Event Facilitation
Facilitation is a method in which a neutral person (the facilitator) focuses on the process of leading meetings and acts as a moderator of the discussion. The role of the facilitator lies in steering the group through the decision making process, problem solving and both the development and implementation of strategy. The use of a facilitator can help you increase the effectiveness and productivity of group meetings, offers the ability to combine the various expertises in an organization and create synergy, and allows for an increase in the motivation of participants and commitment to change. It can also create a shared understanding of a problem and so support the decision making process. A facilitator is not a “superhuman expert” offering solutions to every problem, a facilitator is an expert who can bring out the hidden talent within the group and utilise group dynamics to create solutions.
Typical events in which a facilitator can be used to increase effectiveness include meetings and workshops aimed at:
- Development of the organization, increasing effectiveness
- Strategic planning, management team meetings
- Conflict resolution, problem solving
- Team meetings
- Planning change, implementation of change
We use various facilitation tools such as Open Space Technology, Grape Cocktails, World Cafe, Appreciative Inquiry and Force Field Analysis.
Facilitation Training
We offer facilitation training aimed at business professionals who run workshops and meetings related to strategy implementation, group development, change deployment, innovation, and who need group tools that are both fresh and effective. The training introduces the latest tools designed to support global, connected and complex environments.
Facilitation training is offered as a standard public workshop as described below. We can also offer in-house training for our clients.
The objective of this training is:
- To learn what is facilitation and what is the role of a facilitator - To learn facilitation tools and to master their business applications - To make workshops more interactive and productive
The course consists of five days divided into three modules:
1. Essentials of facilitation (2 days)
Objective:
- To learn principles of facilitation; what is facilitation and what is the role of a facilitator
- To apply a basic facilitated workshop process
- To learn facilitation tools and to master their business applications
- To make workshops more interactive and productive
Tools & Techniques:
- Facilitated workshop process for small groups
- World Café – an interactive method for large groups
- Communication skills, how to share information with a group and how to create a conversation
- Tools for Generating Information and Ideas; Brainstorming, Checkerboard, Benchmarking, SCAMPER
- Energisers; tools for keeping up the level of energy
- Business applications of facilitation; Developing a vision and a strategy, Problem solving, Group development, Conflict resolution, Change and strategy deployment, Innovation
2. Mastering Advanced Facilitation Tools (2 days)
Objective:
- To learn latest facilitation tools and to master their business applications
- To deal with current facilitation challenges
- To make workshops more interactive and productive
Tools & Techniques:
- Energisers; tools for keeping up the level of energy
- Open Space Technology - based on the philosophy of self-organizing groups and aimed for groups of 5-500 participants
- Dynamic Facilitation – meeting tool for creating understanding of complex situations. Perfect tool for clarifying problems and solving complex issues
- Idealogue – group method for creating shared reality and commitment. Good particularly for making action plans that hold
- Intervention model – how to deal with difficult situations
- Business applications of facilitation
3. Follow Up: Keep on Facilitating! (1 day)
Objective:
The core of this day is sharing and strengthening the knowledge and experiences gained during and after the first two training modules.
In addition new methods are introduced
Tools & Techniques:
- Knowledge Café – an interactive method for discovering tacit knowledge
- Time lines – a method for creating a shared identity and preparing for change
- Mind mapping – for environmental and trends analysis
- Competences of a facilitator
