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Wednesday November 25

1:00pm Concurrent Session 1

Description of the Workshop

‘We are shaped, not only by our landscapes but by the tools we use to shape our landscapes.’

Our land and environment inherently determine something of who we are, how we act and what we do.  Indigenous people know this. They feel the change in the wind and are moved by the flight of a bird. It’s in their blood. We may nod knowingly to this assertion. Civilized and sanitized cities affect us too but we have become desensitized to their impact. It sinks beneath our consciousness until we become aware of the absence of services such as a power failure or a traffic jam. We need to go deeper still before we can understand how our organisations shape us. Yet organisations dominate every aspect of our physical world. We use organisations to dam rivers, extract minerals and build cities. They bring food to our tables, help deliver our babies, educate our children and bury our dead. And organisations can protect and destroy all those things.

Organisations dominate our internal world too. We carry them in our heads. Whenever we enter a room and become aware of another person from the same organisation most of us make a quick mental reference to the organisation’s pyramidal structure. Are they above us, below us or on the same level? Our behaviour changes as a result. The pyramidal (hierarchical) organisation encourages behaviours that are underpinned by the values of status and control. It encourages a heroic style of leadership and a dependency amongst their followers. It supports exploitation of people and the environment.

The pyramidal organisation is so ubiquitous it is difficult to conceive of a workable alternative. We are cocooned in a paradigm. In this respect there are many parallels with our ancestors who lived in the seventeenth century.  They believed the earth was the centre of the planetary system. They experienced the sun rising in the morning and then traversing across the sky. Was this not proof? The belief was confirmed by the Bible and made mandatory by the Church. The twenty-first century citizen is deluged with propaganda about the success of the pyramidal organisational system. (‘The recession is but a temporary aberration – next year will get us back on track.’ ‘Climate change is a myth and anyway clean coal technology will save the day.’ And ‘You need to trust us,’ said the chairman of Telstra’s board recently) It took a couple centuries for most of our ancestors to understand that although their eyes may have seen the sun go down, in reality the earth was spinning round.

The solar centric view of the universe triumphed because it delivered better results. It established navigation as a science which gave seafaring nations like England an enormous advantage. That idea changed the world. In a similar way new organisational structures can have as great an impact. The new structures not only create more effective organisations but open up the possibility to support a massive shift in values from domination and exploitation to collaboration and sustainability. Why haven’t we heard of them before, you might ask? It’s part of the paradigm. It took until the 1990s (350 years) for the Catholic church to acknowledge they erred by prosecuting Galileo for expressing his inconvenient truth.

The key is values. Once we can make the connection between organisational structure and values we can ask new questions. What values do we need to work and live by? And what organisational structures could support those values?  If, like many people, you want to live and work collaboratively, and work in organisations that encourage relationship and learning then you will be interested in the sociocratic or parabolic organisational structures. (The sociocratic organisation is based on circles. The parabolic organisation extends the circle concept and invites us to think of organisational structures in three dimensions.)

If you accept Marshall McLuhan’s, (The Medium is The Massage), observation, ‘We shape our tools. And then our tools shape us,’ then it is worthwhile thinking about what shape your organisation is imposing on you.  You might conclude that you need to change your place of work or your organisational structure. But there is another possibility. You could change your mental model of your organisation’s structure to create a healthier hybrid. This workshop will help you make that choice. If you are in the business of organisational change or want to create sustainable organisations, societies and environments this workshop will be of professional interest to you. You will explore new tools that can help you to engage others to re-shape ourselves and the world.  

Learning Outcomes

• Develop a cutting edge perspective on structure that can engage prospective clients
• Experience alternative structures that support collaboration
• Generate new insights into how current pyramidal structures thwart most attempts at organisational change
• Explore a systems approach to introducing structural change.
• Develop their abilities to shape the structure of their own and other organisations
• Learn about powerful new methods for helping decision makers to overcome their fear of organisational change
  

Workshop Leader Biography

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Description of the Workshop

What tensions arise when a facilitator is also a pioneer of change, breaking through the water “me he pitau whakarei” (like the proud carved prow of the canoe)? How can you create ripples and waves in communities, while respecting and facilitating others in creating their own desired changes?

These are the challenges for Enviroschools facilitators working throughout New Zealand.

In this workshop we will explore the Enviroschools kaupapa (philosophy, principles, purpose), and give participants some of the experiences that enviroschools students have.

We will use this experience to reflect on our own guiding principles and our own practice as facilitators.

Learning Outcomes

• To understand the Enviroschools programme as an example of facilitation grounded in a kaupapa (philosophy, set of principles, purpose)
• To be able to apply this more generally to facilitation practice
• To reflect on what principles personally guide us in our practice as facilitators
• To understand the skills required to facilitate from a kaupapa base
  

Workshop Leader Biography

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Description of the Workshop

Like the boat that crosses the bow-wave, Ritual is a vessel for exploring the rippling and flowing that occurs within us. 

