Are you interested to learn more about facilitation, and ICA’s Technology of Participation (ToP) in particular – in a free, one-hour, interactive online session that offers an experience of virtual facilitation as well?
Scroll down to review past session recordings and other outputs, and watch this space to register for the next.
If you are interested in co-hosting or guesting on such a session with me, please contact me. See also free facilitation coaching.
Feminist Facilitation – Facilitation Week free webinar
Monday, 11 September 2023 – 1.00-2:30pm UK time
Following the great interest generated by our May session (below), we decided to repeat it for Facilitation Week in September.
What does feminism bring to facilitation, and what does feminist facilitation look like? How can I ensure that my own practice as a professional facilitator is more effectively and explicitly feminist, anti-racist and anti-oppressive?
These are the questions that have guided my exploration of feminist, anti-racist and anti-oppressive facilitation this past couple of years. For more on that, see Exploring feminist facilitation.
Are you practicing or exploring feminist facilitation yourself, or are you interested to do so?
Join us on a journey from a conceptual understanding of feminism, leadership and facilitation to how we can apply these in practice as professional facilitators and as leaders more broadly.
This online session is free and open to everyone. It is convened by IAF Social Inclusion Facilitators in partnership with ICA:UK, We Are Feminist Leaders and the Collective. It is a repeat of a session delivered in May, somewhat adapted for Facilitation Week in September by Monica Atim, Martin Gilbraith, Orla Cronin, Megan Evans & Dawn Williams.
Feminist Facilitation – in-depth
Friday, 12 May 2023 – 4.00-5:30pm UK time
Following my earlier free facilitation webinar on Feminist Facilitation (below), as part of the ICA:UK Online Focused Conversation Series in January, I am pleased to offer this longer and more in-depth session hosted by IAF Social Inclusion Facilitators in May.
What does feminism bring to facilitation, and what does feminist facilitation look like? How can I ensure that my own practice as a professional facilitator is more effectively and explicitly feminist, anti-racist and anti-oppressive?
These are the questions that have guided my exploration of feminist, anti-racist and anti-oppressive facilitation this past couple of years. For more on that, see Exploring feminist facilitation.
Are you practicing or exploring feminist facilitation yourself, or are you interested to do so?
Join us on a journey from a conceptual understanding of feminism, leadership and facilitation to how we can apply these in practice as professional facilitators and as leaders more broadly – or scroll down to view the recording below.
This online session is convened by the IAF Social Inclusion Facilitators, and it is free and open to everyone. It has been designed and will be co-facilitated by Monica Atim of the IAF SIF, Natalie Brook of We Are Feminist Leaders and Juia Makin and Martin Gilbraith of ICA:UK.
Feminist Facilitation
Monday, 16 January 2023, 13:00-14:00 UK time
What does feminism bring to facilitation, and what does feminist facilitation look like? How can I ensure that my own practice as a professional facilitator is more effectively and explicitly feminist, anti-racist and anti-oppressive?
These are the questions that have guided my own exploration of feminist, anti-racist and anti-oppressive facilitation this past couple of years. For more on that, see Exploring feminist facilitation.
Are you practicing or exploring feminist facilitation yourself, or are you interested to do so?
Join us to connect, share & learn on Monday, 16 January 2023, 13:00-14:00 UK time, for this next monthly session in the ICA:UK Online Focused Conversation Series – or scroll down to view the recording below.
These sessions are free and open for anyone to attend. The sessions last 60 minutes and consist of a facilitated conversation using the ToP Focused Conversation (ORID) method, followed by a brief run through of the method used. The sessions are run by different members of the ICA:UK facilitation community, including lead trainers, trainee trainers, and past participants of our courses in their own style, around topics they have chosen.
Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together
Friday 15 October 2021, 7-8pm UK time
Adam Kahane has facilitated in more than fifty countries and in every part of the world, with executives, politicians, generals, guerrillas, civil servants, trade unionists, community activists, United Nations officials, clergy, and artists. His work with diverse teams of stakeholders trying to make progress on their most vital challenges has been praised by Nobel laureates Nelson Mandela and Juan Manuel Santos.
Kahane has just published a new book (his fifth) entitled ‘Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together’, which offers a new theory and practice of facilitation. He argues that it is becoming harder for people to move forward together, and that although facilitation is supposed to help, the two most common methodologies – subordinating everyone’s interests to the good of the whole, or enabling everyone to do their own thing – both block progress.
His book describes a new approach, transformative facilitation, which cycles back and forth between these two approaches, removing the obstacles that stand in the way of everyone contributing and connecting equitably.
