IAF EUROPE JULY NEWSLETTER

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IAF Europe Newsletter

Jan. 2010


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# 7 JULY 2010

Europe is one of seven regions within the International Association of Facilitators. The IAF Europe team members volunteer their time to plan and support activities and services for IAF members living in Europe, supported by Entendu Ltd.. Contact us at pamela.lupton-bowers@iaf-europe.eu; gary.austin@iaf-europe.eu; kristin.reinbach@iafeurope.eu; rosemary.cairns@iafeurope.eu, or speak with Ben Richardson or Nicki Cadogan of Entendu at office@iaf -europe.eu.

ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER The IAF Europe Newsletter is published monthly by the IAF Europe Regional Team for members of the International Association of Facilitators living within Europe. Editor: Rosemary Cairns Design: Christian Grambow | www.christiangrambow.com Contributors: Rengin Akkemik, Ingrid Bens, Justin Collinge, Viv McWaters, Gillian Martin Mehers, Kristin Reinbach, Ben Richardson, Nille Skalts Cover picture: Designer and facilitator Nille Skalts and her business partner, Zakia Elvang, wrote about their design framework and the ―design STAR model‖ in 2008 in a Danish magazine. They share their thoughts about the interrelationship between design of events and facilitation of events; they also will present more about this model during the IAF Europe 2010 conference in Helsinki. The cover photo shows the team at work using the STAR model to design an event. (Photo courtesy of Nille Skalts)

Please send your contributions to your Newsletter to rosemary.cairns@iaf-europe.eu

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CONTENT

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# 7 JULY 2010 - CONTENT

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RITES, MYTHS, MAGICAL TOOLS & PARADOXES IN HELSINKI 2010 By Ben Richardson

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SHAPING EFFECTIVE, INSPIRING HUMAN INTERACTION THROUGH DESIGN

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GETTING GOOD WITH NAMES

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IAF’S FIRST STEP IN TURKEY

By Nille Skalts

By Gillian Martin Mehers

By Rengin Akkemik

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ON YOUR KNEES! EXPLORING STATUS IN FACILITATION By Viv McWaters

WHY WON’T LEADERS FACILITATE? Ingrid Bens

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10 MAGIC FACILITATION METHODS FOR ISTANBUL

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SEVEN TIPS FOR USING TECHNOLOGY TO INSPIRE, NOT TIRE!

By Kristin Reinbach

By Justin Collinge

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Panoramic view of Eteläsatama (Southern Harbour) in Helsinki. (roccodm, Wikimedia) Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Rites, myths, magical tools & paradoxes in Helsinki 2010 By Ben Richardson

The full conference programme for the 2010 IAF European Conference in Helsinki is now available at http://www.iaf-europeconference.org/program.html The programme fully supports the conference themes; Rites, Myths, Magical Tools and Paradoxes and includes detailed session descriptions to enable you to consider your workshop choices. Many of the activities, away from the formal agenda, will provide an insight to the customs and culture of Finland and how this fits with the art and mastery of facilitation. Exemplary efforts from our team of volunteer reviewers, who gave many hours of their time to read and review the 40 plus session proposals, helped us to create an excellent programme for the conference in Helsinki. Our sincere thanks to all those who volunteered and worked so hard to achieve this goal - Bojan Djuric and Sladjana Milosevic (Serbia), Emma Langman (United King-

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dom), Jolanta Marszewska (Poland), Rengin Akkemik (Turkey), and Patricia Henao (Netherlands). The programme has a mix of workshops and other activities from Friday evening through until Sunday:  Opening plenary activities to get people introduced to each other and underway.  More than 30 workshops and plenary sessions with 40 presenters.  Traditional Finnish cultural and social activities  Conference close and announcement of the next conference.  An opportunity for post-conference excursions and trips to learn more about Finland, its capital city and its near neighbour, Tallinn. With the formal programme published, it is worthwhile checking the website regularly as we will soon be publishing details of a range of preconference events which will take place during the days leading up to the start of the conference. One such pre-conference activity will be the Certified Professional Facilitator assessments (for details, see page 5). Sofia Conference Centre This residential conference centre is located 17Km outside Helsinki city centre and has a variety of bedroom styles and configurations. Unfortunately, the centre‖s accommodation is limited so we recommend that you register early to secure the onsite room you desire. Additional bedrooms have been reserved at local hotels (the nearest only 1Km away). We are investigating the possibility of running a


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shuttle bus between the hotels and the conference centre. Chapter Clinic In addition to the various Exhibition stands and displays that will be available to view, the IAF Europe team will be running a Chapter Clinic during the conference. Whether you are involved in an established Chapter or wish to know more about how to join or even create a Chapter, book an appointment for a discussion at the Chapter Clinic. A member of the IAF Europe team or other IAF representative will be able to help you. If you just want to get together with members of other Chapters to share experiences, come, make yourself comfortable and use the facilities created for the purpose. Post-Conference Trips and Excursions In order to make the most of your stay in Finland, why not take advantage of one of the trips or excursions arranged by members of the Finnish planning team? Visit Tallinn, beautiful Capital city of Estonia Following the conference close on Sunday afternoon, you can join your host, Camilla Reinboth, to travel in a group the ancient city of Tallinn. You will take a Ferry, leaving at 17:30 for the two-hour crossing of the Gulf of Finland arriving in Tallinn early evening. Enjoy an evening exploring the picturesque city before staying overnight in a local hotel. The next day you will see more of the city before returning to Helsinki by 16:00. This will be in time to catch evening flights from Helsinki International airport.

IAF Certification Event With Peter Coesmans as process manager, plans for the IAF Facilitator Certification Event in Helsinki are moving forward. This year‖s certification event will be held, as always, prior to the Annual IAF Europe Conference. It will be held at the Sofia Conference Centre Wednesday October 13th and Thursday October 14th.

Helsinki CPF Document Schedule  Application Part I deadline:

13th July 2010 (Application Part I and application fee due by this date)  Remaining documentation due before: 13th August 2010 (Application Part II and III)  Invitations to Stage 2 extended: 13th September 2010 (Balance of fee due for candidates invited to Stage 2)  Stage 2 Assessment Days: 13th and 14th October 2010 (Candidates attend only one of the two scheduled days.)

