The document provides guidance for facilitators on tools and techniques to effectively lead group processes. It discusses the role of the facilitator as a neutral party who helps groups achieve goals through structured and participatory processes. Some key tools covered include icebreakers to build rapport, consensus-based decision making, active listening, and nonverbal cues like hand signals to manage discussions. The overall emphasis is on inclusive processes that respect all perspectives and serve the needs of the group.

1. Tools for the Capacity Builder
Facilitator’s Handbook
Theories, Tips & Tools
Prepared for: Community Social Worker Program
By: Vinita Puri (vinitapuri@hotmail.com)
Date: Fall 2011
Created by: Vinita Puri – WLU SK 608, Fall 2011

2. So Why do we Need Facilitators?
A Facilitator represent a neutral, third party who is able to assist a group in achieving
their objectives and goals by bringing structure, safety, honesty and openness to the
process of planning and decision making. They support group members to stay focused
and on track. Facilitators are not experts in the content; they are experts in group
dynamics, principles of adult education and process tools. They support the natural
leadership, wisdom and accountability in a group.
Rather than being a player; a facilitator’s job is to act more like a referee. That
means you watch the action, more than participate in it. You control which
activities happen. You keep your finger on the pulse and know when to move on
or wrap things up. Most important, you help members define and reach their
goals.1
Content 2
Process
What How
The subjects for discussion
The task
The problems being solved
The decisions being made
The agenda items
The goals
The methods & procedures
How relations are maintained
The tools being used
The rules or norms set
The group dynamics
The climate
Using Self as Instrument
The facilitator needs a number of core practices, but one of the most important ones is
to be able to set your own needs aside and truly respond to the group’s needs. This
requires active listening at both an auditory and an intuitive level. Pay attention to what’s
not being said, check in with the group, clarify assumptions, reflect back what’s
happening, weave ideas together, summarize, synthesize and be prepared to re-
negotiate the process if necessary. You are there to support the group as best as
possible and your process must serve the group’s needs, not block the group. Above
all, trust in the wisdom of the group to determine what’s best for them. The best rewards
for any facilitator are those stunning breakthroughs or “ah ha’s” that emerge.
A Definition of Mastery: I show up (I’m fully present); I do what I’m meant to do
(which may be different than what I thought I was going to do); and I detach from
outcome.
1
Bens, Ingrid. (1997) Facilitating with Ease: A Comprehensive Guide to the Practice of Facilitation.
Toronto: Participative Dynamics.
2
Ibid.
2

3. An Adult Education Approach to Facilitation
3
Participatory Adult Education
 Everybody teaches; everybody learns
 There is no right answer
 There is respect for the learner
 The starting point is the concrete experience of the learner
 It involves a high level of participation
 It stresses the creation of new knowledge and understanding
 We reflect on what we’ve done to improve what we are going to do (action,
reflection, action… also known as “praxis”)
 Learning represents a collective effort that strengthens people’s ability to
organize themselves and can lead to action for social change.

4. The Spiral Model
Educating for Change*
5. Apply in
Action
1. Start with the experience
of participants
4. Practice skills, strategize and
plan for action
2. Look for Patterns
3. Add new information
& theory
*Source: Arnold, R., Burke, B. et. al. Educating for a Change. (1991) Toronto: Between the Lines and the
Doris Marshall Institute. (Based on the work of Paulo Freire)
4

5. The Spiral Model
1. Learning begins with the experience or knowledge of the participants
2. After sharing their experiences, participants analyze their experiences and look
for common patterns/ commonalities
3. New knowledge is collectively created or added in the third step to enhance and
expand the existing knowledge in the room
4. Participants try out what they have learned by practicing new skills, making
strategies and planning for action/application
5. Participants apply their learnings in action back in their work or home settings/ or
plan collective actions
Different Learning Styles
Visual Learner
Learning through seeing. Likes to see pictures or diagrams. Likes demonstrations and
watching videos. Would rather read than be read to. Remembers people by sight, does
not forget faces. Good eye contact. Needs verbal information written down. “I SEE
what you mean”
Auditory
Learning through hearing. Likes to listen to debates, audiotapes, lectures, discussion
and verbal instructions. Responds better when hearing information rather than reading.
Talk out loud to themselves to help them think. A good speaker – would rather tell it
than write it. Loves discussion. “I HEAR what you mean”
Kinesthetic:
Learns through physical activities and direct involvement. Likes to be “hands-on”,
moving touching and experiencing first hand. Enjoys active pursuits such as hiking,
biking, dancing. Reveals emotions through body language. Feels if something is right,
relies on gut feelings. Hard to sit still for more than a few minutes. “I can FEEL what
you mean”
To assess your learning style see: http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSpage.html
What we Retain
Hear only See only hear & see hear, see, talk hear, see, talk & do
20% 30% 50% 70% 90%
5

