See also Another year in freelance facilitation, now both online and in-person again, August 2022.
I work with people in groups who have some common interest, goal or problem that they need to address together. This includes work teams, management teams, Boards and General Assemblies within organisations of all sizes and in all sectors. It also includes groups that cross the boundaries of teams, departments, organisations and sectors. Often these groups come together to enable organisations to engage with their stakeholders, or to bring about system-wide change. Often they come together in order to develop alliances and partnerships to achieve common goals together in the wider community or society. It also includes long and short-term learning communities and communities of practice. In coaching and mentoring I work with individuals as well.
I work particularly with international NGOs and voluntary organisations of civil society, with public and cross-sector partnerships, with development and humanitarian agencies and with campaign groups. Most of my work is therefore multi-cultural, often also multi-lingual. I also work locally, nationally and regionally. I now work mostly online, from my home in central London.
My clients most often come to me because they have identified a need or an opportunity for collaboration, but they lack the skills or confidence to bring people together and make it happen. Very often they or the people they need to work with have been frustrated or hurt by experiences of working together, and they fear further wasted effort or pain. They all seem to have had enough of conversations that go nowhere, meetings that achieve nothing, and plans that never happen. For what I do to help clients in such situations, please see how I work.
I sometimes work solo with clients on smaller, simpler and shorter-term projects, and in consulting, coaching and mentoring. I often work with a co-facilitator or a team on larger, more complex and longer-term projects. To deliver to scale and to draw on additional specialist expertise, I partner with experienced facilitators from my extensive network of associates in the UK and worldwide.
I am an associate provider & consultant of organisations including AlignYourOrg, Berrett-Koehler, BOND, ICA Associates Inc., ICA:UK, Kumquat Consult, Lorensbergs, Nordic Consulting Group and Orla Cronin Research.
Recent client contracts include:
- with Girls Not Brides, design and facilitation of a 2-day hybrid Board retreat for Trustees and senior staff in London and online
- with IDH Trade, design and facilitation of two half-day workshops in London and Brussels, for around 12-15 representatives of partner organisations to develop joint commitments on living wage in Banana and Tea supply chains
- with the Royal Academy of Engineering, design and facilitation of a series of online workshops for around 30, including experts of the NEPC Net Zero working Group plus Policy and Communications staff from the Academy and partner Professional Engineering Institutions, to develop joint messaging on systems approaches to Net Zero
- with the Northern Ireland Assembly, Introduction to Facilitation Online and ToP Focused Conversation training for around 40 diverse staff in Belfast
- with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Partnership, design and facilitation of a half-day reflective partnership workshop for around 20 partner staff and Trustees in Belfast
- with Amnesty International, design and facilitation of a one day in-person team retreat for members of the global Law & Policy team near Oxford
- with Global Fishing Watch, design and facilitation of a 3-day strategy retreat of the global Executive Team of 14 in London
- with Amnesty International, Europe & Central Asia region, lead design and facilitation of a 5-session online Regional Forum involving over 100 delegates from around 25 member organisations
- with Brighter Places, tailored in-house Introduction to Facilitation Online training around 15 staff and residents in Bristol
- with the Brooke, online ToP Focused Conversation training for around 12 staff in the UK and overseas
- with the Natural History Consortium, design and facilitation of a series of six online conversations bringing together 90 diverse stakeholders at ‘Communicate’, the UK’s conference for environmental communicators – recommendations & case study
- with Amnesty International, design and facilitation of an online team-building session for the International Board, Coalition Leadership Team and Governance Programme staff of the International Secretariat
- with Action Aid International facilitation coaching and support for the Convener, Organising Committee and Governance staff of the Global Secretariat in preparation for sessions of the online Annual General Meeting
- with Nicole Moran of Advisory & Facilitation Services, facilitation coaching in support of online strategic planning and focus group sessions
- with Amnesty International Ireland (Ireland) and the Portuguese Refugee Council , design and facilitation of a pair of online Best Practice Convening session of around 50 key actors in Community Sponsorship of Refugees across Europe
- with Oxford Properties on behalf of Traction Strategy, breakout session facilitation for an online Global Leadership Conference of around 300 delegates