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Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and is home to the most intact, and UNESCO protected, medieval city centre in the world. Most people are attracted by Tallinn‖s ability to blend medieval architecture with Scandinavian modernity whilst still retaining a unique sense of Estonian identity. Tallinn‖s medieval Old Town is known around the world for its well-preserved, authentic Hanseatic architecture. Enchanting atmosphere, rich cultural scene, beautiful surroundings and plenty of galleries, cafes and restaurants to choose from: there is something for everyone in Tallinn. Spend a day in a true medieval milieu and you will soon understand, why so many have described Tallinn Old Town as mystic, addictive and mesmerizing. A minimum of 15 people are needed to make the excursion viable with a maximum number of 25. The estimated cost will be between €150 and €170 maximum, including all transport and hotels. To express your interest in visiting Tallinn, or to ask any questions, contact Camilla by email at camilla.reinboth@sosiosolve.fi or speak to her on +358 (0)405 653 910. Camilla will need your name and country, contact information and whether you wish to have a single room in Tallinn or if you wish to share (give name). The deadline for expressions of interest is Tuesday 31st August. Hiking in the Finnish wilderness – Nuuksio National Park Escape the suburbs of Helsinki, in a group led

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by Piritta and Tarja Kantojärvi, take to the forest. You will learn about orientation and survival in the Finnish forest. Don‖t worry there will be no snow yet! After a night in the forest you will return to the Conference Centre by midday on Monday. It is anticipated that the minimum size of the group will be three with a maximum of eight. The group will share the overall cost of the trip which will be around €200 – €350 Euros plus €30 per person for food. To express your interest in this hike and overnight camping experience, or to ask any questions, contact Piritta by email at piritta@grapepeople.fi or speak to her on +358 (0)400 664 889. The deadline for binding registration is Friday 1st October. Guided tour of Helsinki city centre With the city centre of Helsinki just 17km away, take advantage of your final afternoon in Finland to see and learn about the history of Finland‖s Capital city. To express your interest in this guided tour email office@iaf-europe.eu


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Helsinki

Nuuksio

Tallinn

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On Your Knees! Exploring status in facilitation By Viv McWaters

IAF European Conference: Pre-conference Workshop 14 October 2010 with Simo Routarinne, Johnnie Moore and Viv McWaters

Status, or power, games are inherent in meetings - whether acknowledged or not. Sometimes status can get in the way, creating tension between individuals and limiting the potential for authentic communication and engagement. Status can play out in many ways: sometimes a connection occurs between strangers and they just feel they communicate on the same wavelength; or a careless step on someone's toes - an unseen status challenge - creates tension, or even conflict between individuals. The facilitator is in a unique status position and can use this to their advantage, enabling them to see status gaps and, most importantly, close those gaps to enhance communication. We can't avoid status games. This workshop is about learning to recognize them and how to play them more effectively. What one brilliant teacher taught us about status Keith Johnstone, a pioneer of improv theatre, told a great story about three kinds of teacher: "There was the teacher we liked but who couldn't keep discipline; another teacher who was generally disliked, never punished, yet exerted a ruthless discipline. A third teacher, who was much loved, never punished but kept excellent discipline, while remaining very human...

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The incompetent teacher was a low-status player: he twitched, he made many unnecessary movements, he went red at the slightest annoyance, and he always seemed like an intruder in the classroom. The one who filled us with terror was a compulsive high-status player. The third was a status expert, raising and lowering his status with great skill." Effective status play for facilitators This workshop will help you learn how to recognize and play status. In this sense, status is something you choose to express - not the endowed status you carry because of your position or title or background (although these obviously play out as well). Status is something you do, something you express, something you play - a role you can adopt as needed. Understanding the dynamics of status is a brilliant tool for facilitators. Not only does it provide a lens in which to view the sometime baffling behaviour of participants, it is also a way of using your own status, that is raising or lowering it, to influence the group. Status is the tool we already use to create distance or closeness between people. Have you ever been in a situation where the group was antagonistic, maybe cynical, didn't want to be there and projected their displeasure on to you? Or, if not the whole group, then one or a few participants? Changing status can be one way of engaging these people. Or maybe you have experienced a group that was too friendly, and didn't want to do the work. Shifting your own status can be a way of signalling to the group that the workshop has shifted as well.


Being prepared to be spontaneous On Your Knees will be seriously playful. We'll look at the subtle - and not so subtle – ways in which we embody and play out status games in facilitation. We‖ll explore multiple small and diverse interventions drawn from improvisational theatre that disrupt entrenched behaviours and patterns.

We‖ll see how the principles that underpin improv theatre can be applied to the dual purpose of engaging participants more fully and also providing the facilitator with a range of improvisational skills and activities to draw on when things don't go as planned.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS Simo Routarinne (Finland) www.proimpro.fi Simo is a professional improviser and an interaction designer with 20 years of expertise and runs his own company called Proimpro Ltd. He has studied improvisation under the guidance of Keith Johnstone. He is a founding member of Improvisation Theatre Stella Polaris and Applied Improvisation Network Europe. He has worked with a large variety of people from policemen to priests; from scientists to CEO‖s and from actors to doctors.

Johnnie Moore (England) www.johnniemoore.com Johnnie started his career as a speechwriter to Lord Sainsbury before working in advertising. After many years of successfully dressing mutton up as lamb, he became a facilitator working for a wildly varied array of clients from big fat corporates to small charities and all shades of organisation inbetween. He has worked with clients such as Johnson & Johnson, National Public Radio, O2, PwC, The Clore Leadership Programme, NESTA, American Express, the BBC and Channel 4.

Viv McWaters (Australia) www.vivmcwaters.com.au Viv has dabbled in journalism, community education, science and improvisation, which makes an ideal platform for her current career as a facilitator. She works with people to tap into their creativity and leadership potential, and has worked in places as diverse as Armenia and Zambia. She is a founder of the Australasian Facilitators Network and has presented at IAF conferences in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and USA.

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Working around the STAR (photo courtesy of Nille Skalts)

Shaping effective, inspiring human interaction through design By Nille Skalts

Denmark 1974 .... a 6-year old girl enters the school gate at the local Folkeskole for the first time in her life... she holds in her hand the typed letter inviting her to the first day in first grade... she meets the other 24 new pupils in the school yard where Dannebro is flying from the flagpole... she walks hand in hand in pairs with her class mates to the gathering in the aula for ―morning singing‖, where all 400 other pupils in the nine grades are lined up in rows starting with her group of small, first graders to the left and the very tall (and slightly intimidating) ninth graders to the very right .... she sings a psalm and listens to the headmaster‖s introduction speech about the ―long, hard, serious journey towards knowledge that she will undertake over the next nine years, the discipline needed, the homework to expect... she marches 2 by 2 behind Miss Johanson to the class room that is to be the home of her

