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The identifying assumptions and conclusions part is often tricky and considered the hardest in the Civil Service Examination. Assumptions are the unstated information needed to be valid for the conclusion to hold true. On the other hand, conclusions are made based on the assumptions given, so conclusion needs to agree with the given assumptions.

I will help the team to understand the purpose of this exercise and how this is going to shape the future course of action for our organisation. I will also take this opportunity to think the team big and beyond what they have been doing. Since this is professional discussion, we need to be ready for constructive creticism which need not be taken as personal cricism.

I would tell my planning team to set aside their personal interests. I would also tell them to be open, and should not fear anyone when discussing.

To start with, I will ask the participants to set the house rules for the session and will be followed by an expectation check. Expectation check will allow us to level off our expectations and be able to move forward. I will inform the participants of the flow the session and encourage them to actively participate. More importantly, I will be tell that this is a safe space and they are encourage to speak their minds, to question or even challenge ideas in a respectful manner.

Being a facilitator, firstly I will orient the planning team about all this by sharing the agenda along with a single pager document. In which I will try to communicate the purpose of the planning sessions and support require from each participant to achieve the greater good for the organization, so that I become enable and buy their interest and also prepare them mentally ahead of the commencement of planning meeting sessions practically. Later on, at the onset of the meeting, a ice-breaking session will be scheduled in which the possible aspects of discussions, talks, arguments (that will happen with the facilitator and others participants) will be communicated to them so that they keep high the tolerance level with intellectual capacity at their best and contribute with impartiality and unbiasedly. With this, I will try to design each session in such a way that before starting of each session a short introduction should be communicated so that before starting of every new session the participants will prepare themselves, develop their comfort for the discussion and make up their minds for the disagreements and hot arguments.

Instead of saying and giving instruction from my side as a facilitator, I would rather facilitate ground rules of the discussion that include respecting each other ideas and providing constructive feedbacks/ counter argument instead of blaming or attacking each other.

I would say to the team that it's important to think in terms of the entire team/programme/organisation. Ultimately being able to define what success means at a higher programme or organisation level will be a step forward for individual roles as well, clarifying misconceptions among team members about what the purpose of their role is, and hopefully in some ways actually making some jobs easier.

Two strategies to creat a conducive atmospher for the diffucult conversation will be,

1. Brief on the content of the discussion items to expand thier expectations.
2. Facilitate to set ground rules for the whole process time, by the participants so that all perispective would be respected by participants.

Two things to mention,

1. Aware the participants that the expectation during the discussion process is very high or wide and mention the say " the sky is the limit" and all ideas must be respected, if anything comes out of focus the raised ideas can be parked in place prepared for that purpose to consider the ideas in future discussion.
2. I will facilitate to produce all agreed ground rule by which the team shall be governed.

I will say in a good way, with respect and honesty, I wanted to help to achieved the outcomes.

BY LISTENING MORE AND GIVE FEED BACKS AS AT WHEN NECESSARY. WE WILL ALSO BE VERY ENGAGING

As facilitator of the Theory of Change Process, I would thank everyone for agreeing to be part of the process and remind them of the why the exercise is important to the work that we are currently engaged in and the vision of the organization as a whole. I would also let them know that the exercise would be difficult but necessary if we will attain our vision. I would lastly encourage them to put the vision of the organization at the heart of the discussion as the intention of the exercise is not be make a few people look bad but to refine the work that we do and maximize the impact we are creating, which each member of the team contributes to.

I will say this process is about to develop the organization, so conversation must be honest and realistic as well as respect each other. This is nothing to do with personal. I would like to get your trust that you all will follow my lead if great disagreements rise. Everybody can talk what they want to talk related to this matter but it has to be in framework.

