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Professional Facilitation Certification & Training

Our immersive certification programs give executives, team leads, chiefs of staff, product managers, trainers, and other leaders the facilitation skills and confidence to lead for now and what’s next.

Facilitation Certification Overview

Become a World-Class Collaborative Leader

Let’s face it: The world has changed. The past few years have likely encouraged you to adapt, set new goals, and solve problems you didn’t even know you had. Leaders in all industries and roles have come to realize there was a lack of effective facilitation.

Collaborative leaders leverage effective facilitation to drive conversation and guide teamwork on a daily basis. Facilitation is a critical skill that will set you apart as you help teams navigate complicated business challenges. Facilitation helps you create alignment, improve collaboration, resolve conflicts, and design optimal team experiences to help organizations thrive.

Our immersive, participatory approach will allow you to:

Facilitation Certification Overview

The Power of Facilitation Certification

Facilitation Certification from Voltage Control gives you the facilitation skills and confidence needed to transform meetings, inspire innovation, drive collaboration, and lead change. Our comprehensive facilitation certification program will guide you through key facilitation foundational skills aligned with the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) competencies. You’ll have ample opportunities to practice your facilitation skills and receive feedback in a supportive cohort of facilitation colleagues.

By the end of this online facilitation training and certification program, you will be able to:

As you successfully pass each course, you’ll receive a certificate of completion for each. Once you satisfy all certification requirements, you’ll receive a full facilitation certification to display on LinkedIn and other professional portfolios.

What to Expect

Certification Program At a Glance

Facilitation Foundations

Online • Live Meetings

This synchronous, cohort-based immersive will provide you with an introduction to the core competencies and fundamentals of facilitation. Instructors will model the basics of facilitation methods and provide learners with the opportunity to conduct practice sessions with instructor and peer feedback. 

Live sessions will be on Fridays from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. U.S. Central Time for one month. Plan on carving out three to five hours per week (on average) outside of class sessions for prep (e.g. reading and/or viewing, facilitation design activities, and application in your work context).

Facilitation Electives

Online • Video Courses

After completing the Facilitation Foundations course, students will then select two asynchronous elective modules of interest that will allow for further exploration and application in a key facilitation focus area. Learners should allocate about three to five hours a week per month.

Facilitation electives include:

  • Magical Meetings
  • Design Thinking
  • Liberating Structures
  • Workshop Design
  • New offerings as launched

Facilitation Capstone

Online • Live Meetings

After completing both the Facilitation Foundations and Facilitation Electives Courses, students will complete their certification experience through the Facilitation Capstone Immersive. In this immersive, learners will create  their professional facilitation portfolio, provide artifacts that show competency in key facilitation foundation areas, and create a plan for their leadership growth over the long term. Course instructors will model a spectrum of portfolio and growth methods and provide students with the opportunity to receive both facilitator instructor and peer feedback on their portfolios. 

Live sessions will be on Fridays from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Central Time for one month. Plan on carving out three to five hours per week outside of class sessions for prep (e.g. reading and/or viewing, facilitation design activities, and application in your work context).

Required Reading

To help ground the experience, all participants receive a course pack that includes key facilitation texts such as: The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker, Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making by Sam Kaner with Lenny Lind, Catherine Toldi, Sarah Fisk, and Duane Berger, Liberating Structures by Henri Limpanowicz and Keith McCandless, and Rituals for Virtual Meetings by Kürṣat Ӧzenc, PhD and Glenn Fajardo. These materials not only provide a common set of methods and language to ground the work but also can be used as a handy reference long after the certification is over.

Become an Expert Facilitator

Who Should Apply

Our hands-on facilitation basics is perfect for any professional looking to establish a foundation of practical facilitation skills. Participants will join our exclusive facilitator community for ongoing support and development.

Executives & Team Leaders

Who want to create optimal team experiences

Chiefs of Staff

Who want to align and support initiatives across departments

Product Managers

Who want to steer stakeholders to the best outcomes

Teachers & Trainers

Who want to design the most impactful learning

Program & Project Managers

Who want to foster collaboration across teams and projects

Consultants & Coaches

Who want to offer their clients exceptional consulting

Scrum Masters

Who want to guide team discussions and resolve conflicts

UX Designers/Researchers

Who seek to center people at the heart of their work

Flexible Online Learning

Facilitation Training Schedule

Our three-month certification program includes foundations, electives, and a capstone experience.