In this workshop,  facilitator and participants harness the energy of the group  to co-create a vessel inside which is an intimate place of sharing, a place that allows us to deepen our knowledge of ourselves and each other and our relationships to the land, our cultures,  and our communities.  Creative tools are used for exploration and reflection and expression of the rippling and flowing within the souls, hearts and minds of participants.

Learning Outcomes

• Working creatively to reflect and express feelings and thoughts
• Grounding energy
• Listening intuitively and without judgement
• Trusting themselves
• Be able to design a workshop that incorporates aspects of ritual and creative processes

Workshop Leader Biography

Shirley O'Toole Shirley is a relative newcomer to the AFN, having attended her first conference in Adelaide 2007.  She has been facilitating throughout her 18 year career in human services and in 2007 established her business which is based in Hobart, Tasmania.  Her main areas of interest are in facilitating personal change, believing that empowered people participate more in their communities and in elderhood and leadership.  Shirley is a mother and grandmother, a singer/songwriter/storyteller and improviser. She is a member of Hobart Playback Theatre Company  www.hobartplayback.com.au. She is the convenor of the  2010 AFN Hobart conference.

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Description of the Workshop

You’re facilitating a workshop. The group have completed an action planning activity and you’re debriefing it. You ask them what they appreciated about the process, and what they learned. Robust discussion follows. You ask them what they’re going to do with the action plans. Silence. Someone responds jokingly, “Use it as a brief for consultants”.

What do you do?

This workshop will explore debriefing in facilitation. Drawing on Sascha’s PhD research, participants will use excerpts from actual debriefings to discuss what they would do if they were facilitating the given situations. Facilitators’ actual actions and participants’ responses will be explored.

Learning Outcomes

• To give participants an opportunity to reflect on their actions, and the effect of their actions, in facilitation;
• To increase participants’ awareness of their actions, and the effect of their actions, in facilitation; and
• To help participants to be more intentional and aware of the impact of their language use in facilitation.
  

Workshop Leader Biography

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Description of the Workshop

Open Space Technology (OST) is one of the world’s foremost facilitation models for inviting inclusivity, authentic leadership, participation, high energy, playful learning and the effective, sustainable resolution of complex, urgent and contentious issues. This contemporary practice is grounded in ancient and universal archetypal rituals that create space for people to name and address the issues that are significant to their communities. The circle gathering, the presence of passion and responsibility, and the freedom to move creates a sacred space where work that truly matters can be done. We invite you to join us in exploring the nature of complex adaptive systems, the power of self-organising and the evidence that supports our beliefs.

Workshop Leader Biography

Brendan McKeague has worked, played and experimented with facilitation and nonviolent peace-making for the past thirty years, working with a variety of communities, government, NGOs and private organizations in Australia and overseas. He has explored the potential for aligning the purpose of his profession with his deep purpose for being on the planet at this time in history – and he’s enjoying the space that continues to open! Father Brian Bainbridgehas been a pioneer in the area of organisational change and complex adaptive systems for many years, in Australia and the USA where he has taught extensively. Fr Brian is a founder member of the Open Space Institute of Australia and has worked within many diverse sectors, including the mining industry, NGOs, faith-based communities and The World Bank. He continues to be surprised how effective, efficient and constructive are the outcomes of this facilitation way of “letting-go”.

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3:30pm Concurrent Session 2

Description of the Workshop

This marketplace™ explores the exquisite tension experienced at the facilitation tipping point, creating ripples with focus and flow! The Marketplace™ is the bow wave of large group facilitation. Picture yourself immersed in this live marketplace -colour, movement, action, people talking, humour, noise, and most of all diversity. Meeting marketplace™ is fun, informal, and participatory, enabling the expression and exploration of diversity while yielding valid and rich information you can take away and use immediately. Be inspired and stimulated, feel connected and
creative in this live marketplace™ as you explore a co-designed, challenging tipping point topic that will stretch all facilitators.

Learning Outcomes

• Participants will understand and have EXPERIENCED how practice and theory have combined to create a new meeting format for large community and organizational meetings. They will leave with an understanding of the 'meeting marketplace'™ approach, when, how and where to use it, examples of its application and how meeting marketplace™ participants have evaluated their experience.
• Participants will understand and have EXPERIENCED the essential ingredients to a successful meeting marketplace™, which relate to the elements of choice, contribution, connection, certainty and continuity and are drawn from community engagement and group facilitation theory and approaches. They will also understand how Facilitator competencies have helped shape the design of the marketplace.
• Participants will understand the importance of continuous improvement and adaptive management in achieving best practice facilitation and community engagement. Participants will experience a meeting marketplace™, evaluate their experience and examine how the approach can be applied in their own work.
• Through participation in a live meeting marketplace™, participants will also have opportunity to explore a theme a group nominated theme (developed through the conference) that is at the tipping point for participants, stimulating creativity and connection amongst participants and generating data that can be used and applied instantly.
  

