I design and facilitate meetings, workshops and events that help people in public services and communities have the conversations that matter most.
Why or when might you need a professional facilitator?
Sometimes it’s useful to have an external person to support your gatherings to enable you to have conversations that you don’t usually have. They might be tricky topics that require careful navigation, strategic conversations for which you need to step outside day-to-day thinking, or with people and organisations who haven’t worked together before. Or you might need to convene the meeting while staying mindful of power relationships, without being the ones setting the agenda and steering the discussions.
I design and facilitate sessions that are:
Welcoming
Attentive to people’s experience from the moment we send the invitations.
Inclusive and accessible
Ensuring everyone who wants to, can take part fully.
Comfortable and safe
Creating the conditions for people to show up and speak up.
Different and interesting
Imaginative sessions that support creative thinking.
Participative
Inviting people to engage and co-create their experience.
Relational
Focused on connection, and building trust, understanding and relationships.
What I actually do when I say “I design and facilitate”
To start off I work with you to understand the context, participants and purpose, along with the desired outputs (tangible) and outcomes (intangible). This enables me to put together a structure and resources, using the most appropriate facilitation tools and methods, that will enable you to have the conversations that need to be had, in the time that you’ve got. I am sensitive to your audiences and to what will take them out of ‘business as usual’ to have more connected and creative conversations, but not so far out as to put them off! I will think of details including room layout and durations of breaks, table sizes and breakout spaces… and I will make sure the vibe is right for the outcomes and outputs that you need to achieve.
I can advise on content for your pre- and post-event communications, so they set the tone, create interest, and are consistent with the session itself. I design for in-person, online, or hybrid spaces; while the same principles (of inclusion and enabling connection) apply, I select the relevant techniques that will be most effective in that environment.
On the day, I brief attendees about each activity and invite feedback and reflections. I also care for all the participants, monitor everyone’s wellbeing and engagement, deal with the unexpected, and defuse any friction to keep the group(s) moving through the flow of the event with respect, good humour and a steady hand.
I can facilitate up to 60 people solo (online or in person) if I’ve designed the session, and I can bring in trusted colleagues for hybrid delivery or larger events.
My facilitation approach
I bring a systems-thinking lens to working with groups, reading patterns, dynamics and relationships in and around the event space. My methods are eclectic, chosen deliberately for the context rather than applied as a signature approach. I work to trauma-informed principles and I’m attentive to power and privilege throughout.
Underneath all of it is a genuine interest in and care for the people in the room, and a commitment to modelling the values I’m inviting others into: curiosity, openness, respect and kindness.
See examples of sessions I’ve designed and facilitated
Internal reflection and development, strategic sessions, corporate planning
- How can our organisation consider existing knowledge and imagine new solutions to operational, strategic, or sector challenges?
Natural Resources Wales
Cynon Taf Housing
Tai Pawb
Age Connects Morgannwg
Pobl Group - How can our teams communicate and collaborate better around a process we participate in at different stages?
Community Housing Cymru
Llais - How can we refresh our governance framework to better reflect our evolving understanding of our organisation and the context we operate in?
Dyfi Biosphere Reserve
Alliance for Wales’ Rainforests
Network stocktake and future planning
- How can our network celebrate what we’ve achieved, and prioritise future developments to inform funding applications?
Kirklees KiNETIC Disability Network
UK Future Earth Early Career Research Practitioners Network
Cross-sector co-creation workshops, policy development
- How can stakeholder organisations connect and work together to address complex challenges, like responding to climate change, or addressing social and economic inequality?
Natural Resources Wales
AHRC Creative Communities Programme - How can we enable stakeholders from across the sector to rapidly generate draft policy ideas?
Social care sector event hosted by Cartrefi Cymru Cooperative
Gwent Advocacy Strategy - How can stakeholders from across the sector work with the Welsh Government policy team to input, advise and sense-check policy developments?
Welsh Government co-production advisory group setup
Public engagement and community conversations
- How can our local councillors listen to residents and show we’re taking on board a variety of viewpoints to inform a sensitive decision?
Brecon Town Council - Engagement of children and young people in formal Welsh Government consultations
Draft suicide and self-harm prevention strategy - Engagement of women and girls from across Wales to shape the new women’s health website for Wales
Welsh Government and NHS Wales
Co-design and co-production workshops
- How can we develop and test ideas together with our service users, to address challenges that affect our service and their lives?
GISDA (supporting young people at risk of homelessness)
PAVS and Hafal Crossroads (supporting people with dementia and their carers)
Pembrokeshire Housing Association (supporting 55+ residents in sheltered accommodation) - How can we co-create a staff housing policy that meets the needs of staff and the organisation, in the context of financial and climate pressures?
Atlantic College
Shared learning sessions
- How can we enable our members to connect, share their learning and experience, and link up with statutory teams?
Kirklees Community Champions Network
Co-production Network for Wales - How can we create a space for public and civil servants to network, reflect on their roles and hear about innovative ways of working?
One Team Gov in Wales
What people say about working with me
“
The balance between organised and informal worked really well! The sessions were expertly facilitated and a joy to participate in, it’s been something I’ve looked forward to each week. The format and approach to these seminars, in particular your facilitation, has been fun, valuable, and the essential ingredient.
UK Future Earth, Early Career Research Practitioners Network
“
I just wanted to thank you once again for your exceptional facilitation at yesterday’s strategy day. Your ability to keep us focused and on time, all while guiding us effortlessly through discussions about our current situation, future aspirations, and the steps we need to take to get there, was truly impressive. I’ve already received numerous compliments from attendees who were particularly appreciative of your calm and composed style.
Pobl Group, EDI strategic day
“
I think your thinking on your feet has been very impressive today. We diverted off script and timetable quite early and we still ended up with a clear sense of purpose which does reflect well on the facilitation.
eNGO Network
“
You facilitated the meeting with professionalism, skill and charisma, and ensured that the event was respectful and productive at all times.
Brecon Town Council, Mayor
“
It feels like something special is happening in the space you have facilitated. Thank you so much for helping us.
Kirklees Community Champions Network