Facilitation & Process Design
Helping people to have meaningful conversations is at the centre of what I do. I design each process around specific objectives and outcomes. I integrate a range of approaches to engage various groups of stakeholders, communities and members of the public.
Engaging people is not just a question of running a great participative workshop. There's a strategic planning side to it which is absolutely crucial if it's not to be a big waste of everyone's time. In fact, as a facilitator I see my role as:
- Helping people to get clarity on the purpose and aims of the project
- Choosing the right engagement approach to meet the aims of the project
- Using interpersonal skills such as listening, reflecting, enquiring to help individuals hear and talk to each other, see things from different perspectives, acknowledge complexity, and make conscious choices about what to do.
Clients:
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- Process design and lead facilitation of two stakeholder and community workshops
- Online public survey design and data analysis
- Workshops reporting and evaluation
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National Trust
Project
Cheshire East Landscape Scale Partnership
Dec 2015 - Feb 2016
Funder
The National Trust
Goal
To develop a partnership approach to influence place-making and sustainable development in the Northern part of Cheshire East Borough, by defining what makes the area special and significant and through understanding connectivity between National Trust & Cheshire East Council sites and the wider landscape.
What happened
Stakeholder and community engagement were critical for the development of a ‘Statement of Significance’ and a ‘Spirit of Place’ Statement for a defined area of Cheshire East. My role involved:
Understanding Animal Research
Project
Strategy day
September 2014
Funder
Understanding Animal Research
Goal
To design and facilitate a workshop involving staff and board members to review the organisation’s strategy and develop an implementation plan for the period 2015-2018
What happened
I designed and facilitated this workshop to allow staff members and board members to come together and have open conversations about how UAR was going to best achieve its goals. This workshop involved discussing contextual factors that were likely to affect UARs work, identifying levers and barriers to achieving the goals, and developing an implementation plan.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation & USAID
Project
Early Generation Seeds in Sub-Saharan Africa
March 2015
Funder
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation & USAID
Goal
To review a study on how to increase the supply of Early Generation Seeds in Sub-Saharan Africa and developed specific actions for addressing the problem.
What happened
I was a facilitator at the workshop where stakeholders from across Sub-Saharan Africa, the US, Europe and India got together to discuss multiple pathways for promoting the commercial and sustainable production and delivery of Early Generation Seed for Food Crops in Sub-Saharan Africa.
A report of the event was produced which is available for download here:
https://docs.gatesfoundation.org/documents/EGS%20Convening%20Final%20Report.pdf
Borough of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk
Project
Urban regeneration consultation for the Nar diversion
2009
Funder
Borough of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk
Goal
To engage communities and stakeholders on river and tidal water management issues, alongside future residential and marine development, transport planning, and conservation provision in the Borough of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk.
What happened
I was in charge of the process design, lead facilitation and coordination of a series of community and stakeholder engagement workshops. There was a high degree of conflict between the communities and the Council and my role was to facilitate a process to re-establish trust and ensure all views were heard.
Energy Saving Trust
Project
Partnership working
2009
Funder
Energy Saving Trust
Goal
To map activities of the Energy Saving Trust (EST) and Waste Resource Action Programme (WRAP) and identify overlaps and gaps in terms of responsibilities and skills in order to work more efficiently as a partnership.
What happened
I designed the workshop process and I lead facilitated the event which took place in Cambridge and involved 25 participants.
Shell UK Limited
Project
Brent Facilities Decommissioning Studies
2007-2012
Funder
Shell UK Limited
Goal
To engage stakeholders on the decommissioning studies for the Brent Field’s oil and gas production facilities, situated off the coast of Scotland.
What happened
The Environment Council was in charge of the stakeholder engagement from 2007 until 2012. During that time I was involved in this project by providing support facilitation at a series of stakeholder dialogue events. The consultation has contributed to solving some specific decommissioning challenges. For example, a stakeholder focus group was formed to contribute to the discussions on how best to decommission the large concrete subsea cells that lie beneath three of the four Brent platforms. The focus group developed a model that weighs up the options for decommissioning the cells safely and effectively.