Workshop Leader Biography

Carla Rogers’s boundless energy and curious mind have seeded new approaches to coaching, facilitation and making large meetings work for a diverse range of people and clients in the business, public and community sectors. Carla has created meeting marketplace™, an engaging and highly acclaimed approach to large meeting facilitation, and has been recognized for the quality and originality of her work through international, national, state and ministerial Awards for excellence. Her interest in and deep commitment to helping people discover and develop their unique talents, strengths and confidence is at the heart of her business, EVOLVE Facilitation and Coaching. Nigel Russell teaches, coaches, trains and supports individuals and organizations to communicate, collaborate and learn over distance. Nigel sails and races on a yacht each week and in winter 2009 ventured across the Tasman on his first major ocean journey. Nigel has been doing stuff at a distance for over 20 years - broadcasting, instructional design of multimedia, distance education, e-learning, coaching and webinars. Nigel has qualifications in Distance Education and was facilitator and collaborative consultant for the ABC’s online presence. Nigel is co-founder of NoMadMeetings, an innovative coaching and training organizations for people who need to effectively communicate, collaborate and learn at a distance.

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Description of the Workshop

Frequently policymakers and stakeholders come together to discuss – not necessarily resolve – public policy issues. Sometimes, these sessions are held in public, complete with media coverage. Sometimes, they are off-the-record. Frequently they are politically charged, and generating candid discussion is very difficult. How can a facilitator apply the International Association of Facilitators competencies to such situations?

This session is based on lessons learned from the New Jersey Policy Forums on Health and Medical Care. For over a decade, this project developed the conditions for success in bringing together policymakers – with diverse backgrounds and agendas – in a politically-neutral setting for off-the-record, discussion and problem identification. 

Learning Outcomes

• To understand the restraints implicit in meetings with government officials
• To outline conditions appropriate for meetings with public officials, using the IAF competencies as a framework.
• To describe the applications of meeting variables to this situation
• To practice appropriate actions by a facilitator in such situations.

Workshop Leader Biography

Linda Mather, president of Beacon Consulting Associates, is a communications consultant, specializing in group dynamics, facilitation and leadership.     As founding president of Forums Institute for Public Policy, she facilitated the New Jersey Policy Forums on Health and Medical Care for over a decade.  Among other projects, she facilitated the 1994 Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Citizen Jury, the 2001 Washington Citizen Jury on Initiative and Referendum, the Citizen Research Group Viewpoints project in New York, as well as Community Advisory Panels for a variety of chemical companies. Certified by the International Association of Facilitators, she also serves as an assessor and process manager.

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Thursday November 26

9:30pm Concurrent Sessions 3&4

Description of Workshop

Some facilitators seem to be especially good at contracting.  How do they do it? How do they avoid succumbing to pressure from clients who are impatient and disengaged?  For that matter, how do they manage to enlist their clients as allies in setting realistic expectations for sound, workable contracts?  This workshop offers answers to these questions – and many more.  The session provides an insightful, practical framework – along with a clear method and many useful tools – for conducting effective, collaborative contracting sessions.

Overall Purpose:

The overall purpose of this workshop is to strengthen participants’ competence in collaborating with their clients to define solid, workable facilitation contracts.

Specific Learning Objectives:

• Participants will gain a clear understanding of the logic model inherent in a client’s presenting request.  (The logic model consists of 3 components:  a presenting problem; a desired outcome; and a requested intervention.)
• Participants will become able to recognize common misconceptions and faulty assumptions made by clients, as they unknowingly pressure facilitators to engage in poorly-structured contracts.
• Participants will gain insights into the underlying distinctions between 3 different types of facilitation engagements – a facilitated event; a facilitated project; and a facilitated system-change initiative.  Each has its own structure, and each raises a different set of contracting issues.
• Participants will practice and build skills in the use of several tools that are designed to enhance the facilitator’s understanding of the client’s presenting request.

Workshop Leader Biography

Sam Kaner, Ph.D., has been named as "one of the world's leading experts in collaboration" (source: Sandor Schuman, Ph.D., IAF co-founder, and founding editor of the Journal of Group Facilitation.)  Sam’s classic bestseller, Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making has gone through 17 printings and is now in its 2nd edition. Sam has been a featured speaker at more than 40 professional conferences, including several years at IAF North America. Since 1987 he has been the executive director of Community At Work, a San Francisco-based consulting firm that specializes in designing and facilitating collaborative approaches to complex system change. Sam's clients have included Hewlett-Packard, PricewaterhouseCoopers, VISA International, Charles Schwab and Company, and many other Fortune 500 companies. His public sector clients have included the California Supreme Court, the March of Dimes, Special Olympics, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Omidyar Network, and many schools, community-based organizations and government agencies.