“Facilitating Breakthrough is thoughtful, reflective, and inspiring. To achieve breakthrough results on high-stakes challenges, facilitators need to raise their game. This book explains how.” – see publications.
Join us for this 60-minute conversation to engage with Adam and each other on some of the ideas raised in the book, and how they relate to our own experience.
This was one of two sessions I hosted for the IAF Facilitation Summit #FacilitationSummit.
Scaling Up Engagement & Dialogue
Friday 15 October 2021, 11-12.30pm UK time
Join us in exploring the ladder of engagement, and how we can climb it with those that we work with. Share your experience in changing the conversation, at scale, so we can all become better at it.
In this 90-minute workshop we’ll explore together how the roles, skills and tools of the facilitation and communications professions can complement each other, and help us to scale up engagement and dialogue for positive social change. We’ll draw on some insights of previous work on the power of partnership between facilitation and communication, and we’ll apply some of the tools of the two professions to generate new insights together.
Michael and I are contributors to The Power of Facilitation, a collaborative book project by a team of facilitators and visual practitioners to showcase the power of facilitation.
“The book project is a labour of love for all contributors. Our mission is to promote the power of facilitation worldwide. We are making the book available for free in order to enable and encourage everyone to read it and to share it” – see publications.
Read our chapter The Power of Partnership Between Facilitation and Communication and download your free copy now. #FacPower
This was one of two sessions I hosted for the IAF Facilitation Summit #FacilitationSummit.
Is there a single, universal principle of facilitation?
Tuesday 4 May 2021, 6.00-7.30pm UK time
This session, hosted by IAF Belgium, introduces a simple but powerful and versatile model that can be applied as a tool and even as a guiding principle. It can help facilitators to engage and empower their groups with greater confidence and versatility, to better enable them to make the change that they are seeking in the world.
The session is equally suitable for newcomers to facilitation and for experienced facilitators who are new to ICA’s Technology of Participation (ToP) methodology, and those who would like to deepen their understanding of the ToP ‘ORID’ model as a design tool.
The session is adapted from one originally delivered at the 2015 IAF Europe MENA conference in Stockholm, that has since been repeated a number of times both face-to-face and online.
The recording and other outputs follow:
- the Zoom recording in Youtube
- the slides and other outputs in SlideShare
Scaling up engagement and dialogue – the power of facilitation and commun-ications in partnership
Wednesday 16 December 2020, 1.30-3pm UK time
In this IAF webinar we explored the ladder of engagement, and how we can climb it with those that we work with. We invited you to share your experience in changing the conversation, at scale, so we can all become better at it. We explored together how the roles, skills and tools of the facilitation and communications professions can complement each other, and help us to scale up engagement and dialogue for positive social change.
We drew on some insights of previous work on the power of partnership between facilitation and communication, including research for our chapter in the forthcoming book the Power of Facilitation #FacPower.
We applied some of the tools of the two professions to generate new insights together, including four external digital tools in addition to zoom – Google Docs, Easyretro, Flinga and Mentimeter.
The recording and other outputs follow:
- the Zoom recording in Youtube
- the slides and other outputs in SlideShare
Facilitation Competencies for Agilists
Thursday, 22 October 2020, 15.45-17.00 UK time
What skills, knowledge, and behaviours must facilitators have in order to be successful facilitating in a wide variety of environments? To what extent do these vary, if at all, when working online rather than face-to-face? What can we do, individually and together as Agilists and as peers, to develop our own facilitation competence?
This session was scheduled in partnership with Agile Tour London, adapting the format of the ICA:UK Online Focused Conversation Series: Taking time to connect, learn and reflect. This was a series of taster sessions around different topics – both to examine and explore the topic, and to demonstrate the use of ICA’s ToP Focused Conversation Method.
In this session participants acquainted themselves in breakout groups with the IAF Core Facilitation Competencies and shared experience of their application, both online and face-to-face. In plenary we reflected on the extent to which these competencies vary when working online rather than face-to-face, if at all. Participants also reflected on what they could do, individually and together as peers and Agilists, to develop their own facilitation competence.
The recording and other outputs follow:
- the slides and mentimeter outputs shared on SlideShare
- the Zoom recording in Youtube
Facilitation Competencies for Agilists
Tuesday, 15 September 2020, 9.05-10.20 UK time
What skills, knowledge, and behaviours must facilitators have in order to be successful facilitating in a wide variety of environments? To what extent do these vary, if at all, when working online rather than face-to-face? What can we do, individually and together as Agilists and as peers, to develop our own facilitation competence?
