• This program is for:

    Young men aged 13-24 in selected schools and community organizations.

  • Costs & Fees

    $5000 annual licensing fee

  • Location

    All Canadian provinces and territories

  • How to Register

    Register using our online application form.

  • Contact Us

    Contact our WiseGuyz Scaling Project Manager, Stafford Perry.

Helping Guyz be Wise Across the Country

WiseGuyz is an evidence-informed program that focuses on positive mental health and well-being and helps young men develop skills to engage in healthy relationships. Participants identify harmful gender norms and cultivate healthier, more inclusive ways of being a guy. The program’s goals are improved mental health, positive identity formation and reduced intimate partner violence/male-perpetrated violence.

Research has shown that WiseGuyz has a positive impact on participants, from relationship skills to friendship quality to attitudes about their mental health. Scaling sites receive end-to-end support from leadership engagement to training to ongoing coaching.

Scaling in school settings

The Centre for Sexuality developed WiseGuyz in 2010 for in-school delivery. We are looking for school scaling partners across Canada. The core WiseGuyz school program consists of 20 sessions of 90 minutes each.

Scaling in other settings

Since 2018, we have been expanding WiseGuyz to other organizations that support young men, including organizations that support youth involved in the justice system. We have developed the following adapted versions of the program to suit specific needs, with more in development for 2025:

  • WiseGuyz in youth justice settings: 19-session program adapted for youth aged 13-24 in justice settings
  • WiseGuyz in community: 13-session WiseGuyz program designed for youth aged 13-24 in community settings like after school programs, sport programs and youth centres

We have partnered with 31 sites including schools, community agencies and youth justice sites to deliver the WiseGuyz program.

Become a WiseGuyz Scaling Site

“WiseGuyz makes a big impact. Staff notice positive changes in participants’ behaviour as the year progresses. Students have told me that the space we co-create every week is not only a good way to learn, but it’s also good for their mental health as they navigate school, relationships and life. The WiseGuyz curriculum is everything I wish someone taught me and my friends when we were growing up”.

– WiseGuyz Public Educator, Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton

Organizations who work in schools, community settings, youth criminal justice or crime prevention settings are welcome to apply to become a licensed WiseGuyz program provider. This opportunity is for organizations looking for a high-impact program to help them to achieve the following outcomes:

  1. Increased challenging and questioning of health-harming gender and social norms
  2. Increased social network of friends who endorse positive, inclusive masculine norms
  3. Increased help-seeking, self-management and positive coping skills, resulting in improved mental health outcomes
  4. Improved communication and decision-making skills, contributing to healthy relationships

What do scaling sites get?

“The coaching calls are brilliant! Over the years I have seen many programs come and go. People receive training and then there is very little done ensure fidelity to the program or support provided to bolster facilitators and hold them accountable. With the high quality of the WiseGuyz program, I find it reassuring the Centre for Sexuality invests the time to make sure it is done right because it increases positive outcomes for participants.”

-WiseGuyz Scaling Partner

We work with leadership teams and facilitators at our scaling sites to build WiseGuyz into their program offerings. We provide training, curriculum materials, administrative and logistic templates and ongoing support to make implementation easy, effective and sustainable.

In year one, we equip facilitators to effectively deliver the program and provide support to get the program running. First-year facilitators completing the WiseModel become certified WiseGuyz facilitators.

Beyond year one, sites receive ongoing support through coaching, communities of practice and our WisePortal. Scaling partners who are adding facilitators can include them in the WiseModel Training Program.

Scaling sites receive:

  • Leadership Orientation and ongoing check ins provide an overview of the program, implementation requirements, evaluation process and implementation planning tools.
  • WiseGuyz Training Institute (WGTI) is 21 hours of training, demonstrations and practice for facilitators in training.
  • WisePortal access for access to on-demand e-learning, research, core program theories and approaches, demonstration videos and templates.
  • Tailored monthly coaching to support set-up, delivery and troubleshooting.
  • Quarterly Community of Practice for facilitators to deepen their understanding and connection to the work.
  • Quarterly capacity-building to help facilitators feel confident in the WiseGuyz program modules, facilitation skills, program theories and core approaches.
  • Facilitation observation, feedback and support by WiseGuyz Implementation Specialists.

