{"id":1231,"date":"2026-01-24T18:49:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T03:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/k-signs.co.jp\/?p=1231"},"modified":"2026-01-27T00:20:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T09:20:59","slug":"%e3%83%90%e3%83%bc%e3%83%9f%e3%83%b3%e3%82%ac%e3%83%a0%e3%81%a7%e9%96%8b%e5%82%ac%e3%81%95%e3%82%8c%e3%81%9f%e3%82%ab%e3%83%b3%e3%83%95%e3%82%a1%e3%83%ac%e3%83%b3%e3%82%b9%e3%81%a7%e3%82%b3%e3%83%bb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/k-signs.co.jp\/en\/case-en-2\/co-facilitation\/","title":{"rendered":"Facilitation Report: “The Art of Co-Facilitation” at the IAF International Conference (Birmingham, April 2025)"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a report by Hideyuki Yoshioka, CEO of Knowledge Sign, on facilitating a workshop at the IAF (The International Association of Facilitators) international conference held in Birmingham, UK, in April 2025, associating with two other Japanese facilitators.<\/span>
\nThe IAF is an international organization of facilitators with thousands of members worldwide, hosting showcase conferences annually in regions such as Asia, America, Europe, and Africa.<\/span>
\nThe conference I attended was organized by the England & Wales branch, targeting Europe. Together with career consultant Wakako Imizu and Stefan N\u00fcsperling, CEO of N\u00fcworks, the three of us facilitated a one-hour session titled \u201cThe Art of Co-Facilitation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Co-facilitation refers to two or more facilitators working together to facilitate a session. This is common in practice, and especially at conference workshops, most sessions are conducted in a co-facilitation style.<\/span>
\nCo-facilitation offers benefits to both facilitators and participants. This workshop was designed to explore how to maximize these benefits for both facilitators and participants.<\/span>
\nIn designing the workshop, we began by researching how facilitators approach co-facilitation. We conducted a survey with facilitators both in Japan and abroad, asking the following questions:<\/span>
\n1. Years of facilitation experience<\/strong><\/span>
\n2. How often do you co-facilitate?<\/strong><\/span>
\n3. When do you think co-facilitation is necessary?<\/strong><\/span>
\n4. What style of co-facilitation do you prefer?<\/strong><\/span>
\n5. What criteria do you use to select a co-facilitator?<\/strong><\/span>
\n6. What was your best co-facilitation experience?<\/strong><\/span>
\n7. What was your worst co-facilitation experience?<\/strong><\/span>
\n8. What do you think is the value of co-facilitation for facilitators?<\/strong><\/span>
\n9. What do you think is the value of co-facilitation for participants?<\/strong><\/span>
\n10. What should facilitators do before the session to maximize value for both facilitators and participants?<\/strong><\/span>
\n11. What should facilitators do during the session to maximize value for both facilitators and participants?<\/span>
\n12. What should facilitators do after the session to maximize value for both facilitators and participants?<\/span>
\nThe detailed results of this survey are published at the following URL: https:\/\/miro.com\/app\/board\/uXjVJ_jzqeU=\/?moveToWidget=3458764656817846172&cot=10<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, there is no single correct answer regarding co-facilitation, and there could be various perspectives. For example, the criteria for selecting a co-facilitator also varies as below.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Based on these results, our workshop aimed to:<\/span>
\n\u2022 Quickly share the insights we had learned prior to the session.<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u2022 Draw out new ideas and approaches to co-facilitation from participants.<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u2022 Allow participants to enjoy themselves while observing a co-facilitation role-play.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

To achieve these goals, we displayed a lot of flip charts that show the result of the survey and we adopted an approach called \u201cTheatrical Facilitation.\u201d In this method, facilitators play certain roles and conduct the session in a theatrical format.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nIn our workshop, the three of us attempted to co-facilitate the session, but deliberately staged a scenario where our teamwork failed and the facilitators argued in front of the participants.<\/span>
\nWe then reenacted what had happened before the session in a theatrical manner, allowing participants to witness both the pre-session and in-session dynamics of co-facilitation.<\/span>
\nThis setup encouraged participants to consider what the three facilitators should have done to succeed. Although we announced in advance that the session would be theatrical, the unexpected developments and continuous laughter created a highly unusual atmosphere for a facilitation session.<\/span><\/p>\n

A video showing the entire process is available for more details.<\/span><\/p>\n