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class for the next year... she sit at a desk with her friend, desks in rows behind one another ... she receives her time table and pencil, a sponsor gift from the local bank, and copies the classes that she is to take from the blackboard to the paper... she is introduced to the main teachers - Mrs Garsdahl for history, Miss Johanson for Danish, Mr Petersen for maths, and receives her three first workbooks... she eats her pre-packed lunch ... and walks out after a very overwhelming experience, holding the hand of her proud parents ... Denmark 2004 .... a boy aged 6 enters the school gate at the local Folkeskole ... he holds in his hand a colourful invitation with the program of this first day at school... he is met by his 3rd year buddy who takes him to the Mars mountain, the central agora for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade, where all the new pupils are


gathered... here he meets Pernille and Michael, who will be the group‖s contact teachers for the next 3 years,... there is no classroom, but a myriad of different rooms, the pillow room for reading, the tipi for class instructions, the kitchen, the workshop area... they have no set timetable, it is flexible and will change to accommodate learning needs of the pupils, who have had their learning styles identified before starting school and will have individualised learning goals and plans... the kids and their parents can download the plan every fourth night from the school intranet... the kids are called to a meeting in the Forum, where the new pupils march in holding the hands of their buddy, to the applause of all the other children sitting on the floor and the tones of ―We are the Champions‖... they take the stage as the head of the students council, a girl from 8th grade welcomes them to their first day at school... finally they all go to the school yard and each sends off a balloon bearing their name to mark the global journey of learning they are all embarking on... and all the kids and their parents are invited to a buffet lunch to celebrate that the first day is over... Two stories from Danish school life... two very different environments, with different people, different process designs and very different methods applied, but two processes with the same overall purpose, to get the six-year-old school starters launched on their nine-year long journey of learning in the Danish Folkeskole. That sparked our interest for design! Here was an example of two very different process designs that delivered the same end result. Would that also be true for the processes that we, as consultants, facilitate every day? And would a conscious focus on design elements - and which were they? - and not just on facilitation skills and techniques make a notable difference in the quality of our interventions? We took a close look at the processes we were facilitating and realized that while the purpose or the why we are facilitating a given process and the what that needs to be delivered is often given, the form is not. And if the form is given, it‖s often not connected closely enough to the goals of the process. There seems to be great artistic freedom in how to realise that particular purpose - and the facilitator‖s task is to find the ways that best

Designing the “big picture” (photo courtesy of Nille Skalts)

spark this particular potential! We also noticed that our interest in design was met with a certain skepticism from our colleagues - design was for large events, not workshops and meetings! But we chose to dwell on design and to work on isolating the specific parameters that needed attention in the design phase - and this is where the role of ―designer‖ was born, at least in a Danish context! We keep noticing that most attention in the professional community is given to the role of ―facilitator‖ and to developing techniques for facilitation, and not so much to the ―designer‖. Setting the scene is the role of the designer, and playing it live is where the facilitator excels. These are distinct roles requiring different toolboxes and different competencies. Their centers of interest are different: the designer most often is focused on designing the big picture process, while the facilitator most often directs attention to the actual interaction and interpersonal dynamics in situ. What doesn‖t change is that the roles always have to come together to deliver great processes. This article focuses on the framework that we elaborated to help in the design phase and the five steps to designing the interaction that will best help to reach a given purpose. I. The design STAR model To design means ―to give shape‖ - in this case to the process, defined as a meeting between

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Designing state of the art processes

people with a professional purpose where the result is not pre-defined, but is created and unfolded in the interaction. In our vocabulary, ―to design a process‖ means to shape, plan and prepare the process. The design structure is the room of the human interaction and can be seen as “the production system” - the organisation of the process in which the results have to be delivered. Designing energetic, effective and inspiring human processes that deliver the desired results requires focus on various parameters. Whatever the desired results may be. the design STAR has five different dimensions that you always must consider when designing: the purpose, the people, the process design, the environment, and the methods. The star can be used as a tool for diagnosis, analysing and uncovering all you know about the process that you‖re about to design; as a design tool to shape the process and actually make the different decisions on purpose, people, process, methods and environment; and finally, as a overview for the facilitator, to know what buttons to push once the process is rolling. All processes have at least three steps - a before, a during, and an after. Processes naturally can be iterative and repetitive, but these phases

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can be good to work with. The designer‖s responsibility covers all phases from the preintervention steps to the post-intervention implementation. In most processes, most time and attention is focused on the middle phase of actual interaction, the during phase - but often the preparation before demands more time, just as the after the interaction does. II. Designing processes A step by step approach following the model When we are designing processes, it is not a question of form rather than content but a question of the right form for the right content, so everything we do as designers must serve the overall purpose. Unclear, unshared purposes and unaligned expectations are the single most important reason that processes fail to deliver results! This is why it pays to focus attention on defining the purpose, deliverables and success criteria, and matching those with the person who is to facilitate the process, before actually starting to design the process. First, we zoom in on the purpose and on the facilitator, and we ask ourselves two main questions: what is the goal of the process, and who will facilitate it? In the metaphor of the illustration, you


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(Credit: E. Petri, COPE 2010)

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first focus on why you‖re inviting people for dinner, what you wish to achieve with the dinner party, and what will be the success criteria to measure the effect. Then you match the purpose with the facilitator‖s profile and competencies, meaning that you look at the host, who has to facilitate the cooking and the interactions during dinner. Does that person have the right competencies to ensure that the process achieves the purpose? What is his/ her style? Would it be a good idea to team up with another co-facilitator? Design elements for PURPOSE & FACILITATOR  Purpose - why do we have to engage in this process?  Goals and expectations - are there specific expectations from different stakeholders?  Deliverables - what will be concrete outputs, decisions, work products?  Success criteria - how do we measure success?  Form and framework - how much time do we have? In which context?  Who is facilitating? What are his/her preferences, strengths? Is there a co-facilitator and what are the different roles we will play?  Or what is the preferred facilitator profile?

When you have established and validated the purpose with key stakeholders, then you work your way around the different corners of the star in the order that makes the most sense to you in the specific situation. We most often start with people. As we define processes as people meeting with a professional purpose, we cannot stress enough the importance of showing considerable interest in who is a part of the process even before the process unfolds! In the metaphor, that means zooming in on the guests. In designing, it means getting to know as much as possible about the people who will be an important part of the process, before, during and after - key stakeholders, decision makers, influencers, and naturally, the participants. Who are they? How many? Do they know each other? What are their characteristics? Does the purpose impact the people that need to be present and how they should interact? Design elements for PEOPLE  Who are participating? How many, average age, gender...?  What is the composition of the group? Preferences, cultures, learning styles, a new constella-

Generic Design for Small Scale Processes ( 6 to max 25 participants)

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Drawn program

tion or established team, professions, levels of hierarchy...?  What is the organisational culture and style? Organisational values, traditions, experience with the subject  What are the expected group dynamics? Interrelations, expected patterns of reactions,...  Are the right people present? Do we need them all? Who is missing to ensure max mix and synergy? Do we lack key players to make critical decisions? Having explored the people dimension, we move on to process design – creating the master plan that will take the process from start to finish. The first part of the master plan is the program or agenda - the plan for what will happen. Having designed many agendas, we have discovered that there is a basic agenda design that can be used as the framework - whatever design you have to make. (See diagram on page 14) We found it very interesting when we realised that the differences in working with process types such as world cafe, open space, appreciative inquiry or accelerated camps basically only show in the part of the programme where you are actually producing something. Introducing, frame-setting, concluding and closing parts, while always obligatory, can be based on different methods. The programme also has a very clear communicating part. This is what the participants will

