Facilitation
Carolyn has extensive experience facilitating meetings, focus group discussions and planning workshops. She believes strongly in her philosophy, "What I have learned in my years of facilitating workshops, discussions and public meetings is that, when asked, everyone wants to contribute and share and know others are hearing them."
The Power of the Collaborative Mind: Planning Workshops and Focus Groups provides a detailed description of how she creates a productive meeting or focus group. download pdf
Carolyn has also created a process she calls Envisioning Your Future.
This process is based upon four questions:
1. What do you want to have or achieve within a specific time frame?
2. What exists now to get you to your goals?
3. What needs to be changed or added to get to your goals?
4. What are your priorities and who will be assigned to accomplish specific tasks?
The elements of this process include:
1. A meeting with the client, or with the staff or others who will be using the information;
2. Preparation of the discussion guide to conform to individual needs;
3. Facilitation of the discussion; making sure everyone stays focused on the goals and how to get there;
4. Preparation of a summary of the discussion notes and recommendations, and, if requested, a formal presentation to the client or group; additional discussion if desired.