Dynamic Facilitation
Dynamic Facilitation is an open, non-linear way of facilitating a group through a difficult issue, in which the facilitator follows the group's energy and records every contribution on four running charts: problem statements, solutions, concerns and data. It was created by Jim Rough, who developed it while working with crews in paper and lumber mills in the US Pacific Northwest. The facilitator sets no agenda and does not push for agreement; the aim is that people feel fully heard and the group reaches a shared shift in understanding, a kind of thinking Rough calls choice-creating.
Facilitation script
- 1
Name the issue, introduce the four charts and explain the facilitator's role: to listen, reflect and record, not to steer.
10 min - 2
Opening round of contributions. Take the first speakers one at a time, draw each out fully and chart their solutions, concerns, data and problem statements.
35 min - 3
Continue as the conversation widens. Redirect objections to yourself, chart them as concerns and ask for the alternative solution behind each one.
30 min - 4
Short break. Hang filled sheets where everyone can read them.
10 min - 5
Resume from whatever has energy now. Note new framings of the problem as they emerge and stay with them.
25 min - 6
Ask what the group sees now that it did not see at the start. Record the shared conclusions, open points and any next steps the group chooses.
10 min
Tips
Write fast and in the speaker's own words, and number the entries so you can refer back to them; the charts are the group's memory and the proof that each person was heard.
Stand between people who disagree and take their statements yourself, so that criticism is addressed to you and lands on paper.
Resist tidying, clustering or summarising too early, because the method works by letting the picture stay messy until the group reframes it.
If you have only facilitated agenda-driven meetings, practise with a co-facilitator before using this on a live conflict.
Common pitfalls
Steering towards a solution the facilitator or sponsor prefers: the group senses it, the open process loses credibility and people fall back into defending positions
Holding back early solutions until the problem is defined: people keep their answer in their head, stop listening and repeat it at every opening
Letting participants answer each other's criticism directly: the exchange turns into an argument and the concern never reaches the chart
Paraphrasing into the facilitator's own words: speakers do not recognise what was written and feel unheard, which is the opposite of the intended effect
Promising a breakthrough: a shift cannot be scheduled, and a session that ends without one is judged a failure even if the group understands the issue far better
Variations
Wisdom Council: Rough built a citizen participation format on Dynamic Facilitation in which a small group of citizens, a microcosm of the wider community, explores an issue together. It has been used most extensively in Vorarlberg, Austria, where regional government offices adopted it for public participation. Multi-session use: hard issues often benefit from two or more sessions with the charts kept and rehung. Remote version: four columns on a shared document or online whiteboard, with a second person typing so the facilitator can concentrate on listening.
Where it fits
When to use it
A group has discussed the same issue several times in structured meetings and nothing has moved
The issue is emotionally charged and people keep interrupting or repeating themselves because they do not feel heard
Nobody agrees what the real problem is, and each attempt to define it first has failed
Participants arrive with fixed solutions and need to say them out loud before they can listen
A citizen council or mixed stakeholder group needs to find common ground on a public question
When not to use it
The task is clear and needs a decision by the end of the meeting; use a structured method such as the Lightning Decision Jam or Consent Decision Making
The group does not care much about the topic; without real energy there is nothing to follow, so use a conventional agenda
You have less than about 90 minutes; the group will be stopped in the messy middle, so choose a time-boxed format
The sponsor needs predictable deliverables against a fixed agenda; agree the open outcome with them first or use a planned workshop design
The facilitator is new to holding strong emotion without steering; start with a talking-circle such as Council Practice
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What is Dynamic Facilitation?▾
Dynamic Facilitation is a facilitation approach created by Jim Rough for hard, emotionally charged issues. The facilitator follows the group's energy, makes sure each speaker is fully heard and writes every contribution on one of four charts: problem statements, solutions, concerns and data. There is no fixed agenda, and the aim is a shared breakthrough that the group reaches itself.
What are the four charts in Dynamic Facilitation?▾
They are Problem statements, Solutions, Concerns and Data. Problem statements collect the different ways people frame the issue, Solutions hold every proposal, Concerns hold objections to those proposals, and Data holds facts, experiences and views. The facilitator sorts contributions onto them in whatever order they come.
How is Dynamic Facilitation different from conventional facilitation?▾
Conventional facilitation usually moves a group through planned steps, such as defining the problem, generating options and deciding. Dynamic Facilitation has no such sequence. The facilitator does not set ground rules, manage the agenda or seek agreement, and instead trusts that a group whose members all feel heard will reorganise its own thinking.
How long does a Dynamic Facilitation session take and how many people can join?▾
The sources we checked do not prescribe a group size or a length. As planning guidance, allow at least 90 minutes and preferably a half day, and expect to need more than one session for a hard issue. The group should be small enough that everyone who wants to speak can be drawn out fully.
What is a Wisdom Council?▾
A Wisdom Council is a participation format developed by Jim Rough that uses Dynamic Facilitation with a small group of citizens who stand in for the wider community and explore a public issue together. It has been applied most extensively in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, where government offices adapted it for public participation.
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Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Jim Rough.