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Description of the Workshop

‘Life is a journey’.  ‘This organisation is a jungle’.  ‘Creating a bow wave for facilitation’.  People frequently describe organisations in metaphorical terms. These metaphors are both universal and culturally diverse. Working with a clear process, they enable facilitators to help groups deal with deep seated cultural issues and challenges involving diversity and difference.

This workshop will introduce a metaphor exploration framework that can be used as a large group process or in smaller team events. It includes new material brought together since Carol and Simon published their metaphor exploration process in the IAF handbook Creating a culture of collaboration.  This workshop is highly interactive, useful and fun!

Learning Outcomes

• Understand how working with metaphors can enhance experience and results for both facilitator and group
• Be facilitated through a metaphor exploration framework as part of a large group process and facilitate a small group exploration
• Understand how the structure of the framework is constructed and can be adapted
• Understand how metaphor exploration can help find a way through for groups with different cultural, linguistic and organisational backgrounds
• Be able to use this process in their own practice, and work with metaphors more generally
  

Workshop Leader Biography

Carol Sherriff holds a Masters degrees in Business and Psychology. She is an Associate Lecturer in Knowledge Management at the Open University and a regular reviewer for academic journals.  She is a founder director of Wilson Sherriff, a facilitation company specialising in working with government and public sector bodies. Simon Wilson Simon Wilson holds an MBA degree.  He chairs the Trustee Board of a national not for profit organisation in the UK whose aim is to end homelessness.  He is a founder director of Wilson Sherriff, a facilitation company specialising in working with government and public sector bodies. Carol Sherriff and Simon Wilson have presented conference and pre-conference sessions at IAF conferences in Europe, the US, and Asia with very high satisfaction ratings.   They are co-authors of a chapter in the IAF handbook Creating a Culture of Collaboration.  They are Certified Trainers of NLP, IAF Certified Professional Facilitators and members of the IAF Board.

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Description of the Workshop

Einstein said that no problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. An important leading edge for 21st century facilitators is in enabling groups to address urgent environmental, social and economic issues. A fruitful approach to addressing these complex issues is by facilitating groups to shift levels, expand group consciousness and access new intelligence pathways.

This workshop explores and practices accessing latent human capacities, connecting energetically with our environment, expanding group consciousness and unleashing collective intelligence. Research sources include Peter Senge & Otto Scharmer’s Presencing, Ervin Lazslo’s Akashic Field, Tom Malone & Tom Atlee’s Collective Intelligence.

Learning Outcomes

• To understand the meanings of key concepts – quantum shift, collective intelligence, expanded consciousness, Akashic field and presencing
• To have practiced presencing; accessing expanded group consciousness; and generating collective intelligences.
• To understand and use guidelines for enabling these capacities and shifts.
• To understand the role of creativity in enabling these capacities and shifts.
• To explore the application of the new knowledge.
  

Workshop Leader Biography

Dr. Dale Hunter is a group facilitator, coach, researcher and leading author in the field of facilitation. She is a director of Zenergy Ltd. a New Zealand-based company providing facilitation and coaching services and facilitation training to government, business and community sectors. Dale has led facilitation training workshops in Europe, USA, Australia, Canada, China, Malaysia, South Africa and Taiwan. Dr Hunter is the author of The Art of Facilitation (2007), The Zen of Groups, and other titles. She is a sustaining member of the International Association of Facilitators; a former Vice Chair International (2001-2007) and a co-creator of the AFN.

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Description of the Workshop

This hands-on workshop will teach participants the foundational principles of Conversational Leadership, a research-based, field-tested approach to creating alignment and engagement within organizations. We will share specific techniques of Conversational Leadership that can enhance the quality of any type of meeting, including the Context, Purpose, Outcome (CPO) meeting structure and the Engage, Acknowledge, Respond (EAR) method of guiding conversations. Set up World Café-style, this session will be highly interactive, allowing participants to learn together and share and practice their learning together.

Learning Outcomes

• Participants will understand and be able use the Learning Conversation Guidelines to hold meaningful and learningful conversations.
• Participants will understand and be able use the Context, Purpose, Outcome (CPO) structure for meetings.
• Participants will understand and be able use the Engage participants, Acknowledge responses, and Respond respectfully (EAR) method.
  

Workshop Leader Biography

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11:30am Concurrent Session 4

Description of the Workshop

In this creative workshop, participants will experience an accessible and meaningful facilitated process for a community to collectively explore a complex topic of interest. The workshop is designed for participants to both explore theory and experience practice. The central component is
a workshop adaptation of the "Open House" community engagement technique that combined with more traditional facilitation techniques will enable participants to build on each others learning. The intended outcome is for participants to have fun and learn more about facilitation and community engagement.

