Purpose-Driven Meeting Design and Facilitation for Stakeholder EngagementElizabeth Fuller, DrPH, MSPH; Holly Avey, PhD, MPH.; and Naima Wong, PhD, MPH

BACKGROUNDHealth Impact Assessments should include, at minimum, “meaningful and inclusive stakeholder participation in each stage of the HIA”.1 Purpose-driven meeting design and facilitation is a critical HIA tool to use when engaging stakeholder groups. HIA practitioners can serve in a neutral role to convene stakeholders, facilitate the sharing of trustworthy information, and assist in complex decision-making processes. Utilizing in-depth meeting design and adult learning principles can support meaningful stakeholder participation.

Room Set-Up: The learning environment is important to adults. It can enhance the learning experience and adults’ engagement in the materials.

Set up the meeting room with small round tables to promote discussion among participants Make sure all tables have an unimpaired view of the speaker’s podium Ensure the use of a good sound system which clearly projects to all parts of the room Provide microphones to capture questions from the learnersAssign a logistics person to attend to room set up issues throughout the meeting

Be �exible! If there is a problem with the room set up, take time to address it. Otherwise, it could negatively impact the productivity of the meeting.

Create the Right Mix: Adults learn from non-confrontational opportunities to be exposed to others’ perspectives.

Design the maximum mixture of stakeholder sectorsCreate a spreadsheet with all meeting invitees

Categorize participants according to their stakeholder sector Assign seats so that each table has a mixture of all sectorsUse table tents or dots on nametags to inform participants of their seating assignments

ANDREW YOUNG SCHOOL O F P O L I C Y S T U D I E S

For more information, please contact the Georgia Health Policy Center at 404.413.0314 or visit us online at www.gsu.edu/ghpc.

Time Management: Adults will attend a meeting because they want to learn. They are often giving up personal time with family and/or time which could be spent on other projects in order to be present.

Start and end the meeting on timeDo not provide detailed times on the participant agenda, as it can set up unrealistic expectations

Instead, provide start and end times for the day, and time for lunch

Manage discussion by circulating facilitators with hand-held microphones that they control

Standing microphones are likely to only attract extroverts in the room, limiting the diversity of opinions

Give information “just in time”If information is given in advance, it can be a distractionGive handouts at the time participants need the informationOnly use handouts when there is detailed information to convey

Design with a Purpose: Adults want to know why they are learning something. Design the meeting around a central purpose that will convince them to attend.

State the overall purpose for the meeting and the expected outcomes

Design break-out and table discussions by utilizing questions speci�cally crafted to achieve desired meeting outcomes

Create a very detailed facilitator guide with speci�c times, people responsible, supplies needed, description/goal of the session, etc. Participants will not be able to see this guide, it is for planning and facilitation purposes only.

Engagement: Adults come to the meeting with much life experience. Draw on this knowledge and experience.

Make sure everyone has been engaged in conversation at the beginning of the day

Spend time on introductions to connect everyone in the room. If there is not enough time, have small table introductions

Use visual imagery as a way to access visual learners and/or engage learners in a di�erent wayGive participants the opportunity to provide feedback and evaluation throughout the meeting

Address feedback as soon as possible Be �exible! In a multi-day meeting, the second day agenda may need to be modi�ed

Engage in small group discussions that solicit practical examples and allow participants to share and bene�t from the knowledge in the room

Alternate between large group presentations of high-level information and small group discussions to re�ect and answer questions on the topic

Have a recorder at each table record comments on poster paper. This captures high-level notes which can be displayed in the roomHave a reporter at each table to report �ndings to the larger group When time is limited, have roaming room facilitators solicit reports from a few select tables

SUMMARYStakeholder engagement is crucial to HIA. Valuable information for each step of HIA can be obtained through stakeholder meetings and important relationships can be developed among diverse stakeholders. For stakeholder engagement to be most e�ective, meetings should utilize adult learning principles to enhance diverse learning styles and an active information exchange. Strategies of “max-mix”, which purposefully mixes stakeholders from di�erent sectors, and “converge-diverge”, which provides large group presentations followed by small group discussions, are e�ective in increasing stakeholder engagement and fostering learning.

1. Minimum Elements and Practice Standards for Health Impact Assessment. North American HIA Practice Standards Working Group. November, 2010.

Health Impact Assessment Sample Participant Meeting Agenda

October XX, 201X 14 Marietta Street, Ste 221

9:00am-1:00pm Desired Outcome:

Solicit and obtain stakeholder perspectives on draft recommendations

Agenda:

1. Welcome & Introductions 9:00am

2. HIA Overview

3. Scoping & Assessment Steps

4. Draft Recommendations Presentation

5. Break

6. Large & Small Group Facilitated Discussion

7. Lunch 12:00pm

8. Next Steps & Wrap Up

9. Adjourn 1:00pm

Source: Whole-Scale Change, Dannemiller Tyson Associates