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IIFAC's approach to training |
We believe that in order to justify the investment, training must contribute to the personal and professional goals of the participants. To accomplish this, the contents need to focus on the interests of the group, be relevant to their context and be presented in a clear, dynamic and Interactive manner.
When possible, we carry out a pre-training survey to identify the participants’ needs and expectations. Based on this information, we design a customized program, preferably using the group’s own examples and case studies. During the training, we encourage active participation and seek feedback on the students’ level of satisfaction and understanding. At the end of the course, we ask for a written evaluation from each participant.
We approach training based on the principles of adult learning, understanding that adults learn best if they (1) both hear and see the information being presented (2) discuss and question the ideas with their peers (3) immediately practice the new concept and (4) give and receive feedback on how well they are integrating the learning. We incorporate these principles in all our courses, whether they last a fe hours or several months.
We recognize that lasting change requires more than a one-time exposure to new ideas. Follow-up is needed to reinforce the ideas, provide feedback, and help solve problems encountered along the way. For clients that want to get a higher return on their training investment, we offer a customized monitoring and evaluation plan to track how the course material is being implemented in the organizational context.
While we sometimes organize courses open to the general public, most of our training is done “in house” for specific clients. If you are interested in organizing a course in your organization or region, contact us or read the description of how we collaborate with local hosts. |
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Effective Meetings |
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This is the one course that every group – and executive - can benefit from! The curriculum focuses on how to avoid wasted time, keep the participants engaged and increase commitment to the decisions taken. We teach the basic skills of facilitation and the communication tools needed to take your next meeting to a new level. |
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Functional Teams |
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These days working in teams is more important —and more challenging— than ever. In this course we work directly with team members and their leaders to clarify expectations, ground rules, roles and responsibilities, development and discussion of proposals, decision-making, dealing with conflict and performance monitoring.
Sample Course Contents: Highly Functional Teams
Day 1
- Two models of leadership and their impact on teamwork
- Nine ground rules for effective groups
- The opportunity cost of face to face meetings and how to reduce wasted time
- Constructing and facilitating an intelligent agenda
Day 2
- The four factors that affect decision-making
- Levels of participation in decision-making
- The stages in the decision-making process
- Common errors in decision-making and how to avoid them
- Developing and discussing proposals
Day 3
- Situation analysis: simple, complicated, complex or chaotic?
- Planning and decision-making in complexity
- Defining roles, responsibilities, and behaviors expected of team members
- Monitoring and evaluation of team performance
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Outcome Mapping |
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Outcome Mapping is a participatory method for planning, monitoring and evaluation of change initiatives. While it has been generally used in the context of development projects, it has proven to be a versatile approach that is useful in organizational change processes and other situations in which change in human behavior is a key success factor and quantitative indicators do not tell the whole story.
Through the Latin American Centre for Outcome Mapping, we can provide expert consultants who can facilitate a meaningful conversation among the members of a project team and/or with the project team and key stakeholder that will help them to:
- Assess the complexity of the situation
- Clarify expectations regarding partners and outcomes
- Think critically and creatively about how to use the available resources
- Identify monitoring and evaluation priorities
Benefits of using OM include
- CLARITY in the face of complexity
- RESPONSIVENESS to unexpected outcomes
- FEEDBACK about the effectiveness of strategies
- REALISM about impacts
LINKS
Sample course outline: 3-day introductory workshop
Other resources |
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Decision Making |
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This course systematically “takes apart” the decision-making process, helping you understand the complex factors that shape decisions. Then we “put the pieces back together” so you learn how to avoid the traps that lead to bad decisions. Leaders, facilitators and members of collaborative teams find this course especially enlightening and useful.
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Public Participation |
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We offer three different kinds of training in Public Participation.
Facilitating multi-stakeholder groups
Is a course designed to develop the skills of those who
- Are responsible for convening, facilitating or attending meetings of representatives from diverse social sectors.
- Are frustrated by multi-stakeholder meetings that are characterized more by polemical monologue than by productive dialogue
- Feel the need for equitable “participation” but are at a loss as to how to achieve it
- Are looking for new tools for dealing with conflict, seeking consensus, and coping with “difficult participants” and decision makers who do not understand the true value of working with these groups.
Introduction to public participation for decision-makers
Is a half-day session designed to help executives, legislators and others get the best value from a public engagement process. The session looks at the principles of public participation from the decision makers’ point of view and shows how participation can be integrated into the overall project plan. It examines the costs and benefits of public participation, discusses when and why to involve the public in a decision, and emphasizes the importance of clarifying the public’s degree of impact on the final decision. Finally, the session provides an overview of what the decision maker should know about the role of the public participation consultant or specialist.
Certificate Training in Public Participation
Those responsible for public consultation, whether in government or private industry, have a difficult job. They often face resistance from within their organization to deal honestly with the public and skepticism or apathy from the stakeholders they are trying to reach.