- with Amnesty International, design and lead facilitation of a series of 17 sessions of the online 2021 Global Assembly, involving a multilingual team of 5 facilitators and 3-4 delegates of each of almost 70 member entities worldwide working in English, French and Spanish
- with Lindsey Green of Frankly Green +Webb, facilitation coaching in support of strategic planning with clients in the museum and arts sector
- with Amnesty International UK and it’s partners in the #RightsBridge initiative, online facilitation, training and consulting in support of ‘Building a Human Rights Bridge out of Poverty’ in the UK
- with Arden University on behalf of Alan Heckman Facilitation & Training, co-facilitation of a series of online Digital Strategy planning workshops for around 20 academic and administrative staff
- with Amnesty International, Europe & Central Asia region, lead design and facilitation of a 4-week online Regional Forum involving over 100 delegates from around 25 member organisations in over 20 sessions
- with the Royal Society on behalf of Orla Cronin Research, technical support for facilitation of an online Misinformation and Climate Change Roundtable involving around 25 experts
- with OMCT, design consulting and facilitation training over 3 months in support of the first online Global Week Against Torture
- with staff of the Health Foundation, ICA:UK Group Facilitation Methods training over 8x 2-hour online sessions
- with EMCDDA, tailored in-house online training for around 40 staff in Lisbon including Introduction to Facilitation Online, Meetings That Work and Facilitating Virtual Events
- with the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, tailored in-house Introduction to Facilitation Online training for around 25 staff
- with NIHR on behalf of Orla Cronin Research, technical support and moderation for the online skills session ‘How to facilitate virtual PPI meetings and events’ at the Academy Members’ Conference 2020
- with Oxfam Ireland, online facilitation training and coaching with staff in Ireland and of six African programme partners, in support of their first online Annual Partnership Meeting together
- with the ISEAL Alliance, online facilitation training and coaching in support of their first online ‘Members’ Month’
- with ILGA Europe on behalf of Kumquat Consult, design consulting and facilitation training in support of the first online ILGA Europe 2020 Annual Conference
- with Amnesty International, design and facilitation of a series of six online Global Strategy Labs involving around 150 delegates representing 70 national entities worldwide working in English, French and Spanish – recommendations
- with the Architects Council of Europe design and facilitation of an online strategy workshop involving around 35 staff, Board & member representatives
- with Light for the World on behalf of ICA:UK, co-design & delivery of a 4-session online ToP Focused Conversation training with 12 staff in Europe & Africa
- with Unitarian College, tailored in-house Introduction to Facilitation Online training for 3 groups of ministers and lay leaders around the UK
- for ICUU, UUPCC and UUA, design & facilitation of a 2-session online Vision workshop for 9 members of the International Unitarian Universalist Collaboration Group
- in partnership with ICA Associates Inc., Group Facilitation Methods I Online training for members of IAF Portugal and others
- with Interact EU on behalf of Orla Cronin Research, co-design & delivery of the 7-session online training Facilitating Virtual Events with three cohorts of 12 staff across Europe
- in partnership with ICA Associates Inc., online ToP Focused Conversation training for 10 staff of The Brooke
- with PICUM tailored in-house Introduction to Facilitation Online training for 18 staff in Brussels
- with the Amnesty International Europe & Central Asia region, lead design and facilitation of a 3-day online Regional Forum involving over 100 delegates from around 25 member organisations – recommendations & blog post
- with Extinction Rebellion, NCVO & Southern Hemisphere on behalf of Orla Cronin Research, technical support to online Virtual Facilitation training
- with GoTraining & Personal Image, 3-day Accelerated Group Facilitation Methods and Participatory Strategic Planning training for corporate & independent consultants in Moscow
- with AEIDL, design and facilitation of a 2-day ‘hybrid’ team strategy planning meeting involving around 15 in Brussels and another 5 online
- with The Brooke, tailored ToP Group Facilitation Methods training for 12 staff in London
- with Amnesty International, design and facilitation of a pair of workshops involving around 25 representatives of national Sections and Secretariat teams exchanging and learning together on their work on Refugee and Migrants’ Rights
- with Amnesty International UK, design and facilitation of a pair of Campaigns team away days for around 15 staff in London
- with Greater Cambridge Partnership, a series of 3 consultation workshops with around 30-40 stakeholders of a new walking and cycling project in Cambridge
- with IAF Turkey, a series of sessions introducing ICA’s ToP facilitation for the 3-day Facilitation Training Camp in Istanbul
- with the Wikimedia Foundation on behalf of ICA:UK, virtual co-facilitation for remote participants in a 3-day meeting of a strategy working group of around 12 in Utrecht