Month One: Facilitation Foundations

Live sessions will be held on Fridays 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. US Pacific Time. (EMEA Thursdays 2 – 5 CEST)

Individual office hours will be available by appointment.

Month Two: Facilitation Electives

This portion of the certification will be asynchronous but you should expect to devote approximately 3-5 hours per week to coursework.

Individual office hours will be available by appointment.

Month Three: Facilitation Capstone

Live sessions will be held on Fridays 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. US Pacific Time. (EMEA Thursdays 2 – 5 CEST)

Individual office hours will be available by appointment.

Upcoming Cohorts

Cohort

Summer 2024

Dates

July 5 - Sept 20

(Fridays)

Time

9 a.m. - 12 p.m. PST

Application Deadline

June 21, 2024

Cohort

Fall 2024

Dates

Sept 20 - Dec 13

(Fridays)

TImes

9 a.m. - 12 p.m. PST

Application Deadline

September 6, 2024

Cohort

Winter 2025

Dates

Jan 10 - March 28

(Fridays)

TImes

9 a.m. - 12 p.m. PST

Application Deadline

December 20, 2024

Cohort

Spring 2025

Dates

March 7 - May 23

(Fridays)

Time

9 a.m. - 12 p.m. PST

Application Deadline

February 21, 2025

Interested in a private certification program for your organization?

FacilitaTion Certification

Alumni Stories

Unlock Lifetime Benefits with Our Facilitation Lab Community

As a VC alum you’ll receive lifelong access to our global Facilitation Lab—a unique community of facilitation practitioners. The community provides an opportunity to continue your facilitation learning and mastery after you graduate. You’ll get access to weekly labs, yearly summits, dynamic networking, career support, a rich resource library, and exclusive alumni events placing you at the forefront of facilitation innovation.

Apply for Facilitation Certification Today

Master future-proof facilitation skills and become an effective leader, delivered through a flexible online learning format.

Admission Requirements

Certification Fee: $5,000
(collected upon your acceptance to the program)

Includes all coursework, office hours with course instructor(s), and facilitation portfolio evaluation

Applications are due June 21st, 2024 at 5 p.m. CT. Applicants will be notified of a decision no later than June 28th, 2024.

*Any learner not meeting standards at the end of the course may resubmit their portfolio for an additional $1,000 resubmission fee.

**The Facilitation Certification is meant for leaders looking to deepen their existing facilitation skill and competency and take a next step in their leadership development. Our Master Facilitation Certification is meant for leaders with a minimum of five years facilitation experience and either the successful completion of our Facilitation Certification or demonstrated evidence of meeting our Facilitation Certification Standards.

Professional Development Reimbursement Template

An employee who is committed to their continued education is a valuable asset—which is why so many companies have a professional development reimbursement policy. You could have your expenses for Facilitation Certification completely or partially covered! If your organization does not have a tuition reimbursement plan in place, they may still provide partial or complete funding for your Facilitation Certification.

Not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered. We created a tuition reimbursement template for you to use to start the conversation with your boss.

Not quite ready to apply?

Download our free Facilitation Certification Portfolio Starter to begin your journey today.

Looking for help?

Interested in a private cohort for your team? Let us know.

Have questions? See our FAQ or contact us at hello@voltagecontrol.com

Apply for Facilitation Certification Today

Master future-proof facilitation skills and become an effective leader, delivered through a flexible online learning format.

Certification Fee: $5,000*

Includes all coursework, office hours with course instructor(s), and facilitation portfolio evaluation

Applications are due September 22, 2023 5 p.m. CT. Applicants will be notified of a decision no later than October 1, 2023.

Not quite ready to apply?

Download our free Facilitation Certification Portfolio Starter to begin your journey today.

Interested in a private cohort for your team? Let us know.

