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: This programme is aimed at giving a basic introduction to Organisation Development as a professional practice. It looks at OD in a civil society context; the history and theory of OD, approaches to OD and the OD practitioner’s role as an agent of change. This programme has been held since 2003 and is one of OCB’s OD training programmes
- Facilitator Development Programme
- OD Practitioner Formation Program
- Leadership Development Program
- Organization Facilitation Processes for Ibis partner organisations and other organisations in the NGO community
- Ibis Internal Learning program for facilitators of Ibis’ thematic programs
Facilitation is a useful approach in development work because development brought about through a facilitated process is more sustainable than change brought about by other means.
With this realisation the OCB programme adopted and developed the facilitator Development Programme as one of our approaches to influence and stimulate the further development of an active and vibrant Civil Society sector in Ghana, empowered to work and advocate for the needs of the poor men and women, and play an active part in the process of democratic change which is our overall programme objective.
The Facilitator Development Programme is a 10 day training programme aimed at improving and building the ability of participants to effectively use these in facilitating development processes in their own organisations and target groups with the purpose of bringing about change.
Grounded in theories of change and development, the purpose of this programme is to offer a supportive and challenging environment for participants to develop their knowledge, approaches and capabilities in the art of facilitation.
Our objectives are that participants would:
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Have been introduced to a framework for understanding the art and processes of facilitation, become excited and commit to further develop themselves as facilitators |
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Have practiced a range of communication capabilities in facilitation and received feedback |
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Have been introduced to and observed tools, methods and materials for facilitation. |
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Have become aware of the role of self (the whole person), their own current practice, group dynamics and development in facilitation and have been exposed to and explored a range of opportunities for deepening self awareness |
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Have prepared a presentation on what and how they will transfer the learning from this programme to their lives, their practices their organisations. |
The programme is design with all these objectives in mind however, the specific content of each programme is largely influenced by the participants and the issues and concerns they raise based on their experiences and challenges.
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The course is residential. We believe this provides a conducive learning environment, lots of opportunity to learn from each other within and beyond sessions and a more intense group experience. |
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Each participant present here has a strong wish to learn and develop. Each person is responsible for his/her own learning. |
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Adults learn best by doing and experience rather than by lectures and by being told what to do. Therefore, facilitation practice is fundamental to this programme. |
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This programme has some core elements which we will definitely discuss. Beyond these the programme will try to accommodate, as much as, the possible questions and issues of this particular group. Each person has a contribution to make. (If you want quick answers and manuals, this is the wrong course). |
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You are on a training programme to become better facilitators. To facilitate effectively is to from certain values (particularly in the development sector) and from a consciousness of oneself: strength, weakness and prejudices. |
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To facilitate is not a matter of skills or technical steps only. Rather facilitation calls on the whole person. The programme takes a holistic approach and has a strong focus on personal development. |
We believe and work from these assumptions because this training involves engaging with the whole person and enlightening the awareness of participants on the role of our individual self in all we do. The programme is participatory and inclusive. It builds on the knowledge and resources of the people involved and take their context into consideration.
We also believe that the participants know what it needs and how to get it. It empowers people to make their own decisions and choices about their own lives and future. This assures commitment and responsibility for the outcome by all.
Over a period of 3 years the OCB programme of Ibis West Africa has successfully completed seven Facilitator Development programmes and trained about 150 Ghanaians and international development practitioners and leaders in participatory facilitation skills.
The OCB Programme is also now in the process of developing an advanced form of this programme which will target the specific needs and challenges of organisations in their daily facilitation practice. The main focus of this programme will be supporting organisations facilitation practice and enhance the impact and change felt in the organisation and ultimately on their partners and clients.
The impact of this programme has been enormous both on the individuals and organisations that have had their staff participate in it. It is significant to note the experience of seeing the transformation that participants go through the process and it is always a pleasure to listen to the last words of participants before they leave the training venue.
