Training Guide for the Head Start Learning Community--Community Partnerships: Elements of Success--Module 2 Handout 5

Training Guides for the Head Start Learning Community:
Community Partnerships:
Working Together

Module 2

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Elements of Success
Handout 4: Choosing a Skilled Facilitator
Overview
A skilled facilitator must involve everyone in the collaborative's work of building relationships, sharing information and ideas, and taking action. Successful collaborations require everyone's involvement. Below are some of the ways facilitators (and other partners) can get everyone involved.
Meeting Preparation

Take care of meeting logistics (e.g., meeting date, time, place, refreshments);

Send out advance notices to clarify the meeting's purpose;

Prepare a meeting agenda that shows what each agenda item requires (e.g., discussion, decision) and who is responsible; and

Identify, collect, and send out materials to help partners get ready for a meeting.

Meeting Process

Follow ground rules as set and agreed upon by partners;

Follow the agenda, including start and end times;

Guide actions to get the work done; and

Review the meeting outcomes (i.e., what was accomplished, what happened, what was not resolved, and what will happen next).

Group Process

Make sure all partners have a role;

Confirm the value of each partner's role and contributions;

Closely monitor group and partner behaviors, that surface during meetings and intervene at critical moments;

Recognize membership organizations and others for helping the collaborative move forward; and

Contact any partners who do not attend a meeting and encourage their participation.

Information-Sharing

Keep an updated partner roster;

Set up systems for keeping partners and key stakeholders informed about the collaborative;

Have necessary documents available to partners, such as laws, interagency agreements, demographic data, and assessment findings;

Write up meeting summaries, showing who attended, items covered, decisions reached, actions taken, accomplishments, partner assignments, and the agenda items for the next meeting; and

Collect and provide data to help partners monitor and evaluate progress.

Handouts

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		Take care of meeting logistics (e.g., meeting date, time, place, refreshments);
		Send out advance notices to clarify the meeting's purpose;
		Prepare a meeting agenda that shows what each agenda item requires (e.g., discussion, decision) and who is responsible; and
		Identify, collect, and send out materials to help partners get ready for a meeting.

		Follow ground rules as set and agreed upon by partners;
		Follow the agenda, including start and end times;
		Guide actions to get the work done; and
		Review the meeting outcomes (i.e., what was accomplished, what happened, what was not resolved, and what will happen next).

		Make sure all partners have a role;
		Confirm the value of each partner's role and contributions;
		Closely monitor group and partner behaviors, that surface during meetings and intervene at critical moments;
		Recognize membership organizations and others for helping the collaborative move forward; and
		Contact any partners who do not attend a meeting and encourage their participation.

		Keep an updated partner roster;
		Set up systems for keeping partners and key stakeholders informed about the collaborative;
		Have necessary documents available to partners, such as laws, interagency agreements, demographic data, and assessment findings;
		Write up meeting summaries, showing who attended, items covered, decisions reached, actions taken, accomplishments, partner assignments, and the agenda items for the next meeting; and
		Collect and provide data to help partners monitor and evaluate progress.