What is a method of facilitating a group of people to produce a large number of ideas in a relatively short period of time?
Facilitation DefinedThe principle of facilitation in organizing, engagement, and equity work refers to the practice of structuring and guiding dialogues, meetings, events, decision-making processes, and other activities using intentional strategies that help groups converse and collaborate more respectfully and productively. While there are many different styles and philosophies of facilitation, and numerous books, articles, and guides have been written on the topic, the type of facilitation most commonly used in education organizing, engagement, and equity work is grounded in the practice of inclusivity, fairness, mutual respect, and democratic decision-making. Show
Generally speaking, facilitation is used to create a forum for groups of people to express their ideas, concerns, preferences, or priorities, while also listening to and considering the perspectives of others. Facilitators will support group work in organizations and communities by providing rules and structure, framing topics and issues, posing questions, keeping track of time, and recording the main ideas or outcomes that emerge from a dialogue or process. When needed, facilitators may take a more active role to keep the discussion focused and moving forward, or they may intervene when problematic behaviors derail a discussion or compromise the emotional or physical safety of participants. Facilitators provide structure, direction, and guidance to a dialogue or process, but they do not manage people, issue commands, control discussions, regulate opinions, or determine outcomes. Although facilitators are actively involved in group discussions and deliberations—they may ask challenging questions, provide background information, redirect unproductive arguments, request that speakers clarify unclear statements, and contribute in other ways—they are not considered “participants.” A facilitator primarily attends to process and behaviors, not discussion topics or decision-making outcomes—although facilitators may work with leaders, organizers, and practitioners in an organization or community to design and organize an event, meeting, dialogue, or decision-making process. Structured and well-executed facilitation can help organizations, teams, and community groups avoid common social tendencies, behaviors, and styles of interacting that can undermine productive discussion and collaboration. For example, facilitators can help individuals with different values, beliefs, or cultural backgrounds listen to one another in constructive ways—rather than defaulting to argumentation or stereotyping—which can improve mutual understanding and appreciation across difference. Facilitators may also use a variety of techniques to challenge common social biases, conventions, or inequitable dynamics that may cause groups to devalue some perspectives, and over-value others, due to factors such as class, race, ethnicity, gender, age, ability, education, language proficiency, or organizational hierarchies. While facilitators may help groups resolve difficult problems or contentious issues, and facilitators will call out disruptive, contentious, hurtful, or hostile comments and behaviors, facilitation is not a dispute-mediation or conflict-resolution process. Facilitators typically help groups uncover and articulate areas of both agreement and disagreement, though facilitated discussions and decision-making processes may or may not achieve consensus, compromise, or full participant support for the ultimate outcome or decision. In organizing, engagement, and equity work, the outcome of a dialogue and decision-making process typically emerges from the process—that is, the process is not manipulated to arrive at an outcome that’s been determined in advance by those in positions of power or authority. By applying rules to everyone equally, treating all participants equitably, and modeling, demonstrating, and explaining the behaviors expected of all participants, facilitators help groups converse and collaborate more productively so that the eventual outcome—whatever it might be—results from a process that participants feel was inclusive, fair, respectful, and democratic. To learn more about how principles can be applied in education organizing, engagement, and equity work, see HOW PRINCIPLES WORK → Facilitation StrategiesThis section describes a selection of representative facilitation strategies that may be used in education organizing, engagement, and equity work:
1. Establishing a welcoming, inclusive, and safe environment for participantsFacilitation is frequently used to create more welcoming, inclusive, and non-threatening environments in which community participants feel more confident, relaxed, or comfortable being vulnerable, speaking up, sharing their ideas, or engaging in potentially contentious or emotionally difficult conversations.
→ For a related discussion, see the Accessibility Principle of organizing, engagement, and equity 2. Developing group agreementsFor structured events, activities, and dialogues, facilitators typically establish group agreements—sometimes called “ground rules” or “group norms,” among other terms—before a discussion or process gets underway. If facilitators want to create an inclusive, respectful, equitable, and democratic space, establishing group agreements is widely viewed as an essential strategy, particularly when a discussion is likely to become contentious, when disruptions or bullying behaviors are anticipated, when authority figures may attempt to control the agenda or silence certain viewpoints, or when participants represent a range of socioeconomic backgrounds, cultural identities, or political beliefs.
→ For a related discussion, see the Dialogue Principle of organizing, engagement, and equity Discussion: Insensitive Group Agreements 3. Equalizing power dynamics among participantsIn organizing, engagement, and equity work, facilitators typically take intentional steps to equalize power dynamics in a dialogue or process, and a variety of facilitation strategies will be used to include, recognize, or affirm the voice and influence of community members and groups, especially those who have been historically underrepresented, marginalized, silenced, or excluded.
