Introduction to Group Facilitation

Tuesday 12 June 2007

Tuesday 12 June 2007

9.00am

5.00pm

St Columb's Park House- Derry City

From £105 to £225

Event

It will help you to facilitate groups more confidently and effectively, through an exploration of what facilitation actually is, practice sessions in a safe and secure environment, and access to the collective facilitation experience of our team of trainers.

Introduction to Group Facilitation (IGF) Exploring the role and skills of the facilitator – 1 day course

"I have found both the Group Facilitation Methods and Group Facilitation Skills courses particularly useful to us in our work on cluster development, which centres on enabling our constituents to draw up and implement plans for their own collective development"- Krista Blair - Policy and Research Manager, Engage East Midlands

Who this course is for
This is an entry-level course and has no pre-requisite. It is recommended as a first course for newcomers to facilitation, and for those with some prior experience of facilitation but little previous training. It is suitable for all those who want to be able to facilitate groups more confidently and effectively, including team leaders and managers within organisations, those working with partners and external stakeholders, youth and community workers and independent facilitators.

Questions this course answers
“How can I improve my meetings? How can I enable greater participation in decision-making? What is facilitation, really? How can I best build on what I already know, and what skills I already have?”A facilitator needs to be able to design events, knowing which methods to use for what purpose, and how to use them. However, there is a range of skills that he or she needs to bring into play before, during and after an event, to ensure that the approach used is effective. This course provides an introduction to the practice of facilitation. It introduces key facilitation skills, their uses and practical considerations. It offers an opportunity for participants to develop and practice some of these skills in a supportive, learning environment. It provides an invaluable foundation for further training and development in our approach, and indeed any approach, to facilitation.

What you will gain
By the end of the course, you will have
• reached a basic understanding of what it means to facilitate
• explored & developed some key facilitation skills
• built your confidence as a facilitator
• built links with others to promote future collaboration and support as a facilitator

The course will cover all or some of the following topics, tailored to some extent to those attending on the day:
• facilitation, and the breadth of the role of the facilitator
• key facilitation skills, including - listening, questioning, recording, planning & preparation, personal styles & group dynamics, dealing with challenges in a group

Learning style
The course uses a combination of short, interactive presentations, practical exercises and supported facilitation skills practice with guided reflection & feedback.

It is scheduled directly before Group Facilitation Methods to allow from one to three days of training at once. Fees for the course range on a sliding scale, depending on ability to pay, and some scholarships may be available.

For further information on fees, and to book a place on the course, go to our website www.ica-uk.org.uk