Learning Outcomes

• Beginners: Will be exposed to four distinct facilitation tools and techniques, including the experience of a simple ice breaker, the
  adaptation of the ‘Open House’ technique for the workshop environment, the popular and very useable ‘Noisy Round Robin’
  process and finishing up with the demonstration of a focussed conversation, or ORID.
• Intermediate: Will be interested in concepts such as complexity theory and diversity and how this particular facilitation technique
  can enable dialogue and decision making by a diverse community.
• Advanced: Will gain an opportunity to experience and explore at the meta level a new methodology for enabling learning and
  development of complex topics such as, but not limited to, facilitation and community engagement.
  

Workshop Leader Biography

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2:00pm Concurrent Session 5

Description of the Workshop

Co-facilitation can feel like you’re navigating a rickety boat together through unchartered waters. There’s no map for safe passage, you don’t know where the surprises are located and you never know what you will strike.
Meaningful co-facilitation is when both facilitators chose to jointly navigate the currents and rocky outcrops confident that the trust that develops will allow their individual talents and insights to work their magic.
Group participants report that the outcomes from working with good co-facilitators are much better than working with two good facilitators. So how do co-facilitators chart the waters and navigate their way to success?
This workshop will help you and your co-facilitator manoeuvre through potentially treacherous channels and bring your group safely to shore.

Learning Outcomes

• Explore potential problems between co-facilitators
• Utilise a model to help prevent problems and develop trust between co-facilitators
  

Workshop Leader Biography

Rhonda Tranks has over 25 years experience in: consulting, management, HR, group facilitation, training and education. She has particular expertise in: Organisational and Cultural Change, Group and Conference Facilitation, Strategic Direction Setting and Planning, Experiential Learning, Coaching and Executive Search. Her management and consulting experience has been developed in a variety of roles and industries in Australia, Mexico, USA and Europe. She is the Principal of Illuma Consulting Pty Ltd. Sheryl Smail is an experienced business director, executive manager, mentor and facilitator. An I.A.F. Certified Professional Facilitator, she has an MBA, is accredited as a consultant with the Institute of Accredited Business Consultants (NZ) Inc, has provisional accreditation with the Institute of Directors in NZ, and is a LEADR accredited mediator. In 2000 she established a consulting and facilitation business, Pivotal Professional & Business Services.

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Description of the Workshop

Facilitation plays a central role in the process of generating dialogue within a group about current issues and about working towards a preferred or improved future. Scenarios can be a useful facilitation tool in any exercise where differences of values, viewpoints and information are to be explored and common ground is to be built. Working with scenarios is a means of stimulating discussion and exploring possibilities.

Scenarios can be used in different stages of group dialogue. In groups, scenarios can be constructed, analysed, tested and refined. Through any or all of these processes, scenarios create opportunities for groups to gain insights into where group ideas converge and where differences may impact on constructing a shared future. Scenarios can also be used to explore the journey towards that preferred future, to identify the steps or milestones on that journey and then to define key roles, responsibilities and commitments involved in achieving the preferred future.

Using a scenario-based facilitation as its focus this workshop will explore the strengths and weakness of the scenario tool in the context of facilitation work within community, corporate and government sectors.  Design criteria for effective scenario use will be identified through group discussion.

Learning Outcomes

• reinforce the key role facilitation has to play in assisting groups with direction-setting in response to drivers of change in sustainability and community development
• participate in an action learning process
• gain a working knowledge of the scenario tool and its use in facilitation
• identify the design criteria for effective use of the scenario tool
  

Workshop Leader Biography

Mary Maher, principal consultant of her Brisbane-based consultancy, is a practitioner in environmental, social and sustainability strategies. She now specializes in facilitation aimed at building group dialogue for navigating emerging issues, problem solving, strategy development and evaluating progress towards desired outcomes. She has 28 years’ professional experience including lecturing in universities for 11 years (Australia, University of Surrey, UK and University of Nanjing, China), senior policy adviser and Branch director in Brisbane City Council for 5 years managing a team of 24 environmental scientists and planners; in private consultancy for 12 years managing a small business of six staff; and a range of government appointments including two Government-owned Board directorships. Mary’s website: www.marymaher.com.au Pam Bourke has extensive experience in working with local and state governments at a senior level to broker policy change and strategic partnerships in Australia and New Zealand. She is highly experienced in community engagement and community development both in terms of leading policy and strategy and in developing and managing community engagement projects and processes in complex and conflictual environments. Pam has recently developed and delivered two courses in community development and engagement for the Mining Industry.  Pam Bourke is presently the Conference Organising Committee Chairperson for the International Association for Community Development’s Conference to be held in Brisbane in June 2009.

