Tag Archives: #ToPfacilitation

Kickstart the New Year with a 10% discount on all 2026 courses!

Kickstart the New Year with a commitment to your personal and professional development, and enjoy a 10% discount on all of my 2026 courses by registering with the promo code JanuarySale before Saturday 31 January.

My 2026 schedule of public ICA:UK ToP facilitation training includes courses in London, Brussels and Birmingham again, and this year also in the beautiful and historic resort town of Sitges, just down the coast from Barcelona, in March and October. Why not plan to stay for the weekend, and book yourself some early spring sunshine now?

Register now for public courses in Eventbrite

Register now in Eventbrite for my own upcoming public courses in London, Brussels & elsewhere – scroll down for dates & locations.

For additional courses offered by fellow ICA:UK Associates, see the full ICA:UK public course schedule.

Enjoy a 10% discount on any course by registering with the promo code JanuarySale before Saturday 31 January.

See also about me, how I work, who I work with and recommendations & case studies, and please contact me about how we might work together.

A collaborative and creative day of strategic discussions in Brussels – ToP facilitation case study

“Over the course of this collaborative and creative day, we engaged in strategic discussions about how to leverage impactful advocacy and the organisation’s agenda for action. Excited for what’s ahead and proud of what we’ve accomplished together!” – Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE-CAE) on LinkedIn

Context

I was approached in May 2024 by the Architects’ Council of Europe Secretary General Ian Pritchard and Head of Communications Julie Deutschmann, to facilitate a strategy retreat with the ACE/CAE Executive Board in Brussels in June. They approached me after I had facilitated a similar strategy meeting for ACE in October 2020, online – see Recommendations & case studies.

It was planned for the eleven members of the ACE Board and 3-4 key Secretariat staff to gather for a one full-day strategy meeting on 21 June in Brussels, some 3½ years since that last facilitated strategy session online.

A draft agenda had been prepared, and notes of preparatory work done in advance including a summary of research and member consultation to identify and map critical themes that might be included in the strategy.

Aims

In conversation with Ian and Julie, and ACE President Ruth Schagemann and Senior Policy Officer Pierre Obajtek, the aims of the day were agreed to be as follows:

  • To reflect on, appreciate, and learn from ACE’s recent activity and outcomes together, in the context of its changing strategic landscape;
  • To develop the basis of a new 5 year strategy, including a review of the ACE core values, mission & vision and agreement on strategic objectives and critical themes;
  • To review and consider implications for ACE’s internal operating environment, strategy implementation and communication;
  • To build shared clarity, confidence and commitment to the way forward together.

Methodology and approach

For this assignment, I proposed to draw on the following of ICA’s ToP methods in particular:

The Focused Conversation method provides a structured, four-level process for effective communication which ensures that everyone in a group has the opportunity to participate.

The Consensus Workshop method is a five-stage process that incorporates Focused Conversation for effective communication and that enables a facilitator to draw out and weave together everybody’s wisdom into a clear consensus.

The Historical Scan method adapts these two methods to provide a powerful, visual way to enable a group to build a shared picture of their journey together, in historical and strategic context, to learn from their past and present in order to prepare for their future.

The ToP Participatory Strategic Planning process is a 4-stage process, each stage involving a specially tailored ToP Consensus Workshop process. The four stages are:

  1. Practical Vision – what the group would like to see in place in 3-5 years’ time as a result of successfully delivering the new strategy,
  2. Underlying Contradictions – the obstacles or issues in current reality that are preventing that vision from happening, which must be dealt with in order to move forward,
  3. Strategic Directions – innovative courses of action that the group can take to deal with the underlying contradictions and move it toward realising its vision,
  4. Implementation Plan – a set of practical actions that will start the group’s journey from where it is to where it wants to be. A clear outline of will be done, why, how, when and by whom.

These four workshops are preceded as appropriate by clarifying the parameters of the strategy, including mission and purpose, and by ‘reviewing the past to prepare for the future’, including internal & external strategic context.

To adapt and apply such an approach to a single, one-day in-person workshop for ACE, I proposed to use the Consensus Workshop method in full for the Practical Vision stage of the planning process, and a quicker and less rigorous approach to the Underlying Contradictions and Strategic Directions, in order to accomplish all of those and the Historical Scan as well in the one day.

