Facilitation of meetings, conferences, or processes

We help to make important events run effectively, well, and productively. Our professional facilitators can assist in designing workshops, conferences, and decision-making processes so they fulfill their aims and become a great experience for both organizers and participants.

Facilitation services may include: 

• Design of long-term planning processes within your company/organization;
• Elaborating minutes from a discussion or an entire conference;
• New formats for conferences and “non-conferences” such as open space, search conference, world café, deliberative forums, discussion forums, or panels;
• Facilitation of public meetings (round tables, public hearings, briefings, expert panel discussions for the public, etc.);
• Moderating of working conferences.

References:

• Since 2022, we have been working with the Slovak National Gallery (SNG) on their organizational development. Following their organizational audit, in 2023 we continued to support their development by facilitating internal meetings focused on changes to the organizational structure. We also conducted training activities to strengthen the skills of staff in facilitating internal meetings and in dealing with feedback.  
• In 2023 we also prepared, consulted on, and facilitated the process of developing a strategic planning process for the Bratislava Cultural and Information Centre (BKIS). As part of the process, we conducted a series of eight facilitated meetings of the BKIS team in three phases: analytical, strategic and planning, in which we guided the BKIS team through the process of developing a strategic plan for the organization prospectively up to 2030, with an action plan for a period of three years.
• In 2023 through consultation and facilitation, we contributed to the first forum of Ukrainian associations and initiatives in Slovakia. It brought together over a hundred people who in different parts of Slovakia – from Bratislava, Rimavská Sobota, Kežmarok, to Košice – are striving for better integration of the Ukrainian minority, for mutual support and cooperation amongst themselves as well as between the minority and majority population, and for humanitarian aid. The conference was organized by Ukraine-Slovakia SOS / SME SPOLU.
  staff in facilitating internal meetings and in dealing with feedback.
• Throughout 2022 and 2023 we have been working with the City of Trnava, especially with the Participation Department, to develop a system of participation of Trnava residents in prioritizing the selection of revitalization projects and the creation of new public spaces. We are helping the city to set up a procedure for collecting ideas from residents, processing them and then selecting priority projects. We are testing this process on the topic of public spaces with the expectation that the city will be able to repeat it regularly in the future. More information can be found on the Plan the City Trnava website.
• In 2022 in cooperation with the civic association “People for Climate” and the city of Trnava, for the first time in Slovakia we held a Civic Assembly on the topic: What should the city of Trnava do by 2030 to prepare for climate change? The deliberative process was very much enjoyed by the citizens and the municipal representatives are respectful of the results and are actively working with them.
• During pandemic year 2020 PDCS facilitated a three-day long international online conference on service learning “What Does It Mean to Become an Engaged University: Service-Learning in Higher Education in Central and Eastern Europe” (SLIHE). The conference was organized by Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica. During the conference, participants from Europe, Latin America, the United States and Africa were able to take an active part in the panel discussion, 3 keynote speeches, 31 presentations and 10 workshops.
• UNDP: Facilitation of the meeting “Black Sea Islands of Integrity” as a part of the Black Sea NGO Forum - Moldova (2016).
• Government office of the Czech Republic: Facilitation of the Roma Platform of the Czech Republic – a series of national and regional meetings of multiple sector stakeholders (2016-18).
• Konrad Adenauer Stiftung: A network-building workshop for civil society organizations in Kuwait.
• Konrad Adenauer Stiftung: Facilitating the platform of Slovak NGOs active in civic education in Cadenabbia, Italy.