What kind of follow up and other activities to close on a positive note?

This blog is one of a series of Facilitation Thoughts which look at various aspects of facilitation.

"I have been to many workshops like this, talk talk, promises and no action" 
"Y'all never come back .. " 
"You got a list of problems and issues, it was depression, you did not use the opportunity to identify solutions"

The facilitator could easily become a focus for the frustrations of participants who have felt that their contributions have not been dealt with or that they have wasted their time.

This is especially true for situations where 'consultations' are being held and where people are cynical about how their input would be realised.

There is one session which stood out in my head in which two of the participants said they felt that I should have done more to move the discussion to solutions even though that was not an objective of the session.

There should be enough time to discuss some short-terms solutions to some of the issues and to make referrals.


There should be time before the end of the session to ensure that the organisers allocate responsibilities for follow up action and to share phone numbers or introduce people who will be responsible for follow up. 

This time is unfortunately condensed into the time when people are ready to go home.



Some questions to generate discussion about follow up include :-
  • What is the next action? Who will do it?
  • What will we do with the knowledge we have gained?
  • Who will follow up with the organisers to ensure the action plan is followed? 
  • Where can we go to get more information?
  • What will we do if we do not see any action?

Some persons might want additional information , copies of the materials, reports etc. Keep the  contact details and ensure that they get the information or referrals to places where they can get the information. 

Sending responses to unanswered questions
Many organisers are taking time to collect the questions which were not answered in the session, and asking presenters and resource persons to provide answers and sending them via email after the session. This is an excellent practice and should be adopted by all persons who organise panel discussions.
What other points should be noted in planning for follow-up?


Have a look at the other Facilitation blogs

Author : Vidyaratha Kissoon  contact : vidyak1 (at) gmail (dot) com
Edited 4 Feb, 2017.

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