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Description of the Workshop

FEAR – the greatest tripwire for effectively facilitating phone/online meetings. Fear that that people will not pay attention, that it may go wrong, that you will not get the outcomes needed, or that it will blemish our and others’ reputations.  Nigel’s recent cross-Tasman yacht journey (http://tinyurl.com/ko2tn8) on the 60 year old Greenpeace yacht was an opportunity to face fear and put facilitation skills to the test. We will share how this journey relates to facilitating a great online event. You will explore your own ‘online facilitation’ fears, and face them through designing and practicing an event (with a spacious life raft provided by Nigel and Carla).

Learning Outcomes

• Share some of the deeper fears when moving out of the comfort zone
• Know how to move from fear to confidence when planning to facilitate an online/phone event
• Recognise relationship between contingency planning and outcomes
• Identify what can be planned for.. and when to stop planning and just get on with it!
• Participants will be stepped through developing and compiling their own template for preparing a live Online facilitated event, applying the principles of the 5 Step Model
• Participants will leave with an understanding of how all that we do face to face as facilitators, applies and can be done in the online environment.

At the end of the workshop, participants will see how success is based on specific and conscious planning and a willingness to work with and beyond fear -  navigating the facilitation high seas with an exquisite tension of riding the crest of the wave, creating the ripples living to do it all again!

Workshop Leader Biography

Nigel Russell teaches, coaches, trains and supports individuals and organizations to communicate, collaborate and learn over distance. Nigel sails and races on a yacht each week and in winter 2009 ventured across the Tasman on his first major ocean journey. Nigel has been doing stuff at a distance for over 20 years - broadcasting, instructional design of multimedia, distance education, e-learning, coaching and webinars. Nigel has qualifications in Distance Education and was facilitator and collaborative consultant for the ABC’s online presence. Nigel is co-founder of NoMadMeetings, an innovative coaching and training organizations for people who need to effectively communicate, collaborate and learn at a distance. Carla Rogers’s boundless energy and curious mind have seeded new approaches to coaching, facilitation and making large meetings work for a diverse range of people and clients in the business, public and community sectors. Carla has created meeting marketplace™, an engaging and highly acclaimed approach to large meeting facilitation, and has been recognized for the quality and originality of her work through international, national, state and ministerial Awards for excellence. Her interest in and deep commitment to helping people discover and develop their unique talents, strengths and confidence is at the heart of her business, EVOLVE Facilitation and Coaching.

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Description of the Workshop

The workshop is a highly experiential exploration of sustainable change using a high-energy engendering interactive dialogue process (Generative Change Dialogics from the Generative Change Community) to generate  a strong bow-wave for change in perceptions and shared understanding among communities of high diversity.

Participants will derive learning and insights from reflections on both the content dialogue and the processes used, and will have gained exposure to and discussed  large and small group processes.

Most people (and many facilitators) see  deep diversity within community and society as barriers and boundaries to harmonious living and engagement – and within  facilitation of groups as hurdles to  gaining meaningful outcomes.

The session’s approach’s and frameworks (used by the Generative Change Community world wide) looks to harness the energies of diversity to ride the bow waves of change when surfacing these boundaries and reframing them to  encourage a high intensity emotional engagement . This enrichs , deepens and fast-tracks the group’s dynamics yielding deep, fresh insights and  true perceptual shifts.

For many the outcome is to cause a ripple and flow experience of their perception of their views and stance regarding deep issues such as values and change – and how they then work with these in community, organisations and  life in general.

Learning Outcomes

• Have a more comprehensive perspective on what’s involved for sustainable change in communities of high diversity – derived from the participants themselves.
• Experience the paradigm of moving forward through differentiation and integration of ‘all voices” within high-diversity situations.
• Experience looking at the world from ‘multiple shoes’  – and experiences the similarities and differences in a community both among and between various ‘voices’.
• Gain insight into how we engage groups more deeply through a sequence of dynamics flow and processes that take a group on a respectful content and perceptual change journey.

Workshop Leader Biography

Dr. Tom Schwarz is a Consulting Facilitator helping organizations, teams and people unfetter and realize their aspirations and potential -  focusing around facilitative leadership and management development, and team effectiveness and creativity - as keys to enhanced organizational agility and performance. He is a Certified Professional Facilitator  (International Association of Facilitators - IAF) and CPF Assessor, was an IAF Board member and IAF ANZ Regional Representative - with a broad formal and informal  facilitation, training and Consulting background and experience.   These are derived from corporate roles (over 20 years with Dec, Apple, HP - Training, Consulting, Sales, Marketing & Strategic Planning), and then running his outcome focused organisational agility intervention practice over Asia Pacific -  with almost a decade of living in Asia -Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai. His company group - Kinnogene - uses participatory and values based approaches to bring about enduring change. These are grounded in the core values embodied in such practices as the Technology of Participation, Future Search, World Café, , Improv.... through to  'roll-your-own' - to deliver sustainable transformation journeys to clients. He also contributes to the NGO sector - eg has worked with the ICA (Institute of Cultural Affairs) as part of a 7 man team to assist and capacity develop East Timorese NGO and Government bodies, with AIESEC youth leadership development in China, with the Feb'09 Citizen's Parliament in Canberra, with efforts to bring peace to South Thailand, etc.

