Wikipedia defines facilitation as “any activity which makes easy the tasks of others.”

In organisational settings, this involves the designing and running of successful meetings, often involving members of the community or other stakeholders.

These meetings sometimes involve contentious or ‘sensitive’ issues and our task is to ensure that all points of view are tabled and heard.

We also like Wikipedia’s description of ecological facilitation, which is about how one organism profits from the presence of another. Your organisation can indeed profit by incorporating the Kismet Forward approach to facilitating workshops.

We put a lot of effort into:

• Designing workshops that have high levels of energy, creativity and participation,


• Continually improving a facilitation style that is responsive to the needs of all participants,


• Understanding the environment in which your organisation operates,


• Focussing on solutions and a way forward, rather than dwelling on problems, and


• Ensuring that workshop participants leave with the feeling that their time was productively and enjoyably spent.

Jen has facilitated scores of workshops across many themes, including

• Strategic planning – understanding and gearing up for what the future holds


• Business planning – being specific about what needs to be done in the near future to ensure ongoing success


• Program and project logic – assisting teams to design major programs (or minor projects), starting with the end in mind


• Evaluating projects – identifying what was achieved, and what can be used to improve future projects


• Community engagement – providing real opportunities for community groups and individuals to discuss their hopes, issues and aspirations – and be heard
• Team building – enabling people to work more effectively together in a team setting


• Integration and collaboration – working across organisational boundaries to identify common goals, and opportunities to achieve these together


• Change management – helping people to respond and positively contribute to the changing needs of their organisation, communities and environment

Many of the workshops that we have facilitated have involved the production of a report, which either

• focusses on the workshop and its outcomes, or


• incorporates workshop outcomes as part of a bigger project.

Facilitation projects undertaken by Kismet Forward have ranged from single or small series of workshops to major consultation exercises. Some of our best known facilitation projects of recent times include

• 2010 Contamination Reduction Program - Jen is assisting the City of Greater Geelong by moderating focus groups to assess the effectiveness of a program designed to reduce the contamination of recycled household waste.


• 2010 Yanakie Isthmus Adaptive Experimental Management Program - Jen worked with Conservation Enterprises Unlimited to identify local stakeholder perceptions regarding management of the northern section of Wilsons Promontory. Undertaken for Parks Victoria.


• 2008-2010 Brooklyn Community Reference Group – Jen chairs the BCRG, which focuses on odour, noise and dust issues emanating from the Brooklyn industrial area, significantly impacting local residents. BCRG comprises community, industry, local government and the EPA. (Jen is sponsored by the EPA to undertake this work).


• 2009/10 Estuary Entrance Management Support System Consultation Workshops - Jen is facilitating a series of stakeholder workshops within the Corangamite and West Gippsland CMA regions.


• 2009 & 2010 Shaping Victoria Forums - Jen and Sally Hutchinson (SMS Marketing) coordinated and facilitated the Department of Planning and Community Development's first two Shaping Victoria Forums involving planning professionals from across the state.


• 2009 & 2010 Linking People and Spaces - Jen facilitated two series of five workshops to enable local government representatives to provide input ino the Linking People and Places strategy for Melbourne's open space network. Undertaken for Parks Victoria.


• 2009 Social Recovery Workshops - Jen facilitated a series of statewide workshops to assist DSE and other agency staff to understand the recovery processes of communities following a major disaster (such as bushfire).


• 2009 Colac Otway Shire Environment Strategy Community Workshops – Jen facilitated a series of community workshops and 'open houses' to provide input into the Colac Otway Shire's Environment Strategy.


• 2008/2009 Review of Recycled Water Guidelines – Jen facilitated and reported on 3 stakeholder workshops which informed the review of a suite of guidance documents for recycled water. This led to facilitation of 3 reference group meetings to consider stakeholder feedback and provide advice to the project team (undertaken for EPA Victoria)


• 2008 Land and Biodiversity at a Time of Climate Change Green Paper Consultation Workshops - in partnership with Collaborations, Jen facilitated 13 community consultation workshops around Victoria for the Green Paper. The 5-hour workshops involved a total of 643 participants and were conducted over May/June 2008. Jen was asked by Department of Sustainability and Environment to facilitate a number of follow-up workshops for DSE staff and other stakeholders on a range of matters to be included in the White Paper.

Other facilitation tasks have included:

• for the Australian Government’s Land and Coasts Division: forum involving indigenous facilitators of catchment management authorities to identify opportunities to increase indigenous community involvement in National Resources Management activities.


• for Corangamite CMA: forums with Landcare groups regarding the Community Engagement Strategy, the Land & Biodiversity Green Paper and improving communications.


• for Coastal Camping Victoria: initial scoping forum.


• for DIIRD: training session regarding customer focus.


• for DPCD: strategic, business planning and team building forums and meetings for the Planning Policy Division and Regional Policy Unit.


• for DSE: forums regarding Institutional Arrangements, Market-Based Instruments, Integrating Regional Sustainability, program logic workshops for the Good Neighbour Program and Terrestrial Ecoystems Unit, planning workshops for Land and Fire Services, Office of Water and Public Land Policy.


• for DSE and CFA: forums relating to the Living with Fire Strategy and Health Safety and Well-being (post-fire) debriefs.


• for EPA Victoria: strategic planning and team building forums for a number of work areas; workshops regarding Reuse to Waterways and the Compliance Framework, community meetings regarding the Tullamarine Landfill.


• for Parks Victoria: forums about Park Trails, 4WD Icon Drives and the Alpine Parks management planning process.


• for Sustainability Victoria: forums focussing on team building and the Wastewise Events Program.


• for Victorian Catchment Management Council: forum involving staff from catchment management authorities, DSE and DPI to identify opportunities to increase levels of Indigenous employment in NRM activities.


• for Western Coastal Board: forums regarding Coastal Priorities, Access Guidelines and a proposed Mobile Marine Interpretation Facility.


• for Woady Yallock Landcare Network: strategic planning workshops.

A number of other workshops were undertaken as part of bigger projects.