Program Overview
APAC’s Certified Group Facilitator program develops skilled facilitators who work in the public sector. These facilitators help groups, teams, and communities make good decisions, resolve conflict, solve problems, and meet goals. When groups have a skilled facilitator, their decisions are more inclusive, better informed, and more effective.
This program provides extensive training and significant opportunities to practice. Participants in the program will:
- Learn facilitation approaches to decision making, planning, and problem solving.
- Practice designing, implementing, and evaluating facilitations.
- Discover ways to manage difficult individual and group behaviors and encourage helpful ones.
- Experience and practice both online and in-person facilitation skills.
- Start a personal portfolio of facilitation resources and techniques.
Program Details
The current program is an intensive, highly interactive, and applied training that requires approximately 60 hours of time. It includes ALL of the following:
- Half-day, online training sessions held once a week via Zoom for five weeks;
- A 3.5-day, in-person training held in Little Rock, Arkansas;
- Assignments between each training;
- A capstone facilitation.
To receive program updates and registration information as soon as it becomes available, join our mailing list by completing this Google form.
Comments from Past Participants
“The instructors were not only great trainers, but experts in the field of facilitation so real life situations were used throughout the course. They know how to engage all participants. They make learning fun. There was a purpose for every single thing that they did within the training.”
“I loved that the format was both in-person and online because that is the world we live in now and it was wonderful to be able to practice in both environments.”
“Thank you so much for taking the time to plan and implement this training. It truly has been one of the best professional development opportunities I have been through.”
Benefits of Learning Group Facilitation
The 2024 program participants were asked to brainstorm how learning group facilitation has changed the way they work and live. Here is a list of their responses:
- Enhanced group problem solving leading to better outcomes
- Greater collaboration
- Increased productivity
- More organization and more structure
- Stronger relationships
- Built confidence
- Refined listening skills
- Improved focus during meetings
- More effective planning
- Better questions leading to better answers
Find a Group Facilitator
If you are a community organization, nonprofit or government agency, APAC can help identify a facilitator for your upcoming meeting, retreat, strategic planning process, or other group event. If interested, send a description to apacprog@ualr.edu or call 501-916-6056. Consider answering the following questions in your description:
- What would you like to accomplish through a facilitated process?
- Do you have dates/times set or are they open?
- If dates/times are not set, how much time are you thinking of allocating for the facilitation(s) with your group? Do you have a preference for the facilitation(s) happening during the day, at night, on the weekend, etc.? What time of year would you like your facilitation(s) to happen (e.g., September, Fall, etc.)
- How many people will be included in the facilitation(s)?
- Will the facilitation(s) be held online or in-person or some of both?
- Are you seeking a volunteer facilitator or do you have funding to pay a facilitator?
- What information would you like to know about potential facilitators (e.g., past facilitation experience, resume, etc.)? Would you prefer someone with a certain type of experience (e.g., experience with youth, DEI experience, etc.)?
For More Information: Contact APAC at apacprog@ualr.edu or 501-916-6050. For regular updates about our programs, join our mailing list.