This professional development course provides clear guidance for planning and implementing a public consultation process that is ethical, purposeful and leads to better decisions.
This course will teach you how to:
- Build (or restore) confidence in public consultations by establishing clear objectives
- Avoid unpleasant surprises by identifying at the outset the key stakeholders and their interests
- Produce outcomes that respond to the needs of all those involved, including the decision-makers
- Create a communication plan that will broaden participation
- Select from a broad range of techniques for effective participation, including many that you have never heard of before!
Certified by the International Association for Public Participation, the Program in Effective Public Participation consists of three modules:
- Planning (2 days)
- Communications (1 day)
- Techniques (2 days)
Download pdf a complete description of the certificate program.
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Professional Facilitation |
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The Certificate Program in Professional Facilitation is a year-long process that involves three face-to-face modules of three days each, with assignments and virtual sessions between Modules 1 and 2. Module 1 is open to all and is required in order to participate in the rest of the program.
Module 1: Leading Effective Meetings
Module 2: Dealing with strong emotions, conflict and decision-making
Module 3: Advanced Techniques for complex and/or specialized situations
Download complete description of the Certificate Program and the change process participants will experience.
The contents are designed around the six competencies defined by the International Association of Facilitators
- Create collaborative client relations
- Plan appropriate group processes
- Create and sustain a participatory environment
- Guide group to appropriate and useful outcomes
- Build and maintain professional knowledge
- Model positive professional attitude
IIFAC’s experienced trainers will transmit these internationally recognized standards of excellence using our characteristic blend of theory, examples, exercises, discussion, feedback, and practice. Sessions will be interactive, inspiring and fun. Participants will receive manuals, checklists and other guides to help them put the concepts into practice.
The homework assignments and virtual sessions will reinforce the teachings and deepen understanding of the core principles. These sessions will also include a “clinic” in which participants will share difficulties (and successes!) that they have encountered in applying the ideas taught in the course and receive feedback from the instructors and others in the group. In this way, we will be constructing a community of practice, a valuable resource for on-going learning.
Calendar of upcoming courses
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Participatory Processes |
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Facilitating participatory processes presents particular challenges, especially when the goal is to promote meaningful interaction among diverse stakeholders. This 2-3 day course is designed to strengthen the ability of the people in charge to
- Make better use of the group’s time
- Encourage and balance participation
- Foster participation that is more honest, relaxed and of higher quality
- Channel conflict into a search for mutually acceptable solutions
- Increase commitment to decisions made
- Build ownership and collaboration among participants
Teaching method combines theory and practice, with continuous interaction among participants and material designed to support the learning process. Whenever possible, we prefer to work with examples provided by participants.
Sample Course content
Day 1 Introduction to facilitation
- Facilitator’s role and responsibilities
- Building a facilitation team
- Distinction between meeting process and content
- Clarifying the purpose of the public’s participation
- Techniques to
- Build trust
- Get feedback from the group
- Keep the group focused and engaged
Day 2 Managing the process
- The stages of successful facilitation
- Building the facilitator’s agenda
- Preventing boredom, distraction and “hijacking” of the agenda
- Arrangement of the room to maximize participation
- Techniques to
- Generate, clarify and analyze ideas
- Define and manage the decision-making process
- Evaluate meetings
Day 3 Conflict and other challenges
- Active listening skills
- Conflict stages and levels
- Learning styles
- Techniques to
- Facilitate polarization
- Handle a “difficult conversation”
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Conflict/Negotiation |
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Almost all of our clients are interested in developing their capability to address conflict constructively and negotiate solutions that are of mutual benefit. In this 1-3 day course, we offer tools for
- Applying communications skills to conflict in one’s personal and professional life
- Recognizing the signs, stages and elements of a conflict
- Having more options and a different attitude toward conflict and negotiation
- Understanding the impact of rank (status) in conflict situations
- Responding to accusations and personal attacks
- Giving and receiving effective feedback
- Specifically with regard to negotiation
- Separating interests from positions
- Defining criteria for agreement
- Generating and evaluating options
- Avoiding common errors
Sample course contents: Conflict and negotiation
Day 1
- Seven basic principles for effective listening
- Paraphrasing and deepening understanding
- Recognizing your customary response to conflict
- The ladder of inference
- How rank affects communications in a conflict
- Structuring and facilitating a difficult conversation
Day 2
- Giving and receiving feedback
- Responding to accusations and personal attacks
- Facilitating a polarized conflict
Day 3
- Models of negotiation
- The five principles of negotiation for mutual benefit
- Separating the person from the problem
- Focusing on interests, not positions
- Generating options for mutual gain
- Using objective criteria to evaluate options
- Knowing your BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement)
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