The Facilitator Network

About the Network

The Facilitator Network is a community of facilitators with similar interests or concerns regarding the assessment of agency programmes. The members can interact and remain in informal contact for mutual assistance or support within an open innovation concept. The network provides a platform for both facilitators and programme managers, providing information on facilitation and related topics.

Vision of the Community

The Facilitator Network’s vision is to provide a sustainable environment for the use and improvement of the self-assessment tool, on an on-going basis. It will do this through networking, collective learning, sharing and exchanging experience and knowledge between the funding agencies. This will prove and improve their effectiveness, justify their existence and the creation of Smart Agencies.

Benefits of Membership

Membership provides opportunities to:

• Network with other professionals and facilitators
• Provide management with information to assist the decision to invest in a self-assessment
• Learn from other facilitators’ experiences
• Share and exchange ideas and techniques
• Mentor others
• Suggest improvements
• Access to the latest version of the tool set
• Access to an calendar of events
• Practise and ask questions using the BulletinBoard or the DiscussionSpace.

To take advantage of these benefits, join the SmartAgency Network!

About Facilitation

The self-assessment approach is designed as a structured dialogue where different types of value-adding outcomes of a programme are “filtered out” and assessed. The self-assessment process is led by an internal, trained facilitator. The facilitator may receive assistance from a colleague facilitator (either internal or external) who has performed a self-assessment previously. Use the FacilitatorList to find suitable co-facilitators.

The Tool Set and the Facilitator Guide contain more detailed information on the facilitation process. Go to the DownLoad section to get all these documents!

About Facilitators

The self-assessment tool and the facilitator act together as helping hands in assessing the operations of an agency programme. The role of the facilitator is to lead line and programme management through the self-assessment. This includes organising the process, interviewing programme managers and/or consultants, giving feedback to management and documenting the results. Potential facilitators should have the following profile: He/she should be

• acquainted with programme design and management,
• acquainted with RTDI concepts, instruments and innovation policy design/measures,
• acquainted with evaluation and impact analysis,
• knowledgeable about the agency and its strategies
• have soft skills that makes him/her suitable to be a facilitator (i.e. good at facilitating and guiding dialogue processes through open questions, be analytical but not to too mechanistic, have good communication and social skills, and be flexible in all circumstances)

The first event to introduce the TAFTIE self-assessment approach and its process, its rationale and its benefits, will be held in Istanbul, Turkey on 27-28 November 2007. The event is entitled SALE - Smart Agency Launch Event. Please refer to the BulletinBoard for details.

Calendar, Bulletin Board, and Discussion

• Please use the CalendarPage to enter important dates regarding facilitation events etc.
• Please use the BulletinBoard to post an announcement, a search etc. (unstructured).
• Please go to the DiscussionSpace to start or contribute to a specific discussion topic (structured).

Find a Facilitator

If you are a registered user of SmartAgency.Net, you can find contact information of all other registered users in the FacilitatorList topic.

-- AndreasWildberger - 08 Aug 2007