GEMS workshops for transformation give voice, power and responsibility to participants for their visions and plans.
Facilitators ‘guide from the back’. They listen carefully and learn from participants. So that they ‘guide from the back’, build on what emerges to reinforce the rhythm change and underlying principles.
Then participants can become leaders of change back home.
Facilitators at all levels – within the community as well as organisation staff and external consultants – need to develop listening and observation skills and experience in distinctive participatory facilitation techniques and processes adapted to specific mixes of participants.
‘Experts’ supporting the process first use the methodology to develop their own self-awareness, transform their own ‘life rhythm’. They need to appreciate the potential power of the process themselves before they can inspire others to change. They become ‘perpetual students’. That means continuing to practice and listening and learning from other champions from all backgrounds in a collective movement for change.
‘Crystals from chaos‘: role of the facilitator
The first Catalyst workshops in particular need to be fun and inspiring. From the very beginning they need to be the ‘hook’ that motivates people to continue and work to become champions. By the end of the workshop people should be determined to to continue their own progress towards their visions through ‘living diagrams’. Participants progressively develop confidence, leadership and listening skills to share what they have learned with others. There is no need at this point to obsess and overwhelm anyone with complex ‘correct’ tool details.
Subsequent skills strengthening workshops can then build on this base and diversity to progressively deepen visions, analysis and planning skills. They also strengthen participatory facilitation skills for sharing within communities and also champion co-facilitation of programme replication to new areas.
Different participants will start at different levels of experience, formal education and other skills. It is the task of the lead facilitator to help both those who start with least experience to work together and get as far as they can, and to also work with those who want to run fast and go into as much depth as possible. And ensure these two extremes can then come together with those in the middle as a supportive team when they get back home – face to face and/or on-line through eg mobile phone.
General Facilitation Principles
Workshops are not like TOTs or school where participants sit and listen.
‘Facipulation’ from the Back
The facilitator should sit at the back for 90% of the time. They put a seat at the front with all pens and materials and explain that the GAMEChange facilitation is different – the facilitator does not hold the pen so that very quickly participants will be able to facilitate themselves. The facilitator ‘facipulates’ the process (facilitate/manipulate). They steer the discussion through listening to participants and encouraging them to speak. Good facilitation manages to arrive at a point where most of the important issues come from participants themselves. The facilitator then asks a few pointed questions at the end and/or gives a few key facts and information point.
If facilitator interventions are very light but focused on filling in gaps, participants are more likely to listen and remember what they say. Participants are also more confident to facilitate similar activities without external support when they go back home.
‘Facipulation’ requires practice and experience – and often a leap of faith to let things take their course. It is sometimes harder for those accustomed to leading other participatory awareness-raising and training techniques. It requires intense observation of the participatory process, and use of some key techniques to increase participation.
Equal participation: Listening as important as talking
In group discussions everyone’s voice much be heard. No one person should lead group facilitation. Every person should draw. Every person should come to the front to speak. Every person should listen. Lead facilitators should ensure that no one person is dominating, people encourage those who are quiet, or hidden at the back come forward. Introduce some sort of tool in group discussions such as a stick or a banana to represent a microphone. It is only the person holding this tool who is allowed to talk.
No Political Correctness
No one should feel they cannot ask questions or say things which they feel. Unless participants feel they can express all opinions, even those that are uncomfortable, they cannot address them. If issues or views are very sensitive and likely to cause offence, the facilitator should divide participants into ‘soulmate groups’ to enable those from similar backgrounds and with similar views to ‘let off steam’. Then they work out how to articulate these views to others in a real spirit of wanting to understand, without offence or undermining the free expression of others. It is possible to leave the most difficult ‘in the drawer for later’ if they detract from the spirit of moving forward on consensus – with a date for further discussion.
Participants practise facilitation skills
Facilitation practice for participants is an integral part of the facilitation and workshop schedule. This includes:
- participatory diagrams and quantification in group activities to practice visual communication skills and speaking in front of others
- facilitation role plays to practise the tools as well as sharing
- sharing each evening with family if the workshop in in the community
- sharing the tools with local government and other stakeholders on a onto to one basis and presentation of diagrams
- a community day or series of days at the end where each participant invites 10 other people from their networks and facilitates these people to draw their visions and vision journey. To disseminate the change messages, start the community upscaling and set up support networks.
Workshop Process
Workshops start with participant discussions
Workshops should start by participants talking to each other, not [presentations by the organisation, local leaders or facilitator. The facilitator should explain that GAMEChange methodology is different – first we listen and then adapt as far as possible to participant needs – or to clarify that some needs will need to be addressed in another workshop.
Ask local leaders and other stakeholders to come on the final day, not the first day. Then they will have something to really see from what participants have been doing. And their input and support will be very welcome at that point.
Prepare the Room
Decorate the room with good examples of diagrams and drawings relevant to the training from other processes. If this is the first country process then make a panel of printouts of high resolution photographs from this website. If possible play songs and/or video from another GAMEChange process as people arrive and/or in breaks (eg through the You Tube downloads from this site)
Arrange the seating to prioritise group discussion and feedback on flipcharts by each group. Leave a central space in the middle for songs and drama. Ideally participants will stand and move around for group sessions, and go to the group flipcharts for plenaries.
Pairwise discussion
Start each session/day with a participatory pairwise recapitulation of the previous session, or questions on perceptions and expectations of the meeting while others are arriving.
Feedback from the back
Minority participants should go first in all feedback (e.g. men first if they are poor and fewer in number) to show respect for those who are likely to be less confident and to promote inclusion.
Applause and respect
Appreciate everyone’s contribution at all times through a culturally relevant form of applause following each presentation.
Make sure everyone has contributed
At the end of each stage give anyone who has not yet spoken or drawn on the diagram the ‘microphone’ or pen and encourage them to comment/draw on the diagram. Those who speak least in the group should be the ones to feed back to the plenary, supported by the others.
Use photography and video to document the workshop process and dynamics. The facilitator can do this if they are facilitating from the back. Just before the final day participants select their favourite diagram and they get a photograph as a participation certificate. Comparing both choices and the quality of the diagrams enables an objective assessment of how far EVERY participant has been inspired and able to vision, analyse, plan and share. It also enables the workshop to end on an uplifting song or event, rather than a tired and untransparent participatory feedback – though it is also possible to cia pictorial questionnaire could be circulated as well as a pictorial mood chart through the workshop.
photography as Evaluation
All GEMs trainings and workshops aim to develop the drawing and communication skills of ALL participants.
This means having a reliable feedback from everyone to see who is running ahead, and who may be having some difficulty. The best way of doing this is to take photographs of each participant with their drawing, then comparing the complexity of the analysis on the drawing, as well as whether the by follow the basic diagram steps.
Documentation of the visual outputs from workshops, trainings and peer exchanges are mostly through photographs and video – staff and/or people from the community can do this on a mobile phone. With peoples’ permission, these can also be shared for networking through social network platforms. They are also part of the champion certification process.
Group diagrams should be photographed with and without written post-it notes where relevant. Ideally plenaries are videoed so that qualitative information can be added later.
A Catalyst process in Ethiopia used photographs of participants showing their favourite tool drawing on a certificate of attainment. It also used photos of all the drawings in their notebooks to assess how effective the training had been for ALL participants. Photographs taken during the break gave an opportunity also for short discussion of any challenges they faced for the facilitator to take into account in future.