Stay tuned for upcoming trainings

Who Should Apply

The facilitator's certification cohort is intended to support facilitative leaders playing an active role in community planning of any type and scale, and working in partnership with organizations rooted in communities disproportionately burdened by pollution, toxins, displacement, and other impacts related to climate and racial injustice.  

We ask applicants to consider the time commitment of 2.5-3 hour mandatory monthly meetings and an in-person 2.5 day gathering in California January 31 - February 2, 2024. 

 As part of successful completion of the 9 month certification cohort, Facilitator’s will be eligible to become part of our national Facilitator’s Network and receive referrals for projects for community-led facilitation and planning as well as a free annual NACRP membership. The purpose of the referral network is to ensure that localities are able to connect with, and contract, certified facilitators accountable to frontline communities in their region.

Schedule

February to September 2024

The 2024 cohort will launch in January,followed by an in-person gathering in southern California the first week of February, and run through September 2024.

Program

• Attending in-person gathering of the cohort in San Diego, CA • January 31st - February 2nd • (to build relationships and deepen skills in facilitation of community-driven planning methods rooted in popular education).
• Designing &/or facilitating a community-driven planning process in and with a frontline community to which you are accountable (at any scale, anytime between January - September 2024. It could also be the update of an existing community plan).
• Actively participating in monthly 2.5-hour whole group sessions (focused on facilitation skills, and peer consultancies in the nuts & bolts of community-driven planning).
• Giving and receiving a reflection (and light peer coaching) from a peer in the cohort. (reflection and coaching prompts to be provided).
• Acquiring an evaluation of the community-driven planning process and facilitation by staff or members of a frontline organization that participated in the planning process (template for evaluation to be provided).
• Writing one blog about your experience with community-driven planning (with coaching and editing support as needed).

Training Overview

PURPOSE

Intro to facilitation framework (SEED, HARVEST, WEAVE), overview and some work to clarify one’s own purpose (vision, values, and purpose) as a facilitator of community-driven planning, ecological principles - folks identify their critical questions (getting paired with someone else).Full day or 1.5 days

​Peer Consultancy

Breaking down the planning project you're working on and your deeper purpose in that work (2.5 hours)

SEED

Designing the process with methods that seed the vision, values, and purpose of the effort - choosing methods (HOW) that reflect the WHY, intro to popular education. (2.5 hours)

Peer Consultancy

Process design (2.5 hours)

​HARVEST

Being really clear what you are listening for, what insights, priorities, etc your effort is trying to gather from community members, choosing a framework for gathering those insights, the practice of deep listening, ensuring that people are genuinely seen and heard. (2.5 hours )

Peer Consultancy

Aligning on community priorities (1.5 hours)

​WEAVE

What is the larger narrative (media strategy, a community plan, a set of recommendations, etc.) your community is weaving together? Participatory methods for weaving and communicating what’s needed. (2.5 hours)

​Peer Consultancy

Participatory policy development, nuts and bolts of planning, communications (2.5 hours)

​Celebration and Reflection

Evaluation process by the resident leaders that they work with, by the organizers they’re working with

Fee & Scholarships

Sliding scale $500 - $2,000. A limited number of scholarships will be awarded to participants based on their financial needs.