Agenda & process

9.00 Arrivals & coffee
9.30 Opening & overview – introductions & expectations; approach, aims & agenda

Context & parameters – review advance preparation, research & consultation;  confirm ACE core values, mission & vision
10.15 Reviewing the past to prepare for the future – ‘Historical Scan’ exercise, in the light of our research & consultation:

“What are key events, accomplishments & milestones in the recent history of ACE and it’s strategic landscape? What can we appreciate and what can we learn?”
11.15 Break
11.30 Practical Vision – ‘Consensus Workshop’, in the light of our research & consultation:

“What do we want to see in place in 5 years’ time, as a result of successfully delivering the new ACE strategy?”
13.00 Lunch
14.00 Current Reality SWOT analysis, in the light of our research & consultation:

“What strengths & opportunities may help our vision to be realised, and what weaknesses & threats may hinder it?”
15.00 Break
15.15 Strategic Directions:

“What are implications for ACE for the next 5 years, and for implementation in 2024-25 in particular – for Strategic Objectives & Critical Themes, for the internal operating environment and for strategy implementation and communication? 

-17.00 Next steps, evaluation, reflection & close

Feedback and impact

Participants’ on-site feedback included:

  • Dynamic, engaging, inclusive
  • Good to have time for debate and discussion
  • New perspectives
  • Well prepared

Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE-CAE) posted soon afterwards on LinkedIn:

The ACE Executive Board came together in #Brussels to #brainstorm and pave the path for the future of the organisation.

Strategic workshops are not just about planning for the future; they are about transforming vision into actionable steps, highlighted Ruth Schagemann, ACE President.

Over the course of this collaborative and creative day, we engaged in strategic discussions about how to leverage impactful advocacy and the organisation’s agenda for action.  Excited for what’s ahead and proud of what we’ve accomplished together!

See also about me, how I work, who I work with and recommendations & case studies, and please contact me about how we might work together.

A 10th annual review of my freelance facilitation practice, 2024-25

For what turns out to be my tenth annual review of my freelance facilitation practice, after missing a few in my early years, I shall once again share in this longer post some data and some reflections on my last year.

In this past year to June 2025 I delivered 16 contracts for 12 clients. That compares with 16 contracts for 11 clients the year before and 14 for 12 the year before that. This past year’s contracts involved 3 individual online sessions plus 17 in-person and 1 hybrid event. Events were in Belfast, Birmingham, Brussels, Lisbon, London and Lomazzo. That compares with 2 online sessions, 13 in-person and 2 hybrid events the previous year and 7, 10 and 3 the year before that.

So, it appears that my contracts, clients, sessions and events have settled into a fairly consistent pattern these past three post-Covid years, notwithstanding a further slight fall in online and hybrid delivery. Happily, and as intended, that pattern involves considerably less of everything than my bumper lock-down year to June 2021 (32 contracts for 22 clients involving over 100 online sessions), and the also busy, largely pre-Covid years to June 2019 and to June 2020 which saw 25 contracts each.

Also happily, as I resolved in January 2020, I have again been able to restrict my travel mostly to places accessible to London without flying. For the first time in five years I did find it necessary to fly, from each of Lisbon and Lomazzo to London. To get to each, however, I enjoyed rail travel from Sitges, Barcelona, with stops along the way in Spain and France.

I was sub-contracted by colleagues for two contracts this year, and for one contract I sub-contracted to a colleague myself. That compares to 2 & 2 last year and none & 3 the year before. So it appears that my new post-Covid pattern of working in-person, often with travel, continues to be associated with working largely solo and less as part of a team.

Partners that I have contracted with this past year included again ICA:UK and IAF colleagues Orla Cronin and Marie Dubost.

Clients I have worked with this past year have again included UK and European charities and NGOs, professional and trade associations, multi-sector partnerships and UK local and devolved government.

Of this past year’s contracts, 8 involved facilitation while 7 involved training and one involved coaching and consulting. That compares to 9 facilitation, 7 training and none coaching & consulting the year before, and 10, 3 and one the year before that. So the proportion of facilitation to training remains close to 50/50, while coaching and consulting remains close to zero.