This session was scheduled in partnership with the Agile Coaching Retreat, adapting the format of the ICA:UK Online Focused Conversation Series: Taking time to connect, learn and reflect. This was a series of taster sessions around different topics – both to examine and explore the topic, and to demonstrate the use of ICA’s ToP Focused Conversation Method.
In this session participants acquainted themselves in breakout groups with the IAF Core Facilitation Competencies and shared experience of their application, both online and face-to-face. In plenary we reflected on the extent to which these competencies vary when working online rather than face-to-face, if at all. Participants also reflected on what they could do, individually and together as peers and Agilists, to develop their own facilitation competence.
The recording and other outputs follow:
- the slides shared on SlideShare
- the Zoom recording in Youtube
When is online better than face-to-face?
Wednesday, 17 June 2020, 9:00-10:00 UK time
We all know that online is just not the same as face-to-face, right? And that for some things, maybe, it will never be as good. But when, or for what, can online be better?
“We ran a conference in Teams (and it was better than the “real” thing)” wrote Dr Robert O’Toole NTF of the University of Warwick this week.
“Technology facilitated a more inclusive meeting than is usually possible in person. Best facilitation ever, more equal interaction than at any other meeting, no flights (climate thanks us). Virtuality rules!” wrote particpants in a 3-day online event of over 100 delegates that I facilitated myself recently.
When we get to choose again between online and face-to-face, how can we best make the best of both worlds?
This session was scheduled in partnership with IAF Oceania and the IAF Oceania meetup group, adapting the format of the ICA:UK Online Focused Conversation Series: Taking time to connect, learn and reflect. This is a series of taster sessions around different topics – both to examine and explore the topic, and to demonstrate the use of ICA’s ToP Focused Conversation Method.
In this session the method was adapted to accommodate the number attending, using only the basic tools within the Zoom platform – audio, video, text chat, break-out rooms, screen sharing and polling.
The recording and other outputs follow:
How engaging can your online session be?
Wednesday, 10 June 2020, 12:00-13:00 UK time
Our meetings, workshops and events, our world, are increasingly moving online – now more than ever! So as leaders and facilitators we must be prepared to move with them. Virtual sessions can have advantages over face-to-face, but disadvantages too – not least, shorter attention spans and greater potential for distractions. How can we keep people engaged and focused when meeting online?
This session was scheduled in partnership with ICA:UK as part of the new Online Focused Conversation Series: Taking time to connect, learn and reflect. This is a series of taster sessions around different topics – both to examine and explore the topic, and to demonstrate the use of ICA’s ToP Focused Conversation Method.
In this session the method was adapted to accommodate the number attending, using only the basic tools within the Zoom platform – audio, video, text chat, break-out rooms, screen sharing and polling.
The recording and other outputs follow:
Exploring Facilitation Competencies with IAF Romania
Wednesday, 27 May 2020, 12:00-13:00 UK time
What skills, knowledge, and behaviours must facilitators have in order to be successful facilitating in a wide variety of environments? To what extent do these vary, if at all, when working online rather than face-to-face? What can we do, individually and together as peers, to develop our own facilitation competence?
This session is scheduled in partnership with IAF Romania adapting the format of the new ICA:UK Online Focused Conversation Series: Taking time to connect, learn and reflect. This is a series of taster sessions around different topics – both to examine and explore the topic, and to demonstrate the use of ICA’s ToP Focused Conversation Method.
In this session we used break-out groups and JamBoard to get acquainted with the IAF Core Facilitation Competencies and share experience of their application, both online and face-to-face. In plenary we reflected on the extent to which these competencies vary when working online rather than face-to-face, if at all. Participants also reflected on what they could do, individually and together as peers, to develop their own facilitation competence.
The recording and other outputs follow:
- the Zoom chat and slides shared on SlideShare
- the Zoom recording in youtube
Taking your event online: what could possibly go wrong?
Tuesday, 5 May 2020, 11:00-12:00 UK time
Your long-planned meeting, workshop or event, or that of your client, can no longer be held face-to-face. So it is decided to hold it online instead. What could possibly go wrong? What are some tips & tools that can help you – not to just make the best of it, but to make it the best? More inclusive, engaging and productive than ever before?
This session was scheduled in partnership with ICA:UK as part of the new Online Focused Conversation Series: Taking time to connect, learn and reflect. This is a series of taster sessions around different topics – both to examine and explore the topic, and to demonstrate the use of ICA’s ToP Focused Conversation Method.
