Dynamic Action Planning (AP)

“How can I get all members of a group to participate in planning a project or event together, and build their commitment and responsibility so that they can successfully implement their plan?”

This one-day course introduces a method for assessing the feasibility of a short-term project, campaign or event, for building commitment to its implementation and setting out what needs to be done and by whom

Download course overview (pdf)

Who this course is for

This course has no pre-requisite, but Group Facilitation Methods or some prior experience of facilitation or participatory planning is recommended.

It is suitable for all those who want to be able to involve people more effectively in planning and implementing short to medium term projects together, including team leaders and project managers within organisations, those working collaboratively with partners and external stakeholders, youth and community workers and independent facilitators.

“I found the Action Planning course very practical and useful, and have used the method with young people and youth work organisations across Northern Ireland” – Alexey Janes, YouthBank Development, Officer Community Foundation for Northern Ireland

“Action Planning is an excellent course – I found it simple and effective to put into practice” – Dr Clive Downs, Visiting Research Fellow, The Open University and Research & Information Officer, Reading Borough Council

“The Action Planning Workshop really energised a rather jaded group and produced a workable and accepted plan to raise morale in the department” – Ruth Foss, Facilitation Team, Axa Sun Life plc, Bristol.

What you will gain

By the end of the course, you will have:

understood the 8 stages of the Dynamic Action Planning method, the role of each, and their flow
understood where to use the method, and gained confidence in your ability to use it in your own situation
consolidated and developed your understanding of the basic Focused Conversation and Consensus Workshop methods
built links with others to promote future collaboration and support in the use of the methods

Learning style

The course presents the method in a practical and participatory way. The method is first demonstrated, using a scenario in which participants can identify without having to role-play. It is then analysed and discussed, and the elements of the method are practised individually or in small groups. Finally, participants plan how they will apply the method in their own situations.

What do participants say about this course?

87% of AP participants rated this course 8/10 or higher.

Comments from participants’ end-of-course evaluations included:

gives you a structured and effective method for action planning, in a relaxed and enjoyable training environment
an interactive and fun way to involve everyone on your team in the planning process
a very useful course for planning short-term projects or events
rewarding and insightful, it will demonstrate to you how you can get things done – and it is a great experience and a great environment
brilliant – the best training course I’ve ever been on

Please visit our public courses calendar to see upcoming dates and locations for this course. Alternatively, contact us for more information about booking this course as an in-house course for your organisation.

I have undertaken a number of programmes with ICA-UK, including Action Planning. I found the training to be excellent: comprehensive in what's covered, excellent workbooks and I left feeling like I knew how to use the methods. Perhaps the real test however is the extent to which I have used these methods, repeatedly, in the years since the training. Both as an in-house trainer and now as an external facilitator and consultant, I use these methods frequently with a wide range of audiences, including senior management teams, research centres, department teams and community groups. The methods always work! In recent times, I can also attest to the ongoing support and back up that ICA-UK provide to their 'trainees' - it is unsurpassed in my experience.

I had a brilliant experience on the Action Planning course in Manchester led by Alan. It was really well facilitated and I gained loads of new tips on how to make action planning more inclusive and collaborative when working with communities. Because it was a small group we were able to troubleshoot challenges we've encountered in our own settings and work on examples of current projects. The ToP framework is very clear and we got to try out some of the techniques ourselves in the group with support from Alan. The blurb about the course said it was possible to do without having attended the Group Facilitation Methods training, but I think I would have found it easier to have done this training first, as many of the methods were used during the course. Nevertheless I got a lot out of it, and would recommend the training to anyone who's looking for new ways to work more effectively and collaboratively within an organisation, partnership or grassroots community project. The course booklet and other handouts were also really useful.

I have attended Group Facilitation Methods, Action Planning and Participatory Strategic Planning with ICA:UK and have benefited from the learning and methods. I currently use the methods across all my work and it has helped me to build partnerships and collaborations across Third Sector organisations. It is helpful to meet other participants to gain ideas, thoughts and learning. All the trainers have been excellent with a continued offer of support after the training.