Planning, plotting, collaborating, brainstorming for FacilitationCamp, London 20-21 August 2010

The main event page is here > http://barcamp.org/FacilitationCamp

DecisionLab description > http://decisionlab.org.uk/facilitation-camp/

Please add your thoughts, suggestions, inspiration here - let's play!

We'll organise this in to topic areas soon, or feel free to invent them yourself and kick this off. Why not add your first name and initial + date / time to any input you give :)

Louis’ notes about Facilitation Camp

1.    It would be good to set some specific outcomes to help us structure / unstructure the day.

2.    Theme for the day – clearly community is one – The Great Transition, The Blessed Unrest, but something that is inclusive for all... something to do with moving together into the future...

3.    Promotional Literature to be produced well in advance, and for the day lots of process maps, cards, cheat-sheets, maybe some for sale. Could combine the two.

4.    How do we demonstrate & involve people in the AFC?

5.    4 Powers corner. Quiet, deep, appreciative & transformative. Would be great in a Knights Templar-type tent made of muslin with a water fountain & coloured lights, cushions etc

6.    From the very first “buzz-inducing” emails, newsletters, phone calls etc. I feel that it would be more engaging if we put some thought into presenting a menu of items that participants might want to see, with opportunity for ideas we may not have considered. This will offer prospective attendees more of a stake in the day, in line with our wider consultation in London & Reading, and be strongly invitational.

7.    Invitational, also, is what the event needs to be from the moment people walk through the door. It would be great to give them some physical token that is of some use during the day, and might even be the key to a raffle for a special something (like a free session) that we would be offering.

8.    As well as this, some kind of welcoming process or activity that is designed to produce delight. I have a mental picture of people progressing through two spirals of chairs, e.g. doing a ‘speed-dating’ introduction to each other (inner clockwise, outer anti-clockwise)

9.    Some ‘set’ areas for ‘set’ activities.

10. An area of rolling facilitation, like a clinic.

11. A practise group (people who are having a break and need a laugh) for facilitators to do their stuff with – with maybe some scenarios in a hat (group of people who hate and therefore hide conflict, groups suspicious of facilitation) or individual roles (quiet person, talkative, interrupter, thick etc) – we can think of better examples...

12. A core FC Training area.

13. Rolling presentations (maybe projected on a wall sometimes led, sometimes just rolling).

14. Bursts of Ninja Facilitation.

15. Gold Fish Bowl of AFC participants doing our magic.

16. A chill-out area with cool music and cool drinks where people can interact spontaneously.

17. An expeditionary force to do the Evolution Lounge thing outdoors.

18. We expect to see ‘specialists’, e.g. Transitioners, Co-op-ers, Facilitators, Entrepreneurs, Activists in different fields, Geeks etc etc – wouldn’t it be great to offer processes designed to be specifically useful to different interest groups?

19. I expect you guys will be having conversations around this and how we may contact and appeal to different interest groups.

20. How will we do evaluations? How about as people leave areas there is something to write with and on all day, as well as end-of-session evaluations.

21. Wouldn’t it be great if Alan could sell some of his timing machines – not necessarily packaged and finished, but working. Maybe the geeks at the Skiff on tech night could take it on as a project?

22. Some kind of game(s) mapped out on the floor that allow the exploration of various disciplines in a physical way.

23. Contact me by Skype please tomorrow – Skype name bohemiancatastrophe