Overview
Each workshop is specifically designed based on regional context and considerations. The overarching goal of the workshops is to enhance collaboration and engagement efforts across the region. The specific agenda will be determined in a pre-workshop meeting with regional leaders, ensuring the session is relevant and impactful.
Participants will:
- Learn strategies to raise awareness of ongoing regional engagement efforts.
- Discover tools to capture and share high-quality project work.
- Identify opportunities for broader and more effective partnerships.
- Gain a better understanding of the region's issues, urgencies, and assets.
- Develop insights on barriers to high-quality engagement and strategies to overcome those barriers.
Examples of Workshop Formats
Networking & Partnership Exploration Activity
This workshop begins with a popular ‘speed dating’ activity that:
- Introduces participants to institutions, organizations, and individuals in attendance.
- Provides a structured, engaging way to network effectively and efficiently.
- Helps foster connections and sets the tone for collaboration.
Once attendees are acquainted, the workshop proceeds with short sessions on:
- Identifying areas of interest confluence.
- Mapping regional assets and strategies to avoid deficit thinking.
- Articulating value propositions and impact statements for potential partnerships.
- Creating partnerships centered on respect and reciprocity.
Facilitated Discussion
Facilitated discussions are a great way to explore your region’s unique resources and challenges in a collaborative format. CEA has experienced facilitators that will utilize deliberative dialogue tools to explore topics such as:
- Increasing inter-institutional collaboration.
- Creating multi-organization, multi-institution coalitions to address regional issues.
- Overcoming a zero-sum mindset in resource allocation and competition for limited funding.
- Data sharing to tell your region’s collective story.
- Cultivating a sustainable environment for continuation of collaboration on high-impact initiatives.
Complex Problem Solving with a Creative Framework
CEA offers a creative problem-solving framework that is well suited to ambiguous and complex issues. It will allow you to bring your regions most pressing, complicated question and:
- Combine creativity and logic to streamline decision making and drive consensus.
- Clearly define the challenges that underlie your question and generate innovative solutions that are tailored to your region’s unique context.
- Identify a simple, yet effective implementation strategy that includes opportunities to adapt as needed.
Tangible Outcomes
Each workshop will result in a comprehensive report featuring:
- A directory of workshop attendees and regional engagement professionals.
- A list of high-priority community-identified issues.
- Actionable strategies and plans to address these issues.
Commitment and Collaboration
A critical outcome of each workshop is creating a shared understanding and commitment among the participants. Attendees will have the opportunity to:
- Define and solidify the role they will play in the region’s engagement strategy.
- Co-author or sign the final report, which outlines the region’s collaborative plans.
Join Us in Transforming Regional Engagement
Be a part of these workshops to shape the future of collaboration and engagement in your region. Together, we can build stronger partnerships, address critical issues, and create lasting impact.