Apply Now

The first step to becoming a WiseGuyz scaling site is submitting an application. We accept applications from school-based, community-based and youth justice-based organizations who work with our target populations.

Apply Now

Not quite ready?

If you are not yet ready to apply, you can register your interest in becoming a scaling site for more information.

Register Your Interest

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a great WiseGuyz scaling site?

Scaling sites have the best chance of success when they have:

  • Organizational buy-in: Leadership identifies the need and commits staff time; all staff are aware of the program and are supportive of implementation.
  • Values alignment: Great partners share our values of gender equity, inclusive masculinities, human rights and trauma-informed practices.
  • Strong facilitators: Facilitators understand the power of prevention-focused programs, the need to build rapport with participants and finding points of connection between WiseGuyz topic areas and participants’ lives.
  • Time: WiseGuyz takes time – time to build connection and rapport, time to implement the program with participants, and time to work through the WiseModel and complete the administrative functions that come with any program implementation.
  • Space: WiseGuyz requires quiet and private space to enable safety to be built and distraction to be minimized.
  • Access to youth: Recruitment of WiseGuyz participants can be challenging unless your organization already works with our target populations. Our most successful partners run programs in partnership with schools or school districts, operate Attendance Centres, provide residential mental health or addiction programs or have program partnerships in the community.
  • Commitment to Evaluation: We apply rigorous evaluation and analysis to keep WiseGuyz effective across different sites and contexts. While we can provide support and tools to collect and analyze data, sites must implement an evaluation framework for the program as part of the licensing agreement.

What types of organizations can deliver WiseGuyz?

WiseGuyz is suitable for delivery in school, youth justice and community settings. Examples of successful organizations delivering the WiseGuyz program include:

  • live-in forensic mental health facilities
  • schools
  • after-school youth groups
  • community programs
  • Youth Attendance Centres
  • Young Offender Centres
  • sports programs
  • addiction programs

How much time is required?

Completion of the WiseModel Training Program takes approximately 42 hours: a 21-hour Training Institute, an asynchronous e-learning program, monthly one-hour coaching calls, quarterly two-hour Community of Practice sessions and quarterly two-hour group capacity-building sessions.

Delivering WiseGuyz requires partnership development, material preparation, program administration and program delivery. Ability to deliver on these commitments should be considered before applying to deliver the program.

In our experience, some organizations may need additional consulting support to launch their first program to account for attendance issues, adaptations, evaluation support, etc.

How much does it cost?

WiseGuyz operates a cost-recovery model, allowing us to support scaling sites, provide curriculum updates and continue to develop our scaling efforts. An annual $5,000 CAD licensing fee is charged to sites for the use of the WiseGuyz curriculum and propriety materials, as well as ongoing access to the WiseGuyz training and support program for two facilitators.

Additional training fees may apply for sites looking to re-train, or expand program facilitators with their organizations.

Can the program be adapted to suit our needs?

Our WiseGuyz Scaling team will consult with you about your delivery constraints and needs. In some cases, we are unable to support the required adaptation due to the impact on program outcomes.

The WiseGuyz team is committed to developing adaptations that meet the needs of our local and national partners. We currently have adaptations in development based on feedback from partners.

Can WiseGuyz be adapted for different cultural contexts?

WiseGuyz follows universal design principles and accommodate the needs and abilities of all learners. The program has a guide to adaptations to enable you to meet specifics needs or contexts while still meeting key outcomes.

We have worked with sites to adapt scenarios or tools to make them more relevant for specific contexts. Our scaling team can consult with you about specific needs in your community/program and support required adaptations as appropriate.