In this session the method was adapted to accommodate the number attending, using only the basic tools within the Zoom platform – audio, video, text chat, break-out rooms, screen sharing and polling.
The recording and other outputs follow:
- the Zoom chat and slides shared on SlideShare
- the Zoom recording in youtube
- thanks also to Dave Hider for the lovely feedback on LinkedIn!
Promoting inclusion in online facilitation
Tuesday 24 March 2020, 14.00-15.30 UK time
“Promoting inclusion should be the business of all facilitators” write the IAF Social Inclusion Facilitators. But how does that work online? In these circumstances our groups are often more diverse than in-the-room gatherings. Power differentials abound, but they may be less apparent.
Online meetings are shaped by the technologies in use, which place constraints on how we can recognise diversity and promote inclusion:
- With audio-only groups, non-native speakers of the call’s language are at an automatic disadvantage.
- When we encourage the use of video to build personal connection, we reveal differences in skin colour, clothing and calling location.
- With most conferencing systems, online breakout groups can’t easily be seen or overheard by the facilitator: what difference will that make?
- Text chat perhaps gives away the least about who is making each comment – which brings its own challenges.
All of these technologies have advantages and disadvantages for facilitators seeking to promote inclusion.
In these environments, how might we challenge or learn from prejudice and intolerance as appropriate? As experienced online facilitators we have our own tried and tested tactics – but we know we still have lots to learn. This event brought together a wide range of perspectives to develop our practice.
We took a slightly different approach to my previous free facilitation webinars this time – not least in that this free, 90-minute, interactive online session offered an experience of virtual facilitation in Zoom rather than in Adobe Connect. For further details of our approach, and the 3-day online regional forum that inspired it, see Promoting inclusion in online facilitation – free facilitation webinar recording & outputs.
The recording and other outputs follow:
- from Mentimeter & Jamboard in Slideshare
- the Zoom chat in pdf
- the Zoom recording in youtube
- thanks to Noel Warnell for the sketchnote
Thanks also to Bhavana Nissima for inspiring the topic, and for her gratifying feedback on the session, and to Judy Rees for inviting me to co-facilitate with her!
Facilitating Authentic Participation: Transformative Steps to Empower Groups
Tuesday 18 June 2019, 15.00 UK time
In this session we go behind the scenes of the usually hidden planning and diagnostic process that leads to the “magic” of guiding a group process that allows the group’s deepest wisdom to be shared in a feasible action plan that everyone is motivated to accomplish.
I was joined for this session by Jim Campbell, former ICA Belguim and IAF Europe Director and author of Facilitating Authentic Participation: Transformative Steps to Empower Groups; and again by Sunny Walker of the Virtual Facilitation Collaborative.
What may look simple, effortless, and easy to accomplish is the culmination of an intensive series of consultative stages of preparation requiring the listening, analytical, and collaborative skills of a master facilitator. This new book shares the process that Jim taught in university-level courses in Ireland, after a lifetime of innovative process work with groups on four continents.
Jim has written elsewhere:
“…people know that participating in creating their destiny is an essential part of their humanity… The process whereby people are enabled to experience this combination of the freeing of their humanity and the ownership which generates commitment and motivation is truly transformative. By the force of their own experience people realise that they can participate in creating their future and the future of their organisation or community.
Thus people experience themselves as responsible for their destiny, and so resignation and despair are transformed into hope and belief-in-self. People’s anger and frustration at their disenfranchisement is transformed into energy invested in creating their destiny.”
This conviction—that authentic participation is transformative—has been the foundation of Jim’s work as a facilitator.
Jim shares insights and stories from the book, and from his own wealth of experience of the facilitation cycle and the transformative power of facilitation. We invite you to share your own reflections, insights and stories as well.
The book is available from Amazon and from reputable booksellers – we do encourage you to read it before the session if you can! Read more about the book at ICA International, and join the conversation with Jim on Facebook.
Session materials & additional resources shared include:
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- the original high resolution, interactive session recording in Adobe Connect (a YouTube version will follow)
- a chat transcript (pdf) from the session
- Jim’s presentation slides (pdf) from the session
Nimble: off script but still on track
Thursday 11 April 2019, 15.00 UK time
In this session we explored how to be nimble and responsive in facilitation, how to improvise and stay on track – even when you go off script.
I was joined for this session by Rebecca Sutherns CPF, author of the newly published book “Nimble: Off Script but Still On Track – a coaching guide for responsive facilitation“, and again by Sunny Walker of the Virtual Facilitation Collaborative.