6. Tools & Tips for the Facilitator
6

7. 1. Ice Breakers, Warm-ups & Energizers
Ice Breakers or warm ups are used to introduce people to each other, to begin to
create the sense of a group and to set a friendly tone. Often the intent is to warm
people up for the work ahead by tying the ice breaker directly into the day’s theme (e.g.
if the day is focused on physical activity then do an ice breaker related to that theme).
Plan the ice breaker to suit the group – if people already know each other you can
undertake something riskier; if the group members are all strangers you may wish to
choose something less risky. The goal is to create comfort not discomfort.
Least risky Ice breakers
1) Go around the group and have people state their name (maybe organization) and
what they hope will be achieved today/ or why they were attracted to this workshop.
2) Introductions in pairs – Participants move into pairs and they interview each other to
determine their name and why they came to the workshop, or their experience in
community development etc. Then they introduce each other to the full group.
3) Association – When I think of capacity building I think of_______
4) Quick & Dirty Line-ups – Ask people to place themselves along an imaginary line
across the front of the room. Each end of the line represents opposite positions. For
example: “I have lots of facilitation experience” at one end and “I don’t have experience
but I’m interested” at another end and everyone else in between. You could act as a
roving reporter and briefly interview different people along the line.
Metaphors
Use an assortment of odd objects from the dollar store. Ask people to choose an object
that captures their fancy and then do a go around asking them to say their name and
describe how that object in their hand represents: their organization, the change
process, their dreams for the new program, leadership, facilitation... or whatever fits the
discussion that day.
Three Truths and One Lie
This warm-up tests how well group members know each other. Each person reads out
their answers to the following questions and people have to guess which one is the lie.
My favorite movie is:
My favorite food is:
When I’m in a group I enjoy:
Usually on a Friday night I’m:
7

8. “Myers Piggs Personality Profile” (scientific accuracy may be questionable)
Provide people with a blank piece of paper and ask them to: “Draw a pig. Don’t look at
your neighbours’ pigs – don’t even glance!” Then ask everyone to hold up their
pictures for all to see and provide the interpretation. If the pig is drawn:
o Toward the top of the square you are positive and optimistic
o Toward the middle – you are a realist
o Toward the bottom – may be in a more pessimistic mood today
o Facing left – you believe in tradition, remember dates including birthdays
o Facing forward (looking toward the viewer) – you are direct, enjoy playing devils
advocate and neither fear nor avoid discussions
o Facing right – you are innovative and active but have problems remembering
dates
o With many details, you are analytical and cautious
o With few details you are a risk taker and maybe a little naïve
o With four legs showing – you are secure, unmoving and stick to your ideals
o With less than four legs showing – you are living through a time of insecurity or
major change
o The size of the pig’s ears indicate how good a listener you are
o The length of the pig’s tail, more is better, indicates the quality of the artist’s sex
life!
Other ideas for Ice breakers
i) Human Treasure Hunt - Find someone in the room who.... lives on an odd number
street, had eggs for breakfast, has not read the Da Vinci Code, plays the piano etc.
ii) Set up four corners of the room with different choices on Bristol board:
Your ideal vacation- 4 'safe' choices such as 'Get Active', 'Lie on the Beach', 'Mingle
with new People'; 'Sightseeing' . Move to the corner that best represents you and get to
know your corner mates.
iii) Another one that had everyone laughing recently was with people sitting around a
large Board table who already knew each other...but not well.
On one side of the name card, they wrote their real name and on the other side was
their 'alter ego' or soap opera name. To get your soap opera name, you take the name
of your first beloved pet or stuffed animal and the name of the first street you lived on or
grew up on. The results are hilarious: 'Fluffy Parkside'; 'Rocky First'; 'Arnold
Maplewood' etc. People have a lot of fun with that one.
8

9. Energizers
Group Juggle
Participants form a circle (8-12 is good). A ball is exchanged in such as way that each
participant receives and throws it once. Once this "pattern" is established, it is repeated,
adding more balls. Some basic "rules" are set which can be transferred to "real life":
communicate with others so they know you are sending them a ball, throw the ball in
such a way so they can catch it, pay attention to the person who throws you a ball,
etc... In a way, it is basic stuff like "Everything I ever needed to know I learned in
kindergarten"...
The Stand Up Exercise (Borrowed form True Colours)
Stand-up game – Stand up if you:
Would like to go white water rafting
If your desk is neat and clean
If you like going to concerts
If you enjoy mew ideas
If you like to work with your hands
If you balance your check book every month
If you enjoy scientific experiments
If you are comfortable publicly expressing your deepest thoughts or feelings
If you appreciate having regulations & rules to follow
If you are comfortable giving hugs in public
If you have skinny dipped in the past two years
Sit down if you skinny dipped in a private pool
Stand up if you dream of traveling to interesting places
Stand up if you like to laugh a lot (usually gets them all up)
This site has a variety of good energizers: (http://www.lin.ca/resource/html/alcap/rcc00017.pdf)
9

