How can you sustainably scale cross-team facilitation for large group settings?

1 Assess your needs

Before you plan your facilitation process, you need to assess the needs and goals of your large group. What is the purpose and scope of your facilitation? Who are the key participants and stakeholders? What are their expectations and concerns? How will you measure the success and impact of your facilitation? By answering these questions, you can define the objectives, outcomes, and criteria of your facilitation, as well as identify the potential challenges and risks.

2 Choose your methods

Depending on your needs and goals, you can choose from a variety of methods and formats for your large group facilitation. Some common methods include World Cafe, Open Space Technology, Future Search, Appreciative Inquiry, and Liberating Structures. These methods have different advantages and disadvantages, such as the level of participation, creativity, collaboration, and action. You can also combine or adapt these methods to suit your context and audience. The key is to select the methods that best match your objectives, outcomes, and criteria.

3 Leverage your technology

Technology can be a powerful ally for scaling your large group facilitation. You can use online platforms and tools to enhance the accessibility, interaction, and engagement of your participants. For example, you can use video conferencing, chat, polling, brainstorming, and voting tools to facilitate synchronous or asynchronous communication and collaboration. You can also use data visualization, feedback, and analytics tools to monitor and evaluate your facilitation process and results. However, you should also be mindful of the potential drawbacks and limitations of technology, such as technical issues, privacy, security, and digital literacy.

4 Train your facilitators

One of the most critical factors for scaling your large group facilitation is the quality and capacity of your facilitators. You need to ensure that your facilitators have the skills, knowledge, and confidence to design, deliver, and evaluate your facilitation process. You can train your facilitators by providing them with clear guidelines, resources, and support. You can also create a community of practice among your facilitators, where they can share their experiences, challenges, and best practices.

5 Adapt and improve

Scaling your large group facilitation is not a one-time event, but a continuous process of learning and improvement. You need to collect and analyze the feedback and data from your facilitation process, and use them to identify the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement. You can also conduct regular reviews and reflections with your facilitators and stakeholders, and solicit their suggestions and recommendations. By adapting and improving your facilitation process, you can increase its effectiveness, efficiency, and impact.