I will welcome everyone to the meeting and explain how delighted I am to facilitate this very important process.
I will explain how importance of this session to the organization and everyone of us and then encourage everyone to be committed to the process. I will explain that in the process of facilitating the session, we will need to have very difficult discussions, however I encourage everyone of them to see every bit of the process as very necessary to lead us to our goal and therefore encourage everyone to be open minded

First, i would invite the Theory of Change planning team to the meeting. After they arrived and are seated, i would welcome them and explain to them the nitty gritties of the meeting. Some of the things i would specifically do include the following;

1. encourage each and everyone to be open and ready for this difficult task ahead
2. make it clear that all contributions are valid and subject to dicussion
3. i would also make it clear that everyone must be open and frank about what we will be talking about, because this affected both the project and the beneficiaries at large
4. lasty, i would suggest secret voting (in instances which call for very very sensitive decisions being made) in case some team members still won't feel safe and job secure...

First, i would invite the Theory of Change planning team to the meeting. After they arrived and are seated, i would welcome them and explain to them the nitty gritties of the meeting. Some of the things i would specifically do include the following;

1. encourage each and everyone to be open and ready for this difficult task ahead
2. make it clear that all contributions are valid and subject to dicussion
3. i would also make it clear that everyone must be open and frank about what we will be talking about, because this affected both the project and the beneficiaries at large
4. lasty, i would suggest secret voting (in instances which call for very very sensitive decisions being made) in case some team members still won't feel safe and job secure...

@bobbybatatina said in Module 3: Setting the Tone:

The identifying assumptions and conclusions part is often tricky and considered the hardest in the Civil Service Examination. Assumptions are the unstated information needed to be valid for the conclusion to hold true. On the other hand, conclusions are made based on the assumptions given, so conclusion needs to agree with the given assumptions.

true. the weaker the assumptions the weaker the conclusions, and vice versa...

once an environment is safe, people become free to talk about anything concerning the project

I think it's crucial to set expectations, as described here, and also to explicitly set ground rules that give people the confidence that this is a safe space. It's always a good workshop exercise to let the participants define their own ground rules i.e. what will encourage them to speak up comfortably - but do keep your own "cheat sheet" of critical rules, ready to add if any are missing. For example, listening openly to each person, without interruption (except if needed by a timekeeper!).

I would asked them to note down their concept in the meta-card and put together their ideas and provide the open platform to discuss on the topics to bring concrete theme.

As part of the ground rules, I will request every participant to put aside individual interest and focus on the common interest; the big picture which is to succeed as a program and meet the needs of our donors and beneficiaries. i would also request we consider ourselves as equals and acknowledge and respect one anothers opinion

Great thoughts.

I really think to create a safe space for communication as a facilitator is to also try to let the participant know that every contribution is important and you are gathered to brainstorm and not a teacher standing to teach.

First is prepare the team to expect some of the inputs in the planning that may not correlate with the strategic goal of the project and accept to do better in the planning session

A story I found really powerful was Nelson Mandela story (27 years in jail). It made me feel positive about life that whatever challenges one goes through - through dedication, handwork and keeping ones focus - its possible to achieve ones dreams ."

The output of a theory of change is something that will benefit the whole organisation and I think that this common goal should be clearly stated by the facilitator

First, I would invite the group members to talk about a light topic, such as what song they like to hear the most when they wake up, or what kind of music relaxes them.
Then, I would propose that each one say their expectations of the project that we are going to review, sharing the points of view enriches the sessions and improves perception. Finally, I would ask them to each describe the best possible, and then move on to an order of reviews to begin to define the tasks that we are going to perform.

I am agree. Talking about personal interests helps break the ice and build bonds of trust.

If I were supposed to be facilitating a theory of change, I would say things that will encourage participants towards the objective of the organization.
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With what I have read so far, as a good facilitator, the best thing to do is maintaining psychological safety for all.
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I will achieve this, by encouraging participants to put aside their individual interests and preconceptions that defined their job.

