Dedicated to Group Facilitation
The Association of Facilitators (AoF) is a membership organisation founded in 2012 to support facilitators through high-quality training, accreditation, and supervision. The founders of the AoF worked in the fields of facilitation, facilitator training and consulting for many years and launched the AoF in response to two major needs. First, an increasing demand for relational, systemic and holistic approaches to facilitating organisational and social challenges. Second, the need of individual facilitators for a “professional home” and a clear, flexible and supported pathway to becoming a facilitator, with practical support, peer networks and opportunities for development.
We support everyone working as a facilitator
Our membership includes managers, leaders, development professionals, and consultants working with private, public, charity, and education bodies — in fact, anyone, in any industry, who leads groups and teams.
We are a registered company, limited by guarantee (not for profit), operating to serve facilitators, team coaches, change agents, organisational consultants, managers, leaders and others who use or wish to use facilitation skills.
Who do we serve?
Our membership includes managers, leaders, development professionals, and consultants working with private, public, charity, and education bodies — in fact, anyone, in any industry, who leads groups and teams. This includes you if you are…
- Working within an organisation as a change agent, group/team leader, manager, director or project manager.
- In chairing roles at meetings with developmental, strategic or operational purpose (be that business, charity or education).
- Occasionally called upon to facilitate groups, meetings and teams.
- Working as a consultant, change agent, trainer to a client organisation.
- Embarking upon a career in facilitation or leadership
Members and applicants are usually facilitating already (or about to be) and may:
- wish to learn about themselves in a group from high-quality input and feedback
- be feeling unequipped or deskilled by previous training/ experiences
- have become aware of the absence of theories and models related to group facilitation in their toolkit
What People Say
“I found it such an open and abundant day, not just in terms of the constant supply of lovely food, but the spirit in which you inquired into our style and work. I look forward to hearing from you and meeting you again. How exciting!”
S M, Accredited Facilitator
“I would thoroughly recommend training with the Association of Facilitators. Their material is thorough and extensively researched while their approach is an excellent mix of both practical and theoretical examples. Working with peer groups means your learning is supported and encouraged. I have learned to be a more confident and less “structured” facilitator and will continue to refer to my training notes and the AoF website throughout the coming years.”
K D, Community Development Worker, Farnham
“I have completed my ‘Self-Assessment Summary Statement’ and ‘Statement of Accreditation’, both documents have been challenging to write but the guidance in the handbook and your support and questions have been invaluable. I really feel that this process has taken e forward and overcome some obstacles, not least because of my ‘saturation’ in the activity ”
G W, Accredited Facilitator
“I just wanted to send you both an e mail to personally thank you for opportunity for [Practitioner Accreditation] As you may have noticed I have also gained a huge amount personally from this, wow and thanks!”
R B, Developing Youth Practice
