Facilitator Certification Program
Community Driven Planning for Racial and Climate Justice
Our 9-month Facilitator Certification Program is designed 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 tools. The vision for this certification program is to see hundreds of trained community-based facilitators across the country asserting community-driven climate planning as the norm and shifting away from the top-down paradigm of local planning.
To replace top-down planning models that replicate the power dynamics that resulted in the problems our communities are facing.
To help localities connect with, and contract, trained 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.
To ensure rootedness and accountability to frontline communities, as opposed to bringing-in outside facilitators or corporate firms.
To support community-based facilitators growing our shared practice.
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).
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.
To inspire our own solutions with examples of communities cultivating deep democracy.
The Facilitator Certification Program is intended to support facilitative leaders playing an active role in community-driven planning of any type and scale, and working in-partnership with organizations rooted in communities disproportionately burdened by climate and racial injustice.
We ask applicants to consider the time commitment of 2.5 hour mandatory monthly online meetings and an in-person 2.5 day gathering in Atlanta, GA April 16-18, 2025.
As part of successful completion of the 9-month training and all program activities, facilitators will be eligible to become part of our national Facilitator Referral Network and receive referrals for facilitation opportunities that come in to NACRP. The purpose of the referral network is to ensure that localities are able to connect with, and contract, trained facilitators accountable to frontline communities in their region.
The 2025 cohort will launch in March 2025 with a virtual orientation, followed by an in-person gathering in Atlanta, GA in mid-April, and run through November 2025.
To build relationships and deepen skills in facilitation of community-driven planning methods rooted in popular education
In and with a frontline community to which you are accountable. It could also be the update of an existing community plan.
Focused on facilitation skills, and peer consultancies on the nuts & bolts of community-driven planning.
From a peer in the cohort. Reflection and coaching prompts to be provided.
By staff or members of a frontline organization that participated in the planning process. Template for evaluation to be provided.
With coaching and editing support as needed.
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).
Breaking down the planning project you're working on and your deeper purpose in that work (2.5 hours)
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)
Process design (2.5 hours)
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 )
Aligning on community priorities (2.5 hours)
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)
Participatory policy development, nuts and bolts of planning, communications (2.5 hours)
Evaluation process by the resident leaders that facilitators worked with
Sliding scale $500-$2,000. Scholarships are available on a case-by-case basis. Applicants with needs-based requests are strongly encouraged to apply early as funds are limited.
For questions, please email nacrp@climateinnovation.net. Thank you!
The application period for the 2025 Facilitator Certification Program is now open. Join People's Climate Innovation Center's quarterly newsletter to be notified about announcements and updates!
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NACRP is a core program of the
People's Climate Innovation Center
