FACILITATION
When you need to focus on the issues and not on the process, a professional facilitator can relieve you of the tensions of trying to handle both to hep you have productive, focused meetings about important or difficult issues in which all stakeholders can participate and work together effectively. It is easily adapted to meet the needs of many types of businesses or issues. Options include:
• Facilitated Discussions
• Meeting Facilitation
• Public Policy
Facilitated Discussions. A facilitator can assist in defining the agenda and keeping the discussion on track when difficult or important discussions arise. A neutral third person neutral can manage emotions, identify underlying interests and concerns, and ensure that the process flows as smoothly as possible for productive communication.
Meeting Facilitation. A meeting facilitator keeps meetings on track, on task, and on time. Important meetings can be more productive, whether with a handful of people on your team or public discussions for hundreds, when a facilitator is used. The facilitator attends to the process, content, and the dynamics, allowing you to be part of the meeting.
Public Policy. When the public is, or needs to be involved, public policy facilitators can help identify the stakeholders, identify interests, design the process for maximum benefits to all, and manage the process. Issues such as land use, environmental concerns, and regulatory and policy development, all increasingly demand public participation. A facilitator improves the ability to engage the public and other stakeholders in a meaningful dialogue while enhancing the efforts of the agencies and companies involved. Public participation mechanisms, informational sessions, focus groups, charettes and workshops, as well as mediation, and consensus building efforts can help achieve these goals.