While the common term is "facilitation," in our experience, words like referee, coach, or even task master are sometimes better suited.

The principals of the company, John H. Campbell and Martha DeLong, have been providing focus group research and general facilitation services since the early 1980s.  We know how to examine an issue and hear the nuances of importance, concern, and key values, whether the task involves a focus group discussion with carefully recruited participants or working with diverse stakeholders to find a core set of common goals for planning.

In what is perhaps an example of some of the more complex facilitation challenges we have taken on, we worked with the City of Portland to facilitate an agreement that broke historic barriers to finding more effective solutions for street disorder problems in the downtown core.  This involved finding common ground on which homeless service providers, downtown business groups, the ACLU, the Portland Police Bureau, and public defenders, among others, could agree.  Not surprisingly, accomplishing this task took some skill, which we were able to provide.

We have also taken on facilitation challenges with boards of directors, often combining introductory work on purpose, scope, and mission with facilitating better ideas for plans, performance measures, and a better pathway for intentional change.

Ultimately, however, every project is different and the needs of every group requires very different approaches to ensuring that the results are workable and successful.  If you have an issue or challenge that you feel may benefit from strategic facilitation assistance, please begin by calling us and discussing the issues at hand.  We will start by discussing the issues and the degree to which facilitation can be the right tool to help in the situation.  If we can help, we will then draw up a specific plan, and cost proposal, for how to approach the work.