Your Room is Your Residence

see and use as their guiding star - it sets the tempo of the session, the steps to be taken, and indicates the essential elements of timing. This can take various forms, a traditional word document or maybe a graphic illustration of the different stops of the day? (See the example of a graphic agenda illustrated above) The other part of the master plan is the process script, the facilitator‖s guide through the process. The process script details the process design with all the aspects needed to fulfill the purpose and includes the purpose of each agenda point; the atmosphere you wish to create; the type of interaction you plan; what methods are being used; the timing, roles and responsibilities; the design of the room; and needed materials etc. It covers the whole process - what happens before the participants enter the room, what kind of prework should they do, and what happens after? Using our metaphor, we can compare the process design to the cookbook - what are the preand post-dinner aspects, who is responsible, why do we undertake the different steps, what is the timing. The actual menu is a part of this and can be compared to the agenda. Design elements related to the process design  What is the overview of the whole process? What happens before, during and after? What bigger process (change, project, plan, etc) is the process a part of?

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Your Room is Your Residence

 What is the program for the interaction? What is

the flow? How do you create a balance between tempo/energy, reflexion/intimacy, group/ individual interaction, concrete and abstract aspects?  Time and timing? How much time do you have? How long will each sequence be? Did you think about in betweens, breaks?  What is the purpose of each sequence in the process design?  What is the content and plan for the individual sequences in the process design?  Who takes responsibility for the different elements in the process? What is your role as facilitator? Do you need graphic illustrators? Scribes? Keynote speakers? Who is on stage?  What materials are essential for the process design? Handouts, logbooks, materials, paper, pens? When the draft of the process design is made, we consider the environment or the physical frame of the process. Your room is your residence choose it carefully, always take a look at it before you design the interaction, and use the different aspects of it to the greatest degree possible! And that is the third design element. In our dinner party metaphor, we would consider the seating arrangements, how to design the specific atmosphere in the room - should it be sit down dinner and silver service? or finger food at the buffet? or lying down Roman style? And what decor and ambience - lights, flowers and music? When designing processes, we have to make sure

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Your Room is Your Residence

that the environment is welcoming for the participants and their well-being, and also conditions the type of interactions that you can have. An important part of creating a suitable environment for the process to unfold relates to our senses - it is important to think about the right stimulation of all senses and to think creatively about doing so. Not too much, not too little - but just the right elements to support fulfillment of the goal.  Think light - does the room have windows? Can you use candles to create an intimate atmosphere?  Think colours - different colours have different impacts on people.  Think food - the type of food served during the program sets the tone and the nutritional value of the food conditions the energy of the participants!  Think decoration of the room - and use different settings to indicate different forms of working.  Think sound - and use music to set the tone, mark shifts in tempo and infuse energy. While many easy points can be scored by thinking creatively about the environment, very few facilitators spend time on these aspects! Design elements related to the environment  What kind of physical setting creates the right environment for a given process? Inside? Outside? Size, wall space, windows? Technical facilities? Furniture - do you need table and chairs?  What artefacts are important for the process? Par-


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 How do you make the final decisions? How do you

evaluate? And ensure next steps? Once you‖re through the different elements of the design STAR, you‖re ready to let the design unfold - bon appetit!

Finally, we concentrate on the methods and fine tune the design. This is where you take a deep look at what tools are needed in the process design, and finalise the design. This is where we establish how to actually cook the meal: what are the individual steps and techniques? Should it be pan fried, boiled or baked in the oven?! And what are the small tricks and skills that add flavour to the menu? We distinguish between technical methods (or tools) and general facilitation methods. The first relate to the subject matter of the process (make a strategy requires strategic tools, ideation requires a toolbox of brainstorming, idea boosting, idea selection etc). The latter are the tools used by facilitators regardless of the theme, such as openers, closers, energizers, icebreakers, handling dysfunctions, making decisions, steering the group dialogue, etc... Design elements related to the methods  How do you start and finish, and ensure energy in the process? What openers and closers to launch and end with a bang? What icebreakers and energizers are relevant in the context?  How do you handle your role as the host? How do you establish contact with the participants, and get them engaged and signed on? How do you use yourself, your personality? What about tone of voice?  What methods are you using? Which tool box are you using - strategy development tools? business model development? ideation? brainstorming? selection, value stream mapping,... etc? And are you comfortable with them or do you need backup ...?  How do you establish relations between the participants and build connectedness?  How do you handle disagreements and control the dialogue? How do you open dialogue and close discussions? How do you handle conflict, what are good process questions, feedback methods, decision making processes ...?

Nille Skalts is an experienced designer and facilitator. For the past 12 years, she has worked as a consultant both internationally and in Denmark, where she currently lives. She has designed and facilitated numerous change processes, and is currently focusing her attention on processes that spark potential, often related to setting strategy in motion and changing those who have the ability and responsibility to change others. She also trains consultants and project managers on design and facilitation. In 2009 she founded the company Spark with her business partner, Zakia Elvang. They had previously developed the design framework and the „design STAR model‟ and first published it in an article in Børsens Ledelseshåndbøger in Denmark in May 2008. To learn more about Spark‟s thoughts on design and facilitation, drop Nille a line at ns@sparkcph.dk or sign up for Spark‟s session at the European IAF Conference in Helsinki in October 2010.

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ticipant logbooks? Material as stickers? Uniforms? Name tags? Decoration?  The five senses - How are they stimulated? What do we eat and drink? How are the room‖s acoustics? What is the temperature? Can you open the windows? What colours are present? What kind of lighting is used?


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Why won’t leaders facilitate? By Ingrid Bens, M.Ed., CPF

Leaders who operate in today‖s networked world of projects and teams find themselves in a dynamic environment that didn‖t exist just a few decades ago. Where leaders once worked close to their people and had extensive decision-making authority, today‖s leaders are more likely to be heading up multiple teams of far-flung specialists working on complex projects. Despite these major changes, the vast majority of today‖s leaders do not seem to possess the process tools they need in order to manage the complexities of today‖s workplace. In fact, most leaders that I encounter have never even heard of the very tools that they should be using every day to build and maintain the effectiveness of their teams. I say this after doing OD work and conducting facilitation skills workshops for more than 25 years. I―ve taught leaders in major corporations, social sector agencies, the military and large government departments. Regardless of the setting, I have found it to be universally true that managers are largely unaware of even the most basic process tools. To make matters worse, most leaders hold erroneous views about facilitation. They either see it as a touchy-feely, soft skill, or think of it as something that relates only to running meetings. This view is especially prevalent among senior managers who send their middle and frontline staff to training, but rarely attend themselves. As a result of this major skill gap, today‖s leaders operate in the workplace without the very tools they need to handle the situations they encounter. Here are just a few examples of things I‖ve seen recently. Deadlines vs facilitated conversations I‖m currently doing consulting work in a large government department, about a year after a major change initiative was announced. Despite

