Facilitation and the Power of Participation
“Facilitators are called upon to fill an impartial role in helping groups become more effective. We act as process guides to create a balance between participation and results.”
From the International Association of Facilitators Code of Ethics
Facile: from the Latin “facilis” – easy to do; ease of performance; easily gained, readily performed; easily moved or persuaded.
Facilitate: to make something easier or more convenient.
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Facilitation: the process of helping a group increase its effectiveness using a neutral person and a specific structure to improve how it works together to make decisions, identify and solve problems and manage conflict.
Adapted from “The Skilled Facilitator” by Roger Schwarz……Continued below
In this August CSF E-NEWS…
1) Facilitation and the Power of Participation
2) Special Events of Interest to Facilitators
3) CSF Course Schedule
2) Special Events of Interest to Facilitators
Join CSF at the first
ToP® Users Conference on September 17–18, 2005
in beautiful San Antonio, Texas, (home of the world-famous Riverwalk) on Saturday, September 17, all day, and Sunday, September 18, until noon.
Join us for the first ToP® Users Conference, one-and-a-half days to explore ToP® methods with other facilitators--veterans and novices alike. Ask questions and share experiences, explore new applications and business practices, or just hear how others use ToP® methods. Networking with other ToP® facilitators and trainers is a great bonus! Don’t miss this opportunity!
Hotel accommodations range from $45 to $99. Registration is $90 if you register before July 15, 2005: $110 after July 25 and $135 of you register at the door.
Register on the ICA USA website at http://www.ica-usa.org/programs/cop.html.
NEW!!!
Special Events in the Bay Area!
CSF and ICA Gathering, Tuesday, October 4, early evening in the North Bay. Join with us in honoring two of the ICA ToP® Champion Award Winners - California Institute of Human Services, Early Childhood Division and CalSAC, California School Age Consortium. Learn how they have been using ToP® methods in their work. Meet others who use the ToP® methods.
Meet Elizabeth Houde, the new ICA CEO, More info at http://ica-usa.org/resrc/initpgs/initvo20/ehoude.html
Eat. Visit. Enjoy being with others committed to creating an inclusive voice in working with organizations and communities. We'll have more information in our September newsletter, but in the meantime if you'd like more information contact Jane Stallman, 510.532.6595, jlstallman@aol.com.
For those in the Los Angeles Area, please join us in a similar reception on Saturday, September 24th from 4:00 - 6:00 pm in the Santa Monica area. We'll be honoring California Alliance of Art Educators and the work that they have done to introduce participatory planning processes to school district arts education planning. Contact Liz Lindsley, 510.452.0990, lindsley@cruzio.com
3) CSF Course Schedule
Group Facilitation Methods (GFM)
"Taking this course showed me an excellent way to improve the communication process by tapping the wisdom and power of the entire group." Fran Gallati, CEO, Berkeley Albany, YMCA
SPECIAL NEW GFM COURSE ADDITION!
August 23 and 24th in Fremont, 8:00 am - 5:30 pm, $495.00 early bird rate until August 15th, $545.00 after. Contact Jane Stallman for registration at 510.532.6595, jlstallman@aol.com.
October 13-14, Oakland November 17-18, North Bay
This course includes the theory, practice and applications of three flexible methods that generate group ownership of clear goals and open lines of communication and motivate people to commit to making changes.
- The Focused Conversation Method (ORID) that quickly captures a groups' best thinking and leads to purposeful, productive insights in meetings - no more wasted time and dollars.
- The Consensus Workshop Method that integrates diverse ideas, generates practical and creative solutions and maximizes teamwork and consensus - minimal time and maximum output.
- The Action Planning Method that produces a vision of success, an assessment of current reality and development of a useable plan that maximizes group members' commitment and involvement - enhancing effectiveness and productivity.
Course fee: $545, which includes the course manual and a one hour follow-up consultation and application session. Early bird and group rates are available and internal courses can be tailored to the organization's needs. The course is conducted 8:30 am - 5:30 pm each day. Contact Jane Stallman at 510.532.6595 or email at jlstallman@aol.com
Advanced Courses for Group Facilitation Methods Graduates Participatory Strategic Planning (PSP)September 8-9, Oakland
Responding strategically is the key to success, whether you are in the public or private sector. Do you want to shift from reacting to thoughtful planning, from coping to creative solutions? Participatory Strategic Planning addresses the fundamental requirement of all organizations to create a practical vision for the future and determine the actions that will guide the organization to the realization of that vision. Our course presents a structured planning process which incorporates the workshop method for building consensus, the discussion method for effective group communication and an implementation planning process for turning ideas into productive action and concrete accomplishments.