10. 2. General Group Process Tools3
• Agenda
o Perhaps not your first thought, but a useful tool to help the meeting stay
focused. For this to work, it's important that the agenda be "owned" by the
group as a whole, so try and give everyone the chance to input into it. Once
the agenda is set, you can put rough timings by each item, and these can
give you a guide as to when to move the meeting on. The agenda also gives
you a mandate to intervene when the discussion loses focus.
• Active agreement
o Is a useful groundrule, in which everyone agrees to take an active part in
making decisions. When the group is asked a question or has to make a
decision, the facilitator must insist on active agreement. Too many bad
decisions are made because people stare at their feet rather than clearly
agree or disagree. Later on those same people may feel that the decision was
not one they supported, leading to tension in the group. By insisting on active
dis/agreement this can be avoided and decisions that represent the views of
all can be reached.
• Active listening (or "think and listens"),
o Which is a technique for developing ideas and boosting confidence. People
pair up and speak to each other, uninterrupted, for anything from 30 seconds
to 5 minutes depending on the issue being discussed. They then swap. It's
important that the listener makes a real effort to listen, including keeping good
eye contact and remaining attentive! Each pair can then feed back their
opinions to the whole group.
• Brainstorming
o In which people shout out ideas without fear of comment or criticism - an
excellent way to get the creative juices flowing.
• Check with the group
o Regularly find out how they're feeling, whether they need a break, want the
agenda modifying and are happy with the decisions being made. After all you
are there to serve the group, and it encourages a sense of ownership.
• Consensus techniques
o Perhaps the ultimate group tool, consensus decision making is a process
that enshrines all the values of a well facilitated group, and attempts to
reach decisions that the whole group can actively support. People’s
different viewpoints are carefully listened to and understood. With
consensus, everyone can support the group solution as the best one
possible – “I can live with this decision”. . An individual can choose to
stand aside to allow the group consensus to move ahead. In this situation
the person’s reasons for standing aside are noted in the minutes.
o In matchstick consensus everybody is given the same number of matches.
Every time someone speaks, they have to throw a match into the centre of
the group. When you have no matches left, you can’t add anything more to
3
Reprinted (and adapted) with permission from http://noncms.peopleandplanet.org/groups/guide/
10

11. the discussion. Borrowing, begging and stealing matches is not allowed.
Matches are only redistributed once they are all spent! A useful exercise to
get people to consider their contributions to the group and cut out repetitive or
meaningless additions to the discussion, as well as equalizing the number of
contributions
• Go-rounds
o Where everyone in turn is given the same time to speak uninterrupted and
without comment or criticism.
• Groundrules:
o A set of basic rules about how the meeting should run, agreed by the group at
the start of the meeting. For example "no interrupting", or "show respect for
each other's opinions". The facilitator can then say "we agreed that we
wouldn't interrupt each other - is everyone still happy that we try to abide by
that rule?" instead of barking "stop interrupting!” Groundrules are adopted by
the group, and can be revised at any time. Groups can tailor groundrules to
solve obvious problems - so a "stick to time" rule is useful if you often
overrun.
• Hand signals:
o Perhaps the most obvious change in a facilitated meeting, hand signals
eliminate the need to shout or jump in to make your point, and help the
facilitator see emerging agreements and common ground. They're a way of
communicating without interrupting the flow of the meeting. Three simple
signals suffice:
o Raise a hand or forefinger when you wish to contribute to the discussion. The
facilitator can then call on you to speak in turn.
o If what you have to say is directly relevant to the issue at hand, raise both
forefingers. The facilitator can then get you to speak before someone who
wants to make a new or separate point. This essentially allows you to jump to
the head of the queue, in front of all those people raising just one finger, so
don’t abuse it!
o A third useful signal is "silent applause" - when you hear an opinion with
which you agree you can simply wave a hand, or the fingers of one hand.
This saves the group a lot of time with people chipping in to say they agree,
and lets the facilitator see that a majority of people are/are not sympathetic
with a view.
• Keeping a speakers list ("stacking")
o In which the facilitator notes down people's names as they raise a finger to
show they want to speak, then invites them to speak in that order. The group
will soon become impatient with people that ignore this protocol and just
barge in and interrupt.
• Other meeting roles
o You can separate some of the facilitator's tasks off into separate roles, for
support and to make your task easier! For example:
o Recorder/Notetaker takes down the key decisions, who's going to do what,
and by when.
o Timekeeper keeps an eye on the clock and points out when the allotted time
for an agenda item is running out.
11