Crafting a joint commitment on living wages in banana supply chains - workshop

Facilitation contracts this past year have ranged in scale from a single evening workshop to several two day events, for groups ranging from less than 10 to around 55:

  • with the Royal Academy of Engineering, design and facilitation of one-day workshop “the Future of Neighbourhood Health for coastal communities” involving around 55 of the Academy community, experts and policy thinkers in London
  • with the European Union Drugs Agency, design and facilitation of a two-day strategic planning retreat involving 9 staff of the EUDA Communications Unit in Lisbon
  • with IDH Trade, design and facilitation of a one day hybrid workshop for around 15 in London and 20 online, representatives of European partner organisations working to develop joint commitments on living wages in Banana supply chains – case study
  • with the Society of Audiovisual Authors, design and facilitation of a one-day Board & Secretariat strategy workshop for around 12 in Brussels
  • with the Royal Society on behalf of Orla Cronin Research, co-facilitation of a Workshop: The Role of Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage in a Sustainable Future involving around 35 experts in London
  • with To Zero, design and facilitation of a pair of online sessions with the virtual Implementation Team of nine to draw conclusions and agree next steps following a major global consultation on working together to end childhood sexual violence worldwide
  • with the Oak Foundation, design and facilitation of a two day meeting for a group of 11 in London to build a model by which it and partner foundations might best collaborate as donors in support of working together to end childhood sexual violence worldwide
  • with Islington Borough Council and Clerkenwell Design Week, design and facilitation of a public meeting in Clerkenwell to engage with local residents and other stakeholders on the use of local parks for the annual design festival

Shelley Heckman wrote, May 2025 – case study:

“The iStandUK Executive Board met in London to talk ambitiously about our collective commitment to data standards for public services. I’ve never been as inspired and energised about the topic of data standards as I have been today with this fantastic group of people!”

Annica Ryng wrote, November 2024:

“I first had the pleasure of working with Martin in 2014. A decade later, when I was looking for a facilitator to help our team develop a new multi-annual strategic plan, Martin was my first choice. On both occasions, in two very different organisational settings, Martin facilitated excellently. He brought a clear, structured process and adaptability to the needs and dynamics of the group. His calm, respectful, and cheerful demeanour created an environment where participants felt comfortable and engaged. With his extensive facilitation experience and knowledge of the pan-European not-for-profit sector and member-led organisations, Martin would be an asset to any team looking to create impactful strategic plans.”

In-house training contracts this past year comprised just one course with a repeat client:

Public training courses grew, in contrast, with the expansion of my regular schedule of public ToP facilitation training for 2025 and my renewed partnership offer ToP facilitation training at your place – and free places for you!

Regularly scheduled courses included Brussels again, as well as London, after a Covid-induced break since 2020, and partnership courses were in Birmingham and Lomazzo:

Annekatrin Madlung wrote, June 2025:

“Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the ICA:UK ToP Action Planning workshop in London, led by the brilliant and deeply experienced Martin Gilbraith. Martin’s facilitation style was generous, thoughtful, clear, and quietly powerful. He really brings the ICA’s ToP methods to life — a set of structured, participatory processes that help groups move from shared vision to concrete action in a way that is collaborative, focused, and energising. It felt like a masterclass in effective group process!”

Maria Elena Luccerini wrote, May 2025:

“An incredibly useful and applicable framework — not just for facilitators, but for anyone leading change, innovation, or transformation… the ToP Participatory Strategic Planning process. Thanks to Martin for being so clear and generous with lots of tips, and to the other participants… your perspectives made this learning journey truly meaningful and inspiring!”

Rosemary Forest wrote, December 2024:

“Several years ago I attended both the ToP Group Facilitation Methods and Strategic Planning courses with Martin. These were by far the best courses I’ve ever done and were highly helpful in my work at the time. Little did I know they’d spark such a love of facilitation that I’d eventually work as a facilitator!”

free facilitation coaching

My coaching and mentoring this past year has again been mostly pro bono. As well as one paid client contract, it has included four younger facilitators taking up my offer of free facilitation coaching in support of their work for climate justice, gender equity or anti-racism (four last year), eight ToP facilitation trainees taking up my offer of an hour’s free post-course coaching (six last year) and my support of another three on their journey to become ICA:UK ToP trainers (three last year).

