Facilitation training for international development practitioners

This training for international development practitioners will equip you with the skills to run highly effective meetings and group processes to  drive long-term collaboration and strategic alignment that leads to tangible, lasting change.

Price

$1,450 inc. GST

Duration

16 hours, over 4 sessions

Study method

Online in real-time

Location

Zoom

Dates

March 3, 10, 17, 24 - 2025

Time

3:30pm - 7:30pm AEST

Build stronger, more inclusive partnerships

In international development and humanitarian work, with competing demands and high workloads the challenges of inefficiency, poor collaboration, and missed opportunities are all too common. Meetings that don’t lead to decisions, data that remains unused, and stakeholders who aren’t effectively engaged can stall progress.

Effective facilitation is the key to unlocking the potential of diverse groups, tapping into their wisdom and working together towards a shared vision of a fairer, and more just world.

Skilled facilitators make complex processes easier. They guide groups through difficult conversations, are able to transform conflict, help stakeholders collaborate, and ensure that the voices of all—especially local actors—are heard and respected.

In the face of growing demands for enabling agency for local and national actors, facilitation skills are essential. They allow development/humanitarian workers to build stronger, more inclusive partnerships, to collaborate in more agile and adaptive ways, and ultimately to deliver more impactful, context-sensitive solutions. 

Register for international facilitator training

A course for international development and humanitarian workers

This course will help international development/humanitarian workers become skilled facilitators who can better navigate complexity, drive collaboration, and ensure more effective, inclusive development outcomes. Typical roles include:

  • Leadership, project managers, knowledge managers

  • Partnership brokers

  • Technical specialists

  • Advocacy, campaigning and policy specialists

  • Monitoring and evaluation specialists

  • Humanitarian and development practitioners

  • Media and communications

  • Capability strengthening and training roles

  • Legal and human rights roles

  • Security and safety roles

  • Donor relations and fundraising roles

  • Human resource professionals, learning and organisational development specialists

Learning outcomes for international facilitators

  1. Develop facilitation skills:

    • Equip participants with the ability to design and facilitate productive sessions and processes, using facilitation techniques that foster open dialogue, collaboration, and shared decision-making.

  2. Enhance group dynamics and inclusion:

    • Teach participants how to create inclusive spaces where diverse voices—especially from local communities—are heard and respected, enabling more equitable and locally owned development outcomes.

  3. Foster effective collaboration:

    • Provide tools and approaches to equip participants to manage group dynamics, address conflict, and facilitate collaboration amongst respective groups and stakeholders.

  4. Apply facilitation to local contexts:

    • Enable participants to use facilitation as a key tool for shifting the role of international actors from decision-makers to connectors and space-holders for local actors to lead.

Learning modules for international facilitation

Foundations of facilitation

  • Introduction to Groupworks Centre’s model of collaborative practice

  • The role of the facilitator

  • The importance of facilitation practice principles

  • Microskills for effective communication

  • Self-awareness

  • Opportunities for facilitation practice

  • Creating groupness – safety and inclusion

  • Designing engaging sessions


Plus additional modules based on the specific learning needs of the group. Topics may include: 

  • Cross cultural communication

  • How to address pop-up conflict in groups

  • Navigating rank and power – How to equalize power in groups

  • Facilitating processes that enable local actors to take the lead

  • Collaborative decision making

  • Stepping into your personal power as a facilitator

  • Emotional resilience and self care

  • Plus more…

Facilitator bios below.

Logistics

Course information

  • Dates: March 3rd, 10th, 17th & 24th 2025 

  • Time: 3:30 - 7pm AEST (check your timezone here)

  • Sessions per week: 1

  • Duration: 4 weeks

  • Session length/Time commitment: 3.5 hours

  • Format: Online – Live & Interactive sessions on Zoom

  • Group size: Up to 21 participants

  • Pricing: AUD$1450 per person.  (We offer a 10% discount if two or more people are booking from the same organisation. Use code ‘TENOFF’ on registration).

What you will need

In order to successfully complete this course and get the most from it you will need:

  • To attend all four sessions (each session is 3.5 hours long)

  • High quality and reliable internet connection for Zoom

  • To participate from a quiet space, free from distraction

  • To have your camera on during the live sessions

  • Have written and verbal proficiency in English Language

  • Check time zones suite ability to attend here

What you will walk away with

  • A comprehensive manual full of resources and tools to support your facilitation practice

  • A PDF copy of our publication “Getting our Act Together”

  • A PDF copy of our Micro-Skills cards

  • Access to Groupwork Centre's monthly Facilitation Practice Circles and more!

Why study with Groupwork Centre?

We are internationally recognised as leaders in the field of facilitation education and training, having established this work in 1984. This offering is based on our 2-day course which for our Advanced Group Facilitation Program, which is consistently booked out.

We give you a practical, well-framed approach to build your facilitation skills, self-awareness and confidence.

Your facilitators

Nancy Nuñez

Nancy is a passionate and skilled facilitator with a deep commitment to harnessing the power of groups to drive meaningful change. She believes in the transformative power of collaboration, helping individuals and teams work across differences to find creative, inclusive solutions that equalize power and open up new possibilities. 

Her facilitation approach grounded in humanity, kindness, and generosity of spirit, with the belief that the best work happens when people bring their whole selves to the table.

With a rich background in both Community Development and International Development, Nancy has built a diverse career as a facilitator, educator, and manager. She has worked across multiple sectors, including community, First Nations, government, and corporate, delivering impactful projects both locally and internationally. Her experience spans continents, having worked in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.

Nancy’s extensive facilitation expertise covers conflict resolution, strategic planning, collaborative decision-making, and community engagement. She is also an experienced educator, having developed, delivered, and evaluated numerous training programs in areas she is deeply passionate about, such as:

  • Diversity and Inclusion

  • Cross-Cultural Awareness

  • Anti-Racism Training

  • Community Development

  • Emotional Intelligence and Resilience

  • Advanced Facilitation

  • Volunteer Management

Nancy loves to work with groups and individuals, she believes that when people come together through facilitation, to collaborate, they can create meaningful, lasting change.

Virginia Gough

Virginia’s passion for group facilitation was born from her experience working in East Timor in 2002. There she observed the power of group facilitation empowering communities to work together towards sustainable outcomes.

Her training as a group facilitator began in 2003,  and was further enhanced in 2008 when she undertook Groupwork Centers Advanced Diploma of Group Facilitation.

Virginia has applied this training extensively in her roles as Global Learning and Organisational Development Manager for Oxfam Australia, Technical Academy Global Manager for World Vision International, and most recently with Collaboration for Impact as their Systems Change Learning Program Manager.

Virginia took up the role as Associate for Groupwork Centre offering facilitation services and training from 2015, working with a wide range of clients including community groups, local and state government, and local and international not-for-profit organisations. Her current role is Co-Director of Groupwork and sits on Groupwork Centre’s Governance Group.

Virginia is deeply interested in how groups are formed and sustained over time. Her facilitation style uses creative group processes to build trust and inclusiveness as a foundation to navigating complexity and decision-making

“The facilitators were exceptional in: creating a safe, comfortable and chill environment, keeping to time, keeping the content understandable and achievable, clear instructions, allowing us to be human and diverse. I liked that the course wasn't simply, "here are a bunch of activities you can do", but rather focused on the self awareness and what we, as facilitators, can control and how we can work with ourselves to create that confidence to facilitate and feel good in the role. Also loved no handouts or PowerPoints!”

Libby, Brotherhood of St Laurence