Facilitation 101: Working with Complexity and Change

By invitation only. Reach out to Emily White, emilywhite@RMI.org, for more information.

Strengthening our Capacity to Work Together

Realizing the clean energy transition in this decisive decade will require a wide range of stakeholders to work together in new ways; many stakeholders in energy have never worked together or have histories of conflict and eroded trust. There is a growing need to increase collaborative and networking capacity across the climate and energy space. While that need is clear, capacity to carry out this type of work across the ecosystem is limited at present. Specifically, organizations can grow their ability to:

• Design strategic collaborative interventions that depart from business as usual.
• Structure collaborative convenings that support relationships.
• Facilitate meetings and interactions across diverse stakeholders.
• Incorporate a wider range of voices into decision-making.
• Develop and use common language to improve the ways we work together.

Course Overview

RMI has developed Facilitation 101: Working with Complexity and Change to train and build the capacity of RMIers – it is a foundational course and key point of learning across our 800-person global organization. RMI shares our approach to facilitation in hopes that it will benefit other organizations. Our approach is informed by extensive experience working with and learning from Reos Partners, who have decades of working knowledge from high-stakes contexts around the world.

Who should consider the training:

• Individuals working with a wide range of stakeholders with divergent perspectives.
• Individuals interested in learning frameworks to support new kinds of collaboration.
• Managers responsible for planning and facilitating collaborative projects and meetings.
• Leaders setting the vision for ambitious work for their teams or others.

Learning Goals

Over the course of our two days together, we will:

• Introduce the basic principles behind collaborative convening on complex problems and change, based on RMI’s approach to facilitation.
• Learn several foundational facilitation tools and formats.
• Build facilitation skills through practice in small groups, with individualized coaching.

Expectations for Participants

This is a two-day, in-person immersive training. Training modules are cumulative and build on themselves, over the course of our time together. Therefore, we request that attendees commit their time and attention to participating fully on both days. The schedule will include breakfast, lunch, and other breaks in the mornings and afternoons where participants are welcome to connect with their computers and phones as needed.

AGENDA OVERVIEW

Day 1

Day 2