4. Being intentional and strategic about diversity—or attending to differences that make a differenceIn organizing, equity, and equity work, achieving a diversity of community representation is typically a central value and an explicit goal. While the term “diversity” is most often associated with race and ethnicity, diversity can encompass the many varied cultural backgrounds, identities, and viewpoints represented in a given organization or community, including diversity of gender, age, ability, socioeconomic status, educational attainment, professional role, or language ability, among other factors. Diversity also extends to less visible internal characteristics, such as diversity of experiences, perspectives, ideas, ideologies, or beliefs.
5. Practicing intentional impartialityWhen facilitating a discussion or decision-making process, the intentional practice of impartiality can help to create conditions for more respectful interactions, more effective problem-solving, and more productive group collaboration, particularly among parties that are mutually distrustful or in communities experiencing tensions and conflicts. For example, facilitators may refrain from taking sides in a disagreement, expressing ideologically biased viewpoints, or showing favoritism toward certain ideas, individuals, or groups.
Discussion: When Impartiality May Not Be Advisable In some circumstances, acting authentically or practicing transparency may be more effective facilitation strategies than maintaining the appearance of impartiality. For example, facilitators might discuss their identities or cultural backgrounds to connect with participants on a personal level or encourage them to share their personal stories, or they may discuss their own biases as a way to model self-awareness and intentional self-reflection for participants. In addition, different engagement goals or community audiences may require different facilitation strategies. A principles-based approach to organizing, engagement, and equity is based on the premise that the fundamental elements of the work—such as facilitation, authenticity, or transparency—can be customized to meet the distinct needs of the moment. A standard strategy that works in most cases may not work in specific cases, and facilitators may need to rely on instinct, judgement calls, or their personal knowledge of participants—rather than prescribed facilitation strategies—given that every community is unique and social dynamics are ever-changing. 6. Providing useful information and contextCommunity members will enter an organizing, engagement, or equity process with different levels of knowledge about a given topic, different levels of experience with the process being used, and different ideas about how the process should go or what the outcomes should be. At the outset of a process or dialogue, facilitators often provide essential information that helps participants establish a foundation of common understanding.
7. Guiding the discussion or processA facilitator’s central role is to guide a discussion or process so that groups, organizations, and communities can achieve self-identified goals or take actions that are in the best interests of their staff, students, families, and other stakeholders. In the execution of that role, facilitators may use an expansive range of strategies that have been developed by facilitators over decades of practice and real-world application. Below are a few illustrative examples of facilitation strategies that are commonly used in organizing, engagement, and equity work:
8. Building facilitation capacity in an organization or communityBuilding facilitation capacity—that is, increasing the number of skilled facilitators by providing training, practice sessions, and other opportunities that help them acquire or improve their facilitation skills—can be one of the most powerful and transformative organizing, engagement, and equity strategies available to schools, organizations, and communities. Because facilitation helps people converse and collaborate in more respectful and productive ways, facilitators often play an instrumental role in helping groups overcome deeply rooted institutional dysfunction, patterns of abusive behaviors, toxic cultures and interactions, or misuses of power and authority.
AcknowledgmentsOrganizing Engagement thanks Bruce Mallory, Kip Holley, and Jon Martinez for their contributions to developing and improving this resource. Creative CommonsThis work by Organizing Engagement is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. When excerpting, adapting, or republishing content from this resource, users should reference and link to Organizing Engagement. What are the methods of facilitation?Facilitation methods are management tools that can help your team achieve its desired objectives.. Brainstorm. ... . Set meeting/workshop agendas. ... . Break the ice. ... . Delegate roles. ... . Set ground rules. ... . Take breaks. ... . Provide a toolkit. ... . Use a flip chart.. How do you facilitate a large group?Tips for Facilitating Groups. Mentally and physically prepare yourself as the facilitator. ... . Create the right environment. ... . Ensure the expected outcome/s or objectives are clear. ... . Establish expectations. ... . Energise the group throughout the meeting. ... . Manage participation. ... . Adjust your facilitation style.. What are the types of group facilitation?Group Facilitation Techniques and Methods. Action planning. Action planning is vital for team success. ... . Brainstorming. Brainstorming is an ideal tool for generating a large quantity of ideas within the group. ... . Energisers. ... . Flip-chart. ... . Go wild: ... . Ground rules. ... . Group review. ... . Ice breakers.. How do you facilitate group communication?Encourage participants to contribute
Ask questions that promote deep and continuous discussion (open, focus or probing questions). Use a common experience or area of interest as the basis of discussion. Use non-verbal encouragement such as leaning forward, head nods and looking expectant. Use active listening.
|