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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging, Facilitation Methods & Strategic Planning
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Facilitation Methods & Strategic Planning
Lead more productive conversations and develop more actionable strategic plans
We customize a facilitation design plan based upon a shared understanding of your desired outcomes. Whether in-person or virtual, we leverage a range of facilitation tools and methods specifically selected to meet the needs of your group and their identified discussion topics.
Additionally, we partner with organizations of all sizes to either refresh your existing strategic plan or to develop an entirely new one that’s succinct, sharable, and actionable.
Following are just a handful of examples describing how the Event Garde team can utilize our knowledge and expertise to meet the needs of you and your audience through facilitation methods and strategic planning:
Lead a group through a challenging discussion (e.g., sunsetting an initiative) that elicits facts, personal reactions, meaning, and, ultimately, resolution.
Engage all group members around a single question (e.g., organizational core values) to generate and organize ideas, reveal consensus, and confirm next steps.
Develop a short-term plan for events or projects that envisions success, acknowledges the current reality, affirms commitment, identifies tasks, and establishes a coordinated timeline.
Support stakeholder mapping for an upcoming planning exercise through at least two lenses: industry/organization segmentation and social identity groups.
Design a collaborative strategic plan that’s rooted in a member-centric environmental scan and results in a practical vision, underlying contradictions, and strategic directions.
During the hand-off from Board to staff, ensure the group is prepared to overcome the so-called implementation gap through simple, but practical actions.
Technology of Participation (ToP) Focused Conversation Method
Consider the number of unproductive conversations that happen each day among Boards, learners, members, staff, or volunteers. Using this method, we provide an effective structure for collecting data and ideas, reflecting on accomplishments and setbacks, and discussing tough issues without heated arguments.
Technology of Participation (ToP) Strategic Planning Process
We often get asked: Is strategic planning still relevant in today’s business environment? Hasn’t the pandemic flipped the script in terms of both short and long-term planning? Is the effort and investment still worth it? Won’t our plan be outdated the minute we publish it?
Event Garde believes that every organization needs a roadmap. In times of certainty, a strategic plan serves as a North Star and occasional reminder of intended outcomes and success measures. In times of uncertainty and change, it helps remind us of who we’ve set out to be, the paths available to us, and context for when course corrections are needed.
Meetings don’t have to be painful experiences
Are your meetings consistently dominated by the same couple of voices? Have you tried, unsuccessfully, to engage participants from historically underrepresented groups? Is there a lot of discussion that never really results in clear consensus or actionable next steps?
If you’re looking for professionally facilitated meetings that recognize and honor contributions from all group members, create a safer space to share through equitable and anti-oppressive facilitation practices, and result in action plans with ownership and accountability, then you’ve come to the right place.
Not only do we understand facilitation, but we want you and your stakeholders to become better facilitators and participants, as well. By attending the facilitated conversations that we’ll develop for your group, you’ll begin to identify some of the fundamental techniques and best practices that you can begin incorporating in your own meetings.
Why organizations rely on Event Garde
The Event Garde team has experience facilitating with a variety of stakeholders and creating uniquely designed plans to meet each client’s needs. Our facilitators have deep knowledge and expertise of various facilitation methods, first-hand experience using them in a variety of real-world situations, and additional practice teaching others how to use them in their own settings.
With this training, practice, and experience, the Event Garde team is proficient in the art and science of facilitation. The stakeholders selected to be a part of the meetings we lead bring their industry knowledge, historical perspective, and forward-looking ideas and passion. Together, with a sound process and a genuine care for the participants (and how they engage with one another), we co-create a realistic and actionable plan to establish the future direction of your organization.
“We hired Event Garde to facilitate work with our staff of 28 to come up with an agreed upon set of common values and shared culture statements. This was scheduled prior to the pandemic outbreak and we were really pleased that Event Garde was able to pivot to completely virtual. While I was skeptical about how well group work of this size would do, it went extremely well through each of our sessions. By the end of our work we had new culture statements with great buy in from staff and also strategies for implementation so the internal work could begin in earnest.”
Donald Wotruba
Michigan Association of School Boards
“Event Garde assisted us in building a strategic plan for our organization with Aaron and the team delivering an incredible experience. Because of who we are, our volunteer leadership has sat through a number of strategic planning sessions - but nothing like this. From leading up to the planning, to during and following, Aaron took care of all the facets of the work. He challenged our leadership to think bigger and kept us at a strategic level while ensuring everyone’s voice in the room was heard - including our staff. My board thoroughly enjoyed the experience.”
Steven Stout
Texas Society of Association Executives
“TCDLA has gone through several strategic plans over the past twenty years. The work sessions with Event Garde, led by Aaron Wolowiec, were engaging, inclusive, and all left feeling accomplished. Sessions included staff, members, and board members. We had so many varying opinions and ideas which Aaron helped facilitate our very vocal group to work together and come up with initiatives that would continue to allow our organization to grow. The sessions gave our group a clear direction to set tasks to accomplish each initiative with realistic timelines. As we continued to work through our initiatives, Aaron helped us streamline actions, details, and metrics, leading us to success!”
Melissa Schank
Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
“Dallas County Dental Society knows the value of Strategic Planning and that a great facilitator is key to each process. They have gone through the process for 35 plus years with many facilitators. I must say Aaron was dynamic, energizing and a breath of fresh air. He made sure all participants were engaged and their voice heard as the plan was developed. We look forward to working with Aaron again in the future. He would be an asset to any group developing a new plan or updating their current plan.”
Jane Evans
Dallas County Dental Society
Case Study
Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT)
North Texas community leaders explore investment and impact opportunities in the areas of health equity, wellness, and public safety
Challenge
CFT wanted to define a strategic focus for two key funding areas: (1) health equity and wellness and (2) public safety. About every five years, CFT revisits its strategy to ensure investments it makes in the community are impactful, measurable, equitable, and create opportunities for all people in North Texas to live healthy lives. Rather than trying to facilitate these discussions internally, CFT desired the expertise of an external, impartial, and Technology of Participation (ToP) certified facilitator.
Solution
In addition to ensuring a diverse cross-section of affected individuals were invited to participate in the workshops, Event Garde developed a short survey to help participants reflect on the pre-reading and prime themselves for the in-person discussion. Takeaways were formatted, shared with participants, and served as the foundation for each session. The in-person facilitations primarily focused on exploring the current landscape, brainstorming ideas, finding alignment, gaining consensus, and prioritizing options.
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