Facilitation training for international development practitioners
This training 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
21 hours, over 6 sessions
Study method
Online in real-time
Location
Zoom
Dates
5 May 2025 - 2 June 2025
Time
Mondays 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 international, national and local 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 training below
Who is this course for?
This course will help international development/humanitarian workers (international, national and local actors) 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
What can you expect:
Our training will provide you with the foundational skills, principles and self-awareness required for good facilitation.
Held on zoom, this training will provide participants with the knowledge and skills required to design and facilitate events for online, in person and/or hybrid environments.
The training will be oriented towards your learning needs. We welcome your challenges and aspirations into the course. This provides opportunity to practice your learning in situations most meaningful to you.
The format will consist of 3.5 hour sessions across five consecutive weeks and one session a month later where participants will be able to bring their stories of applying their facilitation practice in their work to a final peer learning circle.
Facilitating is like swimming: you can’t learn without getting in the water – so our training is highly hands-on and experiential.
Learning outcomes
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.
Enhance group dynamics and inclusion:
Teach participants how to create inclusive spaces where diverse voices are heard and power is equalised, enabling more equitable and transformative outcomes.
Foster effective collaboration:
Provide tools and approaches to equip participants to manage group dynamics, address conflict, and facilitate collaboration amongst respective groups and stakeholders.
Learning modules
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…
Course Information
Dates: Mondays 5 May 2025 - 2 June 2025
Time: 3:30pm - 7pm AEST (check your timezone here)
Sessions per week: 1
Duration: 6 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). See further details below.
What you will need
In order to successfully complete this course and get the most from it you will need:
To attend all six 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 with us?
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 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.
Qualifications
Bachelor of Social Science – Community Development, Victoria University
Bachelor of Arts - Multidisciplinary, Victoria University
Post Graduate in Educational Studies, Melbourne University
Post Graduate Certificate – Race Theories and Ethnicities, University of Dublin
Diploma of Training and Education – Diversity and Inclusion, Galway University
Post Graduate Diploma – International Development, RMIT University
Advanced Diploma in Group Facilitation, Groupwork Institute of Australia
Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
IAP2 Australasia Certificate of Engagement
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.
Qualifications:
Masters of Social Science (International Development), RMIT University
Bachelor of Arts (International Studies), RMIT University
Level 3 Coaching Certification, Global Coaching Institute
Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, Plenty Training
Advanced Diploma of Group Facilitation, Groupwork CentreCertificate in Collaborative Leadership and Management, Groupwork Centre
“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
Pricing & payments
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General price per person: $1450 incl GST
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Group Discount available: We offer 10% off when two or more people from an organisation book into the same dates for this course.
For each participant booking please enter the coupon code TENOFF at checkout , then click on Apply to receive your discounted total. -
On registration you will fill in a form with optional fields that enable you to nominate to whom an invoice should be sent.
We will email an invoice to this address.
To reserve your spot, simply select the ‘Book Class’ button after completing the form - rather than proceeding to payment.
All course fees are to be paid prior to the course commencement date.
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This policy can be viewed here.
Upon enrolment, you agree to the cost of this course. All course fees are to be paid prior to the course commencement date.Reschedules:
In the event of needing to reschedule, the following will be required:
Reschedule requests must be received 4 weeks prior to course commencement. (Requests received after this point will only be granted if the place can be filled by another participant. If the place cannot be filled, the registration and any monies paid are forfeited.)
When a reschedule request is granted, the enrollee must select another course date within two (2) weeks. (Course dates as listed on the course calendar) This is regardless of whether the person intends to attend that particular session or not. If this does not occur, the participant will lose their place and forfeit any monies paid. Notification to the participant about this requirement will be given twice before a forfeiting of monies will follow. (All participants need to be booked into a session to be able to access their rights to any further re-scheduling amendments or changes.
The course must be completed within six months of the original registration date. After this point the registration and monies are forfeited.
A person may re-schedule up to a total of three (3) times with a $50 administrative fee required for each reschedule, regardless of the period of time before the newly scheduled event and regardless of the reasons for re-scheduling. A person will lose their spot and forfeit any monies paid after the third reschedule.
In the event of sickness a reschedule can be granted in the 24 hours preceding the course start date (honesty system).
Cancellations
Cancellations received more than one month prior to the commencement date will receive a 100% refund.
Cancellations received less than one month prior to the commencement date will receive a refund if and only if your place in the course is filled by someone else. You will be refunded the course cost, less a $50 administration fee.
If we are unable to fill the place then your course fee will be forfeited.
NOTE: In the event that any registration fees are still outstanding at the time when a registration is forfeited (due to cancellation or rescheduling); these fees remain owing and will be billed to the participant.