Lutheran Community Care Services (LCCS) and the International Institute for Restorative Practices Graduate School (the IIRP) are pleased to announce an expansion of their partnership that will provide new learning opportunities for LCCS learners and enrich IIRP graduate education with unique perspectives. As of August 2026, LCCS learners can access the IIRP’s courses and faculty, thereby strengthening applied restorative practices and advancing professional and academic engagement in Singapore and Southeast Asia. 

LCCS, established in 2002 and located in Singapore, and the IIRP, accredited in 2006 and located in the United States of America, have a longstanding history of collaboration dating back to 2013. It began when the IIRP visited Singapore to facilitate a restorative practices professional development event to twelve participants from the fields of education, residential care, and prison services. This work further developed, as both organizations are grounded in a shared commitment to expand global access to restorative practices by creating learning pathways from skills-based professional development to scholar-practitioner graduate-level study.  

This partnership invites individuals who hold a bachelor’s degree and complete Building Relational Capacity (BRC) with LCCS to enroll in the IIRP’s foundational graduate course, RP 500 Basic Restorative Practices, with the potential to continue with additional graduate-level study. 

This asynchronous, online, 3-credit graduate course explores how relational practices apply to each individual learner’s setting through intrapersonal self-reflection, interpersonal dynamics, and community-based practical application. Over 4 weeks of interactive learning, students collaborate with a community of professionals from various sectors, including community and public service, education, policy advocacy, human services, law enforcement, and more.  

This foundational course builds on what individuals learn through BRC and opens the opportunity to pursue any of the IIRP’s graduate programs, including a Master of Science in Restorative Practices with options for a thesis or a specialization in education or community engagement. Additionally, the IIRP offers graduate certificates in restorative practices, relational facilitation for healing trauma, and change implementation in organizations and social systems. 

“We are grateful for our partnership with the IIRP and for the opportunity to work alongside an organisation that makes global impact through demonstrating the transformative potential of restorative practices,” shared Executive Director of LCCS, Justin Mui. “Through the Building Relational Capacity programme, participants gain a glimpse of what restorative practices can offer, while the RP 500 Basic Restorative Practices course provides a pathway for them to deepen their learning at a graduate level. More importantly, we hope this partnership will inspire more people to take an active role in bringing restorative practices into their workplaces and communities.” 

Believing that relationships are key for one’s well-being, LCCS engages individuals and families to build connected communities and strengthen and restore relationships through restorative conversations. LCCS works with a wide range of stakeholders, including schools, institutions (residential homes and prisons), state courts, and the child protection system to address issues of harm and hurt as well as foster healthy relationships for support and growth. Through research, application, and training, LCCS aspires to contribute to the growth of practice and knowledge in restorative practices.  

“The creation of international academic partnerships, such as the one we’ve built with LCCS, is a step in furthering our mission to strengthen relationships, support communities, influence social change, and broaden the field of restorative practices by partnering with practitioners, students, and scholars,” explained Dr. Michael Valdez Raffanti, provost of the IIRP Graduate School. “I am thrilled about this opportunity to develop a stronger presence in Southeast Asia and to contribute to bringing diverse perspectives into our graduate programs.”  

Building upon LCCS’s human-centered foundation, the IIRP’s graduate education offers a framework for making the implicit more explicit and moving theory to effective actualization. Community builders are equipped to become community leaders through practical relational approaches for facilitating complex conversations, initiating systemic change, and fostering collaboration, all while honoring dignity and shared ownership. This partnership also enriches the overall IIRP educational experience for all students by including global perspectives, broadening the horizons of each learner. 

To find out more and to register, please contact Tyler Sim, Manager and Trainer at LCCS at tyler.sim@lccs.org.sg. 

The International Institute for Restorative Practices (the IIRP), located in Bethlehem, PA, is the world’s first accredited graduate school that specializes in studying the field of restorative practices, providing education, research, and collaborative application services. 

Lutheran Community Care Services (LCCS) is a non-profit, charitable organization with an Institution of a Public Character (IPC) status. LCCS has been actively engaging and empowering individuals and families to build and sustain relationships. Focusing on restorative practices, LCCS has served families, schools, institutes, residential homes, and various organizations to restore relationships that have been harmed.