- with ABBYY on behalf of CircleIndigo, co-facilitation for a global strategy retreat of around 35 in Munich
- with St. Luke’s Community Centre, design and facilitation of a Trustees & staff team away day for around 35 in London
- with BeLiminal, design and facilitation of a 2-day team retreat for a partnership of eight agile coaches in Milton Kenyes
- with the Heinrich Boell Foundation in Turkey, tailored facilitation training for 17 staff and partners in Istanbul
- with Water Harvest (previously Wells For India), design and facilitation of two pairs of one-day strategy workshops for staff and Trustees in Winchester – recommendations
- with EASL , design and facilitation of a 2-day team retreat for around 20 staff in Geneva
- with the Malaria Consortium for ICA:UK, tailored ToP Group Facilitation Methods training for 12 staff in London
- with Xpedio in Helsinki, a pair of virtual master-classes for the Xpedio Academy Professional Facilitator Training Programme
- with the Amnesty International International Secretariat, a series of 3 tailored facilitation training courses for members of the Global Strategy & Impact Programme team, the Europe Regional Office and others
- with Amnesty International, design and facilitation of a 3-day team retreat in London for around 25 members of the East & Central Asia Regional Office of the International Secretariat
- with Oxfam International, consultation, design and facilitation of a 3-day strategy review & planning workshop on the global Rights in Crisis campaign in Africa, in Johannesburg for around 30 stakeholders from across the federation – recommendations
- with the Octopus Community Network, design and facilitation of a one-day strategy retreat for around 15 Board & staff members in London
- with Amnesty International, design and facilitation of a 2-day strategy meeting for around 16 representatives of national Sections and Secretariat teams involved in Turkey campaigns
- with Amnesty International, design and facilitation of a 3-day team retreat in Sicily for around 55 members of the Middle East Regional Office of the International Secretariat
- with IABC UK, design and facilitation of an evening strategy workshop for the Board of 9 – case study
- with the Global Challenges Foundation on behalf of Lorensbergs, facilitation of the New Shape Forum – working with a team of 20 facilitators and graphic recorders, supporting over 200 invited delegates in Stockholm to develop innovative new approaches to reshape global cooperation in order to better tackle global catastrophic risks – podcast
- with EFFA, design and facilitation of a one-day Board & Secretariat strategy meeting for 12 in Brussels
- with JMIC, design and facilitation of a 2-day strategic Summit for 33 senior leaders of the global Meetings Industry in Hannover
- with Edrington, tailored facilitation training for 10 managers in Glasgow
- with Amnesty International, design and facilitation of a 5-day team retreat in London for around 40 of the most senior leaders of the International Secretariat, and representatives of National Sections
- with the National Network for Children, tailored facilitation training for around 25 staff & members in Sofia
- with EPIM, tailored facilitation training for 8 staff in Brussels
- with Girls Not Brides, tailored facilitation training for 27 Secretariat staff in London
- with Amnesty International, design and facilitation of a 4-day Activist Hackathon in London involving around 55 members of national Sections and Secretariat teams involved in mobilising and supporting youth activism globally
- with Oxfam Yemen, design & facilitation of a one day Yemen Crisis Campaign strategy review and planning meeting for around 35 stakeholders of various Oxfam affiliates and Oxfam International, in Oxford with remote participation
- with the Alternative, design & facilitation of a workshop with around 15 facilitators of political labs from across Denmark, in Kolding
- with Article 19, design & facilitation of a Global Campaigns strategy & planning workshop with the Senior Management Team of 6 in London
- with the Centre for Creative Leadership a pair of facilitation masterclasses for 18 faculty of the EMEA region in Brussels
- with Amnesty International, design and facilitation of a 3-day team retreat in London for around 55 members of the Communications Department of the International Secretariat
- with Eurochild, process design and facilitation over 6 months to help to engage around 170 member organisations in developing a new strategic plan, including with around 100 member representatives at a General Assembly meeting and with 20 Board members and Secretariat staff at a 2-day planning retreat in Brussels – case study & video
- with the Peel Institute, design and facilitation of a one-day Board strategy workshop in London – recommendations
- with the Dove Service, Group Facilitation Methods training for 20 bereavement counselors in Stoke on Trent
- with Girls Not Brides, design and facilitation of a 2-day Secretariat team strategy workshop, and an afternoon ‘Story of Change’ workshop, in London – case study & report
- with CENTR, design and facilitation of a Board & Secretariat strategy retreat in Ghent
