Our 9-month Facilitator's Certification launched January 2023 for NACRP members and VISION | POWER | SOLUTIONS alumni who are actively engaged in community organizing . This training is intended to support participants with facilitation skill development, peer support, project mentorship, and applied practice of community-driven resilience planning. The vision for this certification program is to see hundreds of trained and supported community-based facilitators across the country asserting community-driven climate planning as the norm and shifting away from a top-down paradigm of local planning.
Program Goals
Build Our Collective Capacity
To replace top-down planning models that replicate the power dynamics that resulted in the problems our communities are facing.
Build a National Referral Network of Facilitators
To help localities connect with and contract "credentialed" facilitators who are accountable to frontline communities in their region, experienced in community-driven planning, and evaluated by a frontline organization and a fellow community-based facilitator.
Cultivate Local Facilitation
To ensure rootedness and community accountability to frontline communities, as opposed to bringing in outside facilitators or corporate firms.
Create a Community of Practice for Facilitators
To support community-based facilitators growing our shared practice.
Prepare Experienced Community-based Facilitators
Who can implement the principles and practices of community-driven planning [as described in the VISION | POWER | SOLUTIONS series and in the Framework on Community-Driven Climate Resilience Planning.)
Address the Need for Community-driven Planning
To repair institutionalized harm exacerbated by the pandemic, economic crises, ecological crises, climate impacts, over-policing, and other persistent threats to community health and well-being.
Share Stories of Impact
To inspire our own solutions with examples of communities cultivating deep democracy
Who Should Apply
The facilitator's certification cohort is intended to support facilitative leaders playing an active role in community planning of any type and scale, and working in partnership with organizations rooted in communities disproportionately burdened by pollution, toxins, displacement, and other impacts related to climate and racial injustice.
We ask applicants to consider the time commitment of 2.5-3 hour mandatory monthly meetings and an in-person 2.5 day gathering in California January 31 - February 2, 2024.
As part of successful completion of the 9 month certification cohort, Facilitator’s will be eligible to become part of our national Facilitator’s Network and receive referrals for projects for community-led facilitation and planning as well as a free annual NACRP membership. The purpose of the referral network is to ensure that localities are able to connect with, and contract, certified facilitators accountable to frontline communities in their region.
Schedule
February to September 2024
The 2024 cohort will launch in January,followed by an in-person gathering in southern California the first week of February, and run through September 2024.
Program
Attend in-person gathering of the cohort in San Diego, CA
January 31st - February 2nd
To build relationships and deepen skills in facilitation of community-driven planning methods rooted in popular education
Design and/or facilitate a community-driven planning process
at any scale, anytime between January - September 2024
In and with a frontline community to which you are accountable. It could also be the update of an existing community plan).
Actively participate in monthly 2.5-hour whole group sessions
Focused on facilitation skills, and peer consultancies in the nuts & bolts of community-driven planning.
Give and receive a reflection (and light peer coaching)
From a peer in the cohort. Reflection and coaching prompts to be provided.
Acquire an evaluation of the community-driven planning process and facilitation
By staff or members of a frontline organization that participated in the planning process. Template for evaluation to be provided.
Write one blog about your experience with community-driven planning
With coaching and editing support as needed.
Training Overview
PURPOSE
Intro to facilitation framework (SEED, HARVEST, WEAVE), overview and some work to clarify one’s own purpose (vision, values, and purpose) as a facilitator of community-driven planning, ecological principles - folks identify their critical questions (getting paired with someone else).Full day or 1.5 days
Peer Consultancy
Breaking down the planning project you're working on and your deeper purpose in that work (2.5 hours)
SEED
Designing the process with methods that seed the vision, values, and purpose of the effort - choosing methods (HOW) that reflect the WHY, intro to popular education. (2.5 hours)
Peer Consultancy
Process design (2.5 hours)
HARVEST
Being really clear what you are listening for, what insights, priorities, etc your effort is trying to gather from community members, choosing a framework for gathering those insights, the practice of deep listening, ensuring that people are genuinely seen and heard. (2.5 hours )
Peer Consultancy
Aligning on community priorities (1.5 hours)
WEAVE
What is the larger narrative (media strategy, a community plan, a set of recommendations, etc.) your community is weaving together? Participatory methods for weaving and communicating what’s needed. (2.5 hours)
Peer Consultancy
Participatory policy development, nuts and bolts of planning, communications (2.5 hours)
Celebration and Reflection
Evaluation process by the resident leaders that they work with, by the organizers they’re working with
Fee & Scholarships
Sliding scale $500 - $2,000. A small number of scholarships will be awarded to participants based on their financial needs. Early applications with needs-based requests are strongly encouraged as funds are limited.
Application Period
August 22 - October 23, 2023
The application period for the current cohort has passed.
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