Facilitating a stakeholder workshop or panel: design, session and summary

Situations calling for facilitating a stakeholder workshop

• A local authority prepares a stakeholder engagement exercise, but the question put to participants has yet to be formulated.
• An institution convenes a panel whose previous conclusions were never followed up.
• A training organisation runs a collective workshop and seeks a method suited to the participants’ profile.
• A professional association brings its members together on a common topic, without a running order or schedule.
• A company’s management wants a collective session that leads to recommendations and follow-up actions.

Process

1. Onboarding. The client first acquires the intake form CV-20; public bodies proceed in accordance with public procurement rules. ASKonsult then opens the secure exchange space.
2. Synchronous scoping. A first 60-minute videoconference session settles the working question. It also specifies the participants’ profile and the facilitation method.
3. Asynchronous collection. The client completes the form and provides the background documents. Written questions flow in both directions, then the client validates the running order.
4. Analysis and facilitation. The in-house engineering team prepares the detailed running order, materials, schedule and budget for the session. The second session then consists of facilitating the workshop or panel, over a half-day or a full day.
5. Synchronous delivery. A third 60-minute videoconference session finally closes the process. ASKonsult delivers the validated summary and recommendations there.

Deliverable

The deliverable for facilitating a stakeholder workshop first covers the preparation of the collective session: facilitation running order, session materials, schedule and budget. It then includes a written summary of the proceedings. This summary sets out recommendations and specifies follow-up actions, in order to inform the decision. ASKonsult delivers the whole set, corrected and validated, at the debrief session. The complete process thus runs over three to six weeks, from receipt of a complete file.

Prerequisites

The process rests first on the completed form CV-20. The list of participants completes this form, as it determines the facilitation method. The venue and logistics of the session also remain the client’s responsibility. The indicative timeframes run from receipt of a complete file.

Frequently asked questions

How is the quote established?

A prior qualification exchange precedes the quote. It covers, in particular, the duration of the facilitation and the number of participants. The special terms then set the scope, timetable, number of sessions, expected documents and deliverable. For local authorities and public institutions, the order takes the form provided for by their regulations: purchase order, public contract or agreement.

What share of the work takes place in session?

The package includes three synchronous sessions. Two 60-minute videoconferences, two hours in total, frame the process: the scoping, then the debrief. Between them, the facilitation of the workshop or panel takes a half-day or a full day. The rest of the work takes place asynchronously: completion of the form, background documents, written questions and validation of the running order.

Why formulate the working question at the scoping stage?

The working question guides the entire process of facilitating a stakeholder workshop. It determines the participants’ profile, the facilitation method and the form of the summary. The scoping therefore formulates it before any preparation. The running order, validated by the client during collection, then translates this question into working sequences.

Which elements remain the client’s responsibility?

The venue and logistics of the session remain the client’s responsibility. Likewise, event logistics, travel expenses and accommodation expenses are not included in the package. The client also provides the list of participants. The schedule provided thus allows the client to organise these aspects in parallel with the preparation.

Do the documents provided remain confidential?

ASKonsult treats the background documents and information provided by the client as confidential. These elements circulate only through the secure exchange space. They serve solely the purposes of the package, and this obligation survives the end of the relationship. Reciprocally, the client undertakes the same discretion regarding non-public tools and deliverables.

What follow-up can be considered after the stakeholder engagement?

When the stakeholder engagement forms part of a territorial approach, the Developing a territorial action programme package (K-14) can extend it. Local authorities and public institutions also have access to the Institutions and Territories subscription (A-04). This subscription provides continuous methodological support for multi-year programmes. However, the client remains the sole decision-maker on the follow-up given to the recommendations.

Out of scope

Facilitating a stakeholder workshop, as designed in this package, does not include event logistics. Travel and accommodation expenses also fall outside the package. In addition, certified training design and audiovisual recording are not part of the service. Finally, the package is subject to an obligation of means: the recommendations inform the decision, which the client alone takes.