Facilitation research: Broadening organizational thinking

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the International Association of Facilitators' new journal entitled Group Facilitation: A Research & Applications Journal. The concept of this journal originated three years ago at a mid-year IAF planning meeting. The basic idea behind the journal was to meet two basic criteria. The first criterion was to create a lasting repository of knowledge of use to facilitators. While there are many publications, both popular and scientific, that discuss groups and organizational development, few are targeted directly at providing information for the professional group facilitator. This journal is intended to fill that niche.

The second criterion that this journal was designed for was examining the "science" side of the "art and science of facilitation," but doing this in a format that would make the results useful to real facilitators rather than just academicians. While the journal's focus and rigor are unapologetically 'scientific' in nature, the editorial board has striven to make it accessible to the practitioner. Articles of many shapes and sizes will find their way into Group Facilitation, but the common thread for all published submissions is that they be based on logical and well-founded arguments. It is not enough to say that a given facilitation technique results in a particular outcome. The editorial board has pushed authors to explore the mechanism for this action, to answer not only the question of what happened, but why did it happen.

The creation of this journal has involved many steps. After establishing our vision (discussed above), we turned to the creation of an organizational structure and process that would allow us to meet our goals. This meant researching the best practices in other journals, and making choices that would give our fledgling project the best chance of getting off the ground. Publishers and printers were contacted and costs were estimated. Potential editorial board members and reviewers were approached, and convinced that our project was worth the significant amount of time we were asking them to invest. In all, the process was both painful and wonderful. It has been a labor of love for those who have stepped forth to make this project come to fruition, and I can't thank those involved enough. While the actual publication of this first issue took longer than anticipated, I think you will find the articles worthy of that time. We had high standards for our publication, and I believe these articles reflect that effort.

Much like a vision statement is central to an organization, the aim and scope statement is the heart of the journal, and for those who are not acquainted with it, I will repeat it now.

Group Facilitation is a multi-disciplinary publication focused on the art and science of group facilitation. The aim of GF is to increase our understanding of group facilitation and its implications for individuals, groups, organizations, and communities, and provide a forum for exploration and dialogue as a means of advancing knowledge on facilitation practice. Group Facilitation is intended for a broad readership base, including facilitators, mediators, organizational development and training specialists, researchers, and others who seek to use facilitation skills in their practice. Given this readership base, the journal is comprised of three sections: Application and Practice, Theory and Research, and Edge Thinking. While these sections vary in method, in all instances the focus is on increasing our understanding of facilitation.

The Application and Practice section is devoted to articles that speak to the facilitator experience. Articles appropriate for this section include in-depth case studies on individuals, groups, organizations, or communities as well as descriptions of current practices and methods that work. Case studies are articles which report on experiences gained and lessons learned from a comprehensive and in-depth view. These studies should be as objective as possible, and be both descriptive and evaluative. Topics for discussion could include facilitator roles, common problems encountered by facilitators or their clients, as well as intervention methods or techniques.

The second section, Theory and Research, is devoted to articles which explore, propose, or test models of facilitation. Generally, methods of study in this section will follow traditional lines of scientific inquiry, including survey, experimental, ethnomethodology, document studies, and field research.

The third section, Edge Thinking, as the name implies, is intended to stimulate and capture thinking on the periphery. Contributions to this area will be less formal than the other two sections, and might include dialogues on facilitation, proposals for new areas of inquiry, letters to the editor, and book reviews. Contributions in this area will hopefully serve to stimulate articles for both the Application and Practice section and the Theory and Research Section.

A diversity of viewpoints is encouraged in submissions for Group Facilitation: A Research & Applications Journal. Articles will represent a variety of journal perspectives, including organizational learning and development, group and system dynamics, collaborative technology, negotiation, mediation, leadership, decision-making, conflict resolution, cross-cultural research, and education. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, facilitator roles within the group context, facilitator interventions for conflict management, facilitating the brainstorming process, the use of computer technology to support facilitation, increasing participation in organizations, exploration of the underlying values and beliefs and models about facilitation, and the application of facilitation skills and concepts to other settings.

The issue you are about to read reflects a variety of article types, including three theory and research articles and one application and practice article. The reader should keep in mind that these classifications are not truly discrete. In some instances, submissions border these categories and they could have been placed just as easily in the other classification. For that reason, we haven't created distinct sections in the journal for the different article classifications, but rather have labeled them. It was our intent that all of the articles be appropriate to informing the practice of facilitation. It should also be noted that each issue will include a 'classic reprint,' an article viewed by many as a foundational piece in the field of group facilitation. Finally, this issue also offers three excellent book reviews, which we hope you find informative and useful.

Sincerely,

Mark A. Fuller, Ph.D.

Editor-in-Chief: Group Facilitation

Copyright International Association of Facilitators Winter 1999
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