If you have ever worried about how to respond to difficulties in leading a group, you are in good company. If you have (and, perhaps more importantly, if you have not), Rebecca’s book will help you to avoid being the “Oblivious Facilitator”. Nimble is packed with valuable and practical tips for before, during & after a session, all richly illustrated from Rebecca’s extensive professional experience. Your most powerful tool as facilitator is yourself – learn the Anticipation, Agility and Absorption that will give you the capacity and courage to facilitate Nimbly!
Rebecca writes: “None of us can predict with 100% accuracy what will happen when we’re in front of a group of people. We need to be prepared, but also prepared to adapt. Whether you are a presenter, facilitator, teacher, chairperson or negotiator, Nimble will equip you to respond effectively when you’re taken by surprise. Learn how to craft a careful script, then to hold that script loosely so that you can adjust in real time to whatever’s happening in the room. Find out how to achieve the purpose of your session, even when the route you took to get there contained a few unexpected detours along the way.”
Rebecca shared insights and stories from the book, and from her own wealth of experience. We invited you to share your own reflections, insights and stories as well – some of the difficulties you have experienced or worried about, how you have responded to the unexpected and what you have learned along the way.
Session materials & additional resources shared include:
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- the original high resolution, interactive session recording in Adobe Connect (a YouTube version is below)
- a chat transcript (pdf) from the session
- Rebecca’s presentation slides (pdf) from the session
- Rebecca’s upcoming e-course that starts April 29 – “Making Your Good Stuff Better”
- Rebecca’s facilitation planning templates
- Finally of course, the book itself is available from Amazon and reputable booksellers.
The Power of Facilitation and Communication in partnership
Tuesday 26 February 2019, 15.00 UK time
In this session we explored the intersect between communication and facilitation, and the power of applying the professional skills and tools of facilitation and communication in partnership with each other.
I was joined for this session by Michael Ambjorn of AlignYourOrg; and again by Sunny Walker of the Virtual Facilitation Collaborative.
Michael and I are currently working on this theme to draft a chapter for a forthcoming book that aims to showcase the power of facilitation in various fields and contexts. The shorthand for the book project is #FacPower, and chapters are being authored and illustrated by a global team of expert facilitators and visual practitioners from all around the world.
We have been exploring this intersect between facilitation and communication, and working to build bridges and promote learning & collaboration between the two professions and their professional associations, since around 2013 – when I had just completed a term as Chair of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) and Michael was just embarking on a term as Chair of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). We were joined by members of both associations and both professions, and others.
We shared insights and stories from our own experience and others, from both professions, on how facilitation and communications competencies (and facilitators and communicators themselves) can support and add value to each each other. Just one such example that we drew on (which won awards from both IABC and IAF) is #ETF20.
We invited you to share your own reflections, insights and stories as well – for you to learn from each other during the session, and perhaps also (with permission and attribution) to contribute to the chapter and help to bring it to life.
We also sought to demonstrate what we are talking about, through co-creating with you a highly engaging and interactive online session – the power of facilitation and communication in partnership!
The session, like the chapter, drew on IABC’s Global Standard of the Communications Profession and IAF’s Core Facilitation Competencies.
Session materials & additional resources shared include:
- the original high resolution, interactive session recording in Adobe Connect (a YouTube version is below)
- a chat transcript (pdf) from the session
- Michael’s presentation slides (pdf) from the session
- links to further resources shared on Twitter with the hashtag #FacPower – do please also join the conversation there!
How engaging can a virtual meeting be?
Wednesday 19 September 2018, 14.00 UK time
Our world and our client groups are increasingly moving online, so as facilitators we must be prepared move with them. Virtual meetings can have advantages over face-to-face, but disadvantages too – not least, shorter attention spans and greater potential for distractions. How can we keep people engaged and focused when meeting online?
In this highly participatory, facilitated webinar hosted by IAF India, Martin Farrell & Martin Gilbraith of IAF England & Wales and Catherine Tornbom of the Virtual Facilitation Collaborative share some top tips and practical examples from their own experience and that of other professional facilitators, and invite you to share your some of your own experience and create your own top tips together. We also seek to demonstrate in the webinar itself just how engaging a virtual meeting can be!
Martin Farrell CPF has been facilitating international gatherings since his first assignment with the UN in 2002. Now entering his 6th decade of engagement with civil society organisations in the UK and internationally, he is in demand worldwide as a facilitator and moderator of conferences, meetings and groups large and small. He established his own consultancy, Get2thepoint, in 1999. He continues to play an active part in the vibrant worldwide community of facilitators having been Regional Director (Europe, Middle East, North Africa) of the International Association of Facilitators for three years to 2015.
