Portfolio
Supporting Students in Care
Workshop
A multi-day strategic workshop for the Student Protection team.
In-person
About the project
The Brief
The Manager, Student Protection approached L&D seeking facilitation assistance with an upcoming 3-day workshop.
The workshop would involve approximately 20 participants from across the state, including representatives from another government department. The event was planned to provide the foundation for the implementation of changes arising out of an internal review.
Day 2 was considered a potentially ‘difficult’ day and the initial brief was to support the client in facilitating a range of discussions on that day.
The workshop would involve approximately 20 participants from across the state, including representatives from another government department. The event was planned to provide the foundation for the implementation of changes arising out of an internal review.
Day 2 was considered a potentially ‘difficult’ day and the initial brief was to support the client in facilitating a range of discussions on that day.
The Solution
What began as a 1-day ‘guest facilitation spot’ quickly became a 3-day lead facilitation role. The agenda underwent multiple revisions before the event, requiring regular collaboration to remain focused on designing activities that would provide outcomes for participants and the department broadly.
It was a challenging workshop to facilitate, attended by participants with genuine passion for their work and the children of Queensland. Day 2 was - as predicted - a ‘difficult’ day requiring facilitated interventions and a diversion from the agenda to enable participants to achieve better outcomes.
Daily evaluation scores for productivity (as reported by participants) were high throughout the event.
It was a challenging workshop to facilitate, attended by participants with genuine passion for their work and the children of Queensland. Day 2 was - as predicted - a ‘difficult’ day requiring facilitated interventions and a diversion from the agenda to enable participants to achieve better outcomes.
Daily evaluation scores for productivity (as reported by participants) were high throughout the event.
Testimonials
Recently I had the pleasure of working with Matthew through a workshop design and facilitation process. In addition to the actual facilitation of the workshop, Matthew guided my team through a comprehensive workshop preparation phase.
During this phase, Matthew was approachable, supportive and very knowledgeable and he often shared valuable insights into the learning and development space. His gentle and encouraging coaching in the lead up to the event ensured the workshop was targeted and achieved the desired outcomes. During the event, Matthew showcased his exceptional facilitation skills by scaffolding, leading, and supporting my colleagues through a range of very complex content areas.
Throughout the 2.5 days, I received feedback from my colleagues (both internal and from an external agency) that they appreciated Matthew’s facilitation style, his warm and authentic approach to re-directing hard conversations and his occasional light and humorous banter.
Feedback received via Matthew’s formal evaluation tool as well as informal feedback indicated that the workshop was considered to be a success which I attribute entirely to Matthew’s involvement.