Custom

Facilitation and Custom-Designed Interactions

Let Yellow Wood Associates work with you to design interactions that get you where you want to be. We know how to help groups of people work productively together. Our designs are conflict friendly, objectives-based, highly interactive, geared to a variety of learning styles, focused on authentic communication, and fun! We have extensive experience facilitating and designing group processes in a variety of areas, including agriculture, economic development, forestry, and community capacity building.

Our experience includes:

Group Process Design	Retreats
Focus Groups	Presentations/Keynotes
Workshops	Study Tours
Course development	Internet-Based Facilitation

Group Process Design

Town of Cambridge, Vermont Planning Commission. September 1997 - February 1998. YWA assisted the Town of Cambridge, Vermont Planning Commission in designing and implementing a process to engage local residents and landowners in a dialogue about guiding future growth in the Town. Specifically, the dialogue focused on the type and degree of control that should be implemented. Tools used included a mail survey providing information about various regulatory and non-regulatory techniques, and a series of neighborhood focus groups with local facilitators trained by YWA. Contact Chris Bolen, Chair, Cambridge Planning Commission, PO Box 127, Jeffersonville, VT 05464, (802) 644-2251.

Retreats

National Community Forestry Center, Northern Forest Region. The National Community Forestry Center, Northern Forest Region’s Advisory Council not only met through monthly conference calls, but also had annual or biannual retreats, at which members discussed the workings of the National Community Forestry Center, Northern Forest Region. For more information, visit the National Community Forestry Center, Northern Forest Region website at www.ncfcnfr.net.

Focus Groups

Burlington Public Market. September 1998 - January 1999. The Burlington Public Market Steering Committee retained the services of YWA to explore the feasibility of developing a year-round, indoor public market in Burlington, VT. YWA identified and surveyed Vermont producers to determine their interest in and capacity for selling at a year-round public market, and suggested several options for structuring the organization of the market, keeping in mind the Committee’s guiding principles of accessibility, affordability, diversity, sustainability, and citizen participation. Contact Amy Demetrowitz, Project Developer, Burlington Community Land Trust, PO Box 523, 179 S. Winooski, Avenue, Burlington, VT 05402, (802) 862-6244.

Presentations/Keynotes

Northern Forest Alliance Annual Meeting, November 2003. Shanna Ratner spoke as a panelist on the subject of economic forces shaping the Northern Forest Region and the region’s place in an increasingly global economy.

“Thanks for being a part of the day one doings. People very much appreciated your perspective/comments.”
- George Gay, Executive Director, Northern Forest Alliance

Click here for a list of selected presentations.

Workshops

Participatory Research Workshop. November 2003. YWA, as the National Community Forestry Center, Northern Forest Region, presented a workshop at Middlebury College to faculty, students, staff and community members. This highly interactive four-hour workshop explored the value of a participatory research approach to community problem solving.

Study Tours

Adirondack Study Tour. August - October 1998. YWA and the Madagascar Collaborative Program of the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development provided an administrative framework for a six day, five night Adirondack study tour that provided exposure to a range of issues, organizations and landscapes that are characteristic of the Park’s unique land ownership situation. The purpose of the study tour was to broaden the participants’ perspectives and understanding of strategies used for managing natural resources and human conflicts in a Park context. Contact Louise Burck, Cornell University of Natural Resources, Fernow Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, (607) 255-5994.

Online course development

Online Planning April - June 2001. YWA prepared a short lesson on Planning for Economic Development for Vermont municipal officials and used as part of the Lincoln Land Institute’s Online Planning Series, sponsored by The Orton Institute. The lesson plan included information on defining terms, deciding what people really want for their communities, understanding existing conditions, measuring progress, and applying innovative approaches. Contact Joanna Whitcomb, Burnt Rock Inc., 23 Fuller House/Main Street, PO Box 172, Waitsfield, VT 05676, (802) 496-9909.

Internet-based facilitation

USDA Rural Development Best Practices. July - October 2000. YWA facilitated nine net meetings with USDA State Rural Development staff to share stories about projects/activities that have contributed to community capacity building, leveraging, and partnerships, and that represent a new way of doing business for USDA Rural Development. The result was a compilation of “stories from the states” for the Washington office of USDA Rural Development Policy and Planning. Contact Alicia Petersen, USDA, Office of Policy and Planning, Washington, DC 20250, (202) 690-0569.