Hybrid approaches to facilitation

This article is written by _Erin Stern, Senior Associate, Prevention Collaborative. _

• The problem: The inability to have in-person sessions raised challenges on how to build trust, rapport and participation in an online environment.
• Why it matters: Increasingly, we will see the use of hybrid facilitation approaches (online and in person) to training.
• The solution: It is important to share benefits, challenges, and best practices of both facilitation styles, and how to maximise hybrid approaches.

**_ _**I am a Senior Associate at the Prevention Collaborative. The Collaborative strengthens the capacity of key actors to design, deliver, and advocate for cutting-edge violence prevention programmes, informed by research-based evidence, practice-based learning, and feminist principles. We do this through our Learning Lab, Cluster and Accompaniment programmes.

The Covid-19 pandemic restrictions that began in 2020 required a global pivot to remote learning facilitation and engagement, which generated important lessons. With the easing of pandemic-related restrictions and resumption of global travel, many in-person trainings and workshops have recently re-emerged. In-person trainings are increasingly being offered where warranted, but often combined with online modalities; a hybrid approach to facilitation.

My colleague Ritha Nyiratunga and I recently co-facilitated two different “hybrid” trainings focused on adapting Indashyikirwa, an intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention programme, originally implemented by CARE Rwanda, RWN and RWAMREC in Rwanda. The first workshop was for CARE staff from across East Africa. The second workshop was for staff from the Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW) based in Kenya.

We found it more challenging to be engaging, including to have all participants equally participate, for the sessions delivered online.

For the first workshop, we provided four online 2.5 hour sessions focused on providing background information on the approach and evaluation findings of Indashyikirwa (using powerpoints, Q&A, breakout smaller group discussions) followed by a 5 day in-person workshop in Kigali, Rwanda, which focused on participants applying the learnings to their own countries and programmes. For the second workshop, we provided two online 1.5 hour sessions providing similar background information on Indashyikirwa followed by a 3.5 day in person workshop in Meru, Kenya, which focused on identifying adaptation needs of the couples curriculum.

The benefits of hybrid

Having participants go through the online sessions in advance of the in-person trainings meant that everyone came to the trainings with similar background knowledge, and it helped us to maximise the time we had together in-person. Participants of both workshops evaluated the hybrid approach very favourably, including for the chance to connect in-person.

As one participant of the CARE training noted in a post-session evaluation:

“Combining online and in-person training was an excellent methodology because online familiarises us with tools and saves resources. The physical part was interesting because it enabled us to connect and interact and value staff as human beings.”

The workshops were also extremely productive. For instance, with CREAW, we reviewed and documented suggested changes for all 22 couples' curriculum sessions. This was possible because of the background content delivered online, which allowed us to focus on identifying adaptation needs for both in-person workshops. For both workshops, participants had the chance to experience the couples’ curriculum sessions, which was especially powerful and interactive in-person and supported participants to better understand the programme.

The challenges of hybrid

We found it more challenging to be engaging, including to have all participants equally participate, for the sessions delivered online. Although it helped to interact when participants turned their cameras on, this was not always possible due to limited internet connectivity. While we had time for small group discussions, the online trainings mostly relied on PowerPoint presentations.

However, a lot of innovation is possible with online facilitation, and we could have made efforts to make the online sessions more participatory, including through drawing on different online learning tools. We also found that online facilitation takes longer than anticipated, because people tend to have shorter attention spans online and to allow for the time it takes to get organised into breakout groups online.

The case for hybrid

Online facilitation can be extremely helpful to prepare for in person meetings, through conveying foundational information online and ensuring everyone comes to an in-person training with similar understanding. This can then help to make more use of in-person training, which can save resources as these often have additional costs including travel, accommodation, and catering.

Whether online or in-person, it is important to ensure space for reflection, questions, and discussion, ideally with some time in small groups depending on the size of the training.

Yet, in general, it takes longer to cover content and meet training objectives when facilitating online compared to in-person due to technology or connectivity challenges. In-person workshops tend to be more productive, particularly with group work. Whether online or in-person, it is important to ensure space for reflection, questions, and discussion, ideally with some time in small groups depending on the size of the training.

In-person workshops are especially appropriate for interactive, participatory exercises, although efforts should be made to better apply these principles to online facilitation. This is critical given the research suggesting that interactive training leads to higher retention of content.

Finally, in-person trainings can be critical for building rapport and establishing networks. This can help establish an important platform for ongoing facilitation and partnership that can continue online after an in-person training. Overall, our experience reinforces evidence suggesting that a hybrid approach to facilitation can prove to be very effective compared to the sole use of one form or another.

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(Image Credit: Sigmund, Unsplash)