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urgent sounding announcements and elaborate slide presentations, nothing changed. Interviews with front line leaders revealed that they basically had no idea how to actually engage their people to make the mandated changes happen. What they did instead was set deadlines and require compliance. After extensive interviews, I learned that none of the leaders knew how to facilitate conversations using tools like Visioning. They didn‖t know to ask buy-in questions or how to apply Forcefield Analysis to identify the blocks and barriers to implementation. They also lacked any strategies for dealing with resistance. The result was that a year after senior management announced their bold, new initiative, practically nothing had happened. In fact managers universally reported increased levels of cynicism and resistance amongst their staff. Structuring conversations Another classic example of how the lack of process knowledge hampers organizational effectiveness is in the area of conflict management. Time and again, I‖m asked to intervene in organizations where relations between individuals and groups have broken down. In every case I‖ve encountered, no one had ever heard of the relatively simple process


tools that I used to help them resolve their issues. This includes such tools as asking conflicting parties to paraphrase what the other party has said or having competing parties share what they ”Need” from one another and what they “Offer” to the other party in return. Clearly, leaders of every project and department should know how to structure conversations in a way that safely restores health to relationships. Given the complexity of today‖s workplace, you would think that leaders would regularly get their staff together to identify their problems and solve them. Once again, I see no real evidence that leaders are using Systematic Problem Solving even though they may be awash in problems. Nor do they engage their people in Survey-Feedback sessions to debrief the data collect in the various surveys that they conduct. Finally, there is the sad fact that most leaders still do not know how to run an effective meeting. In every organization I visit, I‖m told that meetings are terrible: that leaders don‖t send out agendas, that they fail to set Norms , that they don‖t know how to intervene to redirect ineffective behaviors and fail to use exit surveys to assess the meeting. Worst of all, most leaders have no idea how to build a group consensus or overcome a deadlocked decision making discussion. By now you may have gathered that I‖m in a quandary! How can it be that these tools have been out there for decades without anyone but professionals knowing about them? Sharing knowledge more widely The only exception seems to be Brainstorming, which is known and used widely. The question is, why aren‖t the other tools in the process toolbox also ubiquitous? One reason may be that most facilitation books, conferences and certification processes are aimed at professionals. Too few textbooks have been written for the average leader and the specific situations that they need to facilitate. Certainly those of us who write about facilitation need to write more frequently for this audience. Our conference is another part of this dilemma. The IAF conferences are wonderful forums for learning. Sadly, the only people who attend are facilitators. Perhaps we need to create a core set of workshops and then systematically insert these offerings into the conference agendas of other pro-

fessional groups, so that process tools and skills are spread more broadly. Finally, there seems to be a need for some sort of intermediate facilitator certification process for non-professionals. Our CPF‖s could administer this testing and help coach leaders who seek to improve their process skills. I was part of an IAF think tank in Chicago recently where this very idea was put forward. I hope that it can become a reality soon. I‖m convinced that all leaders need to possess a robust set of process tools to manage in today‖s fast-paced workplace. The goal of moving leaders from telling to asking, from directing to engaging, has in fact become the new focus of my career. More and more I find myself working on trying to figure out how to reach leaders with the important message that taking a facilitative approach to their work will transform not only their organizations, but also themselves.

Ingrid Bens is a Certified Professional Facilitator, holds a Master's degree in Adult Education and has more than 25 years of experience as a workshop leader and organization development consultant. The founder of Participative Dynamics, in Florida, and the Facilitation Tutor on-line learning portal at www.facilitationtutor.com, she is running workshops in the UK in October and at the 2010 IAF Europe conference in Helsinki.

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Getting good with names By Gillian Martin Mehers

Many people say they are not good with names, and apologize in advance for forgetting yours (over and over again). However, if you are facilitating a new group, it doesn't ingratiate you if after the first few hours you still cannot call on people by their names. Or worse, call them by the wrong names; or even worse, start to only call on the people whose names you know (I've seen this happen, but of course YOU would never do that!) Many workshop organizers kindly try to help this by using name tags. Yet somehow at the beginning of the session there are miraculously still many left over on the registration table, when every seat is filled. And it is even more remarkable how you can not read a name printed in number 10 font from more than 2 meters. Or how thoughtfully people put them on at the beginning of the workshop and then as the morning wears on, and they feel more comfortable (from your good facilitation no doubt), take off their jacket or sweater, nametag firmly affixed, and hang it over their chair. And you can forget more than 20% of your participants remembering to put them on for Day 2 (do you?) - by then everyone is sure that everyone else knows their name. Finally, if you are a facilitator that is new to a group whose members already know one another well, they will probably not think to have name tags in the first place. So what about name plates then - those folded over paper cards, that could help, right? Well, just one change around for small group work (and we want that interactivity) and the names are all in the wrong place. And there is also something slightly amusing about the fact that, when name plates are only printed on one side, people seem more often than not to put that side facing themselves.

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So failing name tags and name plates, what else can you do to get good with names? Mapping the names Well, normally workshops start with some kind of group check-in or introduction, with participants sharing their names and organizations, or something about themselves. Just before they start this, quickly draw the layout of the room (tables at least) on the top of your agenda. Then, write down their first names as they say them, indicating where they are sitting at that time. If you jot down a key word or two, or the colour they are wearing, that can also help."Introductions" is also the best time to ask people to repeat their names if you did not quite catch them (then write them down). In the end you have a full seating plan, and even if people change later on, you can usually remember where they started, or greatly narrow it down, and use it for reference as needed throughout the event. Usually at some point, workshop organizers also distribute participant lists, but perhaps not to the Facilitator; they might put them in the participants packs, or they send it to you by email in advance. Make sure you have a copy on hand, whatever it takes, and keep it with you at all times when you start.


You can also use that for note-taking during introductions, noting a memorable thing about each person as they speak (although I usually prefer the seating plan capture described above - it's a visual snapshot of the group). If a keynote presentation follows and you are in the back, use your participants list or "seating map" to practice names while the speaker has their attention (and they are not moving around). Preparing your agenda Here's another idea, when you write up your facilitator's agenda, write in all the people's names who are contributing. Even if people are giving short presentations, briefing an activity, meeting people for the bus - put in their full names and titles in bold the first time they are mentioned. Then with your agenda in hand, you can check the name quickly at any point in the session, after they have made themselves known through this contribution (you will probably be briefing them beforehand anyways). You can also reinforce people's names by using them at every possible opportunity (without being irritating - I think that is something that they teach in some job interview courses, and overused it gets cloying). After you say someone's name a few times you usually have it. That also starts to narrow down to just a few whose names you really don't remember or are not sure enough of to use in front of the group. At that point check your seating plan notes, or better yet, in the next break go and ask them or ask someone else for their name. Then the first chance you get, use it, twice (Lizzie, you're next! Thanks Lizzie.) By the end of the first half day, by combining a few or all of these things, you should have everyone's name and be ready to work much more closely with the group from then on. It makes a noticeable difference getting to know a group when you can call each and every person by name - helping them accept you as their process guide, inviting them personally to engage, and encouraging them to try something new and potentially take some steps out of their individual comfort zones. Do all these things, and you will proudly be able to say, "I'm good with names." Any other tips? Feel free to share your favourites.

