FACILITATION

  If we take a look in the dictionary, we can find that facilitation “is the act of making easy or easier”, or “the act of process of facilitating”, as well as “to assist the progress of (a person)”.

  Kaner defines facilitator as follows: "A facilitator is an individual who enables groups and organizations to work more effectively; to collaborate and achieve synergy. She or he is a “content-neutral” party who by not taking sides or expressing or advocating a point of view during the meeting, can advocate for fair, open, and inclusive procedures to accomplish the group’s work. A facilitator can also be learning or a dialogue guide to assist a group in thinking deeply about its assumptions, beliefs, and values and about its systemic processes and context"(Kaner: 2007: xv).

  To facilitate effectively, you must be objective. This doesn't mean you have to come from outside the organization or team, though. It simply means that, for the purposes of this group process, you will take a neutral stance. You step back from the detailed content and from your own personal views, and focus purely on the group process (we talk later about “group process”). The secret of great facilitation is a group process that flows – and with it will flow the group's ideas, solutions, and decisions too.