Workshops are a great opportunity to bring together a diverse audience and have them generate ideas, share and gather information and get work done. The mixture of large-group presentations and small-group interactive sessions allows for greater participation and encourages open dialogues.

Workshops need strong facilitation to ensure there is good communication and active listening among attendees so that a consensus can be reached.

Workshops can last a few hours or extend over several days. The number of participants can range from a dozen to the hundreds. It all depends upon the area, the resource, the purpose for the workshop and people’s invested interests.

During a workshop, real work gets accomplished. For instance, an issues and goal-setting workshop might have as its purpose to develop a workable strategy for the project that incorporates the views of community members, businesses, and government officials. The workshop would begin with instruction or training about what is going to be accomplished and how. The attendees are given background information, and what the impetus is for hosting the workshop and then they will get to work. Their work might be to review a report and decide upon recommendations or brainstorm ideas for actions.

When running workshops, keep in mind:

• There must be a clear purpose, with clear tasks that will accomplish that purpose.
• Participants will need coaching on how information will be generated and recorded.
• Breakout groups should be no larger than 15 and every group needs a facilitator.
• Everyone needs to listen to and respect other’s perspectives and opinions.

1. Form a small planning group

Bring together key players to start planning a workshop. Brainstorm topics, formats, and schedule. Also discuss learning objects, desired outcomes, and follow-up. Then define the purpose and create an agenda. This group may be comprised of members from an organization that will be hosting the event and those who will help facilitate.

2. Do Logistics

• Select a date and time that is going to be convenient (i.e., evenings or weekends, not on a holiday).
• Find a place that is large enough for the expected crowd including separate areas for breakout groups. Possibilities include community centers, places or worship, conference centers and hotels. A place with low or no cost is usually desireable.
• Identify key individuals and organizations to invite and decide how to invite them (e.g., phone, mailed invitation, speaking at their groups’ meetings, etc.). Then make invitations with as much notice as possible supplying details such as when, length of meeting, where it will be held (including directions) and a brief statement of the purpose.
• Contact and confirm attendance of special speakers such as resource experts, elected officials, and government agencies.
• Identify and ask facilitators. Make contingency plans for having the largest group possible and estimate the number of small groups and thus the number of facilitators.
• Prepare any visual aids that will help discussions such as a slide show or an enlarged map of the area being discussed.
• Arrange for refreshments and food, if it will be served. This is a good area to get others involved in.
• Obtain supplies needed for information gathering and reporting such as easels, flipcharts, pens, colored dots, sticky pads, tape, audiovisual equipment, etc.
• Write out any guidelines or expectations for behavior; e.g., not interrupting others, not offering judgment, etc. This list should be posted in the meeting room.
• Make copies of the agenda or post a large copy that everyone in the room will be able to see.

3. Run the Workshop

While the actual format can vary, following is a suggested agenda:

• Information Presentation to large group (30-60 minutes) to ensure workshop participants have a working knowledge of important information about the project area such as important resources, current issues or threats, opportunities, and impediments.
• Information Sharing through Community Dialog (1-2 hours minimum) to gather information about issues, opportunities and needs for a project. This is done in small groups with a facilitator and recorder for each group. Notes are taken on flipcharts and then posted on the wall for all to see. This session culminates with a representative from each small group reviewing their thoughts and feelings for all of the attendees.
• Community Action (2 hours minimum). This is when participants will generate and agree on practical, tangible steps that are needed for the resource. This is often referred to as a Project Action Plan. The large group is again broken out into small groups with a facilitator and recorder. The small groups brainstorm then prioritize their lists of actions. Each small group shares with the large group, and the large group comes to a consensus about the overall priorities.
• Meeting Summary (15-30 minutes) for the large group. The day’s leading facilitator presents a final summary of the findings, offers any appropriate observations about the process and the experience, explains how the information will be used and what happens next. Finally, recognize the small group facilitators and thank all of the participants for their time, energy and brainpower.

4. Follow Up

The planning group should determine how results from the workshop are going to be handled. Will they be published in a brochure or book? Will they be submitted to a local newspaper? Will they be reviewed at another meeting? In addition, facilitators should be thanked in writing, as should anyone who volunteered or donated items (like food).