Facilitation

Group facilitation is an art… and one that most organizations cannot accomplish internally, due to its sensitive nature. In advancing a group to its next stage of development, objective guidance and expertise in organizational management is key to a successful outcome.

Allison Sampson Management Consultants (ASMC)
offers a range of services, including:

• Retreat, meeting, and brainstorming facilitation
• Organizational effectiveness models
• Retreat planning from agenda through participant interviews
• Outcome reports
• Follow-up action plans and assistance with implementation

ASMC began assisting Deaf West Theatre 10 years ago in raising operating funds. Subsequently, ASMC guided the theater through a network of Los Angeles municipal agencies' actions in order to relocate its venue to a promising redevelopment area. ASMC conducted theater board retreats and has helped reorganize the theater's administrative structure to enable theater expansion. The result has been a 10-fold increase in the theater's budget, the number of its shows and in its touring - both nationally and internationally. Today, it is a Tony Award theater company.

Many public sector clients, such as South Pasadena Library, contract with ASMC for long-term solutions. Clients begin with facilitation of a specific objective leading to an action plan. For example, our initial engagement for the South Pasadena Library originated because of its need for expansion of the existing library site. This led to board development, program needs assessment, and organizing focus groups to determine the level of programming that would house and support such an expansion. We also consulted on fundraising and facilitating public involvement in the process. The result was an action plan that was supported by the City of South Pasadena and its residents.