Introduction

Breakout Session Objectives

We are aiming to facilitate:

Shared understanding(s) of the topic to be discussed (aim for coherence, not consensus);
Exploration of implications and opportunities from different perspectives – e.g. experiences, opportunities, barriers, etc; (what’s the current state? What could be?)
Identification of practical actions that might make things better - e.g. ideas, next steps on how to make it happen. What can each of us do? What might we do together? How to bring it back to the contexts we’re working in?
Have fun! First and foremost, we’re trying to enable connections, great discussions and provide everyone the chance to share their perspectives and ideas.

There are a variety of ways to facilitate discussions, e.g. across a spectrum of very structured to unstructured, enabling divergent and convergent thinking, etc. This guide is meant to do just that. It’s not meant to be prescriptive.
We want to consider and facilitate for a variety of participant preferences and styles, to the extent possible, e.g. extroverts and introverts.
Less is more.There’s only so much we can do in a 45-55 minute breakout session. Our efforts will enable connections, creativity, knowledge sharing, and can inform practical action.
We want to capture and share the learning. Share session notes following the event.

There are two sections below:

First time facilitating? Or maybe it’s been a while? - this section includes three options for facilitating a breakout session.
More experienced at facilitating or feeling adventurous? - bring and apply your skills at the breakout sessions keeping in mind the objectives above.

*The following methods have been taken and/or adapted from Liberating Structures, where you can find lots of other methods, and Agile Coffee.

Remember...

You have an assigned topic for your breakout session, which is the idea someone proposed during the crowdsourcing exercise earlier in the day. - Mandatory
There will be a notetaker to capture the discussion, particularly those that happen as a collective in plenary, and to keep time. - Mandatory
Each participant will have a sharpy (extras will be in the room) - Optional to use
There will be stickies (aka post-it notes) on each seat and in the room - Optional to use
There will be flipchart paper in the room - Optional to use

Communicate the Approach: First, communicate the approach to the room for the 55-minute discussion. “Today, we’ll take the next 55 minutes to:
- Unpack what the idea means to us so we know what we’re talking about;
- Generate some opportunities and challenges related to the idea; and
- Identify some practical actions that we might be able to take, individually and collectively related to the idea.
- Invite feedback to ensure people are ok with the approach.
Unpack the idea: Generate understanding or coherence on what it means to the participants in the room.
- Is the person who proposed it in attendance? Ask the room. If yes, invite that person to share their thoughts on the idea and why they proposed it.
- If not, that’s ok, move to the next step.
Continue to do one of the following three options

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