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Friday November 27

9:30pm Concurrent Sessions 6

Description of the Workshop

The ability to achieve group consensus is a vital competency for a facilitator. However, what the client considers is group consensus depends on many variables including the culture and community, the nature of the task or decision, and the commitment required from participants to implement the decision outcome. In addition the effectiveness of different consensus building tools will be affected by variables such as the time available, the size of the group, and the literacy and other skill levels of participants.

This workshop will:

• Explore when consensus building is important
• Present a diversity of consensus building methodologies
• Use demonstration, simulation and role plays to enable participants to experience the different
• methodologies as both facilitator and group participant
• Facilitate each participant determining which approaches may be relevant for their own facilitation style and the groups with whom they work
• Provide participants with a workbook that summarises consensus building methodologies covered and references for more detail on these and other consensus building tools

This Foundation Level workshop is designed primarily for the relatively inexperienced facilitator. However, it would also be of value to a more experienced facilitator who, maybe because of the sectors within which they work, has limited experience in building consensus.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand when to use consensus building strategies
• Understand the value of selecting the most appropriate consensus building tools.
• Be able to use a variety of approaches for achieving group consensus
• Feel confident to incorporate a variety of approaches for achieving group consensus into their
  personal ‘facilitator tool kit’
  

Workshop Leader Biography

Sheryl Smail is an experienced business director, executive manager, mentor and facilitator. An I.A.F. Certified Professional Facilitator, she has an MBA, is accredited as a consultant with the Institute of Accredited Business Consultants (NZ) Inc, has provisional accreditation with the Institute of Directors in NZ, and is a LEADR accredited mediator. In 2000 she established a consulting and facilitation business, Pivotal Professional & Business Services.

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Description of the Workshop

Systems mapping helps people to become more grounded and more focused in their efforts to bring about change. It helps to deepen their understanding of the social system. By inviting multiple perspectives the process engages stakeholders in the quest for solutions.  When people jointly map their system they develop a meta view of the system. This view enables people to step into the shoes of other stakeholders more easily. They are able to anticipate responses to change and plan accordingly. The process helps people to understand that real change requires multiple interventions at different levels and a commitment to a sustained campaign.

Learning Outcomes

• Learn how to map complex systems
• Experience the impact of mapping a system using everyday objects
• Deepen their understanding of systems theory
• Discover how to apply these principles in their own lives and work
  

Workshop Leader Biography

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Description of the Workshop

Storytelling and story listening have long been recognized as having significant effects on the development of our personal, cultural and work identities. We are living stories!
Much has been written about the benefits of storytelling being purposeful and persuasive, yet the power of spontaneous and playful storytelling has often been undervalued.
With a sense of play and spontaneity participants in this workshop will be invited to stretch their imagination to develop their creativity, spontaneity and flexibility as storytellers.
We will look at the power of Story to educate, entertain, build community, foster creativity and transform lives and business.

Learning Outcomes

• an appreciation of the transforming power of story
• a sense of enjoyment and relaxation in having participated in a creative process
• encouragement and confidence to use storytelling effectively in their lives and as a facilitation process.

Workshop Leader Biography

Christine Carlton has worked for twenty years as a freelance Consultant, Facilitator and Educator in Story, Drama and Creative Arts in Education, Business and Community Development. She travels Australia and overseas offering opportunities for individuals and organisations to tap into their creativity to gain insight and direction for their lives and their communities. Christine lectures in Story and Drama in Education at University of Western Sydney; facilitates leadership and team-building processes; offers trainers and teacher inservice, storytelling workshops, reflective retreats and is regularly called upon to provide creative leadership and group facilitation at national and international conferences.

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Description of the Workshop

We are a diverse group of facilitation practitioners; a community grounded by our diversity of experiences, knowledge, background, lands, heritage, culture etc. We employ a wealth of approaches, practices, tools & techniques to help others work together more effectively. 

Underneath all of this lies a common intent to help people journey to a new place: transformation to a greater or lesser degree.

