As communities respond to the climate crisis, our ability to collaborate across organizations, sectors, and perspectives has become just as important as technical expertise. This workshop equips participants with practical facilitation tools that strengthen democratic participation, deepen relationships, and help groups navigate complexity with greater clarity, care, and effectiveness.

If “facilitation” is, at its root, the invisible process of making things easier, how can we equip ourselves as facilitators to create ease and openness? How can we practice a form of facilitation that is in alignment with our values and in service to creating a more democratic and just world?

In this workshop, GWI workers will share their go-to facilitation practices, including how to prepare a facilitation plan, how to hold space during a gathering, and how to guide and organize a group towards a shared goal over time. We will go over tools and concepts that have been helpful to us in our work, whether as workshop leaders, cohort facilitators, or community builders. Our goal is to provide clarity and grounding for those stepping into the ongoing practice of being a participatory facilitator. We come to this work with curiosity and humility, and as co-learners on this journey with you!

This workshop is for seasoned facilitators and beginners alike.

We invite you to join us if any of the following apply:

You yearn for more productive, collaborative meetings

You hold the responsibility in leading or co-leading a class, working group, or team

You sense there might be better ways for you all to collaborate in meetings but are not sure how to shift things

You seek a more democratic process when making group decisions or gathering people’s input

You are hesitant to call yourself a “facilitator” but find yourself in that role a lot, and you’d like support!

We know that collaboration is not an automatic result of a desire to work together well, but flows from intentional, ongoing practices that develop the awareness and capacities of the members of the working group over time. Enter the facilitator.

For more on our approach to facilitation and some of the resources that inspire us, you can explore our Good Work in Groups collection. In particular, check out the post: How to be a Participatory Facilitator.