ICF’s technical experts are supporting various clients in quickly adapting different types and sizes of meetings, workshops, and conferences to virtual formats. We’re designing and facilitating collaboration sessions with localities such as Prince Edward Island and Fairfax County; converting international workshops into web- based trainings for USAID; and conducting co-creation sessions through our Spark Labs offering. ICF supports organizations through the entire meeting process, from selecting the right platforms and tools to designing remote-friendly agendas and providing effective meeting facilitation.

1. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced individuals to quickly learn how to work
from home and interact virtually. While it is unclear how long the pandemic will
last, many of its impacts on how we work together will likely remain.
Although there are challenges to collaborating from afar, thoughtful planning
and preparation can help organizations mitigate the impacts of distance and
enhance new opportunities.
Organizations must change where meetings occur, what tools are leveraged,
and how content is delivered to ensure the same outcomes are reached when
collaborating virtually.
Effectively Transitioning to Virtual Meetings
Be human. Participants may be juggling work, kids, and other interruptions
when working from home. Show empathy and understanding for different
circumstances to ensure that everyone can participate.
Encourage participation. The visual cues that you may get from an
in-person meeting (eye contact, body language, etc.) are much more difficult
(or impossible) to see. Encourage other ways of being “seen” in the meeting –
such as using chat windows or hands-up features.
Plan for breaks and distractions. Recognize and accept that virtual meetings
need a different type and level of concentration that can be very tiring. Also
recognize that if participants lose interest, the temptation to multitask is ever
present. Design shorter sessions with long breaks in between and deploy
active participant engagement techniques.
Mix things up. A much higher level of facilitator engagement is needed to keep
everyone engaged as well as to troubleshoot technology challenges. Use
more than one facilitator and fun, innovative techniques if possible.
icf.com ©Copyright 2020 ICF 1
ICF’s technical experts are supporting
various clients in quickly adapting
different types and sizes of meetings,
workshops, and conferences to
virtual formats. We’re designing and
facilitating collaboration sessions
with localities such as Prince Edward
Island and Fairfax County; converting
international workshops into web-
based trainings for USAID; and
conducting co-creation sessions
through our Spark Labs offering.
ICF supports organizations through
the entire meeting process, from
selecting the right platforms and tools
to designing remote-friendly agendas
and providing effective meeting
facilitation.
For more information, please contact:
Rob Kay, Principal, Climate Resilience
robert.kay@icf.com +1.213.312.1764
 twitter.com/ICF
 linkedin.com/company/icf-international
 facebook.com/ThisIsICF/
Meeting and collaborating
from a distance
Considerations for adapting
in-person meetings to the virtual world icf.com

2. icf.com ©Copyright 2020 ICF 2
Verify that your participants have digital access.
Confirm that your participants have the right hardware,
software, and connectivity to participate in a meeting.
Some participants may have older laptops/software
or slower internet connections, which could impact
their ability to participate. Test technology and digital
access in advance and have back-up plans in case of
technology glitches.
Share meeting agendas and other documents in
advance. Sharing information in advance helps
participants follow along and mitigates the risk of
technology issues during the meeting.
Meeting and collaborating
from a distance
Adapting Communications to the Virtual Space
Virtual meetings pose the challenge that participants may be less engaged
or productive. These risks can be mitigated through more active facilitation
(such as having more facilitators to manage breakouts and chat sidebars),
more changes in activity, and active prompting of participants. Creating
opportunities for communication offline between meetings and sharing
materials in multiple formats can also increase the likelihood for success.
Preparing for Successful Virtual Meetings
Meeting Types, Adaptive Considerations, and Technology Options for Virtual Meetings
About ICF
ICF (NASDAQ:ICFI) is a global consulting services
company with over 7,000 specialized experts,
but we are not your typical consultants. At ICF,
business analysts and policy specialists work
together with digital strategists, data scientists
and creatives. We combine unmatched industry
expertise with cutting-edge engagement
capabilities to help organizations solve their
most complex challenges. Since 1969, public and
private sector clients have worked with ICF to
navigate change and shape the future.
Learn more at icf.com.
Meetings
Collaborative
Sessions
Workshops
& Strategic
Planning
Events &
Conferences
Gatherings of any size for project coordination;
check-ins; voting or decision-making;
presentations; webinars; or all-hands.
Sessions (2 to 12 people) may focus on ideation;
co-creation; identifying, understanding, and
framing challenges; and collecting feedback.
Meetings are dynamic and require active
engagement from all participants.
Collaborative working sessions (2 to 20
individuals) to develop strategy; seed shared
solutions on challenges; strategically plan; or
conduct trainings.
Large gatherings with multiple and varied
sessions focused on knowledge sharing;
communicating ideas; networking; or project
coordination.
Most organizations have experience with virtual meetings and many commercial
platforms are available. Microsoft Teams, Skype, Google Meet, and Zoom are
commonly used for smaller meetings, while platforms like GoToWebinar, WebEx,
and PGI GlobalMeet can facilitate large-scale one-to-many presentations.
Transitioning to online collaborative sessions requires more planning to ensure
that participants can effectively contribute and the right tools are utilized to
replace hands-on activities. Functionality will need to be balanced against
the learning curve for users. Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, and Adobe
Connect have some built-in collaboration tools and breakout rooms, while Mural
allows for sticky board brainstorming.
Longer workshops or strategic sessions (which may have taken a full day) may
need to be adapted to a series or shorter sessions to support participation
engagement. Sessions may be complemented with asynchronous collaboration
and document sharing using systems such as Microsoft Teams, Google Docs,
Dropbox, or Slack.
Events or conferences may need a combination of strategies to engage
participants. Many-to-many engagement will require more active community
management and facilitation to mimic traditional networking.
Establish norms for virtual meetings. Being up-front
about meeting expectations can help establish a
comfortable, safe working environment. New norms
may include muting the microphone when not
speaking; accepting work-from-home conditions
(e.g., children and pets); and collectively video
conferencing.
Plan the meeting duration to be commensurate with
the number of participants. Virtual meetings require
more time for introductions and engagement. Plan
meeting lengths to accommodate the time needed for
participants to speak and respond to each other.
Meeting Types Adapting to a Virtual Format