I continued to serve as well as a volunteer mentor in the IAF mentoring programme, working again with two mentees of each six-month cohort.

For the Power of Facilitation, I continued to support IAF colleagues around the world to work to translate the book into more than a dozen languages. During the year, additional translated editions were launched in Persian and Polish.

Also this past year I was pleased to support also a new initiative of the IAF Global Book Club, to convene a one-year programme of online book club sessions to discuss each of the chapters in turn, in English and in Mandarin.

My free facilitation webinars this year were limited again to one session, this time with Jo Nelson of ICA Associates, Canada, General Editor of the new, second edition of The Art of Focused Conversation: More Than 100 Ways to Access Group Wisdom in Your Organization. The session attracted around 40 participants – see session recording and slides.

I was pleased this year to make a guest appearance on the new Candid Convos video podcast of Ramesh Srinivasan of IAF India – see A candid conversation with LeadFac Solutions.

In my own professional development I have continued to value the professional community and facilitation meetups of IAF England & Wales, and particularly again the in-person conference in Birmingham in April, this year titled Facilitate 2025: What; How; Who; Why. I have also enjoyed continuing to share in the hosting of regular IAF coffee meetups in London, and helping to launch a new regular meetup in Stroud.

For one of the regular Brussels meetups of IAF Belgium, I led Facilitating a culture of participation in international organisations – demonstrating the ToP Historical Scan method, with a group of 15 or so, to reflect and learn together from diverse experience and perspectives on facilitating a culture of participation in international organisations.

My volunteering with the Gay Outdoor Club has grown again to enjoyably absorb more of my time in the past year, as it continues to provide more opportunities to apply some of my professional experience as well.

I continued to host regular online socials again this past year, and I continued my Board role as Website & IT manager. In addition, in October, I hosted 36 members on a first GOC Midweek walking “weekend” in Sitges. In April I stepped up to the role as interim Vice-Chair, to support the outgoing Chair in the recruitment and induction of his successor, and to help to fill other current and upcoming vacancies – see GOC committee vacancies – your club needs you!

Thank you for following!

See also about me, how I work, who I work with and recommendations & case studies, and please contact me about how we might work together.

I’ve never been as inspired and energised – ToP facilitation case study

“I’ve never been as inspired and energised about the topic of data standards as I have been today with this fantastic group of people!” – Shelley Heckman on LinkedIn

Context

In late 2023 I was approached by Shelley Heckman of iStandUK to facilitate an away day of it’s Executive Board in London in March 2024.

The mission of iStandUK is to promote Data Standards that support efficiency, transformation, and transparency of local public services in the UK. The Executive Board includes representatives from local authorities, government departments and other representative groups such as the LGA, SOCITM and TechUK. The Board serves as both a programme board and a leadership forum for collaboration across the local public sector.

The March away day was to build on another just held in December, which had been an opportunity for the Board to start exploring a strategic approach to digital standards for local public services.

At that first meeting the group had looked at the question ‘what are the specific needs and ambitions of public services that could be addressed by standards?’ A visioning exercise followed, which allowed the group to explore what would be the impact of data standards being implemented across all public sector organisations in a way that creates the most impact. The group then explored what would be necessary from our group to achieve the collective vision. The day culminated with a number of action commitments, including to create a specification for a data standards business case for the UK local public sector.

Aims

In conversation with Shelley, Board Chair Phil Swan and Programme Director Paul Davidson, the aims of the March away day were agreed to be as follows:

To build on the conversation started at the December away day, to articulate what we are ready to commit to in relation to:

    • building a vehicle that supports interoperable standards across local government at a national level, what it might look like and the way forward to get there,
    • commissioning a scoping exercise for a vehicle for data standards, and the draft Specification paper,
    • iStandUK and its future, as that vehicle and/or otherwise.

To build upon the collective sense of the importance and urgency of interoperable data standards for the sector that was recognised in December, and to build commitment to influence budget holders to invest funds in a standards body.