12. o Doorkeeper meets and greets people on the way in, and checks they know
the purpose and process of the meeting. Especially important for making new
people feel welcome, and bringing latecomers up to speed without
interrupting the meeting.
o Vibeswatcher watches the vibe of the meeting to note tension rising, lack of
focus, flagging energy etc. By suggesting times for breaks, games,
adjournments, a vibeswatcher can help prevent conflict or boredom. They can
also make sure the group pushes on when things are going well. Most
essential in larger groups.
o Co-facilitator someone to step in and facilitate if the facilitator is flagging, or
wants to join in the discussion on an issue.
• Reframing
o Is another key listening skill that helps show people that they have been
listened to. It means listening carefully to what someone says, then
repeating it back succinctly in your own words, to check that you have
understood their point. It's a useful tool for clarifying and moving forward
discussion. Make sure you personalize your statements - "it sounds to me
like what you're saying is…"
 Small groups
o Which can help those intimidated by larger groups speak up and have
their views fed back to the rest of the group.
 Talking sticks/Matchsticks
o There are a number of tools that limit the number of times any one person
can contribute to the discussion, which allows everyone an even space to
talk and be heard. You might not use these techniques in a normal
meeting, but they are useful to examine your group dynamic, or to address
problems with it out in the open.
o In the talking stick or conch shell exercise an object is placed in the
middle of the group. Speakers take the item from the centre, say their
piece and return it to the middle. Only the person holding the object is
permitted to speak (you can set a time limit if necessary). The next
speaker takes the item and so on. This gives everyone the space to talk
uninterrupted, and forces the rest of the group to listen.
• Throw it back to the group
o Your key asset as a facilitator is the group you are working with. If you
ever find yourself stuck for an idea on how to move things on, ask the
group. Never pretend you have the answer when you don’t - it's vital you
retain the trust of the group.
• Yes/ and conversations
o Yes/And is an exercise used to teach people how to listen and use what
the previous speaker said. For example if someone says: The store was
across the street. The next person can say Yes, and the street was so
wide you could hardly see the store. People find this very challenging
because you can't be thinking of your agenda if you are going to use what
the previous person said. It’s used to move people from Yes/but.
12

13. 3. Hosting a Successful Group Meeting4
Planning for a Meeting
There’s nothing more frustrating than arriving for a meeting that seems disorganized
with no clear agenda or purpose for the meeting. Most of us are feeling “meetinged out”
these days and we want to ensure that our time is well spent and interesting. If you are
the one planning to host the meeting then check in with the other participants to plan the
following:
• What do you hope to achieve? (objectives for meeting)
• Who should attend?
• What information will be shared? Are there documents to be reviewed before the
meeting?
• What decisions need to be made and in what order?
o Use the early part of the meeting, when people are more energized, for
those key items that will require lively discussion;
o If possible, start with an item that will unite the group with a quick decision
and then tackle the tougher agenda items;
o Specify how many minutes you hope to spend on each agenda item.
• What process tools do you want to use to meet your objectives (See above list)
• What are the practical considerations - meeting time, location, refreshments,
contacting participants?
If you have taken the time to ask these questions then you should have a clear purpose,
agenda, timing for each agenda item and priority decisions that you hope to walk away
with at the end of the meeting. By sending the agenda out a few days in advance,
members are prepared and can let you know if they wish to add any items to the
agenda.
Chairing a Meeting
Once you’ve set the agenda, the chair’s role is one of paying attention to the tasks and
the group process. Here are some tips for a smooth meeting:
4
Reproduced with permission from www.neighbourtoneighbour.ca
13
"I do not go to a committee meeting merely to give my own ideas. If that were all, I
might write my fellow members a letter. But neither do I go to learn other people's
ideas. If that were all, I might ask each to write me a letter. I go to a committee
meeting in order that all together we may create a group idea, an idea which will
be better than any of our ideas alone, moreover which will be better than all of our
ideas added together. For this group idea will not be produced by any process of
addition, but by the interpenetration of us all." Mary Parker Follett, The New
State

14. • Monitor the flow by keeping an eye on the time and the tasks to be
accomplished;
• Ensure that everyone who wants to speak is heard (see process tools above –
e.g. go arounds, talking stick, speakers list)
• Keep the group the focused - refer to the group’s Terms of Reference or
groundrules if necessary;
• Summarize the decisions made, the results to be achieved, the actions to be
taken, by whom and when;
• Adjourn the meeting with the next meeting date in place.
Meetings aren’t just about tasks and process. The social benefits of working
together are critical for sustaining the passion and commitment that's needed for
community work. Enjoying ourselves and having fun are primary reasons for people
to volunteer. If the social element tends to take your group off track during meetings
then acknowledge its importance by inviting people to come together for fifteen
minutes either before or after the meeting. Offer snacks and schedule your chat time
right into the agenda.
Conflict Management
There are many different models and techniques for resolving conflict situations in a
group. Most of these techniques use the basic steps below.
• Accept conflict as natural. Don't be afraid of it. When conflict occurs in your
group, treat it as an opportunity to examine the issues involved in-depth and to
learn more about the underlying values and assumptions they hold.
• Bring hidden conflicts into the open. If you think there is a conflict hidden under
the surface that is disrupting the group bring it out at an appropriate time.
• Disagree with ideas, not people. No matter how tense a conflict becomes, never
allow a disagreement over ideas, beliefs, procedures or plans to turn into a
personal attack against another person.
• When defining the problem, always define it as shared. It is the entire group's
problem and the responsibility to resolve the problem is shared.
• When a problem is apparent between two people, get the viewpoints from others
and move away from the two antagonists. For example, "we seem to have a
difference of opinion here - are there other points of view?" Sometimes that can
move the discussion forward.
• If the two antagonists are unable to move forward try to involve the two parties in
finding common ground with each other. e.g. "what do you like about Elaine's
suggestion?" Often summarizing the two points of view in a non-inflammatory
manner can allow people to calm down and think about the ideas.
• Try to reach consensus, but if it isn't possible, summarize points of disagreement,
check them with the group and move forward.
• Sometimes it helps to leave the contentious issue and come back to it later. Re-
phrase the problem when bringing it back to the group. Encourage the entire
group to participate in the discussion.
14

