ToP Public Courses
Improve your facilitation and collaborative leadership skills by learning the Institute of Cultural Affairs' Technology of Participation™ (ToP) facilitation methods. Public and in-house ToP courses are offered by the Center for Strategic Facilitation throughout the the entire San Francisco Bay Area. A full list of course offerings is available here.
ToP Facilitation Methods (TFM)
The foundational ToP methods training that introduces two core ToP methods: the Focused Conversation and the Consensus Workshop. You also learn how to lead a broad and flexible design for Action Planning. You will see the methods in action, practice using them and leave ready to use them. The training comes with a comprehensive manual to support your application of the methods. Two-day training.
ToP Strategic Planning (TSP)
ToP Strategic Planning is a structured methodology that releases individual and group creativity and deep thought around strategic issues and directions. This course provides practice in using the powerful ToP methods in a highly effective, proven application supporting groups in dynamic, consensual strategic thinking. The methods you learn are structured, yet highly flexible. This approach to strategic planning covers: preparing for planning, key methods to use in all strategic planning steps, steps and tools for bridging the strategic framework to a practical, doable implementation plan. This model of strategic planning can be used by groups, teams, organizations, and collaboratives. It includes creating a practical vision, addressing underlying blocks to moving forward, creating core strategic directions to drive change and bridging the strategic level to focused implementation for first year plans. Two-day training.
Facilitation for Innovation: Inspiring Group Creativity
Creativity is sparked through collaboration. While the “lone genius” remains a beloved cultural image, the science of creativity shows that connections among innovators are what enable breakthroughs, large and small. Groups and teams are a critical place to cultivate creative thinking for innovative solutions.
This highly interactive course introduces tools and practices that groups and teams can use to heighten their creativity quotient. We will cover creativity tools and methods that focus on:
Shaking Up the Mind –limbering up our habits of thought
Framing and Re-Framing Problems And Dilemmas – seeing a problem anew
Developing Creative Solutions-inspiring pathways for action
One-day training.
Approaches to Environmental Scanning
The environmental scan is an assessment tool to prepare a group to do further work, such as strategic planning or making significant decisions. It includes relevant factual data such as an organizational or community history, accomplishments, industry and/or economic trends and subjective data such as customer, staff or community perceptions. In following the environmental scan with a planning process, the analysis of information about real and perceived needs provides a basis that will assist in strengthening later sessions.
An environmental assessment or other preparation activities can help participants gain insight into factors that may be driving or influencing their organization or community. It is essential for a group to know and understand the significance of these influences before it can start the planning process. For example, such preparation creates a common context for creating a vision for the future. When used as the first step in Participatory Strategic Planning an appropriate form of environmental assessment helps focus the planning.
There are many ways to approach an environmental assessment. You will be introduced to multiple approaches to environmental scanning:
Current Trends Conversations – Brief and Extended Versions
Environmental Context Overview and Situation Assessment Frameworks
Cooperative Study of Quantitative Data
The ” Wall of Wonder Environmental or Historical Scan
The Wave Paradigm Inventory
Strategic Juncture Analysis
Comprehensive Screens: Plotting a Snapshot of an Organization
One-day training.
Pre-requisite Course
ToP Facilitation Methods is a pre-requisite.
Mastering the Technology of Participation (MToP)
Mastering the Technology of Participation (MToP) is an intensive, stimulating and skill enhancing learning experience that enables all who participate to dramatically enhance their facilitation and facilitative leadership capabilities. This year long program provides 12 days of training in quarterly, three day increments along with opportunities for reflection, mentoring, further study, and practice. You will train and co-learn with an intimate group of other facilitators led by senior ToP practitioners. For those interested in becoming certified as a ToP facilitator, MToP will help you prepare for it. If you love the ToP Facilitation Methods and other ToP methodologies, MToP promises to deepen and increase your capacity to use these methods bringing you new tools, processes and capabilities with groups.