Facilitator’s instructions

Introduction

The “Professional Development Library: Addressing Sexual Misconduct” contains a variety of resources designed to help the CAF achieve cultural alignment as outlined in The Path to Dignity and Respect: The Canadian Armed Forces Sexual Misconduct Response Strategy (The Path). The training and education materials are short, flexible, and can be delivered in-house or online.  They are easily integrated into any daily schedule, allowing professional development to happen anywhere, anytime. 

The sessions are intended to be facilitated by one or two persons familiar with the content and the process of facilitation. In this context, facilitation means establishing and managing the structure of the discussion so that the participants can learn from one another and from interacting with the content.

Being a facilitator means taking on a leadership role in helping a group focus on the learning objectives in an effective and efficient manner. In this context, facilitators:

• Adjust and regulate interaction in group settings
• Foster collaboration
• Guide group growth
• Challenge, encourage or create discussions as required
• Focus energy without drawing attention to themselves
• Rephrase concepts without altering their meaning
• Offer the right tools at the right time to help the group’s progress toward the objective

Group size

Most of the sessions are designed for groups of 4 to 15 participants and should last around 20 to 25 minutes.

Pre-reading considerations

As an option, facilitators may consider providing in advance the scenario that is associated with the session to be delivered. Reading the scenario ahead of the session provides time to identify any issues, reflect upon its content and prepare for discussion. This may provide richer discussions.

Preparation

These sessions, although short in length, require preparation. Facilitators must set aside time (between 30 and 90 minutes, based on the familiarity with the subject) to prepare for the delivery of any scenario from the professional development library. Worthwhile delivery of a session depends on the confidence and preparation of the facilitator. It is recommended that the facilitator follow these steps:

1. Review the content material including scenario, questions and potential perspectives, as well as any supporting material (hyperlinks). Thorough preparation will allow for a confident, smooth presentation.
2. Prepare the audience to ensure that all are aware of the upcoming session. Provide the scenario in advance to spark their interest and ensure they have time to reflect.
3. Prepare the location and the resources such as flipcharts, whiteboards and markers; if done online, ensure participants have multiple means of participating (voice, chat, virtual whiteboards, etc.).
4. After session completion, send out a message summarizing the session’s main takeaways and thanking participants for their input. 

Overview of a typical scenario

Each scenario usually consists of 4 to 6 pages and they all have the same style, containing the following sections:

1. TITLE PAGE: contains the following information:
   1. Related line of operation (from The Path): Prevent, Respond or Support.
   2. Scenario name

   3. Audience level: (basic, intermediate or advanced). These relate to experience level or rank of participants. Expectations for participants’ responses will vary in complexity depending on their “level”. The table below outlines the audience level and recommended ranks associated with them. These ranks are provided as a guide only. Consideration should be given to the participants’ experience, roles and responsibilities when determining the audience level.

      Audience level	Recommended Ranks
      Basic	Pte/S3/Avr—MCpl/MS and OCdt/NCdt—Lt/SLt
      Intermediate	MCpl/MS—WO/PO 1 and Lt/SLt—Capt/Lt(N)
      Advanced	MWO/CPO 2 and above, Maj/LCdr and above

