By Jen Rogers, Involvement and Engagement Coordinator, Involve North East
In my role as Involvement and Engagement Coordinator I spend a lot of time thinking about workshops and focus groups, and how best to design and facilitate them. But I have rarely participated in any, so when I saw a workshop opportunity in an area of healthcare that interests me, I was keen to see what it’s like when the roles are reversed.
What makes a good session? What makes a participant feel valued as a contributor? Let me share with you what I took away from this experience.
Being listened to
The facilitators always made me feel like my contribution was being taken seriously and would be used in the research. I never felt dismissed or talked down to, even when learning about NHS processes and research I was unfamiliar with.
Connecting with other participants
I appreciated meeting similarly minded people from other statutory and voluntary organisations to work together towards a shared goal. This also gave us all the opportunity to grow our networks, which is something to keep in mind when running focus groups with staff.
Group work
The workshop structure was mostly small group work, allowing everyone to contribute as much as they felt comfortable to. The facilitators introduced each task with some brief context and information – no death by PowerPoint – left us to get on with the task in our small groups, before the full group came back together for a discussion at the end of each task. Setting time limits for each task also kept the pace moving and our motivation levels up.
Encouraging creativity
In addition to using our professional knowledge, each task allowed us to use a different aspect of our creativity through design, storytelling and creative problem solving. Encouraging people to use their innate creativity is a vital part of engagement – and it’s not all about arts and crafts.
Small touches make a difference
Like your plants, it helps to keep your participants fed, watered and in a well-lit warm environment. Having water and hot drinks available throughout the day, and providing food also meant we could take breaks and have a chat.
If you’ve participated in a workshop or focus group, what were your experiences and biggest takeaways? Has it helped you grow as a facilitator? We’d love to hear from you.
