice Already Does
Healthcare clowning has been practised in hospitals, hospices, and care settings for decades. Skilled practitioners have been trained by established organisations around the world - organisations that have developed rigorous curricula, supervised clinical placements, and professional standards long before IAHC existed.
IAHC is not starting from scratch. We are building a global framework that recognises, elevates, and connects what already exists. That means the organisations who have been doing this work are not just welcome at the table - they are essential to it.
A training provider whose curriculum already meets the IAHC Standards of Practice should not have to rebuild their program. Their graduates should have a clear, expedited pathway to certification. And the professional bodies that govern healthcare should recognise IAHC certification as a mark of clinical competence - because it is built on the same foundations they already trust.
Training Partners
Organisations with existing programs whose graduates deserve an expedited path to IAHC certification - because their training already meets the standard.
Recognition Partners
Healthcare standards bodies, professional associations, and credentialing organisations whose endorsement makes IAHC certification portable across institutions and healthcare systems.
Why It Matters for By-Laws
Partnership agreements with established organisations inform IAHC's governance structure, by-laws, and the criteria by which certification is defined, awarded, and renewed.
Training Provider Partnerships
If your organisation delivers healthcare clowning training that already meets - or substantially meets - the IAHC Standards of Practice, a formal Training Partner designation means your graduates have a direct, expedited route to IAHC certification. No duplication. No starting over. Recognition of what you have already built.
Curriculum Alignment
Your training program covers the core competency domains in the IAHC Standards of Practice - clinical presence, patient assessment, environment navigation, ethics, reflective practice, and evidence-informed care.
Clinical Supervision
Your program includes structured supervised clinical practice in a recognised healthcare setting, with documented hours and qualified supervisor oversight.
Assessment & Outcomes
Your program uses competency-based assessment - not just attendance - and produces graduates who can demonstrate practice readiness against a defined standard.
Ethics & Safety
Your program embeds patient safety, infection control, professional boundaries, and ethical conduct as non-negotiable foundations - not electives.
Institutional Credibility
Your organisation has an established track record of delivering healthcare clowning training in partnership with, or within, recognised healthcare institutions.
Commitment to the Field
Your organisation is willing to align with IAHC governance, contribute to the development of the global standard, and support the professional recognition of your graduates.
Recognition That Reflects the Work You Have Already Done
IAHC Training Partner status is not a rubber stamp - it is a formal recognition that your program meets the global standard. Here is what that means in practice:
- Formal IAHC Training Partner designation and listing on this site
- Your graduates access an expedited IAHC certification pathway - no full re-training required
- Curriculum mapping support from the IAHC Standards Committee
- Co-development input on the IAHC training framework and assessment tools
- Recognition in IAHC publications, communications, and the global directory
- Invitation to the IAHC Partner Council - a voice in how the global standard evolves
- Priority access to IAHC continuing education resources for your faculty
The Expedited Certification Pathway
Graduates of IAHC Training Partners Do Not Start Over
When a training provider's curriculum is formally mapped to the IAHC Standards of Practice and the partnership agreement is in place, their graduates will be eligible to apply for IAHC certification through a streamlined portfolio review - not the full training pathway. This is the same principle that underpins Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL): if you have already demonstrated the competence, you should not have to prove it twice. The specific terms of each expedited pathway will be defined through the curriculum mapping process and confirmed by the IAHC Certification Review Panel once established.
Recognition & Standards Body Partnerships
A credential is only as portable as the institutions that recognise it. IAHC is building relationships with the healthcare standards organisations, professional associations, and credentialing bodies whose endorsement is what makes a certification meaningful inside a hospital, a funding application, or a professional registration system.
Healthcare Standards Organisations
Examples
Bodies such as Health Standards Organization (HSO) and equivalent national accreditation bodies that set clinical quality and safety standards for healthcare institutions.
Why This Matters
Formal alignment with healthcare standards bodies is how IAHC certification becomes a recognised quality indicator within hospital accreditation frameworks - the same pathway that established credentials like Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) have used to achieve institutional recognition.
Professional Healthcare Associations
Examples
Nursing associations, social work bodies, arts therapy associations, child life professional bodies, and interdisciplinary healthcare professional organisations.
Why This Matters
When IAHC certification is recognised by the professional bodies that govern the disciplines healthcare clowns work alongside, it becomes portable across the entire care team - not just within the clowning field.
International Credentialing Bodies
Examples
Bodies such as Play Therapy International and equivalent organisations that have established pathways for credential recognition within healthcare and allied health systems.
Why This Matters
Organisations like Play Therapy International have navigated the process of having a specialised credential recognised by healthcare systems and professional registration bodies. Their model - and their relationships - are directly relevant to IAHC's recognition strategy.
Academic and Research Institutions
Examples
Universities and research centres with programs in arts therapies, child life, health humanities, or related fields that include or could include healthcare clowning.
Why This Matters
Academic partnerships create the research infrastructure that underpins evidence-based practice, and provide a pathway for IAHC certification to be recognised as a graduate-level professional credential.
How Credentials Get Recognised by Healthcare Systems
Organisations like Play Therapy International have navigated the path from a specialised credential to one that is recognised within healthcare systems and professional registration frameworks. That recognition does not happen automatically - it is built through formal relationships with standards bodies, professional associations, and accreditation organisations.
For IAHC, this means pursuing alignment with bodies such as the Health Standards Organization (HSO) - which sets clinical quality and safety standards used by healthcare institutions across Canada and internationally - and equivalent bodies in other jurisdictions. It means building relationships with the professional associations that govern the disciplines healthcare clowns work alongside: nursing, social work, arts therapies, child life.
These partnerships also directly inform IAHC's by-laws and governance structure. The criteria by which certification is awarded, the standards against which it is assessed, and the renewal requirements that keep it current - all of these are shaped by the frameworks that recognition partners already use. Building these relationships now, during IAHC's formation, means the credential is designed for recognition from the start.
The Partnership Process
IAHC is in its formation stage. Formal partnership agreements will be finalised once the board is established and governance structures are ratified. But the conversations that shape those agreements start now - and the organisations who engage early will have the most influence over how the global standard is built.
Express Interest
Email us at [email protected] with a brief description of your organisation, your training program or professional mandate, and why you believe a partnership with IAHC makes sense.
Initial Conversation
A member of the IAHC founding team will respond to arrange an introductory call. This is a two-way conversation - we want to understand your context, and we want you to understand ours.
Curriculum or Mandate Review
For training partners, we will work with you to map your curriculum against the IAHC Standards of Practice. For recognition partners, we will explore alignment between your mandate and IAHC's credentialing framework.
Partnership Agreement
Formal partnership agreements will be developed once the IAHC board is established and governance structures are ratified. Early conversations now shape the terms and the relationship.
Formation Stage Note
IAHC is currently in its formation stage. No formal partnership agreements are in place yet - the board has not been established and governance structures have not been ratified. What we are doing now is building the relationships and conversations that will shape those agreements. Organisations who engage during this formation period will have direct input into how the global standard is designed, and will be first in line when formal agreements open.
Your Organisation Belongs in This Conversation
Whether you run an established training program, lead a national association, or work within a healthcare standards or professional recognition body - if your work touches healthcare clowning, we want to hear from you. The global standard is being built now, and it should reflect the full breadth of what this field has already achieved.