Sefton & Associates provides independent facilitation of meetings, forums and conferences. Robbie Sefton has significant experience in facilitating meetings from small groups to large events and her approach always ensures an effective and productive session.

As a skilled, neutral person Robbie will help a group achieve its goals by managing the meeting process. With her personal experience of living and working in rural Australia, Robbie is ideally placed to facilitate meetings where the issues affect the sustainability of communities. Robbie also well understands the issues affecting rural Australia and the best way to reach and engage people living outside the city.

Robbie’s experience and broad involvement in Australian business life, ensures she can empathise with a diverse range of people and relate to many of the subjects influencing them professionally or personally. This is often critical in gaining the respect and cooperation of the meeting participants.

Enabling groups to work cooperatively and effectively

By creating a safe, welcoming meeting environment Sefton & Associates’ facilitation process focuses on ensuring people understand the meeting objectives, are engaged and able to participate. By keeping the meeting on time and on track, Sefton & Associates runs effective sessions where, by the end of the meeting, participants will feel they have achieved something together and participated in a valuable event.

Sefton & Associates can organise all aspects of a meeting or forum from invitations, agenda development, logistics, facilitation and follow-up.

Addressing the difficult issues

Often a neutral, third party is the best option for facilitating meetings about controversial or difficult subjects. Sefton & Associates is experienced in contentious issues facilitation and in designing processes to achieve effective outcomes in these circumstances.

Recently Robbie Sefton was responsible for facilitating meetings for the Murray-Darling Basin Community Advisory Committee.  These community consultation forums were designed to engage stakeholders in considering the management options for the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth (CLLMM). Discission of this important subject matter required a facilitator who could ensure all the stakeholders had the opportunity to contribute and would feel that their participation had been worthwhile. It also required Robbie to interpret the input as the meeting progressed and ensure resolutions were reached. In this case, Robbie’s facilitation skills ensured the forums were a success with numerous issues considered and addressed during the sessions.