Do all these things, and you will proudly be able to say, "I'm good with names."

IAF Europe Newsletter columnist Gillian Martin Mehers is director and head of learning at Bright Green Learning @Atadore SARL, in Crans-prèsCÊligny, Switzerland. She blogs regularly about facilitation and learning at www.welearnsomething.com You can see her April 8, 2010 blog post online at http://welearnsomething.blogspot.com/2010/04/ end-of-boring-borrowing-adapting.html You can reach Gillian at gillian@mehers.com.

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10 Magic Facilitation Methods for Istanbul By Kristin Reinbach

In the end of May, Rengin Akkemik and I had the chance to do a workshop session at the HR dergi conference in Istanbul. We were in good company – for example, Dennis Frare of the Disney Institute gave an inspiring lecture on their leadership philosophy. So with lots of openminded Turkish human resources professionals present, we were determined to get the message of Facilitating and the IAF across. Looking for inspiration for the presentation, I browsed IAF Europe Newsletter articles and stumbled across Gillian Martin Mehers‖ May 2010 column about PechaKucha (by the way I very much recommend using the newsletter as a source of inspiration whenever needed…)

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Pecha Kucha‖s main idea is to show 20 pictures, talk about them for 20 seconds each – and that‖s it. Very clean, very intense input. I use Visualizing a lot so I combined this with the Pecha Kucha idea – and this is the way how you can dare to show “10 Magic Facilitation Methods” within one hour. The methods we showed were collected with the goal of showing the great variety of facilitation. Indeed, people were astounded when they became aware of what can be included in this area of work. So I showed some of the classics - Open Space, Future Search, and the Technology of Participation:


As well as some of the real fresh stuff:

Pecha Kucha – ultra-quick input for a group, emotional and intensely involving

PB Works – which makes group ONLINE collaboration a lot easier. It is said that some law firms cut editing time for documents by 60%....

Some quite current tools as Visualizing and Metalog learning games:

I love Visualizing – as it gets work groups so much more involved. No need to explain that any further – though psychology gives some very reasonable background WHY it works.

The Metalog Learning Tools enable groups to experience 02/2010 | IAF EUROPE NEWSLETTER | 23 very quick learning curves.


Also, it seemed important to show that Facilitation may

And we showed some material which is useful for inno-

of course make a great combination with other more tra-

vation tasks (as Rengin told me in Turkey this is a big

ditional methods – as consulting.

issue these days…)

Strategy Loops is a combination of classical consulting input phases and facilitated work group session –it is used for strategic processes mainly.

Creative Problem Solving was developed decisively at Buffalo State University. I learned about this method at the CREA Conference held annually in Italy, which is – as with our own IAF European conference, a real interesting learning opportunity – only much more specialized in creativity and innovation. Conference leaders there are also very inspiring people. (See http:// www.creaconference.com/)

You might have noticed that we did not exclusively present methods used or developed by IAF members. We did that on purpose to demonstrate that the IAF is a very open-minded, dialogue-based organization. Magic Innovation Leadership is another combined Method which I developed and which is actually so new, it has not even gone live yet. I am currently testing the combination of action learning, coaching and facilitation and am convinced that it‖s absolutely magic. J It grabs innovation at the roots: in the thinking and behaviour culture of individuals and leaders. By the way: Rengin is currently setting up an IAF chapter in Turkey – so there is more opportunity to get linked personally. If you are interested in actively joining this, do contact her via mail: Rengin.Akkemik@smartkariyer.com – she is looking forward to hearing from you!

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IAF’s first step in Turkey By Rengin Akkemik

I was there when IAF took a step to Turkey. And honestly, it was an excellent experience for me to be there and to be a part of this first step. The HR Trainers Conference is one of the major events in Turkey, bringing HR training professionals together annually. In this two day event, major training and consulting companies and HR professionals of local and international companies make presentations about new trends, new approaches, new methods and /or tools regarding the training and performance development. As in previous years, this year‖s event was again full of good sessions. Both local and worldwide known training and consulting companies, such as Disney Institute, Blanchard International and ASTD, made very good presentations addressing important developments, and participants were able to join very effective sessions presented by experienced HR managers of international companies such as Coca-Cola, HSBC, Vodafone and many others. IAF took its place in this important event with a workshop named “Why and How to Improve the Effectiveness of In-house Facilitators & Ten Magic Facilitation Methods”. After a long preparation period, Kristin and I set our objective as “introducing IAF to Turkish HR world and presenting its huge benefits that they can get out of it.” So, we divided our presentation into two parts. During the first 20 minutes, I briefly shared my IAF experience and its role in improving my performance as a trainer and consultant. I wanted to underline the importance of having good facilitation skills from the viewpoint of a trainer who is working with adult learners. Together with the brand-new dynamics which “Gen-Y” is bringing in today‖s rapidly changing business environment, “trainer and PowerPoint slides centered” training programs are fading. Since our objective is to make an effective

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and lasting contribution to organizational performance development, we should improve our facilitation skills, learn new facilitation methods, and apply them to our corporate training programs. The best way to achieve this objective is to join an international network among facilitators and to learn from each other‖s experiences. This is exactly what IAF perfectly provides us. Based on the feedback I received after the workshop, I believe that there will be a lot of Turkish members of IAF in near future.

Rengin Akkemik works as a facilitator, trainer and consultant in Istanbul. She attended the 2009 IAF European conference in Oxford (for her story about that experience, see the October/ November 2009 IAF Europe Newsletter) and has been working hard since then to promote IAF in Turkey. She presented at the HR Conference in Istanbul in May along with Kristin Reinbach, who is the member of the IAF Europe Team responsible for promoting and supporting chapter development.

