Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making

by Sam Kaner

Overview

And now this classic book is even better-much better. Completely revised and updated, the second edition is loaded with new tools and techniques. Two powerful new chapters on agenda design, A full section devoted to reaching closure, More than twice as many tools for handling difficult dynamics, 70 brand-new pages and over 100 pages significantly improved.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781119789062
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	07/01/2025
Edition description:	4th ed.
Pages:	425
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

Sam Kaner, Ph.D. is the founder of the consulting firm Community At Work, and he has been its Executive Director since 1986. He is regarded as one of the nation's leading experts on facilitation. Over the past 20 years he has repeatedly been a featured speaker at the annual conferences of several professional associations, including the National Organization Development Network and the International Association of Facilitators. His corporate clients have included Hewlett-Packard, Price Waterhouse, Visa International, Charles Schwab and Company, and many other Fortune 500 companies. His public sector clients have included the California Supreme Court, the March of Dimes, Special Olympics, Annie E Casey Foundation and many schools, community-based organizations and government agencies.

Lenny Lindis president of CoVision, Inc. He is the co-developer of Council, a groupware system designed for facilitators.

Catherine Toldi, M.A. is a freelance collaboration specialist.

Sarah Fisk, PhD is a clinical psychologist, a seasoned facilitator, and a designer of participatory processes. She has been a featured speaker of the annual conferences of the National Organization Development Network and the International Association of Facilitators as well as an adjunct professor at California Institute of Integral Studies. Sarah's corporate clients have included Hewlett-Packard, Agilent, Visa International, Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Inc. and many other Fortune 500 businesses. Her public sector clients have included the March of Dimes, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, EarthIsland Institute, City of Edmonton, Alberta, and numerous educational and government agencies and community based organizations. Sarah has been a senior consultant with Community At Work since 1996.

Duane Berger, M.A. is co-founder of the Resource Center for Consensus Decision-Making.

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Table of Contents

Foreword   Michael Doyle     xi
Introduction     xvii
Grounding Principles
The Dynamics of Group Decision-Making     3
Participatory Values     23
Introduction to the Role of Facilitator     31
Facilitator Fundamentals
Facilitative Listening Skills     41
ChartWriting Technique     61
Facilitating Open Discussion     75
Alternatives to Open Discussion     89
Brainstorming     117
Tools for Managing Long Lists     123
Dealing with Difficult Dynamics     135
Effective Agendas: Desired Outcomes     155
Effective Agendas: Process Design     173
Building Sustainable Agreements
Principles for Building Sustainable Agreements     191
Gathering Diverse Points of View     203
Building a Shared Framework of Understanding     221
Developing Inclusive Solutions     237
Reaching Closure
Importance of Clear Decision Rules     265
Striving for Unanimity     275
Reaching Closure Step by Step     289
Facilitating Sustainable Agreements     303
Photocopying Policy     313
Bibliography     315
Acknowledgments     319
The Authors     323
Index     325
Training from Community At Work     341

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"In cross-functional environments, where diverse perspectives are intentionally brought together to produce high-quality thinking, a highly skilled facilitator can add great value—and Sam Kaner is one of the best. The Facilitator's Guide provides a full set of models and tools to enable an organization to reap the benefits of a well facilitated, participatory decision-making process. Having seen Sam's methods in action, I can attest to their power and effectiveness."
—Pierre Omidyar, founder and chairman, eBay and Omidyar Network

"Hooray for the Facilitator's Guide. It explains principles, practices, and processes with cogent clarity, and each diagram conveys a complex idea almost instantly."
—Joanna Macy, author, World as Lover, World as Self

"Our organization's core purpose is to dissolve boundaries across sectors in order to find innovative solutions to difficult social problems. We know how immensely challenging it is to facilitate dialogue among multiple stakeholders. This amazing book is a comprehensive guide for meeting that challenge. I've worked with a myriad of consultants during the past 16 years, and Sam Kaner's approach is vastly superior for bringing about lasting system change."
—Kriss Deiglmeier, executive director, Center for Social Innovation, Stanford University

"Sam Kaner is one of the world's leading experts on collaboration. His grasp of the challenges and dilemmas of collaboration is superb, as are his models and methods for facilitating complex processes."
—Sandy Schuman, editor, Creating a Culture of Collaboration

"The Facilitator's Guide has allowed us to build our own capacity. We've learned how to convene multiple stakeholder teams, plan effectively, and make more sustainable decisions, thus maintaining our collaborative values as we grow to serve a wider community. I highly recommend this book."
—James Whipple, CEO, Marshall Medical Center, El Dorado County, California

"Kaner's decision-making procedures are the best I've ever seen. We use them all the time!"
—Deborah Alvarez-Rodriguez, president and CEO, Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin Counties