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.
The Benefits of Developing Your Facilitation Skills
Learning how to facilitate offers numerous benefits, both personally and professionally. Here are some key advantages:
Professional Growth
- Improved Leadership Skills: Facilitation demonstrates and enhances leadership abilities, such as guiding teams, resolving conflicts, and fostering collaboration.
- Enhanced Communication: Facilitators develop strong listening, questioning, and summarizing skills that are crucial in any professional setting.
- Career Advancement: Employers value individuals who can lead productive meetings, making facilitation skills a valuable asset for promotions or leadership roles.
- Better Time Management: Learning to run efficient meetings helps maximize time for all participants, showcasing organizational and planning strengths.
Team Dynamics
- Encourages Collaboration: Good facilitation ensures that all voices are heard, promoting inclusivity and teamwork.
- Clearer Objectives and Outcomes: Skilled facilitators help teams define goals, stay on track, and achieve actionable results.
- Conflict Resolution: Facilitators learn techniques to manage and resolve conflicts, improving group harmony and productivity.
- Boosted Morale: Well-facilitated meetings can reduce frustration and foster a positive, engaging environment.
Personal Development
- Increased Confidence: Regularly practicing facilitation skills builds confidence in speaking, decision-making, and guiding discussions.
- Stronger Problem-Solving Skills: Facilitators learn to navigate challenges, redirect unproductive discussions, and keep the group focused.
- Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Facilitation requires understanding diverse perspectives and managing group dynamics, fostering personal growth in empathy.
Organizational Benefits
- Higher Productivity: Meetings become more effective, leading to better decisions and efficient use of resources.
- Improved Innovation: Facilitation encourages brainstorming and collective problem-solving, sparking creativity.
- Alignment and Clarity: Skilled facilitators ensure everyone leaves with a clear understanding of tasks, roles, and next steps.
By mastering facilitation, you not only enhance your ability to lead but also contribute to creating a more collaborative and effective work culture.
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.
You can register now for the 2025 program through the online registration form. You can also receive program updates as soon as they become available by joining our mailing list. To do so, complete this Google form.
Comments from Past Participants
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
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.