- with Amnesty International, design and facilitation of a 2-day strategic planning retreat in Brussels for around 20 representatives of national Sections and Secretariat teams involved in the Human Rights Defenders campaign in Europe
- with ISBAN, Group Facilitation Methods training for 10 agile software development project managers in Milton Keynes
- with IABC EMENA, a one-hour facilitation masterclass for around 90 European communications professionals – Adapt • Invent • Evolve: reviewing the past to prepare for the future at #EuroComm17
- with Ofgem, Group Facilitation Methods training for 3 groups of staff of its environmental programmes
- with Amnesty International, design and facilitation of a 3-day team retreat in London for around 100 senior leaders and managers of the International Secretariat
- with Oxfam OPTI, design and facilitation of a series of consultation & consensus building workshops to engage over 100 staff of 4 Oxfam affiliates based in Jerusalem, Gaza & Ramallah in operationalising a new One Country Strategy and Country Operating Model – case study
- with Astra Zeneca on behalf of Lorensbergs, facilitation of 2-day leadership development ‘labs’ for mixed groups of managers in Luton, Macclesfield, Cambridge & Warsaw plus follow-up “virtual labs”
- with IAF Geneva, a tailored one-day masterclass Introducing ICA’s Technology of Participation (ToP) in Geneva
- with the Care Quality Commission, a tailored half-day training introducing the ToP Focused Conversation method for stakeholder engagement staff
- with Amnesty International, design and facilitation of a 3-day team retreat in Slovenia for around 35 members of the Europe Regional Office of the International Secretariat
- with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, design & facilitation of a one-day, closed Ministerial Forum for Health Ministers and other senior ministerial representatives of high-incidence countries at the 47th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Liverpool
- with Lorensbergs, ToP Focused Conversation training for an international team of consultants in Gothenburg
- with Lorensbergs, design and facilitation of a 2-day strategic planning retreat for 20 staff & associates in Sweden
- with the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists, design and facilitation of a 9-month programme of member engagement and strategic planning – online, and face-to-face in the USA & the Netherlands – case study & UUA blog
- with Amnesty International UK, design & facilitation of a 2-day Refugee Summit in London for 100 partners & others responding to refugee issues in the UK – video
- with Initiatives of Change, design and facilitation of the annual international Caux Reference Group consultation meeting at Caux, Switzerland – case study
- with the Nansen Centre for Peace & Dialogue, design and facilitation of participatory strategic planning for the staff team in Lillehammer, Norway
- with Social Platform, design and facilitation of participatory strategic planning for the staff team in Brussels
- with Deaf Child Worldwide, design & facilitation of a strategy review & planning day for the staff team in London
- for CENTR, Concord Europe, Eurodiaconia, IPPF EN PICUM, Social Platform, and others, Group Facilitation Methods and Action Planning training for staff of various European NGO networks in Brussels over several years – recommendations
- with CEDEFOP, two Group Facilitation Methods training courses for staff policy experts in Thessaloniki
- with Edventure:Frome in Somerset, repeated participatory strategic planning retreats for the core team and various stakeholders – case study
- with Initiatives of Change, design and facilitation support for the Addressing Europe’s Unfinished Business conference at Caux, Switzerland – recommendations
- with the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists, design and facilitation of a 2020 Vision day with staff and Executive Committee in the Netherlands
- with the Safety & Security Committee for Lebanon, design and facilitation of participatory strategic planning involving staff and members over 3 months in Beirut – recommendations
- with Rules Play, Group Facilitation Methods and Action Planning training for corporate & independent consultants in Moscow
- with ICA Ukraine, Partcipatory Strategic Planning training in Kiev
- with FAO, design and facilitation of the February 2015 online conference “Economics of Climate Change Mitigation Options in the Forest Sector” engaging over 900 international experts – case study
- with the International Childcare Trust, design and facilitation of a strategy away day for the Board and staff in London
- with Oxfam in Lebanon, design and facilitation of a One Country Strategy process engaging around 150 stakeholders and multiple Oxfam affiliates over 6 months to April 2015 – case study
- with the Oxfam Middle East Gender Equality Programme, design and facilitation of a series of strategic review, planning and organisational change meetings over 3 months
- with ICA Ukraine, design and facilitation of the Ukraine PEACE Summit for 250 delegates from local government, business and civil society from the 27 regions of Ukraine to “dialogue on ways to solve issues locally, restore goodwill among all peoples of Ukraine and establish greater regional and city control while strengthening the country of Ukraine”.
