Workshop Facilitation
RED has provided facilitation for workshops engaging customers and stakeholders across a range of different subjects and for a diverse variety of clients.
Recently, RED has been engaged to provide Facilitation at a number of workshops, including:
- Lorry/Bus EU Professional Competencies (CPC) Workshops (DSA)With a recent European Directive requiring professional drivers of lorries, buses, coaches and minibuses to hold a Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC), the DSA wished to engage stakeholders to reach a consensus on the UK's preferred option for obtaining initial qualifications.
- Improving Driver Safety Consultation (DSA) As part of preparing for the Government's next review of its Road Safety Strategy, the DSA wished to engage with stakeholders and other interested parties to identify initiatives to encourage safe driving for life.
- Driver Training Competency Workshop - Driving Safety Forwards (DSA) The Government's Road Safety Strategy identified raising instructor standards as a way of improving driving standards and driver safety. The DSA wished to engage expert stakeholders on the issues surrounding the current system of instructor training and the opportunities to develop new approaches to instructor standards and qualification.
- Eco Driving Workshop (DSA) The DSA wished to engage stakeholders and gather feedback on a common set of topic areas for 'eco safe driving' and to consider the wider contributory issues.
- Road Safety Education Programme (DSA) The overall objective of the workshop was to push forward the DSA's goal of reducing young driver accidents through early educational intervention. The workshop gained stakeholder feedback on ways to develop qualifications and resource materials for use in mainstream education in England and Wales.
- Acquisition Support & Training Business Group Workshop (QinetiQ) Business Development workshop for the Acquisition Support & Training Business Group.
- NITEworks II Facilitation (QinetiQ) Developing a strategy and approach for NITEWorks II.
- Safe Driving Test Planning Workshop (DSA) Workshop aimed at moving on the process of developing driver learning from being entirely test driven to a process driven by education and training.
- Facilitator to War Gaming (dstl) Provision of a professional facilitator to design and drive external workshops assessing the military implications of potential science & technology advances.
- Critical Competencies Workshop (DSA) Looking at the criticality of various competencies for new and experienced driving instructors.
- Aircrew Protection TDP Facilitation (QinetiQ) Workshop to look at options for lightweight hearing protection options for Aircrew.
- Support to The Artillery Systems Team (DE&S) RED is acting as facilitator for a number of events to support Artillery Systems in developing strong working relationships with industrial partners. Each event will focus on a specific problem that the authority need help and support with.
About Facilitation
Workshops are an important tool for engaging with project teams and stakeholders. The role of a Facilitator is to make it easier for a group to do its work. RED's Facilitators achieve this by providing assistance and guidance to the process of information exchange, rather than control.
Facilitation empowers groups, organizations or individuals to take ownership of the problem and the resulting solutions. RED's skilled, impartial facilitators support the group in identifying the problem and finding solutions by improving the individual group member's ability to work together.
RED's Facilitators therefore encourage inclusion, full participation, shared understanding and shared responsibility at meetings or in-group discussions. By doing so, RED helps to produce more creative, authentic and workable solutions.
Synectics Creativity and Innovation
RED's foremost type of facilitation is Synectics®, which is focused on Creativity and Innovation.
Three main elements determine the value of output of any gathering to develop novel concepts or solutions:
- Control of the Psychological Climate
- Strictly Defined Roles
- Selection of Appropriate Resources
Control of the Psychological Climate
It is the responsibility of the facilitator to ensure that the right climate is maintained. It is essential to ensure that:
- Judgement is suspended
- All ideas or suggestions are recorded
- Time is allocated evenly and fairly
- Appropriate tools & techniques are used
Roles
It is only with clearly understood, agreed and empowered roles that the full potential of any meeting can be realised. The three key roles are:
- Problem Owner - Someone who ultimately has the responsibility for delivery. They control the content and subsequently the direction the meeting takes.
- Facilitator - The facilitator controls the process and must be trained to do so. They must control the meeting to ensure it is focused on the requirements of the problem owner.
- Resources - Everyone else at the meeting, who is there to help! It does not matter whether they agree or disagree with the problem owner - they do not have responsibility for delivery.
Selection of Resources or Participants
There can be nothing worse that a room full of experts - particularly in the same specialisation. Teams brought together for creativity must contain people with different technical backgrounds; equally there should be some members with no knowledge of the subject at all, to act as naive resources.