15. Reference: This information on conflict is from the United Way of Canada Board Basics Kit Manual. For
more information see www.boarddevelopment.org
15

16. 4. Checklist for Organizing Community Events5
In organizing any community event there is a lot of work to be done. Here’s a sample
work plan that you can modify to suit the occasion.
Tasks Who When Done
1. Planning Committee Created
• Chair assigned
• Membership (small core group with additional volunteers to
help with specific tasks)
2. Event/Program Design
• Purpose
• Participants
• Brainstorm Activities
• Finalize design
• Confirm resource people (e.g. police, service clubs, a
magician, facilitator)
3. Logistics
• Location
• Date of event/ rain date
• Special accommodations (childcare, accessibility,
transportation)
• Food (special dietary needs)
• Equipment (e.g. audio-visual, barbeques, reading tents)
4. Finances/ In-kind resources
• Budget drafted
• Sponsorships
• Donations (food, door prizes)
5. Promotion
• Flyers & distribution
• Media
• Presentations
6. Registration
7. Evaluation & Follow-up
5
Reproduced with permission from www.neighbourtoneighbour.ca
16

17. Facilitated Planning Processes
17

18. 1. Appreciative Inquiry: A Process for Positive Change
What is Appreciative Inquiry?
Appreciative Inquiry is a process for addressing change. It takes the opposite focus
from problem solving. When we appreciate something we value and recognize the best
in people or the world around us. We affirm past and present strengths, successes, and
potentials and perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) to living
systems. Inquiry is the act of exploration and discovery. By asking questions, we are
open to seeing new potentials and possibilities.
Appreciative Inquiry is:
• The cooperative search for the best in people, their communities, their
organizations and the world around them.
• A systematic discovery of what gives a system “life”.
• The art & practice of asking questions in such a way that we see positive
potential.
Appreciative Leadership:
• Continuously values the best in people, in the community or in the organization.
• Continuously inquires into the possibilities to do better in the future.
• Nurtures and sustains the positive core.
Problem Solving Approach - People/Organizations are problems to be solved:
• Identify problem
• Conduct root cause analysis
• Brainstorm solutions and analyze
• Develop action plans
Appreciative Inquiry Approach- People/Organizations are a solution/mystery to be
embraced
• Appreciate “What Is” i.e. “What gives life to our neighbourhood/group?”
• Imagine “What Might Be”
• Determine “What Should Be”
• Create “What Will Be”
The Art of the Question
The answers you seek will be very different depending upon how you ask the questions.
Here’s an example of an appreciative inquiry approach:
• What happened? - Reflect on a time in the past year when you experienced
exceptional collaboration between yourself and your team/group members in
which you accomplished some meaningful work, that exceeded expectations,
and you felt proud and fulfilled. Tell it like a story (what is the context? who are
the key players? what were the outcomes?)
18

19. • So What? – So what can be learned from this experience? (e.g. key factors for
success).
• Now What? – How can this knowledge be applied to our next project?
o What possibilities exist that we have not thought about yet?
o What’s the smallest change that could make the biggest impact?
o What solutions would have us all win together?
o What are the next steps?
Material adapted (with permission) from a presentation by Jane Humphries, McGill-McConnell National Voluntary Sector Leaders
Program.
2. Visioning
This Visioning Exercise has often been used as the starting point for groups interested
in Healthy Communities projects. For further information please see: Hancock, Trevor.
How to facilitate a vision workshop. Healthcare Forum Journal, 33-34, May/June
1993. See also the Ontario Healthy Communities website
Time: 1.5 - 2 hours
Objective:
Creating a dream or a vision is an exercise that can be used in any context - it helps
people to let go of day to day barriers and issues while they envision where they would
like to go with an organization, a group or a community... It’s an energizing starting point
for a community capacity building process.
Guided Vision (10-15 minutes):
People are asked to close their eyes and sit comfortably while they envision what their
ideal community or neighbourhood could look like from a hot air balloon (5 or 10 years
hence). The facilitator asks probing questions such as: What does the community look
like? What are the community activities? How do people interact with each other?
Where are the children? What do the streets look like as darkness falls and day
becomes night? What about the homes?)
Participants take a moment to jot down their images. They then move into small groups
where they share their thoughts and draw the scenes that they had envisioned.
Drawing the Vision (30-40 minutes):
The facilitator's role is to:
• Ensure full involvement and discussion.
• Encourage participants to draw their images. Emphasize that they are not
expected to be artists. The challenge is to find visual symbols for abstract
concepts - e.g. houses are drawn with bright lights and people on their front
19

