We bring people together to create enduring solutions that everyone owns

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For more than twenty years, our expert ToP facilitators have supported teams, groups, partners and stakeholders tackling the big stuff: environmental issues, policy changes, team dynamics and change. Whether you are in a farming community grappling with catchment issues, a company needing a strategy that all staff will actually own, or an NGO needing to design a new service programme, we can help. We are professional facilitators. We can work directly with you. And we can train you and your team in facilitative leadership skills to do this effectively yourselves.

Our Logo

In 2007, we asked master carver Nathan Foote to design our logo.

Nathan wanted to understand our work, and Helen explained that facilitation is about creating a safe space for honest conversations. He was intrigued by the creativity facilitation brings, where groups generate something new together.

Nathan’s talent for storytelling through mahi toi led to a flowing charcoal drawing, which to some represents a germinating seed, to others a water droplet or a wave rider: it reveals the essence of facilitation through the eyes of the viewer. Our earth colors, reflecting the natural resource spaces we work in, completed the logo. We are honored to have had Nathan’s input early in our journey.

Our Philosophy & Approach

We live our values when we work with you. When you hire a ToP™ professional, you can expect the approach to be:

Co-Creative

We work in partnership with you at all stages – planning, delivery and follow-up.

Intentional

We foster authentic dialogue and sharing of ideas in a way that unleashes creativity and full human potential.

Respectful and culturally sensitive

We engender trust and full engagement and through this the creation of solutions that people own.

Participatory and inclusive

We create spaces where power imbalances are set aside, enabling all participants to bring their best selves to the task at hand.

Action-oriented

We make every minute together count, and ensure the group identifies clear conclusions, and a clear pathway forward.

Consensus building

Our events are highly collaborative and harness diversity to create new, fresh ways of solving problems.

Suitable for complex and challenging situations

We are process design experts. We work with you to map out the steps required to help a group navigate and process information, explore options and create solutions.

Scalable

We can co-create with you a productive hour-long session, a two-day retreat, or a complex multi-year collaborative engagement process.

Ethical

We operate in accordance with the International Association of Facilitators Code of Ethics: we work to our client’s needs and provide independent neutral facilitation where the products developed are the group’s.

Vision

People co-creating their own solutions through authentic, culturally-informed facilitation

Mission

Inspirational facilitation and training for Aotearoa

Values

Collaboration | Participation | Inclusiveness | Creativity | Action | Kaupapa

Our Story

1990

How we started.

In the early 1990’s we got to see and experience first-hand the power and effectiveness of the Technology of Participation (ToP™) techniques in natural resource management and planning, the fields in which we were both working at that time. We saw the methods used by trained facilitators to bring together farmers, community members, council staff and others to the task of mutually solving complex land and water issues. This catalysed our passion for effective group facilitation and our own journeys of becoming trained, professional facilitators.

2000

In 2000, we came together to research, design and deliver a nationwide training programme for the Department of Conservation titled Community Conservation Partnerships Ruia te Käkano, Kohia te Kai Rangatira, heralding the start of our professional partnership.

Our interest in building others’ capacity, confidence and ‘can-do’ had begun.

2005

We realised that the Technology of Participation (Top™) techniques had much to offer Aotearoa New Zealand, and we thought that if we could train others in these globally proven methods, we could build real capacity in organisations and groups to work far more constructively and productively on the tricky environmental and people issues facing our country.
A key part of this was recognising that the methods needed to be culturally appropriate.

In 2005 we began working in partnership with Te Mauri Tau on a journey exploring Māori perspectives on facilitation and facilitative leadership alongside Technology of Participation (ToP™) thinking and methods.

2022

This journey, which continues today, has significantly enriched both our training offering, and our facilitation and engagement services. It continues to strengthen our commitment to biculturalism and being ‘indigenous-informed’.

In 2022 we welcomed Associates Katerina Kupenga and Robyn Irving to our organisation, bringing new gifts and fresh ideas, and providing us with the capacity to start offering online training in the ToP™ methods.

We look forward to a future of continued co-creation!

“The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers” – Ralph Nader

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