Course fee: $545 per person, which includes the manual and a one hour follow up consultation. The first course is March 24-25 and is conducted from 8:30 am - 5:30 pm each day. It will be held at Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley in San Jose. Contact Jane Stallman at 510.532.6595 or email at jlstallman@aol.com
Making Data Dance December 8, Oakland, 1/2 day The thoughtful assessment of data (budget reports, customer feedback, employee survey analysis,..) is critical to effective problem solving and decision making BUT most data review is mind numbing. Explore how to make data exciting and engage participants in lively and meaningful data reviews. We‚ll consider three real life facilitation case studies involving data review.
Course fee: $100. For the ∏ day course. Contact Jane Stallman at 510.532.6595 or email at jlstallman@aol.com
The CSF Learning Community January, 2006
This is an opportunity to enrich your facilitation skills in four half-day sessions over the next year through practicing the ToP® methods in a supportive community. Learn new applications of the methods that you can use within your organization or with your clients. Participants will have an opportunity to explore facilitation designs, what has worked, and where challenges have emerged. Beginning January, 2006, this opportunity is available to graduates of the Group Facilitation Methods course. The group will meet four times over the year.
Course fee: $500. for four sessions.
Please contact Jane Stallman at jstallman@aol.com / 510.532.6595 or Liz Lindsley at lindsley@cruzio.com / 510.452.0990 to learn more about or express interest in the ToP® Learning Community.
Coaching, design support and co-facilitation services are available fro CSF. We support you in how to best apply facilitation methods and designing the right meeting plan. Work with us and strengthen skills as you accomplish your tasks. Call for details.
Other Facilitation Course Offerings
The Sacred Journey of the Facilitator/Facilitative Leader retreat facilitated by CSF colleagues
Barbara MacKay, MS, CPF, IAF PDSI and assessor, and Shelley Stump, J.D., teacher of Ancient Wisdom
on August 22-26, 2005 ˆ Monday to Friday in Oceanside, Oregon (1.5 hours from Portland, OR).
This is a unique personal and professional retreat by the ocean to deepen our connection and commitment to our calling to facilitation, leadership, and participatory practices, including exploring and practicing for IAF Professional Facilitator Certification. Each day will include significant time for reflection through guided yoga, meditation, drumming journeys, journaling, beach walks, group and/or individual coaching, practice for certification, etc. For more information/brochure: bmackay@northstarfacilitators.com, 503-579-5708 PST or shelley@coyotemoon.net, 503-842-2809
Special Event in the Bay Area!
IAF Certified Professional Facilitator Certification ˆ circle your calendar for Nov. 2 or Nov. 3 in Sacramento. To meet the criteria advance preparation is required. Information and application forms can be found at http://www.iaf-world.org/i4a/pages/Index.cfm?pageid=3328
1) Facilitation and the Power of Participation, continued…
“Facilitators are called upon to fill an impartial role in helping groups become more effective. We act as process guides to create a balance between participation and results.”
From the International Association of Facilitators Code of Ethics
Facile: from the Latin “facilis” – easy to do; ease of performance; easily gained, readily performed; easily moved or persuaded.
Facilitate: to make something easier or more convenient
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Facilitation: the process of helping a group increase its effectiveness using a neutral
person and a specific structure to improve how it works together to make decisions, identify and solve problems and manage conflict.
Adapted from “The Skilled Facilitator” by Roger Schwarz
What, you say, facilitation sounds more complicated than what I thought!
Isn’t facilitation managing meetings? Yes, that and more. As Roger Schwarz expands
in his book, he sees facilitation as similar to a computer’s operating system software
(Microsoft Windows, MAC OS 10., Unix, Linux); when the “software” is used well it
increases the compatible application software (other processes and structures) that run
with it. In fact, one can categorize facilitation into specific types as applied to specific
functions or processes like project management and strategic planning.
And in Thomas Justice and David Jamieson’s “The Facilitator’s Fieldbook”, they
define facilitation as “the design and management of structures and processes that help
a group do its work and minimize the common problems people have working together.”
In the ToPÒ Group Facilitation Methods, applications are explored for many other functions
where facilitation can “make things easier”. In a recent facilitation experience, a problem
solving session was “facilitated” using facilitative methods to assure the problem
solutions were brainstormed, examined, and analyzed to get a solution that came from the
group’s consensus. As a result, the entire group bought into the solution and
volunteered their particular talents to implement it.
Next Month we will look at some success stories in facilitation.
As Aristotle said,
“Human beings acquire a particular quality by constantly acting a particular way ... you become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions. “ – and, perhaps we can add you become facilitative by performing facilitative actions.
Wecome to the world of facilitation!
The Center for Strategic Facilitation