Hi everyone,
As you know we're going to go through the ToC development process. It maybe not easy journey and will take a lot of efforts from each of us. Through the journey, we may find out that there are outcomes that we haven't focused sufficiently, while there are unneccessary activities to achieve the expected outcomes that we implemented. This is a comon experience to most of the organizations working on the ToC development. However, the ultimate goal of this process is to restructure the organization strategy so that we will work more effectively and efficiently. I hope that we all will contribute to this process and please do not hesitate to come to talk to me if you find any problem during the process.
Thank you.

If I were facilitating a ToC process, I would be focused on creating a safe environment where all the participants feel comfortable to share their visions. Firstly, I would conduct an ice-breaker activity to create a familiar and pleasant atmosphere. Then, I would ask the participants about their expectations on this process of building a theory of change. I would take notes on a flip chart about the participants' interventions and discuss them with them. After this quick discussion, I would make the participants realize that this is a complex process, where everybody's ideas are concerned, but also the way as each one works and contributes to the achievement of the organization's goals. Finally, all together we will draft the core values which will guide our performance in this exercise, where it would be included: respect, honesty, flexibility, the capacity to listen, and so on. At this point, the foundations would be laid for the whole process to be conducted in a constructive, inclusive, and participatory manner.

I would let them know that it is a safe space, and that nothing discussed should be taken personally, as we're trying to improve our strategies and outcomes.
I would explain to them that every single statement made should fit withing the framework of respect. And I would let them know what to expect in advance.
I would encourage them to remain open minded and as impartial as possible, since we're going thorugh this process in order to become more effective and efficient.

I would facilitate the theory of change process myself. I will facilitate in the manner to ensure all participants that all perspectives is so important to be considered, while strengthening the theory of change, it will prevent the future unpredicted circumastances if all perspectives do not considered. In addition, as I am qualified enough to critically create the situation which convinced the palnning team, what are the logic behind the theory of change which is a must for success of any efforts.
Additionlly, I fully believe that a participatory works, specially from various background is help us, to pour ligh from many diffrent angles to a particuller issue which individually won't be possible.

I'll make them focus on two things:

Why are we here?
What we need is to agree on single solution

I will tell the planning team that they are about to begin a process crucial to the organization's success; therefore, they should all set aside all their individuals interest and preconceptions and consider the group of the entire organization and its beneficiaries. I will also add that they need to be able to define the organization's outcomes and reach agreement about how everyone can contribute to achieving these outcomes.

To create a safe space for difficult conversations, I will ensure that the conversations we have are courageous and avoid those that will cause chaos. i will also make the participants understand that everything that comes out is for the good of the organization and should not be taking personal.

I think that spending time articulating and review rules of discussion to ensure that people feel like it is a safe space to talk is important. To remind people to use "I" language and to keep discussions professional not personal among other practices - all the while reviewing and reiterating the goals of the project. I also think it is important to have a "parking lot" space where ideas and thoughts can be recorded that might not fit directly into the Theory of Change process but bring up issues that are important to discuss in other meetings.

The service population for the Community Recovery Grant Program are members in a community that are impacted by a particular disaster event. The target population will be a subset of those community members that have been impacted in the ways that the community has identified as being of the highest priority. The people that we are most unsure about are those that have been impacted by the disaster but do not rank in the community's identified highest priorities.

By inviting your planning team to join a Theory of Change process, you are inviting them to have difficult conversations about important issues. Disagreements will be common. People will hear things that they do not want to hear. For example, managers may hear facts about their programs that are discouraging: that outcomes are poorly defined, that resources are not allocated well, that programs are not creating the intended outcomes, or that evidence of effectiveness is simply unavailable. Staff members may hear that some of the programs that they are working on do not align with strategic goals.

The conversations need to be forward-looking. It is the job of a skilled facilitator to encourage courageous conversation while maintaining psychological safety for all. Participants will need to set aside their interests and preconceptions that define their jobs. Instead, they will need to consider the good of the entire organization and the good of their beneficiaries

For ensuring objective oriented discussion, I will make sure to present organizational goal clearly. I will try to keep participants on the topics for finding best pathway of the change, ignoring their personal of group's interest.