Facilitation Development Pathway
Facilitation Development Pathway
Facilitation is the process of designing, guiding and supporting participants to achieve a shared outcome by drawing on their knowledge and expertise.
Effective facilitation enables meaningful participation from everyone. It involves guiding conversations with curiosity, respect, and clarity to help groups think together, navigate complex issues, and take shared action that improves experiences and outcomes for patients, staff, and communities.
HETI’s Facilitation Development Pathway supports NSW Health staff to build capability in the communication, collaboration, and relational skills that underpin effective facilitation. The Pathway is made up of a suite of programs that strengthen the ability to create safe, inclusive, and psychologically supportive environments where people feel valued, heard, and empowered to contribute.
The Facilitation Development Pathway aligns with the NSW Health Facilitation Standards and the NSW Health Culture and Staff Experience Framework, promoting a consistent, evidence-informed approach to facilitation that enhances workplace culture and contributes to better health outcomes.
What does the pathway look like?
The Facilitation Development Pathway provides a tiered approach to building facilitation capability across NSW Health. It guides participants from foundational skills to more advanced facilitation in educational and complex group settings.
Completion of Facilitation Essentials is required before progressing to other programs.
Facilitation Essentials
Facilitation Essentials is a blended learning program designed to build the foundational skills and self-awareness required for effective, participant-focused facilitation. It lays the foundation for the Pathway, including creating safe, inclusive environments and engaging participants meaningfully. Completion is required before progressing to other programs.
Facilitation for Education
Facilitation for Education equips facilitators working in structured, content-focused learning environments such as clinical teaching, training, and practice-based inquiry, with the skills to create impactful learning experiences. Participants will learn to engage learners, support knowledge transfer, and create active, goal-oriented learning experiences.
Facilitation for Complexity
Facilitation for Complexity builds facilitator capability in leading process-focused group work within complex and evolving environments, such as team development, strategic planning, and mediation.
Designed for contexts where there is no single correct answer, the program supports facilitators in guiding groups through collaborative dialogue to generate shared understanding and emergent outcomes. Participants learn to manage group dynamics, foster reflective practice, and enable purposeful progress in situations marked by uncertainty or ambiguity.