This workshop is split into two highly interactive elements which explore the diversity that grounds our facilitation practice & our potential as facilitators’ to impact transformation, drawing out (a) common ground dynamics that underlie our diverse methodologies (b) stances we might take  as facilitators – and using this exploration  to enrich our facilitation impact in the cause of real transformation.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will have a deeper understanding & connection with the dynamics and stances that underpin facilitation in order to:

• Increase their impact on client’s potential for transformation - be better equipped to design better events to achieve the outcomes that are needed
• Better connect with & understand clients & participants – their spoken and unspoken needs - to be able to help them through their transformation journey
• Be better able to reflect on the event to review and improve practice – by having a richer set of conceptual frameworks.The benefits of trusting relationships in any interaction, especially in facilitating a group process

These aims align with the core competencies of the IAF, and will help participants to “Build and maintain professional knowledge”

Workshop Leader Biography

Sue Gregory is an independent consultant, facilitator and facilitation trainer based in Melbourne. She has worked in facilitation in Australia and England working alongside organisations and individuals, supporting them through the development of participatory practices, the proactive management of change, and the establishment of partnership work approaches. Sue is also a Reiki and Crystal Therapy practitioner. Since arriving in Melbourne she has established her own consultancy, The Emerald Approach. This embodies facilitation approaches plus Reiki and other holistic therapies to help organisations and individuals find balance through change. Hedy Brant currently works and practices as an internal facilitator in the area of organisational culture, change management and leadership development at Charles Sturt University. Hedy is a Certified Professional Facilitator (International Association of Facilitators – IAF), has completed Modules 1-6 of Facilitative Leadership, Technology of Participation (ToP) and is a member of the Institute of Cultural Affairs. Hedy has a diverse background in natural resource management with a Masters in Environmental Management, corporate governance, community education and development, and most recently organisational development. It is this broad background that informs and assists her facilitation practice. She is currently undertaking a professional doctorate in communication focusing on facilitation in organisational change. Dr. Tom Schwarz is a Consulting Facilitator helping organizations, teams and people unfetter and realize their aspirations and potential -  focusing around facilitative leadership and management development, and team effectiveness and creativity - as keys to enhanced organizational agility and performance. He is a Certified Professional Facilitator  (International Association of Facilitators - IAF) and CPF Assessor, was an IAF Board member and IAF ANZ Regional Representative - with a broad formal and informal  facilitation, training and Consulting background and experience.   These are derived from corporate roles (over 20 years with Dec, Apple, HP - Training, Consulting, Sales, Marketing & Strategic Planning), and then running his outcome focused organisational agility intervention practice over Asia Pacific -  with almost a decade of living in Asia -Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai. His company group - Kinnogene - uses participatory and values based approaches to bring about enduring change. These are grounded in the core values embodied in such practices as the Technology of Participation, Future Search, World Café, , Improv.... through to  'roll-your-own' - to deliver sustainable transformation journeys to clients. He also contributes to the NGO sector - eg has worked with the ICA (Institute of Cultural Affairs) as part of a 7 man team to assist and capacity develop East Timorese NGO and Government bodies, with AIESEC youth leadership development in China, with the Feb'09 Citizen's Parliament in Canberra, with efforts to bring peace to South Thailand, etc.

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Description of the Workshop

Throughout history, story has been a powerful and effective way to build relationships within groups of people. Facilitators know the power that story can bring to the workshops and group sessions they lead. This conference session will present some of the key findings from Stephen's doctoral research conducted by a co-operative group of eighteen facilitators into the use of storytelling to facilitate relationship building in online groups. The session will cover the use of storytelling within a variety of media, including: email; telephone, video and web conferencing; instant messaging; discussion forums; blogging; Second Life and the use of online surveys. Some of the practical processes and techniques developed by the research group will be shared and discussed in this interactive workshop as well as implications for online facilitation practice.

Learning Outcomes

• Learn some of the best practices & lessons when using storytelling as a facilitative approach online
• Be introduced to some processes and techniques for online facilitation practice.
• Learn about a range of the technology benefits and drawbacks of some of the most common online group technologies

Appropriate for all levels

Workshop Leader Biography

Dr. Stephen Thorpe is a group facilitator specializing in the online domain who trains others in online facilitation. He has been researching ways to enhance the effectiveness of online groups. His PhD explores facilitation as a vital domain in assisting online groups with a focus on the benefit of story and narrative in online relationship development. Stephen is the Secretary of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) and the Editor-in-Chief of the IAF’s Group Facilitation: A Research and Applications Journal. He is on the Advisory Panel of the Global Facilitators Service Corps (GFSC),a member of Heart Politics, The New Zealand Computer Society, Toastmasters (District 72: Club 7686) and the Participation Community of Practice - part of New Zealand's E-government Strategy. Stephen also holds a Zenergy Diploma of Facilitation and a Bachelor of Business with First Class Honors from Auckland University of Technology (AUT) where he has a background researching computer-assisted group work.

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