Martin Gilbraith CPF CTF is an independent facilitator, trainer and consultant based in London. He is an IAF ‘Hall of Famer” and former IAF Chair and IAF Europe Director. He is former President of the Institute of Cultural Affairs International (ICAI), and an Associate and former Chief Executive of ICA:UK. He has been facilitating, specializing in ICA’s ToP facilitation methodology, since he began his career as an international volunteer with ICA India in 1986-87.
Catherine Tornbom CTF is a seasoned consultant, mediator, and Mentor Trainer with ICA-USA. She has successfully resolved issues involving management team conflict, poor communication, productivity roadblocks and stress in her professional work with clients ranging from government, business, nonprofits, education, and community collaboration. She is a partner in the Virtual Facilitation Collaborative supporting virtual teams to achieve their goals through effective online collaboration.
Session materials & additional resources shared include:
- the original high resolution, interactive session recording in Adobe Connect (a YouTube version is below)
- a chat transcript (pdf) from the session
- Catherine Tornbom’s presentation slides (pdf) shared during the session
- Martin Farrell’s presentation slides (pdf) shared during the session
- Martin Gilbraith’s presentation slides (pdf) shared during the session
A Compassionate Civilization: The Urgency of Sustainable Development and Mindful Activism’
Thursday 14 June 2018, 15.00 UK time
In this session we explored the role of facilitation in sustainable development and ‘mindful activism’ for social change.
I was joined for this session by Robertson Work, author of the 2017 book ‘A Compassionate Civilization: The Urgency of Sustainable Development and Mindful Activism‘, available from Amazon; and again by Sunny Walker CPF CTF of the Virtual Facilitation Collaborative.
Rob writes in his Preface to the book:
“This book is being published now because of the urgent need for a compelling vision, practical actions, and effective tools to catalyze what has become necessary in this moment of multiple crises. It is offered as an opportunity to reflect deeply on what is happening in our communities and societies and how we can each help create a better world for all. In this book, you can participate in a conversation about this most critical decade and century. My heartfelt hope is that by dialoguing with these reflections, you might be challenged, inspired, and equipped to participate further in the adventure of realizing a compassionate civilization day by day.
This book aims to serve the growing number of activists and caring citizens in the United States and around the world who know that these are the times and we are the people. It is not a technical book for experts; it is for everyone who cares. This is the moment for this book to be in your hands.”
Robertson Work is adjunct professor of public service, he is founder/director of Innovative Leadership Services and facilitator/trainer for UNDESA, UN Habitat and the East-West Center, among others. Previously he was UNDP’s Principal Policy Adviser of Decentralized Governance for 16 years at UN headquarters in New York. Prior to UNDP, he served in Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Jamaica, USA and Venezuela for 21 years as country and regional director with the Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA).
Rob shared something of how his experience of facilitation and ICA’s Technology of Participation influenced his thinking, and the format of the book, and how he sees the role of facilitation in realising a Compassionate Civilization.
We invited you to share some of your own experience of facilitation for social change, and to respond with us to questions that are raised.
For more on the author and the book, see ICA International and the blog A Compassionate Civilization.
Session materials & additional resources shared include:
- the original high resolution, interactive session recording in Adobe Connect (a YouTube version is below)
- a chat transcript (pdf) from the session
- Rob’s presentation slides (pdf) from the session
- Virtual group study sessions on each chapter of the book hosted by Sunny and others of the Virtual Facilitation Collaborative.
Getting to the Bottom of ToP – exploring the foundations of ICA’s Technology of Participation
Wednesday 4 April 2018, 15.00 UK time
In this session we explored the foundations of ICA’s Technology of Participation facilitation methodology.
I was joined for this session by Jo Nelson of ICA Associates Inc., co-author with her late husband Wayne Nelson of the new book Getting to the Bottom of ToP, now available from iUniverse; and again by Sunny Walker CPF CTF of the Virtual Facilitation Collaborative.
People demand authentic participation in decisions that affect their lives. ToP™ methods answer that call because they reflect how humans think, growing out of reflective inquiry into what works in real life, and the study of phenomenology and existentialism. This book explores the foundational understandings of this body of knowledge and its practice.
Getting to the Bottom of ToP works at two levels: as a guide to processes that elicit participation to bring insights to the surface and ensure participants collaborate to bring the resulting plans to fruition; and as a theoretical basis drawn from the field of phenomenology—an answer to any of us who have pondered what principles or theory about personal and group change underlie those processes.