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Seven tips for using technology to inspire, not tire! By Justin Collinge

“How do we want people to feel at the end?” Research suggests that all learning is tied into emotional state, that the way we feel when we learn something is neurologically linked to how well we‖ll recall or use that learning later. Let me describe a very typical training event where technology is being used (not one of yours of course) ... The lights have been turned down or off so that we can all see the screen and you‖re sitting in gloom. All sorts of colourful information is being presented, probably using PowerPoint or Keynote. Much of the information helpful and possibly even interesting ... it‖s just so hard to take it on board. Gradually your eyes glaze over, your mind begins to wonder what‖s on TV, you begin to resent the gentle snoring sound that comes from the row in front and, for the first time, you begin to be grateful for the low lighting as your eyes to s-l-o-wl-y c—l—o—s—e..... We all have suffered through such events. And we have probably all had times where we‖ve known that feeling of swimming against a tide of apathy and lassitude. There‖s no question in my mind that the current common use of technology maintains rather than mitigates this training-room trance. In so many training venues, we can find the dim lighting, the gently soothing humming of the projector and a single point of focus which, let‖s face it, often includes swirls of colour and sound that would be perfect for a stage hypnotist. Add the slightly disembodied voice and the passive reception of facts and figures telling us

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things that we could read from the notes. No wonder we feel wrung dry at the end as we stagger into the light, groping for a shot of caffeine. Seven ideas for a changed state So what‖s the answer? There are three ways of changing our emotional state; changing our physiology (what we are physically doing with our body), our focus and our language. Below are seven suggestions for using technology in training that will positively change physiology, focus and language:

1

If people are sitting still for any length of time watching your screen, then no wonder their emotional energy sags. heir physiology often becomes tired, bored and passive.


The answer is to plan in regular movement. Even put a reminder on every fourth slide of the presentation to make sure it happens. Get people up and moving. Set up discussions that require people to move and talk to someone else. Group people in different ways that encourage them to move position in the room.

2

Maintaining focus on a screen for any length of time WILL cause a sapping of energy.

Try turning it off regularly. Move position in the room forcing people turn to look at you and away from the screen (also changing their physiology).

3

7

And finally ... those who know me knew it was coming ... use interactive whiteboards interactively.

Get the participants up and using them. Give away the ―pen‖ so they can lead different parts of it. Use some of the ―magic‖ moments to get that gasp of approval. Call to action: What if you were to think hard about how you want people to feel at the end before you begin? What if you were to stop and do that now?

Video is a wonderful resource for training.

Put on a brief amusing video – especially good if you can find one linked to your topic. It‖s hard to feel tired when laughing!

4

Use music thoughtfully to focus energy in suitable ways – lively motivational music during active and creative tasks

(Oh, did I mention that? Set active and creative tasks!) And soft reflective music when encouraging contemplation.

5

The normal language of bullet points is passive and one-way.

What about asking a question rather than giving an answer? What if you simply left off the last word of each sentence forcing the participants to engage as they try to make sense of.....? You could use language that surprises instead of the normal sanitised vocabulary!

6

I know that many organisations have set templates but maybe you ought to challenge that specific piece of nonsense.

(I know brand is important, but linking a logo and vision to a moment devoid of inspiration and energy is doing nothing but harm to it!)

This article was first published as Kaizen Training Tip 310: Tired or Inspired; you can subscribe to these regular tips at http:// www.kaizen-training.com. Justin, a coach and trainer with Kaizen Training, specialises in helping teams to function at their peak performance levels and is the author of the recently-published Knowing you, Knowing them (see http:// www.lulu.com/product/paperback/knowingyou-knowing-them/6087730). You can reach him at Justin@Kaizen-Training.com Visit the Kaizen blog at http:// kaizentraining.wordpress.com to see some of the videos Justin refers to, or ask him to send you his PDF entitled “Using video to change the state of a group”.

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Welcome, new and returning members (June 2010) We are delighted to welcome new members who joined IAF in Junel:  Catherine Burns, Netherlands  Idrissa Doucoure, UK  Steven Glynn, UK  Neza Krek, Slovenia  Kate Monkhouse, UK  Jean-Philippe Poupard, France  Catherine Ryan, UK

We are equally delighted to welcome back the following members who renewed their memberships during June:

 Ellen Gjerde, Norway  H.A.J. Haarmans, Netherlands  Kimberley Hare, UK  Patricia Henao, Netherlands  James Hudson, UK  Markus Lang, Austria  Arthur Lourijsen, Netherlands  Seija Martin, Sweden  Isobel McConnan, UK  Veronica Ramsay, UK  Kristin Reinbach, Germany  Elisabeth Wille, Luxembourg  Andrey Zorin, Russia

Useful Resources For Your Work The Methods Database Newsletter resumes publication The IAF Methods Database began in early 2005, with 100 methods, and was an instant success. Jon and Maureen Jenkins, who had been innovators in facilitation for many years, had developed many methods, often as custom setups for complex international meetings for companies like Shell. By 2004, their methods had grown into quite a collection that was worth sharing and so early in 2004, Jon had the idea to create an online database to share facilitation methods. A team set to work to build the database and when it opened in 2005, it was welcomed by IAF colleagues around the world. Said one: “It is a realization of a dream for sharing knowl-

edge that has been a part of IAF since the beginning.” By 2010 the database had grown to well over 500. 300 of those were edited by Jon and over 70 were developed by him or Maureen. Started as a volunteer project, the database now receives regular funding to support its growth. The site counts over 6000 registered users and newsletter are sent to 2000 subscribers each month. Over 4000 websites worldwide present a link to the database. Numerous people in the field appreciate this rich source of knowledge, “Jon‖s Database”. Jon‖s sudden death in April 2010 meant that the monthly IAF Methods Database Newsletter was not published in April, May and continued on next page...

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June. Maureen, who is a past Global Chair of the IAF, decided to continue Jon's work and during June 2010, a team maintained the database and started making new plans for its further development. As of July, Maureen will write the newsletter‖s introduction. Thanks to Maureen, Peter Bootsma and the team for their work on this valuable resource. You are invited to share your thoughts about the Methods Database and Jon‖s work at http://www.iaf-methods.org/jonjenkins In the July IAF Methods Database Newsletter, Maureen presents a recently developed method entitled What would the founders say? The goal is to use the spirit of the organization‖s founders as inspiration for confronting today‖s issues, perhaps as an opening to a strategic planning session. Steps: 1. After a story, film or presentation about the founding or early start-up of your organization, divide participants into teams of 5-7 people. 2. For each team, assign one of the persons involved in the beginning of the organization – this could include the founder him or her-

self, colleagues of the founder, competitors who sought to deal with the same issues in a different way, victims of the issues that your organization was founded to address and perhaps spokespersons for other organizations active at the time of founding. 3. Each team reflects on two questions:  What was this person‖s perspective on what we were doing when this organisation began?  What would this person have to say to us today? 4. Teams report back their conversations and reflect:  What are points that struck you in this reporting?  What was encouraging for you? Uncomfortable?  How would you describe the times we are now in?  What should we take as priorities in our discussions today? Visit the IAF Methods Database at http:// www.iaf-methods.org/iafmd

New Dotmocracy Handbook A new version of the Dotmocracy Handbook can now be downloaded free at http://dotmocracy.org/handbook As well as step-by-step instructions for using Dotmocracy, and facilitation tips, the new 2010 version of the Handbook includes these useful resources: 2 Hour Meeting Agenda (page 45) 15 Item Dotmocracy Materials List (page 44) Example of Posted Instructions (page 46) Blank Dotmocracy Sheet for Photocopying (page 43)

Printed versions of the Handbook also are available at a cost, in black and white https:// www.createspace.com/3442283 and colour https://www.createspace.com/3437340.