Methodology and approach

For this assignment, I proposed to draw on the following of ICA’s Technology of Participation (ToP) methods in particular:

The Focused Conversation method provides a structured, four-level process for effective communication which ensures that everyone in a group has the opportunity to participate.

The Consensus Workshop method is a five-stage process that incorporates Focused Conversation for effective communication and that enables a facilitator to draw out and weave together everybody’s wisdom into a clear consensus.

Agenda & process

10:00 Arrivals & welcome refreshments
10:30 Opening, welcome & introductions; approach, aims & agenda

Our hopes & aspirations for today
11.00 The story so far – what do we know?

  • December workshop & outputs
  • December commitments & actions
  • Draft specification paper – Paul Davidson
  • iStandUK position – Phil Swan

Reflection
12.00 Lunch
12.30 Our commitment – ‘Consensus Workshop’

What do we hope that we are all ready to commit to – in relation building a vehicle, commissioning a scoping exercise, and iStandUK & its future?

What do we find that we are in fact ready to commit to? Are we ready to commit to work with such a vehicle? To help to fund it?
2.00 Break
2.15 Implications & next steps

What does this mean – for building a vehicle, commissioning a scoping exercise, iStandUK & its future, otherwise?
3.15 Reflection & close

What went well? What could have gone better?
3:30 End

Feedback and impact

Participants’ on-site feedback included:

  • Open and collaborative atmosphere
  • Energy and commitment from everyone
  • Great collaboration, great networking, great outcomes
  • Made more progress than I would have expected in time available
  • We got a better output than I expected
  • Excellent facilitation

Shelley wrote soon afterwards on LinkedIn:

I’ve never been as inspired and energised about the topic of data standards as I have been today with this fantastic group of people!

The iStandUK Executive Board met in London to talk ambitiously about our collective commitment to data standards for public services.

See also about me, how I work, who I work with and recommendations & case studies, and please contact me about how we might work together.

NEW! ToP facilitation masterclass with IAF Italy, 22-23 May in Lomazzo

I am excited to be offering ToP facilitation training in Italy in May, in partnership with IAF Italy, the Italian chapter of the International Association of Facilitators. My last, pictured, was in Pisa in 2019.

The specially tailored ToP masterclass: Group Facilitation Methods and Participatory Strategic Planning will be held in Lomazzo, between Milan and Como, on Thursday & Friday, 22-23 May – scroll down for details.

A 10% early booking discount is available until Monday 21 April with the promo code EarlyBird.

A few places remain available on my upcoming courses in April as well:

Register now for public courses in EventbriteRegister now in Eventbrite for these and other upcoming public courses in London, Brussels & elsewhere.

ToP masterclass: Group Facilitation Methods and Participatory Strategic Planning, May 22-23 in Lomazzo.

This two-day masterclass is for all those who want to be able to engage people more effectively to build shared understanding and consensus, and create strategies for action, including team leaders and managers within organisations, those working with Boards, management teams, partnerships and external stakeholders, youth and community workers and independent facilitators. The course has no pre-requisite.

IAF endorsed trainingIAF members enjoy a special 10% discount – see Exclusive Offers for IAF Members.

This course will introduce the two foundational methods of ICA’s ‘Technology of Participation‘ (ToP) methodology, and a third which adapts and applies these to creating strategies for action:

  • ToP Focused Conversation provides a structured, four-level process for effective communication which ensures that everyone in a group has the opportunity to participate
  • ToP Consensus Workshop is a five stage process that enables a facilitator to draw out and weave together everybody’s wisdom into a clear and practical consensus
  • ToP Participatory Strategic Planning is a structured long-range planning process which incorporates ToP Consensus Workshop for building consensus, ToP Focused Conversation for effective group communication, and an implementation process for turning ideas into productive action and concrete accomplishments.

More experienced facilitators may be ready to apply the methods effectively in their own situations. For others the course will serve as a powerful, experiential introduction to ICA’s ToP methodology.

Register now for public courses in Eventbrite

Register now in Eventbrite for this and other upcoming public courses in London, Brussels & elsewhere.

For additional courses offered by fellow ICA:UK Associates, see the full ICA:UK public course schedule.

See also about me, how I work, who I work with and recommendations & case studies, and please contact me about how we might work together.