We invited you to share some of your own experience of ICA’s Technology of Participation, and to respond with us to questions that are raised.
Session materials & additional resources shared include:
- the original high resolution, interactive session recording in Adobe Connect (a YouTube version is below)
- a chat transcript (pdf) from the session
- Jo’s presentation slides (pdf) from the session
- my own 2014 blog post and 2015 presentation slides on ORID as a universal principle for facilitation (scroll to the bottom for the February 2016 webinar recording and other outputs)
- the new book Getting to the Bottom of ToP, now available from iUniverse.
Facilitator certification – what’s it like, and is it worthwhile?
Wednesday 7 February 2018, 15.00 UK time
In this session we looked at what it takes to achieve professional certification as a facilitator, and what are the advantages of doing so. We explored the two leading and internationally recognised, competency-based certifications – IAF Certified Professional Faciliator (CPF) and ICA Certified ToP Facilitator (CTF).
I was joined for this session by Lindsay Sumner CPF, IAF Director of Certification Operations; Alexey Svetlichny CTF, Director of ICA Ukraine; and again by Sunny Walker CPF CTF of the Virtual Facilitation Collaborative.
Lindsay was among the first to gain the CPF designation, in the UK in 1998, and she has managed the CPF programme for IAF since 2006. ICA Ukraine is the first ICA in Europe to offer CTF certification, and Alexey became one of the first CTFs in Europe in 2014. Sunny is an assessor for both CPF and CTF programmes, a founding member of IAF and one of the founders of ICA’s Technology of Participation (ToP).
We invited you to share some of your own experience of certification, and to respond with us to questions that are raised.
Session materials & additional resources shared include:
- the original high resolution, interactive session recording in Adobe Connect (a YouTube version is below)
- a chat transcript (pdf) from the session
- presentation slides – IAF Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF) – Lindsay Sumner
- presentation slides – ICA Certified ToP Facilitator (CTF) – Sunny Walker
- presentation slides – ICA Certified ToP Facilitator (CTF) Ukraine – Alexey Svetlichny
What do facilitators do, really?
Thursday 21 September 2017, 15.00 UK time
In this session we explored the various dimensions of the role of the facilitator.
As our starting point we referred to the 4-minute video “What do facilitators do, really?“, which describes three dimensions of the role in terms of the metaphors of architect, pilot and guide. We referred also to the Core Facilitator Competencies of the International Association of Facilitators, the foundation of the IAF Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF) accreditation, and to the IAF Statement of Values & Code of Ethics. See also my own blog post What is facilitation, and how it can add value?
I was joined for this session by Beatrice Briggs CPF of the International Institute of Facilitation and Change (IIFAC) in Mexico, creator of the video; and again by Sunny Walker CPF of the Virtual Facilitation Collaborative in the USA.
We invited participants to share some of their own experience and insights on the facilitator role, and to respond with us to questions that were raised. We applied the 4-level ‘ORID’ model of ICA’s ToP Focused Conversation method to structure the session.
Session materials & additional resources shared include:
- the original high resolution, interactive session recording in Adobe Connect (a YouTube version is below)
- a chat transcript (pdf) from the session
- the presentation slides on the ORID structure of the session (pdf)
- the original video “What do facilitators do, really?” in multiple languages, at IIFAC and with ORID conversation questions.
Four hands on the steering wheel? Co-facilitation in action
Wednesday 19 July 2017, 7.00-8.30pm IST
Martin Farrell wrote: “As we see some world leaders promoting division and hatred, facilitators’ skills of collaboration are ever more essential. Yes we practice listening deeply to our client’s needs, and engaging participants. To challenge ourselves, let’s also take our skills to the next level by practicing co-facilitation. There are great benefits and also great dangers.”
This highly interactive 90-minute session for IAF India was hosted in Adobe Connect to offer an experience of co-facilitation in a virtual environment. We offered a framework and some tips and tools for co-facilitation, illustrated by a case study.
Thank you to the IAF India team for their invitation and to my co-hosts Martin Farrell of get2thepoint and Sunny Walker of the Virtual Facilitation Collaborative. Thanks also to those who live tweeted on the #FacInd hashtag.
Session materials & additional resources shared include:
- the original high resolution, interactive session recording in Adobe Connect (a YouTube version is below)
- a chat transcript (pdf) from the session
- Martin Farrell’s presentation slides (pdf) shared during the session
- Martin Farrell’s case study IAF Global Flipchart, Issue 10 2013, p4-9
- Christine Hogan’s book Understanding Facilitation: Theory & Principles
What does it take for people to align behind change?
