Organizational Futures Strategic Initiative
by David Wayne
As many of you are aware, the IAF has undertaken an intensive strategic planning process to help guide our organization for the next several years. Following analysis of the members’ survey and various benchmarking efforts, the process began in earnest at the ACT (Board) meeting of IAF this past November. As an organization devoted to encouraging participation in planning efforts, we believe that it would be inappropriate to not gather as much member input as possible into this vital process. We wondered how best to do this and came up with the idea of having one workshop for each of our three strategic directions at the Global Conference in Arizona in June. At the same time, we will be encouraging input from members via e-mails and internet meeting technology methods at the same time as the workshops take place.
Our idea is to provide a “give and take”. The “take” is to take advantage of your knowledge and insight so we can ensure that the organization serves your needs. The “give” is in providing a framework for each of the three workshops by outstanding skilled facilitators each showcasing a different method or methods of facilitation. The facilitators involved are all ACT (Board) members with years of facilitation experience and expertise.
In our first workshop, Friday June 18 from 3:30-5:00, Marieann Shovlin and Cookie Murphy-Pettee will join in a hands on, practical application of the ICA (Institute for Cultural Affairs) ToP™ (Technology of Participation) Workshop Method. They will use your insights on helping to guide IAF projects and efforts focused on adding value and benefit to being an IAF Member. The ToP™ methods are in use world-wide for effective planning and implementation. Here you will learn a practical application of this Workshop method and add value to the facilitation community as we work on choosing effective and interesting member-focused ideas for IAF. This session will be fun, practical and highly participative!
Our second workshop, on Saturday, June 19, from 5:00-6:30 and led by Barbara MacKay and Bill Staples, begins with the premise that as organizations grow and change, there is a need to adapt their structure to maximize effectiveness. Being involved in this process presents challenges and opportunities to the skilled facilitator. This workshop takes on that task and directs it towards the specific goal of getting stakeholder input for our own organization. Using an action planning technique, incorporating a giant timeline, victory circles and slogan-image technique, we want to move people to individual or small group commitment and action rather than just brainstorming ideas. Here you can enjoy the luxury of learning and participating in several facilitative techniques while providing your professional organization with your insights.
Our third workshop, on Sunday morning, June 20, from 8:45 – 10:15 is facilitated by Carla Rogers and Gary Austin and asks for your input on how to “Build the Profession of Facilitation Region by Region”. This session is asking for your advice on how we can support growth and awareness of facilitation around the world. With regional groups on every continent, (except Antarctica), facilitators connected with the IAF are asked to identify local needs and both how the IAF should support those needs and how the regions might support the IAF. For this session Carla and Gary will be showcasing Open Space Technology. Open Space was devised by organizational consultant Harrison Owen when he discovered that people attending his conferences loved the coffee breaks better than the formal sessions. Combining that insight with his experience of life in an African village, Owen created a totally new form of facilitation. In the workshop, we will be using the “law of two feet”, the Open Space concept of going where the passion is while using the facilitation method called by some, “the perfect balance between order and chaos using active participation”.
In the annual IAF Members’ meeting, which follows this last workshop on Sunday morning, the input from all three sessions will be presented so for those who can’t attend all the workshops, they will get a sense of member ideas. In the meantime, if you have any thoughts that you would like to express on where the IAF should be heading and how it can best serve your needs, e-mail David Wayne, the Organizational Futures Strategic Initiative Coordinator at: david@wovenstory.com.
