Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making

This book provides the tools to put democratic values into practice in groups and organisations. Designed to help groups increase participation and collaboration, promote mutual understanding, honour diversity, and make effective, inclusive, participatory decisions, it is loaded with graphics, guidelines and hand outs, and presents more than 200 valuable tools and skills. It is perfect for managers, participants, seasoned practitioners, and students of working group dynamics.

"The best book on collaboration ever written!"
—Diane Flannery, founding CEO, Juma Ventures

And now this classic book is even better—much better. Completely revised and updated, the second edition is loaded with new tools and techniques.

• Two powerful new chapters on agenda design
• A full section devoted to reaching closure
• More than twice as many tools for handling difficult dynamics
• 70 brand-new pages and over 100 pages significantly improved

Praise for Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making, Second Edition

"In cross-functional environments, where diverse perspectives are intentionally brought together to produce high-quality thinking, a highly skilled facilitator can add great value—and Sam Kaner is one of the best. The Facilitator's Guide provides a full set of models and tools to enable an organization to reap the benefits of a well facilitated, participatory decision-making process. Having seen Sam's methods in action, I can attest to their power and effectiveness."
—Pierre Omidyar, founder and chairman, eBay and Omidyar Network

"Hooray for the Facilitator's Guide. It explains principles, practices, and processes with cogent clarity, and each diagram conveys a complex idea almost instantly."
—Joanna Macy, author, World as Lover, World as Self

"Our organization's core purpose is to dissolve boundaries across sectors in order to find innovative solutions to difficult social problems. We know how immensely challenging it is to facilitate dialogue among multiple stakeholders. This amazing book is a comprehensive guide for meeting that challenge. I've worked with a myriad of consultants during the past 16 years, and Sam Kaner's approach is vastly superior for bringing about lasting system change."
—Kriss Deiglmeier, executive director, Center for Social Innovation, Stanford University

"Sam Kaner is one of the world's leading experts on collaboration. His grasp of the challenges and dilemmas of collaboration is superb, as are his models and methods for facilitating complex processes."
—Sandy Schuman, editor, Creating a Culture of Collaboration

"The Facilitator's Guide has allowed us to build our own capacity. We've learned how to convene multiple stakeholder teams, plan effectively, and make more sustainable decisions, thus maintaining our collaborative values as we grow to serve a wider community. I highly recommend this book."
—James Whipple, CEO, Marshall Medical Center, El Dorado County, California

"Kaner's decision-making procedures are the best I've ever seen. We use them all the time!"
—Deborah Alvarez-Rodriguez, president and CEO, Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin Counties