   4. Facilitator’s level: (Basic, Intermediate or Advanced) relates to the experience level of the facilitator. Basic level would include any facilitator with little or no experience facilitating. Advanced level would be a member with experience in facilitating groups.
   5. Learning Objectives: lists of learning objectives for the session. By the end of the session, participants are expected to be able to meet what is listed. Facilitators cover the objectives by having the group address the provided questions related to the scenario.
2. INFORMATION PAGE: contains information to assist facilitator in reading and preparing for the session. It contains the following information:
   1. Icons: outline what each icon represents within the document.  The icons are not necessarily present in every scenario.
   2. Facilitator Notes: useful information for the facilitator.
   3. Trigger Warning: Sexual misconduct affects not just the persons directly involved in the misconduct (victim/survivor and respondent), but everyone around them, such as family and friends, peers, supervisors and subordinates, chain of command, unit and ultimately the CAF and the Defence Team. Sexual misconduct is already a traumatic event and members that experienced it in the past may be “triggered” by the discussions. This warning has to be read out loud at the beginning of each session, making sure that you identify options for support (co-facilitators, resources, taking some time off the session, etc.).
3. SCENARIO PAGES: These make up the bulk of the session. These pages contain the following:
   1. Introduction: identify the goal of the session, this can be read to the participants to clarify the expectations.
   2. Scenario: Background story that sets the discussions. These are kept purposely vague to encourage conversation. You can spark discussions with “what if…” to explore other related situations.
   3. Resources: Hyperlinks to resources specifically used in this scenario, we strongly encourage you to consult them prior to the session and be familiar with them as they provide important background information.
   4. Questions: this table is your main tool to guide the discussion, you should be familiar with the flow of the questions and potential perspectives:
      1. Lead off Questions asked by the facilitator are located on the left of the table;
      2. Participants’ Potential Perspectives in the form of discussion points are listed on the right of the table to assist the facilitator in guiding the discussion.
   5. Takeaways: summarizing statements that directly relate to the learning objectives and are important notes for all participants to reflect upon at the end of the session.
   6. Feedback: if you have any feedback, or questions, use the link in this section to send us an email directly.

Delivery method

Facilitation style is something that is developed over time with experience. For those new to facilitation, the following steps are recommended:

1. INTRODUCTIONS: at the beginning of the session, a good facilitator will introduce: 
   1. Themselves and a co-facilitator;
   2. The session topic;
   3. The learning objectives; and
   4. The Trigger Warning—to be read out loud at the beginning of your session.
2. READ THE SCENARIO: participants should have the chance to read the scenario and reflect individually.

3. FACILITATE:

   1. Ask the first Lead Off Question:
   2. Allow participants time to think and to respond. Pay particular attention to your group for anyone dominating the conversations and/or not participating to ensure equal time for all to participate. As a facilitator, your role is to adjust and regulate interaction, challenge, encourage, focus energy without drawing attention to yourself and rephrase concepts without altering their meaning.
   3. As you listen to the participants’ answers, consider the Potential Perspectives; these relate to the questions asked and can be possible responses. Participants can provide additional replies, and facilitators should judge the “direction” of conversation to remain on the point. These perspectives help guide the facilitator in this task; and 
   4. Continue asking Lead Off Questions.

   NOTE ABOUT SILENCE: Silence can be your partner; these questions require participants to think about their answers and it might take a couple of seconds to have an answer. Do not say anything, let the participants think, do not repeat the question, do not rephrase the question, do not make comments. These are natural when we feel uncomfortable, but your role is to let the participants come up with their own answers. Commenting during this critical time of reflection will disrupt their thoughts and you might not get meaningful answers.

   If the group is quiet after a question is asked, it can be uncomfortable for participants, and someone will feel the need to speak up. This will lead to more input from participants.  However, the facilitator needs to judge if the silence is prolonged (usually more than 10 seconds), it may be that the participants did not understand your question.  In this case, rephrase your question, or paraphrase your question using the statements of facts or research at the end to help if necessary (exclamation points).

4. PACE: Keep in mind that the sessions are only 20–25 minutes. Pace your session, asking the Lead Off Questions in order to steer conversations to ensure you meet the session’s objectives. Upon completion of each question, provide a quick summary of key points

   NOTE: Lead Off Questions are written to assist in meeting the objectives, however, facilitators might find it easier to ask these questions in their own words, being careful to maintain intent. Using your own words makes the sessions more authentic and genuine.

5. READ THE “TAKEAWAYS”: these are for your participants to remember from the conversation, and you can add your own based on the conversation (maintaining the intent of the scenario as well). Thank everyone for their participation in the session.
6. FEEDBACK: DGPMC welcomes comments or suggestions for this or other scenario(s). Follow the email link provided in the facilitator’s guide.