Monday 17 October 2016, 13.00 BST
In this session we explored what it takes for people to align behind change. This is the question that brought together 69 facilitation, communications and change management professionals over two one-hour twitter chats last October during International Facilitation Week 2015.
I was joined for this session by Michael Ambjorn, immediate past Chair of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and one of my London-based co-hosts for the twitter chats; and again by Sunny Walker of the Virtual Facilitation Collaborative.
We invited you to share some of your own experience and insights on what can be done to help people to align together to make change happen. We shared six top tips and tools that were shared during the twitter chats, and how the 4-level ‘ORID’ model of ICA’s ToP Focused Conversation method was applied to structure the process. We shared examples of practical application including how over 1,000 IABC leaders were engaged, aligned and activated to extend the organisation’s reach and deepen its impact.
A particular aim for the session, as for the twitter chats, was to bring together facilitation, communications and change professionals, and all those with an interest in these fields, to connect with and learn from each other and to make connections and foster broader collaboration between our associations and between our professions.
Session materials & additional resources shared include:
- the original high resolution, interactive session recording in Adobe Connect (a YouTube version is below)
- a chat transcript from the session
- the presentation slides shared during the session
See also this second webinar with Michael Ambjorn on the same topic, hosted 8 May 2017 by MILE Madinah:
Transformational Strategy: from trepidation to ‘unlocked’
Monday 20 June 2016, 13.00 BST
In this session I introduced the ToP Participatory Strategic Planning process, with examples of practical application including a case study with an international humanitarian agency in Geneva Transformational Strategy: from trepidation to ‘unlocked’ and another Facilitating change in complexity – the Oxfam Lebanon ‘One Country Strategy’ process.
I was joined for this session by Sunny Walker of the Virtual Facilitation Collaborative and Bill Staples of ICA Associates, author of Transformational Strategy: facilitation of ToP participatory planning.
The Participatory Strategic Planning process of ICA’s Technology of Participation (ToP) is a structured long-range planning process which incorporates the ToP Consensus Workshop method for building consensus, the ToP Focused Conversation method for effective group communication, and an implementation process for turning ideas into productive action and concrete accomplishments.
Session materials & additional resources shared include:
- the original high resolution, interactive session recording in Adobe Connect (a YouTube version is below)
- a chat transcript from the session
- the original presentation slides shared during the session
- the additional Spiral Curriculum slide
- sticky wall tips for use
- my upcoming ToP Participatory Strategic Planning training in Brussels in November
How engaging can a large facilitated online session be?
Monday 18 April 2016, 13.00 BST
In this session I shared some learnings from the design and facilitation of an online conference of the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO), that involved more than 900 participants over six 2-hour sessions. I was joined for the session by my clients for the conference, Illias Animon and Ruth Mallett of the FAO Forestry Economics department, and by Sunny Walker of the Virtual Facilitation Collaborative.
Session materials & additional resources shared include:
- the original high resolution, interactive session recording in Adobe Connect (a YouTube version is below)
- a chat transcript from the session
- the FAO presentation slides shared during the session
- the FAO conference website with conference presentations, reports & session recordings
- my February 2015 blog post How engaging can a large facilitated online session be?
- Virtual Facilitation training online from ICA:UK
Is there a single, universal principle of facilitation?
Monday 15 February 2016, 13.00 GMT
This session introduced a simple but powerful and versatile model, that can be applied as a tool and even as a guiding principle. It can help facilitators to engage and empower their groups with greater confidence and versatility, to better enable them to make the change that they are seeking in the world. The session was equally suitable for newcomers to facilitation and for experienced facilitators who are new to ToP, and those who would like to deepen their understanding of the ORID model as a design tool. This session was adapted from a face-to-face session delivered at the October 2015 IAF Europe MENA conference in Stockholm, Making Waves.
Session materials & additional resources shared include:
- the original high resolution, interactive session recording in Adobe Connect (a YouTube version is below)
- a chat transcript from the session
- the original Stockholm session slides at Is there a single, universal principle of facilitation? #IAFemena15
- the video and original ORID questions on Three dimensions of the facilitator role – a focused conversation
- the blog post that inspired the session at Four steps to a universal principle of facilitation and learning
- the book Art of Focused Conversation
- my own ToP Group Facilitation Methods courses in Brussels, April, June & November 2016
- ICA:UK ToP Group Facilitation Methods courses in the UK, monthly
- Online GFM training from ICA Associates, Canada
- Virtual Facilitation training online from ICA USA
See also about me, how I work and recommendations & case studies, and please contact me about how we might work together.