Facilitator

A facilitator is a person who helps a group of people to work together better, understand their common objectives, and plan how to achieve these objectives, during meetings or discussions. In doing so, the facilitator remains "neutral", meaning they do not take a particular position in the discussion. Some facilitator tools will try to assist the group in achieving a consensus on any disagreements that preexist or emerge in the meeting so that it has a solid basis for future action.

There are a variety of definitions for facilitator:

The concept of authority (of the facilitator) is one which can cause confusion. John Heron espouses three alternates (initially in the educational context) as being:

Business facilitators work in business, and other formal organizations but facilitators may also work with a variety of other groups and communities. It is a tenet of facilitation that the facilitator will not lead the group towards the answer that they think is best even if they possess an opinion on the facilitation subject. The facilitator's role is to make it easier for the group to arrive at its own answer, decision, or deliverable.

This can and does give rise to organizational conflict between hierarchical management and theories and practice of empowerment. Facilitators often have to navigate between the two, especially where overt statements about empowerment are not being borne out by organizational behaviors.

Conflict resolution facilitators are used in peace and reconciliation processes both during and after a conflict. They support constructive and democratic dialogue between groups with diverse and usually diametrically opposite positions. Conflict resolution facilitators must be impartial to the conflicting groups (or societies) and must adhere to the rules of democratic dialogue. They may not take sides or express personal opinions. Their role is to support groups develop shared vision for the future, learn to listen to each other, and understand and appreciate the feelings, experiences and positions of the opposing side.

Educators in dialogic learning and other peer instruction approaches often serve as facilitators. According to one common definition, an educational facilitator has the same level of knowledge about both education and the subject matter as a teacher, but works with the goal of having students take as much responsibility for their own learning as possible. Instructors at Shimer College, for example, are often referred to as facilitators due to their role in provoking learning by facilitating a conversation among students about the text rather than instructing the students directly. In language teaching, teachers may shift to a facilitative role to increase student ownership of the learning process. Effective facilitation requires self-monitoring and careful attention to the details of interaction as well as the content of the material.

Facilitators can help participants in small and medium-sized groups to work through a meeting agenda. The facilitator is often appointed in place of what would once have been a chairperson's role. Along with other officers, the facilitator is appointed at the group's annual general meeting to fill the role for the year ahead. Groups that have adopted this model include prayer groups, men's groups, writing groups and other community organisations.