IAF Update March 2016

 

Chair's corner

“What are your aspirations as a facilitator and how can IAF support you in realising them?” – If you joined our annual general assembly in November, you’ve had a chance to contribute to the conversation on member needs and contributions. In total, 72 members participated in 5 sessions over the course of 24 hours.

How can we promote the power of facilitation together?

Some ideas we heard:

  1. More certification events and for the association to build a strong pipeline of such events
  2. More opportunities to learn more about facilitators and facilitation as a field for novices wanting to do so
  3. More training or mentoring opportunities for facilitators wanting to develop depth
  4. Clearer member benefits
  5. Clearer channels for volunteering
  6. Do more to support members’ business growth through marketing and promotions
  7. More merchandising to support the refreshed brand
  8. More cross-region and cross-chapter sharing and knowledge exchange events

Download the full notes from the AGM 2015.

In this email, you can read more about our initiatives to strengthen professional development for facilitators. We’re also looking for your contributions and stories – see below for more.

Warmly,
Noel E K Tan, CPF
IAF Chair, 2016-2017

In this issue

Links we like

Call for contributions

It’s time for the next issue of the Global Flipchart, IAF’s quarterly members publication. In April,  we want to explore the topic of innovation: How do facilitators work with groups to encourage innovation? What innovations in facilitation should more people know about? How can we learn from others to improve our practice? What role does technology play? If you’d like to contribute an article, please let us know at globalflipchart@iaf-world.org! The deadline for contributions is April 1, 2016.

Share your stories!

Do you have news items or stories that you’d like us to include in the next email to IAF members? Please send them to communications@iaf-world.org by 20 March 2016 with the subject line “IAF Update April 2016”.

 

New fee options: IAF Membership becomes more accessible globally

In mid-February 2016, IAF introduced new membership options for facilitators around the word.

Facilitators can now choose to pay the standard global rate of $200 USD per year or a rate based on the economy of the country in which they live. Using the World Bank classifications, membership fees are adjusted for residents of high, middle and low income countries. In addition, those facing personal financial difficulties can apply for the special circumstances rate of $100 per year, available by application only.

All levels include full membership benefits.

Membership fees are the IAF’s principle source of income. As a not-for-profit association, this financial support, combined with the voluntary service of many members, is essential to fulfilling our mission to promote the practice of facilitation worldwide. The Board hopes that these new rates will help the IAF increase its global reach in a way that is consistent with our values of inclusivity, openness, global perspective, professionalism, leadership and excellence. Please send your questions or comments about the membership fees to memberships@iaf-world.org.

Upcoming assessments

Considering to become an IAF Certified™ Professional Facilitator? Here are our upcoming assessment dates:

  • March 29-30 in Copenhagen, Denmark (application closed)
  • April 6-7 in Port of Prince, Trinidad & Tobago (application closed)
  • May 24-25 in Melbourne, Australia (application closed)
  • June 20-21 in Singapore (apply by March 18)
  • August 30-31 in Hualien, Taiwan (in Mandarin; apply by May 30)

All assessment dates

 

Professional development initiatives

Becoming an IAF Certified™ Professional Facilitator

Since the start of the programme in 1999, nearly 1.500 facilitators worldwide been accredited as IAF Certified™ Professional Facilitators (CPF). In 2016, twelve assessment events are scheduled for those interested in obtaining their CPF credential. Remember, to participate in the event of your choice, you will need to initiate action at least 3-4 months ahead of time.

Price increase for CPF assessments. Beginning 1 January 2017, the price for CPF assessments will increase to $2350.00 USD. This reflects rising costs for administration, venues, and travel. This is the first price increase since 2008 and only the second increase in the history of the programme. With the new price, the certification programme can be self-supporting and run on a cost-recovery basis again.

CPF recertification

If you have a CPF credential, remember that the designation is valid only if your IAF membership is current and you follow the recertification process every three years. If you let your membership lapse for too long, you might have to go through the whole certification assessment all over again to regain your credential.

Amnesty for expired certifications. If your CPF certification expired last year, you probably didn’t receive any notification from us about this. To resolve this, and following Board approval in March, we will offer an amnesty: Between April and the end of September of this year any expired CPF will be able to recertify through the existing process rather than starting from scratch. Read more about recertifications.

Professional development beyond CPF

Many have been asking: what other professional development opportunities can the IAF offer? In the coming three years, we intend to create a membership path that will provide a professional development progression for members, including:

  • A mentoring programme. Building on the existing programme in Oceania, we’re planning to provide a centralised pairing service for mentors and mentees, and provide an entry level credential for participants that is accessible without travelling to an event, and at a lower cost than the CPF.
  • A revised recertification process for CPFs based on continuing education, contributions to the profession, such as mentoring others, publishing seminal articles or books, or contributing to conferences. We are also considering limiting the number of recertification cycles required.

Each of these initiatives builds on our recent work to expand IAF’s professional development scope and reach. Thanks to the expanding assessor pool, IAF can now offer its first CPF assessment in Mandarin this year (with other languages possible in the near future). The Facilitation Training Program Endorsement helps facilitators, and those interested in becoming facilitators, identify training that specifically addresses the IAF Core Competencies. Changes to our IT support have allowed us to simplify recertification pricing, and notification.

If you would like additional information on the plans for the coming years, please contact the Director of Professional Development at prof.dev@iaf-world.org.  

 

Upcoming conferences

Experience the world’s best facilitators in action, explore the future of facilitation with your peers and have an inspiring time, enabling powerful change.

Festival of Facilitation

IAF North American & Caribbean Conference: Trinidad & Tobago
Thursday, April 7, 2016 to Saturday, April 9, 2016

Check out the pre-conference workshops:

  • How NASA builds teams, a workshop on the 4D-System (with Charles Pellerin)
  • Facilitation and the Rain Forest (with Don Kerper and Corky McReynolds)
  • and others!

Pushing the boundaries

IAF Oceania Regional Conference: Melbourne, Australia
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 to Friday, May 27, 2016

Programme just announced!

From mountain to sea

IAF Asia Regional Conference: Hualien, Taiwan
Thursday, September 1, 2016 to Sunday, September 4, 2016

Deadline extended: Send your proposals for workshops by 15 March!

The urge for facilitative leadership

IAF EMENA Conference: The Netherlands
Friday, October 7, 2016 to Monday, October 10, 2016

Conference just announced!

Method of the Month: Value-Based Decision Making

Maureen Jenkins writes: “I’ve used this approach extensively with faith-based groups, where I’ve noticed that the reflection side of the group decision-making process is really critical. This certainly isn’t something for everyone, but hopefully of use to the many facilitators who work with groups brought together by their values.”

For some groups, the broader value context of the decision being made is as important to them as the content of the issue at hand. In this case, it can greatly help a group to reflect first on their own values, and then proceed to the issue about which they will decide.

Procedure

Select a quotation from an individual or from writings that are central to the group’s values. For faith-based groups, this might be a scripture passage. For others, quotations from Sun Tsu, Martin Luther King, Eleanor Roosevelt, Thich Nhat Hanh or other honored figures might provide a background.

  1. Have someone read the quotation and let the group reflect on it quietly for a few minutes.
  2. Now ask the group:
  • What are some words in the quotation that strike you?
  • What do you find helpful about this comment for our work today?
  • What do you find difficult to understand in this quotation?
Read the quotation once again
  • What does this have to say to us about the decision we have to make today?
  • What important reminders should we keep in mind today?
  1. Proceed as usual with a standard decision-making process
  2. In closing the day, a useful reflection can be:
    • What are you grateful for from today’s time together?

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