Who I work with

ICA:UK ToP Group Facilitation Methods training, 2015 in London - photo Michael Ambjorn, facilitation Martin Gilbraith #ToPfacilitation ICA:UK ToP Group Facilitation Methods training, 2015 in London - photo Michael Ambjorn, facilitation Martin Gilbraith #ToPfacilitation

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 and Boards, 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 organisation-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.

I work particularly with voluntary organisations of civil society, with public and cross-sector partnerships, and with development and humanitarian agencies.  I work locally, nationally, internationally and online, from my home base in 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 often work solo with clients on smaller, simpler and shorter-term projects, and 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, EU Agenda, ICA Associates Inc., ICA:UK, IFE, Kellow Learning, Lorensbergs & PeopleZone.

Recent facilitation contracts include (scroll down for facilitation training):

  • with the Amnesty International International Secretariat, design and facilitation of a range of meetings & events with groups of 25-100 for 1-4 days, including team retreats with the global Management Team, the Turkey campaign team, the international Communications Department and the MENA and Europe & Central Asia regional offices; and European & global workshops with IS staff and Section representatives on global campaigning, on community sponsorship of refugees and on organizing & mobilizing – recommendations
  • with Water Harvest (previously Wells For India), design and facilitation of two pairs of one-day strategy workshops for staff and Trustees in Winchester, in 2016 & 2018
  • with the Octopus Community Network, design and facilitation of a one-day strategy retreat for around 15 Board & staff members in London
  • 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 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 Article 19, design & facilitation of a Global Campaigns strategy & planning workshop with the Senior Management Team of 6 in London
  • with the Alternative, design & facilitation of a workshop with around 15 facilitators of political labs from across Denmark, in Kolding
  • with IABC UK, design nad facilitation of an evenong strateg workshop for the Board of 9 – case study
  • 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 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 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 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, 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
  • 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 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 the International Childcare Trust, design and facilitation of a strategy away day for the Board and staff in London
  • 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 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 Northamptonshire Country Council Adult Learning service, facilitation of a Curriculum Co-ordinators meeting ‘Journey to Inspection’
  • 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 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 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 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 the RSA, ongoing facilitation training and support for the Fellowship team and Action Research Centre promoting social innovation in London & elsewhere – blog
  • 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 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

Recent facilitation training contracts include:

See also about me, how I work and recommendations & case studies, and please contact me about how we might work together. Please do not delay before contacting me – the earlier I hear from you, the more chance that I will be able to help and the more helpful I may be able to be.

Register now on Eventbrite for my free facilitation webinars, and for my regularly scheduled ToP facilitation training courses in London and Brussels.

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