Virtual Facilitation Skills for Service Development (5 cr)

Learning outcomes

Having completed this study unit you will be able to:

• explain the principles of facilitation and what is facilitation in different contexts, including virtual environments
• analyze and compare the roles of facilitator and service designer
• classify facilitation competences, methods and tools, and to master their business applications
• identify goals of facilitation in developing business
• plan a facilitated workshop process that interlinks facilitation goals and implementation with expected development outcomes

Location and time

The course consists of three compulsory contact sessions, a compulsory pre-assignment, and a learning assignment. The course's learning environment in Canvas will be published 9th September. In Canvas, there will be instructions for the pre-assignment that is to be completed before the first contact session, by 23rd September 2025.

The preliminary contents of the lectures is listed below. It is still subject to change, e.g. until the number of enrolled students is known.
- Practicalities of the course, lecture about facilitation (facilitation in different fields, central concepts); discussing students' experiences and expectations; group exercise based on pre-reading literature on facilitation, instructions for the learning assignment
- Practical facilitation exercises and tools & methods, further instructions and tutoring for the learning assignment
- Guidance of learning assignments
- Presentations of the learning assignments, reflection, feedback

Between the contact days the students are expected to work on the learning assignment. The learning assignment consists of planning, implementing, and reporting a facilitated service design workshop in which the theories and methods are applied to practice.

Materials

Recommended literature:
- Kaner, S., Lind, L., Toldi, C., Fisk, S. & Berger, D. 2014. Facilitator's guide to participatory decision-making. 3rd ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
- Andersen, H. H., Nelson, I. & Ronex, K. 2021. Virtual facilitation: Create more engagement and impact. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons.
- Schwarz, R. 2017. The Skilled Facilitator. A Comprehensive Resouces for Consultants, Facilitators, Coaches, and Trainers. 3rd edition.
- Unger, R., Nunnally, B. & Willis, D. 2013. Designing the conversation: techniques for successful facilitation. Berkeley, Calif.: New Riders.
- Bens, I. 2018. Facilitating with Ease! Core Skills for Facilitators, Team Leaders and Members, Managers, Consultants and Trainers. 4th edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Jones, M. L. 2021. Mastering Facilitation: A Guide for Assisting Teams and Achieving Great Outcomes. Boca Raton, FL: Routledge.
- Nummi, P. 2021. Handbook of Professional Facilitation: Theory, Tools and Design.
- McInerny, G. J. 2016. Ten Simple Rules for Curating and Facilitating Small Workshops. PLoS Computational Biology 12, no. 7 (July 21, 2016): e1004745. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004745

Teaching methods

Having completed this study unit the student will be able to:
- explain the principles of facilitation and what is facilitation in different contexts, including virtual environments
- analyze and compare the roles of facilitator and service designer
- classify facilitation competences, methods and tools, and to master their business applications
- identify goals of facilitation in developing business
- plan a facilitated workshop process that interlinks facilitation goals and implementation with expected development outcomes

Employer connections

The study unit includes a learning assignment to be carried out in collaboration with a worklife partner. The students are expected to organize a partner for the development task through their own networks. The partner can be a company, organization, association, or a community.

The learning assignment includes planning, organizing, and reporting a facilitated workshop. Detailed instructions will be given in the first lecture.

Exam schedules

Changes may apply.
There will be 3 contact sessions:
Thursday 25.9. (16:30–19:30) Zoom
Thursday 30.10. (16:30–19:30) Zoom
Thursday 4.12. (16:30–19:30) Zoom

There will also be an optional Q&A session with the teachers on Thursday 16.10. at 11:00 am - 12:00 noon in Zoom.

Please note that the course's learning environment in Canvas will be published 9th September. There will be instructions for a pre-assignment that is to be completed by the first contact session, by 23rd September.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Further information

Please note that attendance at the learning sessions is mandatory. Absence is only permitted for a valid reason. In such a case, you must inform the teachers in advance and agree on an extra assignment.

If you have been absent and have not completed an extra assignment, you cannot pass the course.

Improving your grade after evaluation: https://laureauas.sharepoint.com/sites/studentEn_studyperformancesandevaluation/SitePages/Improving-pass-grades.aspx?