Ibis and for that matter the OCB programme is proud to be associated with such a programme and its successes and goes a long to support as many people to be able to have this experience. The programme is heavily subsidized to allow especially the national or local organizations to also take advantage of this programme
It is always an exciting experience for all who have had this exposure and hope You out there will be ready to take this challenge
Participatory Development Associates (PDA), in collaboration with Ibis West Africa, will soon be offering a unique opportunity to 24 people who wish
This international-standard modular programme seeks to provide committed people working in development an opportunity to reflect on their work and explore new concepts and to deepen their practice as facilitators of change in development processes. It is for anyone who is already a facilitator and who wishes to engage in a personal, experiential learning process, with others, over a period of approximately 18 months. It is especially for people who feel passionate about working towards empowering and transformational change.
The underlying philosophy/methodology of this programme will be one that values creativity, taking responsibility for ones own on-going learning, and personal commitment to empowerment and transformational change. The programme will engage strongly with the Ghanaian context in content and form.
The proposed start date is September 2006. For further information on this programme, contact PDA. -pda@africaonline.com.gh
This is to support the individual facilitators of Ibis West Africa to translate program directives into daily portfolio and out of this develop own practice as a development practitioner/facilitator. It has the following objectives;
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To provide an enabling environment within which for Ibis program facilitators to develop upon their understanding of the nature and implications of their role as facilitators of civil society empowerment processes; |
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To provide an opportunity for Ibis program facilitators to support each other systematically build up their ability to be effective in their role as facilitators, within the complexities of changing paradigm shifts with respect to development work, organizational and institutional dynamics, and existing imbalances between local and international capacity-builders; |
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To catalyze and support the development of Ibis program facilitators into a critical internal group of change agents, capable and motivated to develop, lead and embody Ibis’ desired culture as a learning organization; |
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To create an opportunity for Ibis program facilitators to be exposed to principles and practices of OD and to support them discover their desired level of engagement in OD work with their partner organizations; |
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To offer the OCB program with an opportunity to test, challenge and build further its theories and approaches to training and development programs. |
This learning experience started in 2005 and it was intended that for each year, at least two of it would be organized. So far three of the Internal Learning programmes have been organized.
The first programme had the objective of introducing Ibis internal learning process, exploring and establishing areas for further development as facilitators and initiating a joint learning process among facilitators. It was emphasized that the programme was to foster a conscious personal reflection on the situations, dilemmas and successes facilitators encounter in our work with our partner organizations.
Some of the major outcomes from the first programme were that facilitators were able to identify attitudes, skills, values and knowledge needed in their facilitation and also identified other areas of learning that facilitators would need some of which were;
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Concepts and Approaches that underlie our work such as RBA, Organization Development (OD Theory and Practice), Partnership and collaboration, Education in change |
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Self/personal Development areas (increasing our awareness of our attitudes and values). This area of learning relates essentially to attitudes and values, etc, that one consciously/unconsciously works from; disciplines to support our personal development include individual reflection, journaling and feedback. |
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Skills, Disciplines, Methods/ tools and techniques that apply to our work - approaches to facilitation, negotiation and mediation, lobbying and advocacy, feedback, communication, conflict management. |
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Other areas (Topics/themes/subjects/content) - Ibis Vision and strategy, thematic programming, Fund Raising, Contract Designing, Community Entry, Decentralization, |
The second programme in May 2005 had the objective of assisting facilitators to discuss in depth issues, challenges/dilemmas about their role as facilitators using cases from their context and experiences and become more aware and acknowledge their natural way of communication and how this is working or not working for them - how this affects others or how others respond to their way of communicating.
The major outcome from the second programme was that facilitators gained significant insights on their role as facilitators, the common dilemmas and challenges they face in the field and the coping strategies.
One of the major challenge emphasized from the second programme was Conflict Management therefore the main objective of the third programme which was organized in February 2006 was to walk facilitators through an experience of conflict creation and management and to offer facilitators an alternative concept of conflict management which is attractive, constructive and effective. At the end of the programme, facilitators had been introduced to a tool which could be used to manage conflicts in a more attractive and constructive way.
For more information contact….dorcas@ibisghana.com; Dzifa@ibisghana.com
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