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A guide to largescale deliberative processes The UK-based public participation specialist, Involve, has just published Talking for a Change: A Distributed Dialogue Approach to Complex Issues, which you can download free at http://www.involve.org.uk/talking-for-achange/ This 81-page report grew from a large deliberative global process in November 2009, World Wide Views on Climate Change (for more, see World Wide Views: Citizen Deliberation in a globalised world, by Thea Shahrokh, in the March 2010 IAF Europe Newsletter). This event started Involve thinking about how dialogue with the public on the most complex, large scale and interconnected issues might be improved. This report draws both on its own experiences and those of colleagues around the world who have been involved in similar dialogue processes. From climate change and the ageing population, to the rise in the prevalence and cost of chronic illnesses, today‖s governments face issues that are complex and interlinked in many different ways, that have no clear solutions, that permeate our daily lives, and that affect and are affected by how people behave, consume and communicate.

Central planning cannot solve such problems, which require concerted action both by citizens and their governments – and active and ongoing participation of citizens - as the solutions are more likely to be controversial and demand a potentially radical changes in lifestyles. Just as the issues are distributed, so the dialogue about the solutions must be distributed too. In this new publication, Involve makes the case for why and how governments need to change the way they converse with the public about these problems. Involve, a charity specialising in understanding public engagement in all its forms, provides advice, training, research, events and networking services to organisations and individuals interested in public participation. Involve has transformed how leading public bodies and companies engage, including: Shell International, the OECD, Ministry of Justice, Communities and Local Government, the European Commission, the States of Jersey, the Sustainable Development Commission, the BBC, the NHS Centre for Involvement, the Cabinet Office and numerous Local Authorities.

Manual – Preparation of Municipal Coordinators for a Strategic Planning Process Sladjana Milosevic prepared this clear and colourful manual for the Municipal Support Programme-North Eastern Serbia (MSP-NE), which ran from 2007 to 2010 and was funded by the European Union. The manual was published in April 2010.

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The manual summarizes the training delivered to municipal strategic planning coordinators during 2007-8, preparing them to facilitate workshops and meetings that were part of a participatory process of developing local sustainable strategies for


municipalities in three regions in NorthEastern Serbia. The manual covers basic theory, techniques, good examples and best practices, questions for discussion, and resources, and is a useful resource for

municipal strategic planning generally. For more information, contact Sladjana at Mobilis Ltd. Email: office@mobilis.co.rs Website www.mobilis.co.rs/

Facilitation Workshops and Meetings 2010-2011 Find out more details about specific events listed here by visiting the Workshops and Meetings section of the IAF Europe Forum (http://www.iaf-europe.eu) If you would like to let others know about an event you are organizing, please email rosemary.cairns@iaf-europe.eu. JULY 2010  AI workshop in Barcelona: beyond the basics, July 1-2, Barcelona, Spain (Anne Radford and Miriam Subirana)  Deadline for submitting Application Part 1 for Certification Event in Helsinki Oct. 1314  HR Business Partner Skills, July 5-7, West Sussex, UK (Roffey Park)  Participatory Strategic Planning, July 14-15, Manchester UK (ICA:UK)  IEMA Change Management workshop, July 20, Leeds UK (facilitator Penny Walker)  ·July 23 - deadline for submitting remaining Part 1 documentation for CPF certification event in Netherlands Sept. 23 AUGUST 2010  Aug. 13 - deadline for submitting remaining documents for CPF Certification event in Helsinki Oct. 13-14

 The Inner and Outer Worlds of Apprecia-

tive Inquiry: ways of being and doing as an AI practitioner,4th Annual Retreat for experienced AI practitioners, Aug 18-20, Kent (Anne Radford and Jane Magruder Watkins)  “Co-creating a New World of Organizations & Communities”, the 2010 OD World Summit, Aug. 22-26, Budapest, Hungary  Aug. 23 – invitations extended to stage 2 for CPF Certification event in Netherlands Sept. 23 SEPTEMBER 2010  Leading Meetings that Matter. An Advanced Facilitation Workshop, Sept. 5-7, Elsmeren, Belgium (Sandra Janoff and Marvin Weisbord)  Managing a Future Search, Sept. 9-11, Elsmeren, Belgium (Sandra Janoff, Marvin Weisbord)  2010 Future Search Learning Exchange, Sept 12-14, Geetbets, Belgium  Invitations to Stage 2 of Certification event in Helsinki extended Sept. 13  Skilled Facilitator workshop, Sept. 13-17, London UK (Roger Schwarz)  ICA European Interchange, Sept. 17-19, Brussels (European ICA Network)

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 Advanced Skilled Facilitator Workshop ,

Sept. 20-21, London UK (Roger Schwarz)  Group Facilitation Methods, Sept. 21-22, Manchester UK (ICA:UK)  Leadership for Turbulent Times, Sept. 21, London UK (John McWatters, Living Leadership)  CPF Certification Event (in Dutch), Sept. 23, Rossum, The Netherlands.  Action Planning, Sept. 23, 2010, Manchester UK (ICA:UK)  Applied Improvisation Network Conference, Sept. 24-26, Amsterdam, Netherlands (AI Network)  Business Partner Skills, West Sussex, UK, Sep. 27-29, 2010 (Roffey Park) OCTOBER 2010 Facilitation Strategies for Leaders , Oct. 4, London UK (Ingrid Bens) Advanced Facilitation Strategies, Oct. 78, Edinburgh, UK (Ingrid Bens) IEMA Change Management workshop, Oct. 12, Newcastle upon Tyne (facililitator Penny Walker) Group Facilitation Methods, Oct. 12-13, London, UK (ICA:UK) Facilitator Certification Event, Oct. 1314, Helsinki, Finland IAF Europe 2010 Conference, Oct. 1517, Helsinki, Finland

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NOVEMBER 2010 Introduction to Group Facilitation, Nov. 16, Manchester UK (ICA:UK) Group Facilitation Methods, Nov. 17-18, Manchester UK (ICA:UK) Change the Conversation, Change the Organisation, Nov. 11, London UK (John McWatters, Living Leadership) DECEMBER 2010 16th conference Online Educa Berlin, Dec. 1-3, Berlin, Germany APRIL 2011 CREA Conference, Apr 13-17, Sestri Levante, Italy

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