20. porches to symbolize safety at night. Ask people not to write words on the mural
paper.
• Ensure that once an image is on the paper, it belongs to the full group; through
further group discussion the images are added to or altered.
• Build a collective vision. Once the ice is broken, people may start going up at the
same time. Try to work with one person's ideas at a time and maintain a full
group discussion of those ideas.
• Keep the markers available in the centre so they are easy to grab.
• Choose a group reporter (or reporters) to explain the drawing to the larger group.
Report Back (30-45 minutes)
Each group presents their drawing to the larger group. Once all the drawings have been
presented, the facilitator asks the group to identify the common themes that occur in the
pictures and records these on a flip chart at the front of the room. These themes often
represent the group’s collective values; they can be used to identify the priority areas for
group action.
Materials (per group):
• A large sheet of flip chart paper or newsprint attached to the wall or spread out
on a table
• Markers placed where everyone can reach them; masking tape.
• A flip chart and markers for capturing key themes.
3. Processes for Critical Analysis
Getting at the Root Causes
The image of a tree can be used as a metaphor to analyze a situation or issue. The
trunk of the tree represents the issue (e.g. social exclusion), the branches and leaves
represent the manifestation or ramifications of the issue (e.g. isolation, decreased
employment opportunities, mental health consequences) and the roots represent the
root causes contributing to the issue.
20

21. Example - Causes of teen pregnancy
Ask participants to identify the root causes for an unplanned teen pregnancy (beyond
sexual activity). The list will include things like lack of access to birth control, lack of
information about sexual health, lack of communication/negotiation skills, poverty, lack
of hope etc. Then identify the possible consequences or ramifications of teen
pregnancy for a young woman (lack of support, curtailing of education etc.) Brainstorm
strategies to address the root causes and diminish the unwanted consequences of teen
pregnancies. Strategies may include recreation/employment activities, improving sexual
health education in schools, condom machines in washrooms etc. Point out how
important it is to know the local primary causes of teen pregnancy, before choosing
strategies, i.e., don’t try to fix the car until you know what is wrong with it.
The 5 “Why’s”
Keep asking “why” to dig down deeper and deeper, past the outward symptoms to
unearth the real cause of the health/social issue. It’s like peeling back the layers of an
onion.
Why is Jason in the hospital?
• Because he has a bad infection in his leg.
But why does he have an infection?
Because he has a cut on his leg and it got infected.
But why does he have a cut on his leg?
Because he was playing in the junk yard next to his apartment building and there
was some sharp, jagged steel there that he fell on.
But why was he playing in a junk yard?
Because his neighborhood is kind of run down. A lot of kids play there and there
is no one to supervise them.
But why does he live in that neighborhood?
Because his parents can't afford a nicer place to live.
But why can't his parents afford a nicer place to live?
Because his Dad is unemployed and his Mom is sick.
But why is his Dad unemployed?
Because he doesn't have much education and he can't find a job.
But why ...?“
[Public Health Agency of Canada
www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ph-sp/phdd/determinants/determinants.html]
21

22. Analyzing Power Relationships
To gain a deeper understanding of a particular situation, a human sculpture can be
created to depict the power relationships.
Process
The main actors within a system or community are identified and an identifying nametag
is created for each actor. Ask volunteers to represent each actor and then begin to
position them in relationship to their power and authority over each other (or lack
thereof). Be sure that the full group is involved in deciding how to position the actors.
The social worker/ capacity builder/change agent is brought in lat he end (i.e. we
attempt to put ourselves “into the picture”), Keep two volunteers as observers and ask
for their input once the static sculpture has been created.
Materials: paper, markers, nametags, a clear floor space, chairs
Debriefing – Sample Questions
 Who benefits from these power relationships/ who loses?
 Whose interests are being promoted? Which systems maintain these power
differentials?
 What are some strategies for changing this situation to one with more capacity?
As an option, the facilitator might then ask the actors to change the sculpture to one
where power relationships are more balanced and the community has more capacity.
22

23. 4. The ICA Focused Conversation6
The Focused Conversation is a guided conversation that draws people into dialogue
using a logical sequence of questions. It prevents people from jumping straight to
opinions, negative reactions or emotions (conversation stoppers). It is a process that
can produce thoughtful information on complex subjects in a short period of time.
Steps
Develop the focus for the conversation:
• The Rational objective speaks to the purpose of the conversation. It is a
statement of what needs to be clarified/understood/decided.
• The Experiential aim refers to what the group will experience during this
conversation.
Design the questions at four levels:
• Objective Level – Questions about facts and external reality
• Reflective level – Questions to elicit personal reactions to the data, internal
responses, emotions and feelings or associations with the data
• Interpretive level – Questions to draw out meaning, values, significance and
implications – the “so what does this mean for us” questions. People are being
asked to dig deeper for insights, learnings and patterns of meaning.
• Decisional – Questions to elicit resolution, bring the conversation to a close and
enable the group to make decisions about the future – the “now what?”
questions.
Closing
Thank the group for their time and insights. Let them know how their contributions will
be used and/or made available
6
Canadian Institute of Cultural Affairs (2000). The Art of Focused Conversation: 100 Ways to Access group
Wisdom in the Workplace. British Columbia: New Society Publishers.
23

