An Internal Facilitator Assessment Program
By Michael Wilkinson
Managing Director, Leadership Strategies
The Problem Organizations around the globe are assembling teams of facilitators to help their organizations plan and execute more effective meetings. Yet how do you know if your team is developing? How do you assess their skills in an effort to identify gaps and advance their competencies? Would it be helpful to have a program in which you can assess their progress as they advance in their skill level? And would it add more value if those facilitators who achieved the highest level could then be considered for external certification? As a board member of the National Institute for Facilitation, I was pleased when the Institute recently approved a new program to partner with organizations to supply an internal assessment model for their organization that provides facilitators a four-levels of assessment. A Solution: The NIFac Partners in Assessment Program
Internal Assessment to Develop Your Facilitators
External Assessment to Certify Your Top Performers The National Institute for Facilitation (NIFac) oversees the Certified Master Facilitator Program - the highest certification available for the profession. This rigorous assessment rates facilitators across six competency areas that include 30 detailed sub-competencies. 
Through the Partners in Assessment Program, NIFac offers organizations the opportunity to use the NIFac assessment model to guide and support the development of their own people. Using the NIFac materials, organizations can implement an internal Facilitator Assessment Program to assess their facilitators and track their progress through a range which extends from apprentice to advanced facilitator. Those facilitators achieving the highest assessment level are then eligible to submit their materials to NIFac for external review to qualify as Certified Master Facilitators! The NIFac Assessment Tools NIFac provides your facilitators, your administrator and your assessors with tools and expert assistance for implementing your internal Facilitator Assessment Program.
- The Facilitator Competency Model forms the foundation for your Facilitator Assessment Program. Through the six competencies and 30 sub-competencies, you will be able to assess the development of your facilitators as they achieve facilitation mastery.
- The Candidate Forms provides the instructions and on-line instruments to be used by candidates for assessment.
- The Video Role Plays provide a series of case studies with specific roles that are designed to require the candidate to exercise the full breadth of NIFac competencies and sub-competencies.
- The Procedures give the administrator the specific steps to take in organizing and coordinating the assessment program
- The Assessor Guides are the heart of the assessment program. The guides provide specific scoring guidelines for assessors to use in assessing each of the 30 sub-competencies on a five-point scale. Separate guides are used for assessing the written submission and the video role play. These guides establish a standard of rigor to help achieve a high-level of consistency and reliability throughout the assessment process.
- To help in implementing your Facilitator Assessment Partnership, NIFac provides Expert Assistance from a member of the NIFac assessor team. Depending on the licensing option selected, the assistance can include telephone support or on-site assistance through the phases of the implementation process.
The Implementation Road Map While each organization's implementation of the Partnership in Assessment Program will be unique, NIFac offers the following as a starting point for the planning, preparation and implementation activities. 
What is even more exciting is that the cost of licensing starts as low as $5000 per organization and includes program materials and support. And if you are an external facilitator, NIFac extends the offer to you to work with your clients in implementing the Partners in Assessment Program. You can learn more about the Partners in Assessment program through www.NIFac.org. To prepare your facilitators for the assessment, check out our training course, The Effective Facilitator and The Facilitator Certification Class. |