- with the European Training Foundation with AlignYourOrg, design and facilitation of ‘Our ETF, a Journey Together’, a one-day event in Turin with 120 staff to celebrate 20 years of ETF – case study
- with UN Volunteers, facilitation consultancy for the Arab Regional Youth Volunteering Forum with 100 youth, youth experts and other stakeholders in Marrakesh – video
- with SustainAbility, a tailored one-day Group Facilitation Methods training in London for an international team of consultants working to catalyze business leadership on sustainability
- with the annual Moscow Facilitators Conference, a conference master class and pre/post-conference training – see 2013 review and 2014 presentation
- with Northamptonshire Country Council Adult Learning service, facilitation of a Curriculum Co-ordinators meeting ‘Journey to Inspection’
- with BCD Travel, “Introducing the Technology of Participation online”, a 2-hour bespoke virtual learning session with the European training team
- with IDMC, design and facilitation of a 5-day participatory strategic planning retreat and first quarter review session with the staff team of 30 in Geneva – case study
- with Interact-EU, Group Facilitation Methods training in Brussels for a European team supporting cross-border co-operation programmes at the EU’s external borders
- with Orla Cronin Research, co-facilitation of an online workshop for worldwide contributors to a collaborative writing process taking place in South Africa, the Barefoot Guide 4 Writeshop ‘Exploring the Real Work of Social Change‘
- with Emergence International, co-design, development and piloting of the Vision/Align/Apply curriculum of the IREX West Bank Partnerships with Youth programme in Palestine over 5 months
- with Dovetail Strategies, a one-day participatory strategic planning retreat with three core staff in London – recommendations
- with ERM, Group Facilitation Methods training for two international teams of corporate sustainability consultants in London
- with the RSA, ongoing facilitation training and support for the Fellowship team and Action Research Centre promoting social innovation in London & elsewhere – blog
- with ODI, ongoing facilitation of global consortium meetings, and meetings of the Senior Management Team, of the international DFID-funded Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium in London – recommendations
- with Cecily’s Fund, facilitation of a Board & staff strategy retreat near Oxford
- with IFRC and Zurich, facilitation of an international cross-sector partnership workshop on community preparedness and disaster risk reduction in Zurich
- with NW London NHS, facilitation of a series of cross-sector stakeholder consultation workshops on local men’s health issues and priorities in London – recommendations
- with Sing Up, facilitation and coaching to support the 45 staff of this three-charity national consortium to transition from core funding to a social enterprise business model within 12 months in London, Gateshead & elsewhere – recommendations
- with the LGBT Foundation, Group Facilitation Methods training for volunteer support group leaders in Manchester
- with Voluntary Action Lewisham, facilitation of an evening strategy review workshop for the Trustee Board and staff team in London
- with Bron Afon Community Housing, leading a 12 month programme of facilitation training and capacity building support with 80 managers, engaging over 1,000 stakeholders in developing a new 5-year corporate plan in South Wales – case study
See also about me, how I work and recommendations & case studies, and please contact me about how we might work together.