24. 5. The ICA Facilitation Process (using cards)
Goal
To use a participatory, democratic process that will respectfully draw upon people’s
collective knowledge to develop understanding, consensus and a clear action agenda.
Design
The facilitation process provides the opportunity for meaningful, in-depth dialogues on a
specific topic area to generate action ideas or strategic directions which are then
synthesized into clusters under theme headings.
Workshop Method Flow
 Develop a clear, specific focus question related to the rationale for doing the
workshop.
 Ask each person to take a few minutes and individually brainstorm their own
ideas related to the focus question
 Move people into small groups to share their ideas and ask them to determine
their three most important or clearest ideas
 Hand out large cards (or coloured paper) and markers to each group
 Ask groups to write one idea per card in large letters (more information can be
written on the back of the card if needed)
 Cards are posted on a wall with tape
 Participants discuss the cards and identify clusters of ideas (this can be time
consuming and challenging with large numbers but the discussion can be quite
rich if time allows.) Encourage people to see unusual clusters of ideas so it’s
possible to move past the obvious and generate breakthrough ideas. Move the
cards into separate clusters or columns on the wall
 The themes of each of the clusters are named (“What does this cluster say to
you – what are the ideas listed here and what are they all about?”). Each title
card is outlined and placed at the top of the cluster)
 There will probably be 5 or 6 clusters (even the most stand alone ideas can
usually fit somewhere or are perhaps they are a key thread running through all of
the clusters)
Theme  Theme  Theme  Theme  Theme 
  
   
   
   
  
 People can self select into groups organized around the 5 different theme areas
Within their group they may decide to prioritize the ideas in the theme area and
develop action plans on just one or two ideas or they may develop actions plans
that speak to the entire cluster of ideas.
24

25. 6. Tools for Complexity
(Adapted from Edgeware: insights from complexity science for health care leaders. Zimmerman, B.,
Lindberg, C. and P. Plsek))
Minimum Specifications
Theory:
Organizations are complex adaptive systems. Our tendency is to think of an
organization as a machine and this leads us to want to over specify when designing or
planning. Instead, simple rules or conditions can provide the basic framework for
planning while leaving some flexibility for an organization to adapt to unforeseen
opportunities, challenges and synchronicity.
Process:
 Begin with a “good enough” vision of the desired outcome
 Determine the basic rules/ guidelines/conditions that must be in place to achieve
this outcome
 Brainstorm the list of rules/ guidelines/conditions required to achieve the desired
outcome (no criticism)
 Challenge each condition by asking, “If this condition isn’t achieved, can we still
get our desired outcome?” If the answer is yes then eliminate the condition
 Think of each rule/ guideline/condition as unnecessarily constraining creativity.
 Challenge yourselves to whittle down to the key rules/conditions required to
reach the desired outcome.
Wicked Questions
Wicked questions are used to expose the assumptions we hold about an issue or
situation. People can be involved in creating the questions and searching for solutions.
Wicked questions do not have an obvious answer. Their value lies in their capacity to
open up options, inquiry and bring to the surface fundamental issues that need to be
discussed.
Wicked questions are used:
• to change the role of leadership from having the answers to having the questions
• when innovative solutions are needed for stuck problems
• when there are polarized positions in a group and there seem to be either/or
questions
• to expose the paradoxes
• to bring in new information to a problem or issue by exposing the differences
25

26. • to openly contrast goals and actual circumstances
• to promote ongoing inquiry
• when the context seems overwhelming and confusing and the group needs an
approach to make sense of the patterns
• to make the “undiscussable” discussable – to articulate the assumptions held by
group members
Examples:
• How does this approach contribute to/or not contribute to our strategic goals?
• What is the organization/initiative that will replace the work we do today?
• Can we serve our self interests through collective effort?
• What is the one thing we must stop doing?
• How does focusing on our clients restrict what we do?
• Are the benefits we are achieving with kids worth the costs?
Process
• Be sure there is enough trust and safety in a group to expose assumptions.
• Keep in the spirit of inquiry and openness
• Questions can be posted on the wall and then clustered by the participants
themselves (don’t need to facilitate this), then everyone stand back to see what is
emerging from the wall – find the patterns beneath the surface
• Alternatively, you could choose a key question and ask people if there is one
thing they could do (or stop doing) in their work to address the question/ or one
thing the organization need to do or stop doing
26