Have questions? hello@voltagecontrol.com

*$5,000 Certification Fee will be collected upon your acceptance to the program.

*Any learner not meeting standards at the end of the course may resubmit their portfolio for an additional $1,000 resubmission fee.

**The Facilitation Certification is meant for leaders looking to deepen their existing facilitation skill and competency and take a next step in their leadership development. Our Master Facilitation Certification is meant for leaders with a minimum of five years facilitation experience and either the successful completion of our Facilitation Certification or demonstrated evidence of meeting our Facilitation Certification Standards.

Scholarship Opportunity

Apply for the Diversity Scholarship

A key part of our mission is to support diverse facilitators from different methodologies, backgrounds, races, genders, sexual orientations, cultures, and ages. If you are a part of, or serve, a traditionally underrepresented group and feel that this scholarship would allow you to amplify this mission, please apply now and select the option to Apply for Diversity Scholarship.

Thank you to MURAL for partnering with us to sponsor scholarship spots for this Facilitation Certification cohort. MURAL is the leading provider of digital workspaces for guided visual collaboration in the enterprise. Different from online whiteboard and design software, the MURAL platform transforms teamwork by making meetings and workshops interactive experiences designed for problem solving, play and imagination.

Flexible Online Learning

Frequently Asked Questions

A facilitation certificate shows you completed the required training and passed the examinations to effectively facilitate productive meetings, workshops, training sessions, and other events. At Voltage Control, our facilitation certification program aligns with the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) competencies, giving you the practical skills to lead successful live sessions, inspire innovation, and drive change.

Facilitators must balance a unique range of essential skills and facilitation techniques, like the ability to maintain technical knowledge, actionable strategies, and methodologies alongside the people skills to handle different personalities. Above all, good facilitators are adaptable, able to think on the fly and understand that every meeting, workshop, or session is unique. Facilitators should also have an inclusive and empathetic approach to create a truly welcoming and safe environment for all participants, no matter their background or purpose in that session. 

Facilitation training and certification is beneficial for leaders in every industry and role. Traditional business leaders like CEOs, team managers, and scrum masters along with consultants, chiefs of staff, and consultants can utilize the practical tools and facilitation techniques learned through the Voltage Control facilitation training program. Teachers and facilitators can also leverage the diverse methodologies, interactive exercises, and actionable strategies covered. Above all, anyone who wants to learn the essential skills to run better meetings and operate more efficient meetings can benefit from facilitation certification and our facilitator community.

A great online facilitator embraces the benefits and disadvantages of the world of remote work and hybrid meetings. With dedicated training, online facilitators can learn how to get all team members engaged and contributing to the meeting. Successful online facilitators also leverage the power of preparation to ensure that their online session can go off without a hitch, staying on track and overcoming any conflict or technical issues.

Yes, many organizations have professional reimbursement policies that cover some or all of your educational and career development expenses. Even if your company does not have an official policy, they may still have a dedicated budget for employee education, or they could approve your reimbursement on a case-by-case basis.

We created a tuition reimbursement template for you to use to start the conversation with your boss. Download the template here.

It will not. That designation comes from the International Association of Facilitators (IAF).
 
We built our program to align with the core IAF  competencies so that if someone wanted to continue on to get there CPF they would be well prepared. In fact, our program actually helps them collect evidence that others do not.

All of the online courses listed on our courses page are available to choose from.

Currently, we’re using the following course texts: :

Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision Making by Sam Kaner

Gamestorming by James Macanufo and Sunni Brown

Rituals for Virtual Meetings by Glenn Fajardo and Kursat Ozenc

A. Create Collaborative Client Relationships
B. Plan Appropriate Group Processes
C. Create and Sustain a Participatory Environment
D. Guide Group to Appropriate and Useful Outcomes
E. Build and Maintain Professional Knowledge
F. Model Positive Professional Attitude as a Process Facilitator

Listen to Our Latest Podcast

Voltage Control founder Douglas Ferguson hosts the Facilitation Lab Podcast. Listen in as he speaks with Voltage Control Certification Alumni and other facilitation experts about the remarkable impact they’re making.