27. 7. Group Decision Making Grids
Example #1
Possible
Solutions
Criteria Totals per solution
Criteria
#1
Criteria
#2
Criteria
#3
Criteria
#4
1.
2.
3.
Rate each solution:
1 = does not meet the criteria
2 = somewhat meets the criteria
3 = good at meeting the criteria
(i.e. if 4 different people rank each solution/criteria then could determine the average
ranking by dividing he sum total by number participating)
OR
Example #2
Difficult to do Easy to do
Major
Improvement
Minor
Improvement
1. Easy to do and yields a big improvement
2. easy to do but yields a small improvement
3. Difficult to do but yields a big improvement
4. Difficult to do but yields small improvement
3. 1.
4. 2.
27

28. Reference: Ingrid Bens, Facilitating with Ease.
28

29. 8. Setting Priorities
Dotmocracy
Participants are given 3 dots to place beside their 1st
, 2nd
and 3’d priorities. The 3 options with
the most dots are selected.
Variation: Participants are each given a red, yellow and green dot. The green dot goes beside
the action that can be initiated immediately; the yellow beside the action that may take more time
but should still be started; the red beside an action that doesn’t have to happen right away.
Spend a Lonnie
Participants have $1 to spend on the options – they can place 5 cents beside one and 95 cents
beside another or they divide all their money equally between all the options. The three top
priorities are the options with the highest dollar amount beside them.
Ranking
Ideas 5 4 3 2 1 Total
A 3 (x5) 6 2 3 1 52
B 1 7 3 4 1 51
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
Method
Brainstorm ideas
Ask people to rank their top five ideas with 5 being the highest and 1 the lowest
Go around the room and have ask people “How many gave Idea A “5”, “ 4” “3”…”
Mark down the number of people for each of the rankings
If 3 people gave an idea a 5 then multiply the 5 by 3 etc.
Go through the list and see which ideas surface as the top 2 or 3
Open it up for discussion to make sure everyone agrees with the priorities that have emerged.
29

30. 9. PATH PROCESS
Adapted from:: Pearpoint. J. O'Brien. J. & Forest. M. Path, Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope: A
Workbook for Planning Better Futures. Toronto: Inclusion Press, 1993
1. DREAM
• People are going forward in time; their dream has been realized (5 years, 10
years).
• Step into that future e.g. Imagine we are back in this room 2 years from now.
Capture key phrases and images.
• Star or highlight the most important dreams – the focus for the rest of the
workshop
2. GOAL
• 2 or 5 years from today - what have we accomplished?
• Put down dates, names, actions - be very specific.
3. NOW
• Snapshot of the present. (Maybe do a quick environmental scan)
• How would you describe where you are now - objectively, feelings?
4. ENROLL
• Whom do we know?
• Identify people we assume already share our commitment.
• Identify people who may not have been allies in the past.
• "What contribution can this person make?" Who will contact them?
5. STRENGTHEN
• What knowledge do we need?
• What skills should we develop?
• What relationships do we need to maintain?
• Resources (other than people) that don't cost $.
6. ACTION - 6 months
• Briefly review step 2. Choose actions that are consistent with the dream.
• What will we accomplish - activity who date resources.
• Highlight actions that seem possible to do without additional resources.
Summarize actions - make sure there is agreement.
7. ACTION - 3 months
• Who, what, when, - pull together from enroll and strengthen.
• People have to commit to action now!
• Will need to schedule time to plan for each of the areas they've charted.
8. COMMIITING TO THE NEXT STEP
• What is the very next step you will take to move towards creating what you want?
• What is the biggest barrier in taking this step?
• Who, specifically, will support you in taking this step? How will you enlist their
30

31. support? Summarize and confirm.
FINALLY - Take a few moments to reflect on the process.
31

32. Created by: Vinita Puri – WLU SK 608, Fall 2011

33. Action Planning Chart
Theme/Direction:
Key Actions
Who
Drivers,
Supporters
Resources needed
- Funds, allies,
skills,
information
Time Frame
Short term Long term
Indicators of
Success
33

34. 34

35. FAVORITE REFERENCE BOOKS
Arnold, R., e. al. (1991) Educating for Change. Toronto: Between the Lines.
Bens, Ingrid. (1997) Facilitating with Ease: A Comprehensive Guide to the Practice of Facilitation. Toronto: Participative
Dynamics.
The Centre for Conflict Resolution. (1977) A Manual for Group Facilitators. Madison, Wis.
The Institute of Cultural Affairs. (2000). The Art of focused Conversation: 100 Ways to Access Group Wisdom in the
Workplace. Gabriola Island BC.: New Society Publishers.
Kaner, S. et al. (1996). Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision Making. Gabriola Island BC: New Society Publishers.
Senge, P. et al. (1994). The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization. NY:
Doubleday.
Zimmerman, B., Lindberg, C. and P. Plsek (2001) Edgeware: insights from complexity science for health care leaders.
Texas. Irving Inc.
35